Story of my life.

So here's what I've been up to this summer:
Wake up around 7:30-8. There's no time to get ready or pretty because I start feeding and chasing kids from the time I step out of bed. Then cleaning and referreeing begins.
In the midst of cleaning and getting projects done, Trevor and Andrea ask if I can play with them outside, and usually not very nicely. Trevor especially can't take no for an answer and finds every and any living excuse to jump on, tackle, and or hit me. Sometimes I can go and play with them, but most of the time I have to get cleaning and laundry done. And Diane has me doing house projects, like painting, clearing out the garage, washing cabinets, etc.
Leah goes down for a couple naps during the day which is when I can get most of the work done. In between is lunch, usually sandwiches, and one of the multiple times a day I clean the kitchen and do the dishes.
Dinnertime rolls around and since Jared has diabetes we can't do quick pasta or high carb foods. Diane and I both have to get after Andrea and Trevor several times to set the table, the whole table. Then after dinner it's mass madness to keep the kids cleaning up after dinner, sweeping and clearing the table, etc. then we fight them to get to scriptures and prayers and bed around eight pm. After we send them upstairs, Jared and Diane yell up the stairs for them to get to sleep and quit playing. Then they each have to come downstairs twice because they're extremely dehydrated and need a drink despite a glass of water right before going upstairs and/or are starving in which case they may have a single piece of bread, no butter. And they still don't get to sleep most times until around ten. Then I crash downstairs and study my Italian and/or watch whatever Jared and Diane have on.
Singles FHE and activities have gone out the window. Friends are busy with school and summer stuff so I never hear from anyone unless I call. No money to go out, but no where to go if I do. Some summers, you just have to get through until the next point. According to Jared and Diane I've lived in a hole since I haven't seen much SNL or comedies. And they laugh at me. I guess it's not too bad. Certainly could be worse. So I'm grateful :)

CAUTION: Some of this content is rated PG for toilet humor:)

I know that I haven't been very consistent in my postings, but part of that as of late is because of drastically reduced time with internet access. I am currently living- I suppose, if you want to call it that- in Vancouver, Washington. I was able to find a job just days after arriving at my aunt and uncle's place. I work for US lawns landscaping company. It's alot of gruntwork, mowing lawns, weeding, using BIG power tools (teehee), but the pay is excellent and it should give me a nice financial cushion before Fall semester.

So, just a little about my adventures in the Pacific Northwest: We actually did go to the coast for a couple of days and the beach was COLD!!! I didn't think I'd moved to Alaska, but the wind was blowing and I was freezing. Definitely not swimsuit weather and none of us got in the water. We ate lots of great seafood and played on the sand and looked for creatures in the tidepools. Every time we found a starfish, the kids would yell, "PATRICK!" like from Spongebob. I have no idea what anyone sees in that show, but they seem to like it. My favorite reference/connection to that movie, which is rather pathetic, comes from a Jay Lenno episode. He asks a question to some random standbyer, "Who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue?" The person in question has no clue. Then, he asks, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" Of COURSE, the person can correctly identify the residence of a children's cartoon character. If you don't know who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, heaven help us all, and this country.

As for the kids, they're fantastic. I had the opportunity to live with another aunt in Springville, UT toward the end of last fall semester. All the kids are so much younger than me that I sometimes accidentally refer to them as neices/nephews instead of cousins. Even when talking about my grandparents Diane (Vancouver aunt) calls them my parents by mistake. Anyway, these kids are just a riot. Trevor, who recently celebrated his 6th birthday and heaven help ANYONE who forgot it for a second, is a budding comedian. I sometimes call him Trevina among other things, and so he came up with a nickname for me: Kimmode, and he says it like it's supposed to be spelled. So basically he calls me a walking toilet. Another time, after family prayer I was getting a hug from Andrea, 8, and she had just taken a bath. I have no idea where Trevor got this idea, but Aunt Diane and I were rolling in laughter. I was squeezing really hard, kind of to tease her, and Trevor was waiting for his turn. So he pipes up, "Ew! Andrea, I can smell your butcrack from here!" And in his singsong tattle voice, "Kiiiiimm!! Andrea doesn't wipe!!" And Diane and I started laughing. That's only one of the many Trevorisms I've experienced. More to come :)

To wrap this up and keep some people in the loop, right now I am actually sitting at the Bend, Oregon, airport waiting for my connecting flight to Salt Lake City. I spend an evening and a morning in Provo, take the bus to SLC again, the shuttle to Idaho, and then come back to SLC on Thursday for my sister's wedding, and Saturday morning I get back on a plane to Vancouver where I remain until August 24th most likely. So to all of you I will see, I am very much looking forward to seeing you! And for those I will miss, I am sorry, but I am DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing you next fall! Arrivederci mi amici!

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge [H]im, and [H]e shall direct thy paths." -Proverbs 3:5-6