Hiester Family Antics: The Next Big Pet

The Hiester Family in a nutshell - a big one, like a coconut or something

We are a family of a whole bunch of random people, thrown together in one small house, who all happen to look alike. Each member of our family was hand-picked by God... that's the only explanation for the saga that is our family. Here's the story from the beginning... My husband, Todd, was married before me. His wife's name was Carrie, and together they had 3 kids: Tyler, Kurstin & Elissa. Todd's parents were divorced and his mother remarried. Her new husband, Don, had 2 small children: Ally & Wesley. Their natural mother was killed in a car accident when they were 8 & 11. One year later, they lost their dad and Todd and Carrie took them into their home. 6 months after Ally & Wesley were added to the household, Carrie died of cancer at age 26. Her own children were 3, 6 & 9 and Ally & Wesley were 10 & 13. And Todd was alone with them. Think Lord of the Flies. So when I fell in love with Todd, I got these 5 kids as a bonus. We married about a year and a half into our relationship, with the kids as our wedding party. We made it all official with an adoption lawyer and lots of money, ensuring that we are LEGALLY their parents. They even had to take oaths saying they would perform the duties of sons and daughters, which I think means I have someone to change my diapers when the time comes! After 2 years of marriage we added Robben Carey to the mix. And now we've welcomed Livi Claire...the seventh, and final, Hiester kid (unless, of course, God has other plans). Todd and I are 37 and 35, respectively, and our kids range in age from 1 to 21. It's great because we're cool and always the youngest in a crowd of high school parents.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Next Big Pet

Yesterday, Robben, Kurstin, Elissa & I went out to Reedley Beach with Robben's early intervention program. It was nice to be outdoors with the cooler weather we are finally experiencing. I expected the girls to enjoy the relaxation time, but I wasn't thinking they'd really have much fun. Oh, how wrong I was! The people putting the event on were giving out teensy little pails with shovels and scoops and rakes in them. And goldfish crackers. Can't leave out the crackers... Robben ate 4 packs! They said the girls could have a pail, too, but I said, "Oh, they're big, they don't need one." Again... wrong! The girls each took a pail and headed down to the water (a trickle of a river, but quite a beach!). They were down there for at least an hour, squatting down, digging around by the water. When it was time to go, they came running proudly to me, each with their pails a-swingin'. They had collected tons of itty bitty "clams", and had decided to make a "clam farm".

They are quite serious about this endeavor, I must say. They were sure to collect various sizes of shells so that "when the little clams grow out of their shells, they have bigger ones to move into." And when faced with the querry, "How are they gonna eat?" Kurstin exclaimed that she would research it on the internet... "I'll type in, 'What do clams eat?'" And before we left for dance, they were sure to "check on the clams." I'm not really sure what they expected them to be doing?!? Maybe throwing a clam festival? In any case, we are now the proud owners of a thriving community of clams. :) :) :)