Stupid lazy clouds

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a weather malcontent. Unless the temperature is in the mid to upper 70s with a slight breeze, I generally hate it. That being said, we are now in the throes of my LEAST favorite weather time of the year. It's hot (mid to upper 90s) and sunny all day until the late afternoon. Let's not overlook the fact that there are 12 gazillion hours of daylight PER DAY in July and August. Then moisture oozes in sometime around dinner, causing clouds to boil up, not dropping the temperature AT ALL and not actually producing any rain.

The clouds, of course, stick around all night until about 6am when they magically disappear and the whole cycle starts all over again. I've decided that these clouds are just lazy. Honestly, if they'd just dump all the moisture as rain when they boil up in the first place, then they could go away and my house would cool off and I would get some sleep! Stupid lazy clouds!

I stand corrected

All three of my kids are precocious (to say the least) but they each have their moments when (through no fault of their own) they shine just a little brighter. Take Kai, for instance.

The other day the kids were sitting on the couch playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kai was carrying on a conversation with himself about how difficult one of the characters was going to be, how strong he was and how he was going to "kick the butts" of his, Graeme's and Chloe's characters. Suddenly he said, in a very amazed tone of voice, "Well, I stand corrected, he wasn't so tough after all!"
Yeah, he's five going on thirteen. Maybe I should send his kindergarten teacher a letter warning her about and apologizing in advance for what she's getting into.

Just a dream

Today we've been home one week from our latest Bear Lake adventure. We stayed for almost a week and had a great time.

We hung out in the cabin playing with toys....

....and watching T.V.

We also spent a fair amount of time on the beach and in the water.

The funny thing is, even though we were away for almost a week, now it just seems like a dream; a pleasant memory that may or may not have happened. I don't remember feeling this way when I was a child, but it seems like my life is going faster and faster and all of my past experiences are beginning to blur and feel like a series of dreams and nightmares. The only thing that's real anymore is what's happening to me in this very moment.

I can't help but wonder if this is what life will be like after death, if I'll just wake up in a familiar place surrounded by familiar people wondering if this mortal experience ever happened. I don't know, just musing.

The Chronicles of Why

Graeme has a lovely new favorite word: "why?"

"Graeme, get your shoes on and go outside."
"Why?"

"Graeme, get up to the table so we can have dinner."
"Why?"

"Graeme, go downstairs, get dressed, make your bed, put your jammas in the drawer, get your sandals on and go get in the van so we can go to the store."
"Why?"

"Graeme, I swear if you say 'why' one more time I'm going to strangle you!"
"Why?"

A couple of days ago, I went down to Graeme's room to get him up for the day. Before he was even fully awake, the first word out of his mouth was: "why?" The kicker is, I've tried explaining every time he asks "why", but if my explanation is longer than two seconds his eyes go all glassy and he doesn't hear a word I say. I've also tried saying "because I said so" or "because I'm your mother" but when I say one of those things, he throws a massive temper tantrum and refuses to do (or stop doing) whatever my request was in the first place.

I have to admit, I'm starting to understand why we're told not to question "why" when we're experiencing trials. Obviously Heavenly Father knows a lot more than I do and has my best interests at heart. Besides, hearing "why" from one child twenty times a day is bad enough, I can't imagine hearing it from billions and billions of children throughout all eternity. So the next time I'm tempted to ask "why", I'm going to think of Graeme and say to myself: "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!".

Summertime

Boy, it's been awhile! Silly me, I thought once school ended life would slow down a little. Not hardly! Here's a little taste of what we've been up to the last three months........

Strawberries. I love these plants! I don't have to do anything but water and pick! Heck, I don't even really have to pick, for some reason Chloe thinks picking strawberries (and raspberries) is the most fantastic activity ever. Go figure.

Other yardwork. Mostly watering, fertilizing and mowing. Trust me, it looks fabulous!

Gardening and raspberries. Brian did most of the early work in the garden, but now I'm mostly doing the watering, weeding, Miracle gro-ing and harvesting. What? I never said Miracle Gro, I naturally have a green thumb, I don't need help!

Kai graduated from preschool. I was a little sad because teacher Barbara has been fantastic with the boys. I was also a little sad because kindergarten is only a half day.

Chloe ran in the Wellsville mile. She did really well and beat her time from last year, in spite of the cold and rain.

We went to Bear Lake. I love this picture because that's how I always feel at Bear Lake.

Graeme turned eight. I swear the kid didn't stop moving for a week!

Kai turned five, less than a week later so we had one giganto-dino-stravaganza!

A few days later Graeme and his cousin were baptized. Here's Chloe lookin' lovely at the post-baptism lunch.

Graeme and his cousin in white.

Kai at the lunch. He's eating what I suspect is his third or fourth s'more (yes, I told him only one!)

After the birthday/baptism business, we jumped into baseball season. Or, rather, softball (Chloe),

baseball (Graeme),

(yes, he's eating his glove)

and T-ball (Kai).

This is me coaching and Kai running to base.

This is Brian coaching. Yes, for almost seven weeks we had six games a week (Mon - Thurs) with us coaching two of them. What's that you say? Are we crazy? Did we lose our minds? Yes, yes we are and yes, yes we did.

Of course we can't forget the 4th of July.

Graeme is the one in the red hat. He got to ride on this float in his brand new cub scout shirt in the Hyrum parade. He had a fantastic time.........

....and so did the rest of us! We also got to light off fireworks in front of our house and then watch the city fireworks from our back porch.

Then there's the zoo. The kids still love this silly merry-go-round. Obviously.

This picture cracked me up because that random kid behind Kai has the exact same expression on his face!

Graeme, Graeme, the muscle man.

Mmmm, we apparently looked very tasty.

And finally, more Bear Lake. (Yes, we have gone several times. In fact, the last time we went, we visited Minitonka cave for the first time which was really cool!)

So there it is. Of course I left out sewing and Market and picking cherries and housework and friends and running through sprinklers and groceries and Brian has been to work on and off and we're going to Cedar City in a few weeks and, and......

I wonder if we'll all survive until school starts again so we can get a little rest?