News

05.19.08

So, the holiday letter never happened...this newsletter will tell you why:
Weston Family Semi-Annual Newsletter--May 2008 (PDF)
More photos from January through May 2008 HERE:

2008_mayNewsletterPrints

"A blur" is the best term to describe the last five months or so. With both Abe and Janine in school, we do a lot of homework at our house! So, until Janine is done with her program in May of 2009, the Westonian has become a semi-annual newsletter.

2008 began with Abe's Grandpa, John, peacefully passing away. We gathered in a boat, as an extended family, to bid his ashes goodbye under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and then attended a touching funeral service in his honor. Abe and siblings spoke about their fondest memories of their grandfather.

March brought us the glory of Easter festivities and visits by grandparents as Laurie, Dana, & Tim came up to the Bay Area to spoil their grandchildren.

In April, we welcomed Sammy, a new four-footed member into our family. Sam, a Jack Russell Terrier, and Rosie, our Labrador Retriever, have been the best of pals right from the start.

This June, Janine and the kids are looking forward to a long visit to Thousand Oaks.

Madeline will turn the big 2 on May 28th! She is quite the chatter box, asking questions, making comments, and telling daddy what he can and can't do. Madeline loves hugging her puppy, reading books, sharing her artwork accomplishments, screaming "lookit, lookit!," eating (what's new?), dressing up like a princess, running after her siblings, and going to church, the library, and Aunt Lynda's house. Madeline's hair, a wonder in itself, is always on the border of curly and tangled.

Max turned the big 4 on March 15th! He spends much of his time boxing with daddy's huge red gloves on his fists, making swords out of Tinker Toys, and reading books. Max enjoys hanging upside down, playing Wii, climbing trees, jumping off of things, swimming, building with legos, running around the lake, and riding bikes--what can we say, he sure is an active kid!

Natalie turned six on January 25th! She reads chapter books by the dozen; trains her puppy how to behave; spends hours on paintings, collages, and drawings; responsibly looks after Madeline; and maintains her many friendships. Together, the kids love going to Country Kids six hours each week, where they can play with friends, dig in the sand, tend the garden, build forts, make arts and crafts, and chase the chickens (meanwhile, Janine does homework).

Abe turned 32 on January 21st! He has been working full time and doing homework toward a Master's in Statistics from CSU East Bay.

Janine turns 31 on May 24th! She mothers, feeds the family, and does homework toward a Master's in Library and Information Science from the School of Library and Information Science at SJSU. Janine occasionally finds time for photography--it's an addiction!

News Flash: Abe's brother, Toby Weston, is graduating from Central Washington University in Ellensburg on May 31st with a bachelor's and teaching credential in Music and landed a great job teaching strings in Vancouver. We are so proud of Toby and his supportive family!

Sincerely,

The Weston Family


Natalie and new puppy, Sam (born February 19, 2008)!

12.11.07

Looking for our holiday letter? Check back in early January for a wrap up of 2007!

11.04.07

Weston Family Quarterly Newsletter--November 2007 (PDF)

More photos from summer-fall 2007 HERE.

Camping at Lake Chabot with Max, Natalie, Sharman, Tanner, Mollie, Janine, Laurie, Abe, Brian, Dana, Wendi, Madeline, Tim, Elena, & Lana.

It's back to school for the Weston Family! Abe is back in the saddle, at Cal State East Bay, for a certificate in Applied Statistics; Janine is slowly working toward an online master's degree in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University; and Natalie is making great progress as a homeschool Kindergartener!

Summertime brought many adventures: weekly fieldtrips, family camping trips, a Southern California expedition, and our nine-year wedding anniversary!

This fall we've had the pleasure of celebrating birthdays and spending time with local family on nature outings, day trips, and car rides. We're looking forward to seeing more of our extended family for Thanksgiving on the Central Coast and Christmas in the greater Bay Area.

Madeline runs, eats, hugs, talks, and climbs. We regularly find her on top of the kitchen table and countertops. Her vocabulary grows daily and includes: me, mama, mommy, dada, daddy, woof, Max, juice, let go, no, look, cheese, cracker, cookie, yeah, Rosie, doggie, pretty, yes, shoes, and various consonants.

Max helps sweep the new floors, clean his room, and put away the laundry with daddy. Taking Natalie's lead, he has taught himself to read and enjoys looking at picture books, magazines, and toy catalogs. We don't know who is more excited, Max or his parents, but Max is now potty trained and takes pride in putting on clean underwear each day!

Natalie successfully raised and released a half-dozen Painted Lady Butterflies! She enjoys studying insects, drawing, writing, gymnastics, and dancing. Natalie made us all proud in the Primary Program this year with her line, "I am happy because my family loves me."

Abe thought he was going to go to Israel with his company in September, but the trip got cancelled. Instead, he came up with an amazing idea that will revolutionize the entire Internet security industry. Such a brilliant guy!

Janine enjoys participating in a woman's monthly book club, walking with friends, doing pet portraits for Furry Friends Rescue, helping her Aunt Renee with a new website, and serving the Webelos in her cub scout group.

We finally put in laminate flooring to replace our stained and well-loved carpeting. It looks and feels great! Rosie, the dog, is still adjusting to the fact that she can't go zooming around the house anymore without slipping and sliding--now she has no brakes!

Sincerely,
The Weston Family

07.01.07

Weston Family Quarterly Newsletter--July 2007 (PDF)

Freedom has come to those who have graduated this summer: Abe's brother, Joey graduated from junior high; sister, Elizabeth from high school; and sister, Krissy, from San Jose State!

More photos from spring-summer 2007 HERE

We celebrated our freedom, and Madeline's first birthday, with a Memorial Day weekend camping trip to Gualala Redwood River Park. We had such a great time relaxing, playing in the river and sharing meals with our friends from church!

For this summer, we've organized weekly fieldtrips to various attractions in the Bay Area. Already, we have visited the local Aquatic Center, the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, Crab Cove in Alameda and the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton.

In July, we're going on a family camping trip at Lake Chabot in San Leandro, followed by a trip down to Southern California for a friend's wedding.

Madeline, at just over 1 year old, is now walking around like a drunken pirate--she makes us nervous with her weaving and bobbing--but she is well on her way to mobile freedom! Madeline enjoys fine dining as well as smearing some of her favorite foods in her hair, on the wall, and anything else that is within reach!

Max & Natalie have a new love in their life--Country Kids--a local daycare program where kids are encouraged to learn through play! Miss Lisa, their teacher, involves them in creating art, reading & writing stories, learning about the natural world, exploring health and nutrition, and establishing friendships with the other children. Max really enjoys being a big brother to such an active little sister...Madeline's teaching him why it's important to be gentle. Natalie has taken on many new responsibilities as the oldest child; she has gotten very efficient at cleaning her room and can even sort and put away all the laundry!

Natalie is officially registered with Connecting Waters, a charter school, that will allow us to "test the waters" of homeschooling during her upcoming Kindergarten year. www.connectingwaters.org

Abe is looking to return to Cal Sate Hayward again for a certificate program in applied Statistics as he continues to work full-time as a Software Engineer Manager at Checkpoint in San Francisco.

Janine has recently joined a local chapter of Business Networking International as a photographer, and is busy getting back to business behind the camera! She has been teaching courses on digital photography & editing at church enrichment meetings and is fascinated with the art of digital-scrapbooking.

Sincerely,
The Weston Family

04.01.07

Weston Family Quarterly Newsletter--April 2007 (PDF)

Madeline brings big smiles as she visits with Great-Grandma, Verle Miller, in Tracy, California.

Although the cold, rainy days of winter allow for more sleep and movie-watching, spring has brought our family outdoors and into the sunshine!

We've spent our Saturdays hiking the trails of Alameda Creek in Fremont, Point Isabel in Berkeley, Garin Regional Park in Hayward, and Point Pinole in San Pablo. We have a family goal to explore new places in the Bay Area this spring and summer--should be fun!

For Easter, we're looking forward to a week-long visit from Grandma Laurie, Grandpa Dana, and Molly Dog. The kids already have a long list entitled, Things We Want to Do When Grandma and Grandpa Are Here!

Mid-April we'll be traveling down to the Central Coast to visit family and take the kids to Cal Poly's annual Open House.

Madeline, at 10 months, is constantly watching and imitating her older siblings. She can climb, cruise, and play with toys for hours at a time! She loves to babble, eat big people food, and dance when she hears music with a good beat. Her favorite family activity is helping to unload the dishwasher.

Max celebrated his third birthday in March with friends and family. On St. Patrick's Day, he feasted on corned-beef and cabbage with Auntie Elena and Lana! Max is now busy catching bugs, reading books, shooting rockets, blowing bubbles, and playing in the sand with his new toys!

Natalie celebrated her fifth birthday in January with a Princess Tea Party where she and her girlfriends came in costume and had their hair, makeup, and nails done before wearing their jeweled crowns to the table for tea and cookies! Natalie is quite the artist and spends hours each day drawing, painting, and sculpting!

Abe won third-place in a church-sponsored, family pinewood derby competition with NO RULES! He also received a promotion at work to Software Engineer Manager--way to go, Abe!

Janine is busy as the new assistant-den leader for the church Webelos (10-year-old Cub Scouts) and practicing her Photoshop skills in preparation for the spring re-launching of her photography business.

After 1 year of cramming three carseats into our 1995 Saturn station wagon, we finally made the move to a safer vehicle that fits our family--an 8-passenger 2007 Toyota Sienna!

Sincerely,
The Weston Family

12.08.06

Weston Family Quarterly Newsletter--December 2006 (PDF)

We can't say we're planning for a white Christmas in Fremont, this year, as it has been warm and sunny the last several weeks. We really are blessed to live in an area that stays so mild yearound!

This Christmas, the Weston Five are planning a trek down to Thousand Oaks with layovers in Shell Beach (to visit Grandpa Tim) and Arroyo Grande (to visit Great-Aunt Les & Uncle Mike). Activities we're looking forward to on our vacation include celebrating with a Christmas Eve feast at the Allen's home, visiting Disneyland, watching the Nutcracker ballet, and catching up with much-missed friends and relatives.

As a family of five, we've realized that it is much harder to go more than ten miles from home...so, we've spent most of the fall enjoying Fremont. Highlights include Sunday afternoon walks around Lake Elizabeth to observe the changes of the seasons and visiting the pumpkin patch, corn maze and Monarch butterflies at Ardenwood Farms.

Madeline is now rolling and scooting (on her back) all over the house. It's not suprising to find her in the kitchen or under chairs, fully engaged in exploring her surroundings!

Max looks forward to toddler storytime at the library. He finds hiding in the curtains and jumping off the steps very entertaining. At Max's first dental appointment he cried and tried to kick the dentist when she looked in his mouth. Good news: no cavities!

Natalie, our little thespian, performed in her first church Primary Program with the lines, "I can pray to Heavenly Father. He listens and answers my prayers." She was not at all shy but belted her part over the microphone for all to hear! Lately, Natalie employs her many talents in a creative dance class where she shines like a star!

Abe has given up at getting rich, but he sure enjoys his current position at CheckPoint as a software engineer.

Janine is still keeping up with her photography, and is off and running with another side-business...but this time it's serious. Curious? Visit:

www.mothergoosedesign.com

Sincerely,

The Weston Family: Abe, Janine, Natalie, Max, & Madeline

P.S. It only took us 473 shots to get this one. Hope you like it--it's the best we could do!

09.02.06

Weston Family Quarterly Newsletter--September 2006 (PDF)

With the cooler temperatures nipping at our heels, we thought it would be fun to start a quarterly newsletter in which we could share a brief update about what the "Wild Westons" are up to in their neck of the woods.

We really enjoy getting our Christmas letter and website out each year, but it almost seems too overwhelming to catch up over a year's worth of time in one letter!

Each quarter, we'll fill you in on events from the last few months. That way we can keep in touch year-round!

Feel free to read our newsletter online or print it out and pass it around!

May kicked off the summer with the birth of our third child, Madeline Grace Weston! We love interacting with her, listening to her cooing, watching her bubble and making her giggle!

June brought Wendi (Abe's sister) and Brian Samuelson together in marriage at the Oakland Mormon Temple. A week later we celebrated Madeline's baby blessing with Abe's local family.

July had a washer/dryer center installed in our condo...finally! Laundry for a family of five is quite a "load" and our new set-up is a dream come true.

August took us camping at Half Moon Bay and up to Sacramento for the new Temple Open House. Natalie began preschool and Max continues to tag along!

Sincerely,

The Weston Family
Abe, Janine, Natalie, Max, & Madeline

12/03/05

Another year gone by already? The Westons are still going strong in Fremont, CA! We actually thought we would have relocated to Portland, OR by now, but greater powers have convinced us to stay! It always makes me laugh to look through the calendar and see all that kept us so busy over the past year! Be sure to view our photos of many of the below-mentioned events.

JANUARY: Over the course of several months, Natalie and friends participated in a mom-led "playschool" a couple of times a week. We had playdates and fieldtrips to Krispy Kreme, House of Bread, firestation, supermarket, Children's Discovery Museum, amusement park, hardware store, Jelly Belly Factory, and local farm to see the Monarch butterflies.

FEBRUARY: As a family, we attend the library each week to bring home another 50 pounds of books & videos. The kids love to attend library story times as often as possible.

MARCH: Max turned the big 1. This year alone, he has learned how to walk, talk, and share with others--he is such a big boy now! His favorite phrases are "my turn" and "let go!" Max also serves as my assistant dog trainer and gives Rosie commands like "come," "sit," "off," and "out!" Max's favorite shows are Blue's Clues and Elmo's World.

APRIL: I completed the first of many weddings as a "professional" wedding photographer. Little did I know I would have 18 weddings under my belt by the end of October. For proof, check out www.westonphotography.net

MAY: Natalie enrolled in her first ballet class and had an absolute blast. Since then, she refuses to wear any color except pink and claims to be a royal princess by birth.

JUNE: Abe graduated from CSU Hayward with a masters in Telecommunications Systems from the School of Computer Science & Mathematics and immediately began applying for jobs in the Portland, Oregon area. We flew the entire family up to Oregon and made rounds through Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Eugene, Salem, Albany, and Florence--what a beautiful state!

JULY: Abe began taking guitar lessons. We vacationed at Big Basin walk-in campground with Elena, Laurie, & Dana AND let's not forget, the mosquitoes!

AUGUST: We travelled down to San Diego, dropping the kids off in Thousand Oaks, to celebrate our 7-year wedding anniversary and attend a friend's wedding.

SEPTEMBER: We put our condo on the market after renting a storage unit for half of our belongings, deep cleaning, re-flooring the kitchen and the bathroom, and replacing a couple of light fixtures.

OCTOBER: The kids and I spent almost the entire month at my parents' house in Thousand Oaks, attempting to escape the nausea and exhaustion of the first trimester of pregnancy. Luckily, I was blessed to be under the direct supervision of my nurse and long-time friend, Angie.

NOVEMBER: Prenatal doctor's appointments that involved many unnecessary needlesticks and blood-letting. Thanksgiving with the all-amazing, Grandpa Tim, whom the kids absolutely adore! We took our condo off the market since we had no offers, no job in Oregon, and no fun keeping the house spotless with two young children!

DECEMBER: Things are pretty quiet now as we are preparing for a relaxing Christmas with family, right here in the Bay Area.

Up and coming for 2006: On January 3rd we should find out the gender of the baby via ultrasound--we're very excited!

We wish you the best this holiday season! We love you all so much!

Sincerely,

Janine, Abe, Natalie, Max & Baby-in-the-Oven

12/15/04

Happy Holidays 2004! Please view our latest album: Weston Family Top Hits 2004
and drop us an e-mail with your latest news!

Besides her career as a domestic engineer, Janine is up to photography again, this time under the name Weston Photography after she purchased www.westonphotography.net

Abe is trying hard to find a way to get rich, leave the rat race, and conquer the world. In the meantime, he is finishing his master's degree in computer science at Cal State Hayward.

Love,
Abe, Janine, Natalie, Max, & Rosie

7/22/04

3/15/04

12/6/03

Happy Holidays from the Westons!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, we've written a book--please take a look at our 2003 photo collage! Below is a brief character profile on each of us:

Natalie:

• Age: 23 months
• Weight: 20 pounds
• Hobbies: organizing and unorganizing things (i.e. pulling all the books off of our bookshelves)
• Interests: doggies, horses, coloring on the walls with pens and crayons, walking, dancing, becoming a big sister
• Favorite Books: Peekaboo Puppy, Kevin Goes to School, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
• Favorite Toys: forks, electrical outlets, car keys, credit cards, tupperware
• Favorite Songs: The Wheels On the Bus; Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes
• Best Friend: Rosie (the dog)
• Favorite Movie: Barney
• Favorite Characters: Barney, Elmo, Dora the Explorer, & Clifford
• Favorite Word: "No!"
• Favorite Foods: yogurt, broccoli, pasta, apples, corn, ice cream
• Church Calling: hall monitor
• Dislikes: dresses, taking a bath, getting diaper changed, people dressed up in animal costumes

Janine:

• Age: 26 years
• Weight: For a more accurate weight, let's wait until I'm not 7 months pregnant!
• Hobbies: hiking, walking, arts & crafts, visiting the library weekly, web design
• Interests: dogs, digital photography and videography, AVON home-based business
• Favorite Books: Harry Potter, The Work & The Glory
• Favorite Toys: digital cameras/camcorders, computers, strollers, carseats
• Favorite Music: guitar
• Best Friends: Abe & Natalie
• Favorite Movie: Has there been a good movie out this past year? If so, please e-mail me!
• Favorite Characters: Barney, Elmo, Dora the Explorer, & Clifford
• Favorite Word: "sleep"
• Favorite Foods: Thai, Greek, Indian, ice cream
• Church Calling: Primary Secretary
• Dislikes: dresses, nylons, pregnancy, morning sickness, poop-scooping, changing dirty diapers

Abe:

• Age: 27 years
• Weight: 170 pounds
• Hobbies: Kuk Sool Won, listening to books on tape, watching great films
• Interests: obtaining black belt status, obtaining a master's in computer science
• Favorite Job: new job performing security vulnerability research at nCircle in San Francisco
• Favorite Books: The Prince of Tides, Gone With the Wind, anything by John Steinbeck
• Favorite Toys: computer stuff at work, Janine
• Favorite Music: Buena Vista Social Club
• Best Friends: Janine & Natalie
• Favorite Movie: The Hustler, The Dirty Dozen, Bullit, Doctor Zhivago, The Third Man
• Favorite Characters: Lt. Frank Bullitt, Fast Eddie
• Favorite Word: passionate
• Favorite Foods: Vietnamese, Thai, Greek
• Church Calling: CTR 5 Primary Teacher
• Dislikes: paying bills, going to bed early, cooked carrots, potato salad

Rosie (Black Labrador Retriever)

• Age: 11 months
• Weight: 70 pounds
• Hobbies: chewing, digging, going for walks, swimming, retrieving
• Interests: eating crayons & socks
• Favorite Books: Carl's Christmas
• Favorite Toys: rawhide bones, large & heavy sticks
• Favorite Songs: How Much Is That Doggie In the Window?
• Best Friend: Natalie
• Favorite Movie: Old Yeller
• Favorite Characters: Blue (as in Blue's Clues) and Clifford
• Favorite Words: "bone" and "walk"
• Favorite Foods: Natalie's leftovers
• Church Calling: grounds keeper
• Dislikes: taking a bath, animals dressed up in people costumes

11/1/03

Guess who has started walking? Today Natalie took her first steps by herself! Here are the videos to prove it!
Walking Video 1
Walking Video 2

10/28/03

Star of the Show. Natalie is starring in a few recent movies!
Eating With Fork
Eating With Spoon
Pushing Shopping Cart Outside 1
Pushing Shopping Cart Outside 2
Pushing Shopping Cart Outside 3
Pushing Shopping Cart Inside
Barney Crawl
Pumpkin Crawl

12/31/02

12/8/02

Dear Friends and Family,

The past year has been full of big changes for our family. Landmark events include the birth of our first child, Natalie Mae Weston, on January 25th and the purchase of a condominium in Fremont on December 2nd. As a family we are active in church, school, work, and play:

CHURCH: At church, Natalie gets more attention than the keynote speaker. Many times she babbles louder, too! She has many fans and always seems to find her way into the arms of loving friends. Janine keeps half her attention on Natalie and the other half on the weekly lessons; in addition she maintains the Primary bulletin board. Abe continues to teach the 8 and 9 year old Primary children how to read and interpret scriptures from the Old Testament. He has seen tremendous growth in his students over the past year; this he attributes to maintaining high expectations of his students.

SCHOOL: For 10 month old Natalie, the world is her classroom. She specializes in social graces by flashing smiles to strangers, babbling, squealing, and laughing wherever we go. Her parents can't take her anywhere without "oh, how cute!" and "how old is she?" from every passerby. Janine is planning on taking online courses through Ohlone Junior College, beginning in January. Abe changed his Cal State Hayward track to a Master's in Telecommunication Systems with an emphasis in Computer Science for a projected completion time of two years. During his lunch breaks Abe has been studying language by conversing with native Spanish speakers from Mexico and Puerto Rico.

WORK: Taking care of Natalie is a lot of work...but the payback is priceless! Natalie has been eating cereals and puree of fruits, vegetables, and meats. Occasionally she will get ahold of the bowl and dump it over, using the contents as a medium for her finger painting masterpiece. Janine loves being a mom so she can stay at home to guide, teach, and care for Natalie. In the Bay Area, stay at home moms are few and far between; however, by pinching some pennies the Westons are managing well on a single income. Volunteer wise, Janine is serving as the Bayside 4-H Club Scrapbooking Project leader and spends a couple of hours each week helping out in the Harvey Green Elementary school library. Abe continues to work for IBM but was transferred from Solectron in Milpitas to Chiron Corporation in Emeryville this past June. Although the commute is longer, Abe takes advantage of the situation by listening to books on tape and studying for his coursework while riding BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit).

PLAY: Every day is a new adventure for little Natalie! Currently, she is happy to be sitting up on her own and hasn't had much interest in crawling. Even though her vocabulary only revolves around "da da," "ga ga," and "googly googly," she talks all day long! Natalie loves animals, dogs especially, and she finds Mollie's collar quite fascinating. Janine walks daily around Lake Elizabeth with other mothers in a Strollercize routine and also enjoys taking Yoga once a week. After one year of training, Abe earned his blue belt in Kuk Sool Won, a Korean martial art. He is becoming quite flexible and never fails to give friends and family a demonstration of his newly learned, lightening quick, deadly techniques. As a family, the Westons are actively exploring the Bay Area by hiking, camping, and sightseeing.

Our warmest wishes for a healthy, happy, and safe holiday season for you, your family, and your friends!

Sincerely,

The Westons

P.S. Now that the Westons have an extra bedroom, they would love to have you stay with them while visiting the San Francisco Bay Area. Janine doubles as a taxi service and tour guide, so book your trip today!