Thank Goodness for Big Brothers?

I have three younger brothers but none that are older than me. Life with all brothers is interesting to say the least. I always tell Kacie how lucky she is to have Jackson as a big brother, but after Sunday I'm not so sure I believe that anymore. The kids were outside playing while I was fixing dinner. Before long Jacks came running in and said, "Mom, come quick and see Kacie. She looks HILARIOUS!" This is what I saw.


At least it was painter's tape and not duct tape! What sort of torture do you think Maxwell will inflict on Mia down the road?

What Is Up With My Dreams?

This past week my brain has been in overdrive when it comes to dreaming. I'm not usually a dreamer, but for some reason I have had some ultra bizarre nighttime stories playing out in my head as of late. Seriously, these dreams have been so alive with color, smell and sound and even feeling. It all started with the dream about Kevin and I getting lost and locked in the Conference Center late at night. We tried and tried to get out but behind every door we opened lurked a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, each wearing a Jewish Yamulke and sunglasses. I remember feeling so relieved at the sight of each of their faces and then completely let down that they wouldn't tell us how to get out of the building.

In the next dream, Kevin and I were stranded on an island with Clark and Jen and Todd and Catherine. I can't imagine what we were doing in the first place that left us stranded, but there we were dripping wet and hungry. We looked around and saw all sorts of crab and prawns crawling around on the beach so we quickly started gathering them. All of us but Jen that is. Jen rolled up her shorts and ran out into the water with a massive harpoon and scored a giant fish. With nothing more than a stick she gutted, boned and filleted the beast. I climbed to the very top of a nearby tree to observe the festivities and saw Jen pull a tiny baggie filled with a white substance out of her pocket. At first I thought she was seasoning the fish but then I figured out it was POISON!! I slid down the tree trunk and ran to warn the others, but by the time I reached them I could no longer speak English. SO - we sat on the warm sand, eating bananas and enjoying a language lesson. I woke up laughing out loud! Thanks for feeding my family at the campout Jen and for the "white substance in a baggie" from YW Jacquelyn and Kate.

I didn't think I slept much at the Ward Campout but apparently it was enough to have a ridiculous dream. I'm not sure if we were at a concert or an EFY type event, but I had three of my young women with me and we were all wearing shade shirts with lace on the bottom and polka dot skirts. (another Warner reference) For some reason we had to walk forever to get to wherever it was we were going, so we kicked off our shoes to show off our tan feet and newly painted toenails. As we were walking, I kept getting glimpses of these really tall men hiding behind the trees that lined the path. All of a sudden, we were in a dorm area and the girls were plotting a secret rendezvous with the "drop dead gorgeous guys that wear Hawaiian shirts and BYU ball caps." (Thanks for that one Todd!) They eventually disappeared from my view but I could still hear their conversations on the opposite side of the door. I started to panic as day turned to night and their laughter turned to whispers. I didn't have anything with me to pick the lock - I didn't even have a shoe to throw at the door. So, being the Superwoman that I am, I kicked the door right down. There were my girls, all huddled in a circle and crying. Aspen looked at me and said, "Where have you been?" I woke up at this point with a racing heart and feeling the need to make several phone calls. BLAH!! Hideous!!

Last night's dream had a much better ending. Yesterday, Liz, one of my first little beehives, took off for college. I happened to be outside as she was leaving and so I was able to give her a huge hug and say goodbye. Well, as you can imagine, I dreamed about being back in the Young Adult ward I attended in college. In my dream I couldn't quite recognize any of the faces in the crowd, but I found an empty spot on a bench and sat down to enjoy the meeting. People were friendly and said "hello" and the meeting started without much excitement. Half way through the meeting the Bishop came down off the stand and started shaking hands with people. He was talking out loud, making jokes and being all sorts of irreverent. I couldn't help but think to myself, "Why in the world would they let this guy be the Bishop?" He gradually made his way to the bench where I sat and when he reached me I recognized him as Bishop Russell. He reached out to me, grabbed me by the shirt and picked me up to give me a hug. At that point I didn't even care if we were in the middle of sacrament meeting - it was GREAT to see my old friend! Bishop Russell really was my Bishop in the young adult ward I attended and before that he was my seminary teacher in 9th grade. I haven't thought about him in years! It's amazing how the Lord prepares you for the challenges and opportunities that will fill your life. Bishop Russell played a huge part in my preparation through the various assignments and callings he sent my way! Have so much fun in college Liz!

Well - that's my unconscious brain in a nutshell these days. It sort of sounds like I might be on drugs or something, but I assure you I AM NOT! I just NOTICE EVERYTHING, THINK way too much and FEEL too deeply - thank goodness I do or I just wouldn't be me.

Swimming Lessons

Who doesn't love a little chlorine first thing in the morning?




Maxwell with the extremely patient Miss Alyssa.



Kacie Jo swam with the "big kids" and loved every minute of it!



Jackson's favorite stroke is the back stroke!


Kevin and Mia entertaining each other on the last day.

It's About TIme!

I truly cannot believe Summer has come and gone so quickly! I remember telling people back in May how much I looked forward to lazy days with no schedules. Now, in retrospect, I just laugh at myself for thinking such nonsense and find myself saying, "I can't wait for school to start so we can get back to a routine."

Anyhow - we have spent the last three months playing and playing and playing some more. Getting four little ones out the door is no small feat and most of the time the camera never made it into the diaper bag, or swim bag, or overnight bag or whichever bag I lugged around on our various outings. So, sadly, we have many pictureless memories of this Summer. We went to the dinosaur park in Ogden with Grandma Lulu, Aunt Kristen, Emma and Simon. We've been to the zoo and Park City, the Days of '47 float display at the Expo Center, and Target a GAZILLION times. We've played at the park and had monster water parties in the backyard. We've spent lots of time at Grandma Cindy's and participated in an all night walk-a-thon. (The day I came home from Girl's Camp.) All this is just the beginning.

Here are some pictures of the activities where the camera both made it into the bag AND I remembered to take it out and use it.


Playing at the Gateway fountain.


Maxwell HATED the water!


Mia LOVED the water and all the attention from onlookers!


Thanks for coming with us Grandma!

We Love Politics!!

Kevin sent me this JibJab card that I found absolutely hilarious and definitely worth sharing! (There is one not so great word.) We hope you're all enjoying the presidential election! Get properly informed, get involved and keep believing in this great country. We believe!

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

Summer Food Funk

The food we eat around here is really getting pathetic! Cereal or frozen waffles for breakfast EVERYDAY - hard boiled eggs or cold turkey slices with cottage cheese for lunch and for dinner - well let's just say I'M SICK OF NACHOS!!! On top of that we're consuming so much sugar free KoolAid that I'm seriously contemplating buying stock in Splenda.

For all my pals out there who love to spend time in the kitchen - HELP!!! I'm beyond desperate for some great summmer food ideas. (I'll even consider recipes that have slightly more than 5 ingredients.) Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner - Snacks - I'll take anything you've got!

I'd love to have your suggestions in the comments section so everyone can share. If you don't have a gmail account it's easy and FREE to get one. Just go to http://www.google.com/ and then click on mail to create an account.

Maxwell Turns Three

Our little buddy turned three on the 29th of June but it seems like we've been celebrating for months. We started early with the Parke side of the family at a swim party/Father's Day BBQ. Then on the 28th we celebrated at a Jarrett family reunion and also sang Happy Birthday to Grandpa Jarrett who turned 87 this year. On the actual day of Max's birthday we went to church and ate cake and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Geilmann. (Max was super tired and cranky and he cried the whole day.)

Kevin, the kids and I decided to give Max a present he can use for a long time and we built him a VERY LARGE sandbox. He's already had some great times digging, scooping, loading and, with the help of his big brother, making water volcanoes and rivers. (Pictures to follow. We left the camera out in Herriman at my Grandparent's house.)

Maxwell is a natural born comedian and constantly makes us laugh. My favorite moments with this wild three year old include early morning smiles and "good morning mommy" followed by strong, tackle hugs - the never forgotten "thank you" that comes from his gleefully happy lips with every sippy cup of chocolate milk - reading the "Dinotrain" again - trips to Target where amazingly everything is new everytime -swishing our hands in the washing machine as it fills with water and our everyday discussions about why it's not too hard to fold our arms when we pray. Happy birthday buddy! Enjoy being three!