Dreams

Where to begin? We are finally getting settled into our new home and life is starting to get as "normal" as it can with 4 girls and Maren as my wife :) Need I say more than these photos taken (along with 300 others) from the webcam in my new Macbook Pro)...

Everyone's been asking how my new job is so here's the update. I've been really enjoying teaching at UMD's College of Information Studies and am trying to choose among the many research opportunities that have recently emerged. I feel a bit like a kid at Chuck-a-Rama. I'll likely put too much on my plate, some of it good and some of it disgusting, but it all looks decent now and I'm pretty hungry for anything at this point. But at least I get to choose what I want now and don't need to take scraps from my parent's plate. I'm really enjoying the company and am looking forward to what's ahead.

However, I have to admit that, if my dreams are any indication, I must have some anxiety about my new job and our life here. You thought the dream where you aren't prepared for an exam is bad. How about the dream I had a few days ago where I was standing in front of my class and realized that I had forgotten to prepare - frantically going through my mind wondering how I could fill 3 hours. I thought that was pretty bad until last night I dreamed that I had to sing an unaccompanied Beatles song at a Timpview High School reunion in front of an auditorium full of my peers. After sharing my dreams with Maren she topped both of mine with a dream about her marrying Donald Trump. I'll let her tell you about that one - I don't even want to think about what it implies about her mental well-being, let alone our marriage :)

I've been really impressed with how well the girls have transitioned to life here. It doesn't hurt that they make friends as fast as Ashlinn can destroy puzzles. Adia is looking forward to her birthday and baptism both coming up soon. We picked out her new bike yesterday! Sedona is getting used to all-day kindergarten, which is quite a bit, but she has a great teacher and is getting used to the schedule. Brynn started pre-school at a really nice place a couple days a week. She's really grown up in so many ways. She loves make-believe play and has type-cast me as the hansome prince (I suppose it could be worse), which works out nice since apparently Derek is the name of the Prince in at least 2 movies they've seen this week. Ashlinn is still smoothing the carpet with her bum-scooting and having fun exploring our house. Now if she can just get all her teeth in and get rid of her mysterious rash she'll really be doing well.

Well, I suppose that's enough for now. I'll make sure and post next time Maren has a dream about marrying another infamous 70-year-old.