I am not a jealous person but

I am jealous.

my cover is blown

While I've spent the last four years making fun of my husband via blog, he has allowed the abuse in silence.  Then I turned 30 on Sunday and he crept from the shadows, surprising me with that post.  Raise your hand if you believe I'm headed straight to hell...

Although, Tod knows how I feel.  I omit the gushy and sweet on my blog for entertainment purposes.  I don't have to announce every compliment, flower, date night and surprise on my blog.  That's for us.

But I will say this once: My decision to marry Tod is the best one I've made.

It's not because Tod is a perfect person.  And it's not because he thinks I'm perfect, either.  It's because we are each other's best possible match.
Marriage is fragile.  I've seen strong ones disintegrate without much warning.  I have several divorced friends who wonder what they were thinking the first time.  It often stems back to not choosing their very best possible match originally.

I dated several different guys before Tod.  All of them with different qualities that appealed to me.  In the end though, I couldn't picture myself laughing with them at a dinner party 20 years down the road.  I couldn't imagine laying next to them at night talking about nothing in the dark.  I wanted someone who knew I was ready to leave a party without me having to say so.  My future with them never.felt.quite.right.  Something was always a little off or missing.

When Tod and I started dating it felt like a puzzle coming together; two very different pieces with jagged edges that together made a perfect fit.  Nothing was off.  It was natural and peaceful. The longer we're together, the more cohesive the pieces become.  It's easy because we had the right two pieces to work with from the beginning.   Which is the best way to start because life is hard.  When there's no money or crappy jobs or abusive business partners or disabilities or broken down cars or screaming kids during dinner... you'd better be super into whoever you come home to.  Otherwise, where's the light?

Is anyone still reading this?

I don't plan to divulge all the thoughtful, kind, genuine things Tod says and does on a daily basis.  But I will, this one time, admit...he is the best person in my life.  I could not have done better.

Speaking of the best, the other day we grabbed lunch.  While eating he asked me if I had any frenemies.  What?  I almost choked on my burrito. In the same breath he commented that my new feather earrings looked like they came from a Chesapeake Mallard or the like.  And as we left, he took someone's business card out of the "FREE LUNCH DRAWING!" bucket and wrote a phone number on it for later use.

And...I'm back.

incredible is normal (if your name is holly ann lowell...wever)

this picture is mind blowing because she looks like a super model without even trying (notice the "runway wind" that follows her everywhere she goes)

The best and worst thing about Holly is how incredible she is.  It is why I love her and why sometimes she hurts me.

like the time in 2004 when she deliberately crushed all my PS2 games with her bare hands, namely, Madden NFL 2004, Grand Theft Auto III, and some other one that I am pretty sure was not mine. 

or most recently when I was cornered against my will into a dark closet and assaulted with a tube of toothpaste...

One night in Nevada Holly decided to post about Thanksgiving thankfulness and somehow connected it to a mildly embarrassing photo that I do not think is me if you look at it.

The glare on the grainy photo makes it almost impossible to figure out who any of the medieval enthusiasts were or why they were taking a photo op before their renaissance feast.

I would never do something like that to her...

click here to understand why Holly is holding her island lover in what appears to be the barbary coast circa 1998


Holly teaches Lennon (and Larry) everything good they know.  I have come to realize that I have little to no authority over the children when it really comes down to it.


By default they will argue and defend their mom's last instructions as if we're living on a compound with David Koresh.

Example -- When I get home (and Holly is downstairs) I love to sneak Lennon or Larry out of their room to secretly hang with Dad for few minutes...

Lennon: (poking his head from around the corner)

Me: Want to come hang out with Dad?! (whisper voice)

Lennon: I can't... (whisper voice) 

Me: What do you mean you can't?! (whisper voice)

Lennon: I didn't take a nap today so I can't stay up late... (whisper voice)

Me: Don't worry about it...come here! (normal voice)

Lennon: Be quiet, Mom will hear us...I can't stay up late 'cause Mom said I didn't take a nap today... (whisper voice) 

Me: Okay, you better get into bed then...I think she can hear us! (whisper voice)

I wanted to marry someone like my grandma: opinionated, a little bossy, and super funny!


Holly is the queen bee in our house and I love it. She is the funniest person I know that I still want to make-out with. She keeps our home in order, takes care of us and those around her.

She is my best friend, I love her feet, and she looks so hot in cowboy boots and hat that I think I want to buy a farm someday.

In a recent conference talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook, I could not help but think of her the entire time and how incredible she really is.  

If you read this blog then you already know 
she puts up with a lot.  

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY FROM YOUR THREE SONS 
(and cousin Evan too)!!!

normal is boring

  The best and worst thing about Tod is how not-normal he is.  It's why I love him and it's why sometimes I want to hurt him.

On our drive home from San Diego around hour five Larry lost it.  Screeeeeeeeaming. Tod took the opportunity to calm him down. With words.

 "Come on Larry (Larry still screaming)...push through the pain (screaming)...our family is only as strong as its weakest link (still screaming)...Wever's don't quit (now wailing)...." and so on.  Surprisingly, it didn't work.  Weird.

 One night in California we went for a run.  We finished on the beach where a couple was having an intense conversation on a bench. Tod decided to stand directly in front of them (blocking their view of the ocean) to stretch.  Oh and p.s. Tod shattered his pelvis in a car accident years ago so after his runs he does pelvic stretches.  Borderline pornographic pelvic stretches.  Maybe two feet in front of this couple.

Tod taught Lennon to yell, "UH OH, PO-PO!" whenever police cars drive by.  Last night he missed an exit on the freeway so he pulled over, threw the car into reverse, backed up.  Quite a rush, actually.

Tod is the king of understatements.  One time he described pioneers' hardships on the plains as a "real bummer."  Last night the news reported about a woman who was arrested for armed robbery, drug dealing, and slicing a security guard with a sharp object.  Tod's comment: 

"She is such a stinker!"

Then there was this morning when someone called Tod about a rental property.  In seconds I knew they only spoke Spanish because Tod started shouting into the phone about "casas" and "rento."  The best was when he decided it would be easiest to just give her his website.

"Type in R as in....Roberrrrrto....P as in.....Pablo.....M as in....Marrrrrrria....L as in Luis....and V as in Veeeeector."

And yes, he rolled those r's. 

on a break

We are in sunny California taking a break from our day to day.  So far we've seen the ocean, Shamu, and the Mexican Border Patrol (we were only stuck there for three hours today).  More on all this later...

The boys and me at Sea World

The dolphin show may or may not have made me cry....

Larry who can't sit still...sat still.

P.S. for the record, I was AGAINST the Tijuana shopping trip but everyone convinced me I was being paranoid.  But when the dogs and guns came out....whole new attitude.

Ode to Alana

Every night Lennon asks for the same thing.

"Tell me a story about Holly and Alana."

Last night was the time we splattered Jell-o all over my mom's kitchen.  Another favorite was the time we popped microwave popcorn for 30 minutes intstead of 3 minutes so we took the black bag and hid it under her sister Lisa's bed.  Smoking up the whole room.  He likes the ones about meeting every summer morning in front of the Woods' house with towels around our necks and running across the golfcourse to the pool.  And then there were the retreats to East Canyon, the trips to Lake Powell, Disneyland, getting sunburned at Lake Mead and jumping off her balcony.

There are so many more.

Alana and I met 26 years ago in preschool.  We did everything together until we graduated high school.  When I say everything, I mean it.  The day before our senior year we cut off our long locks together. We spent cheer camp each summer sharing a dorm room and staying up late laughing into the night.  Our secrets were safe with each other.  Just thinking about this stuff makes me want to cry because I always felt like I had three sisters.  Kristi, Kari, Alana.  She is family.

And today she turns 30.  And she should consider herself lucky my scanner wasn't working because I had some GEMS of pictures to post.  Junior high dance pictures.  Cheer camp pictures.  High school dance pictures.  Pictures of us in our glasses at Lisa's apartment our freshman year.  Pictures of us on the beach in Florida.  And yes, I was wearing overall shorts.  Awesome.

Instead here are some recent pictures I hacked off Alana's FB page.  Without permission.  Just because I think it's important you see that she looks like this (last girl on your left):

This is her in Kaui a couple weeks ago.  Yes, those abs are real.  She is 30 and looking better than ever.  And here's the best part: I don't even hate her for it.  In fact, that's a big factor in our relationship - genuine concern when things are bad and genuine happiness for one another when things are good.  If she loses 10 pounds it's almost as good as me losing 10 pounds.  Almost.  That is not easy to find in a friend.  We've cried over breakups, divorce, death, tough decisions and we've celebrated over weddings, new jobs, purchased homes,  partner buy-outs and babies born.  That is a real friend.  Look at those abs one more time...

 She's spent the last couple years traveling all around the world from Dubai (pictured above with Heidi), to Costa Rica (where she was mugged)(but she's okay), Hawaii, and more.  She is the reason I love rollercoasters.  She was adventurous even as a little kid.  And she never sat still.  She had a gym mat in front of her TV and we never sat on the couch and relaxed.  We were stretching, we were lunging, we were back flipping, we were back bending, we were..........................

(Most recent picture of us with her buddy Becca.  Plus my crazy eyes.)

(Alana and Ace recently)

Happy Birthday to my best friend of 26 years. 

I think the next 30 are going to be even better than the first 30. Love you.

we love the bean museum

Sorry Katy...my kids touched every animal.