end of summer fun

It's been a lot of fun living in Day Break this summer. Seren has taken after her parents and has started training for the Iron Man Triathalon. Her best arm work out is doing pull-ups, just like her dad.

This summer we were able to do a lot of things, walking by the temple, washing the car, sailing, visiting Spring City, rescue fish, walks to the park and lake, and playing soccer. Thanks Joanna for letting us stay here. Thanks Utah for being great during the summer.

Seren loves dancing. She has recently shown us that she gets all her rhythm from her mom. Thanks mom. Her favorite songs are Hollaback Girl, Fergalicious and Outkast.

pioneers/camping

This year we were able to spend some time up in the mountains. Not to mention the two family reunions, but also at Jessie W. place for another bar-b-que and a lovely camping trip with Grandma and Grandpa Gee. It was Seren's first camping trip, but it was quite a luxurious camp out if you ask me. We had all we could eat food, and fun. They even let us sleep in their trailer. I hope Seren doesn't expect this type of a camp out from now on. We also got to visit Laurie and Jo's cabin in Spring City. It is coming along quite nicely. It's really looking neat and I think it will be fun for all when it is all done, and we can all go there and sleep up stairs in their master bed room :)

4th of July

This year was Seren's first 4th of July. Though it was a late night for her, she got to see sparklers and fireworks from Thanks Giving Point. Thanks to Ryan and Rhiannon we had an excellent bar-b-que dinner, and lovely roasted nectarines and fried bananas on ice cream dessert and the "best view I've ever had" for fire works from their balcony :) thanks guys.

temple trips

With the conclusion of the construction of the Oquirre Temple here at Day Break they have had an open house here all summer. We have taken full advantage of it. Seren and I have walked and run numerous times up to the temple. When Brennen was at work, I would take pictures of Seren and send them to him, so he could think of us :)

Brennen was able to usher for a morning. He was able to memorize a 10 stanza poem while he was there, so he considered his time well spent.

My family came up and brought some friends from Reno Nevada. Amy Jo and her sister-in-law walked up there with us, and also my grandma and some cousins and aunts came too.

Our friends Ryan and Rhiannon came too. It's nice having the temple close by, because I get to see it every day whether I drive by or go running by.

reunions

This summer has been full of family reunions, and we were glad we were able to make them all; seeing as they were all in Utah, and we're back in Utah.

Seren and I went to stay in Brigham City for a few days while Brennen flew back to Texas to go empty our stuff from storage and bring it back. We got to see my Dad's friend from collage Dwane, and Seren got to hang out with her aunt cami, liesel and uncle robby.

Seren and Brennen both got to meet my Uncle Clyde and Aunt Carol Dilg. Brennen and Seren haven't gotten to meet any dilg's yet. We had a nice talk with them, and were glad they stopped by.

We had a Gee/Anderson/Robison reunion at the Cabin in Park City on the 4th of July. That was a lot of fun. Seren like the cherry pit spitting contest, and the jeapordy game her parents won :) Thanks for the excellent bar-b-que and treats.

We also went to a Poelman reunion this summer at the end of July. It was up at East Canyon Resort and we had a lot of fun. Many people that we knew and didn't know....but above all, there was great food!

Thanks every one for all their hard work, and for talking to us when we showed up:)

swimming summer

This summer we've been lucky to be by a pool so we have all been able to work on our tans. Brady and Olivia showed Seren how they got their tans in their plastic Target pool.

Brennen got to go swimming with Seren for the first time. Super fun.

crawling?!!

At 8 months Seren was able to start crawling. Some might not think it too glamorous, but Spider Man told me personally he likes her form. She can get around quite quickly, and even crawled to the other side of the room to the basement stairs and had a spill, thanks to her mom taking too long of a bathroom break. Sorry Seren.

8 month hair cut

Seren's hair was a little out of control. She kind of wished she were still in Texas, yet wanted to fit in here at Day Break....so she was featuring a mohawk/mullet hair do. I decided to get the scissors out and fix it, only Brennen disappointed me and Seren in the end by saying he loved her new dooo, because it made her look like a boy. Hhmmmmmm well, it looks a lot better now, and it is growing out nicely.

Old School

This is simply a preview of mine and brennen's christmas present to every one. So, if you have more pictures you would like added, be sure to get them to me and I'll do my best to add them. Also, if a picture is mislabeled please tell me (there are some baby pictures that i'm not sure who they are). Of course, if you don't want a picture to be shown, tell me, and I'll take it out. i had to divide it in to two slide shows, because the limit is 300 pictures....and I had more than that.

Summer to Remember

Since I'm getting a little better at my blog posts....I thought I would improve my "hawaii" post. I wasn't happy with how my pictures turned out. So, here are pictures to remember our trip to hawaii that we took just last year.......I think it's time we go back; right Joanna, Rich, Garrett, Morgan, Leah, Gabes, Laurie, Chris, Chelsea, Mel, Roy, ...and by the way, I think Miristi, Christina and Shelby should come this time. We should include them this time:) Oh and I guess Jessica and Eric and Joe too....right ;) And I promise, I'll remember my camera, and I'll take more pictures of everyone.

Morocco

I want to share with you all the crazy and wild days of my life before I met Brennen. Well, actually they are just my pictures from Morocco. I've been trying to figure out what to do with them, so I hope you will indulge me...I just want Seren to think her mom is cool....and not too boring :) Morocco was one of the funnest things I've ever done. I hope to get back some day. I went on a 10 day trip for my plant genetics job that I had when I worked at BYU. We were trying to incorporate quinoa into the lives of the Moroccan natives. Quinoa is a high protein grain that could help improve the diet and the lives of malnourished individuals in countries like Morocco.

Weather or Whether

We were able to go on a nice trip to Seattle Washington (thanks to a grant we received from the Rich Foundation). We stayed in this beautiful house and all that we had to do was clean up before we left.....
It was sunny and warm and beautiful in Seattle, which seems to be the case every time we are lucky enough to go there. It was actually the weekend of our 2 year anniversary (May 24th). I am pleased say that Brennen and I are still happily married, (if Brennen has told anyone differently, just know that what is said on the blog is binding and eternal, and what is said on the blog is truth, and cannot be contradicted .... and whatever is said on the blog will forever stand as scripture!) and we are especially glad to have our beautiful Seren added to our family. We love her so much. Here's a quick video of our family history.

I think this house that we stayed at had the coolest driveway I've ever seen. I wonder who they contracted to do it?



Could it be that we scared the wet Seattle weather into Utah? It seems so this summer. We recently had a river next to our house, and our own personal lake in the back yard....complete with a flooding basement window. Luckily we got that under control quickly. Brennen worked hard diverting the various streams of wood bark, while Seren and I watched to make sure Brennen's deluxe umbrella didn't attract any lightning.









Here are just some cute pictures of Seren that we took while it was raining so much outside. Seren has officially started crawling. She started crawling at 8 months of age, and we can hardly keep track of her.

We went to eat a birthday lunch in Provo at Scenic View for Ryan's Birthday on the 28th of May. We had delicious tacos and strawberry ice cream sundays. It was a good menu choice, if I do say so myself.

Happy Birthday Uncle Ryan

What's One More?!!!!!

It's true, another wedding. This one was in Idaho, and so Brennen and Seren and I took our first road trip since we came back from Texas. Seren did really well on the drive up and back. She slept most of the way.
We were so excited to visit with the "Idaho" cousins, since the last time we'd seen many of them was when Brennen and I were still dating. Many hadn't seen Seren, and she wanted to meet her second cousins :)
It was great to catch up and see Brinton (who was the reason why we went) and see Caleb and Joan's new house and German Shepherd dog, and Kira, who looked almost just like Seren. A man at the temple thought Kira and Seren were twins. It was good to see Emily and Dave, and Monica, and Seren and I got to meet Jason and Jacob for the first time.
Congratulations to Brinton and Casidy on their wedding, and we hope to visit Idaho again some time soon.

Family Activies

We have been trying to visit family again since we have come back to Utah. Seren went to see Uncle Ryan in Provo. They hadn't seen each other for 4 months. Uncle Ryan had so many animal toys that made sounds like real chirping birds; Seren loved it. She can't wait to go back and play with Uncle Ryan's toys.

Seren also went to watch Uncle Robby play in state tennis at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. He was on the second doubles team. Robby and his partner did very well. They played two games on Friday and won them both. Then on Saturday they won their first game and lost the second. They took second place, and walked away with a nice medal. Congradulations!!

Team Work



Sweet Tennis Skills

Now I would like to present to you......the talented, one and only, first ever, Feet Catching Football Playing athletes. You had better be impressed. Jo Gee, was a sensation, he never missed a catch, and so we therefore have decided it's not a fluke, but Jo Gee actually has a talent we never knew he had. The question now is....will he go Pro? One can only calculate when that amazing day will come. Also, a big thanks to Shelby for his perfect QB skills....we couldn't have done it with out him. And Garrett gets the award for the luckiest catch of them all.

Watch a Pro

Shelby

Garrett

Weddings: are you kidding me?!

As you all probably know we recently had a couple of weddings in the family. Garrett and Jessica, and Chris and Eric. (I hope I spelled your names right... if I didn't comment on my blog and I'll fix it). Congratulations to all... and to all the newly weds, we hope you are ready to have kids, cuz Seren is sibling hungry, and her future sibling needs cousins her age. ( jk)

Ok, so we had two weddings, one was a Poppy Red wedding, and the other one was a Purple wedding. See if you can guess which was which.

I hope you like all the pictures....

On Behalf of the Gee Nation...

On behalf of the Gee Nation
We'd like to extend a Congratulation
For reaching this special Destination.

Thanks to your constant Dedication
You've received a degree in Multiplication.

We're so glad you rose to the Occasion
Despite all cliches and Speculation
That perhaps you belonged on a Plantation.

Learning math can be such a Tribulation
And because of this you came to the Realization
That perhaps after some longs days of Meditation
You might teach some kids a few skills in Numeration.

So, with this poem of simple Dedication,
And perhaps lacking in sufficient Punctuation
Here's to say, we're so proud of your
BYU Graduation.

Love, Seren and McKell

A Few Firsts

Since Seren has reached her 6 month mark, we decided to start treating her like a BIG girl. This includes:

her First hair cut, her First solid foods, her First sushi party:), her First BIG girl bath, her First dancing gig and her First Easter Sunday (aka family pictures....again).

FIRST HAIR CUT

BEFORE

AFTER


FIRST SOLIDS (RICE CEREAL)


MMmmmmmmmmm

FIRST SUSHI PARTY

Notice Seren's skills with the chop sticks (lower left hand corner).

Happy Birthday Ryan

Thanks Rhi for the food!



FIRST BIG GIRL BATH!




FIRST DANCING GIG





FIRST EASTER SUNDAY

California Here We Come!

While Brennen was driving thousands of miles from Texas back to Utah, Seren and I decided to take a detour to California. It had been sooooo long since we had seen the cousins, and we wanted to show them how big Seren was. Also, we couldn't let the cousins have their ONE year birthday party with out us. Especially if a swimming pool was involved. I am pleased to announce that Seren might be a whole 6 months younger, but she's the fastest swimmer of them ALL!
Grandma Mel and Papa Roy, again were so nice as to let us stay at their place. Seren and I went on walks around Balboa Island, and shopping trips at Fashion Island.

Balboa Island

This was one of our walks around Balboa Island


TT
Seren only travles with the fast, and the furious.

MARCH MADDNESS
Pre-game show

POOL PARTY

Getting ready to go to the pool

Who is this guy!?$#@

Seren's First Swim

Hot Tub Hotties!?!

End of first day in the pool.

Seren's Second Attempt
(by the way this was the day Seren won the swimming race)

Party Goers

Happy Birthday Olivia, Brady and Violet

Papa Roy and Mama Mel

All Smiles! Thanks to our wonderful hosts!

Great-Grandma Eppie

Seren was so excited to meet her great-grandma. Even though Eppie had to be told four times that they were related (maybe she just didn't believe it, because of Seren's skin color) we still love grandma Eppie with all our hearts! I was excited to meet her too, for the first time. She told me her favorite color is light blue, that her favorite food is rice, that her dog's name is Ginger, that she likes to go shopping when she has money, and her favorite thing to do is sew.

Year -to-Date

Sooooooo, I really have a lot to catch up on. Here are some pictures that sum up our lives from Utahns, to Texans, to Utahns again.

Utah

Utah "Folk"

Arizona "High Class Livin"

First encounter with a... "Roy"

We had to watch where we were walking. Seems as though we weren't the only ones "squatting" at the Henderson's residence.

PAUVI

We were thankful that Pauvi let us share the Texas house with him. He helped to scare away deer, skunks, and stray cats. He was a great guard dog, except when there was a lightning storm :)

His favorite movies were: The Sound of Music, and Kungfu Panda.... (same as Seren oddly enough).

DANCING SEREN (texas style)

My birthday cake

Melody Irish made this cake for me. It was a double decker, and was delicious.


Austin Texas

We decided to take a trip to see Brennen's friend Jeff Paul and his wife Courtney and their two kids. They showed us what it was like to be a real Texan. We had Texas bar-b-que at a 5 Star place, that I don't remember the name of. But we got meat on construction paper, and white bread and plastic knives. It was tasty and messy. Brennen surprised me by buying me some oreo ice cream to wash it all down. Thanks to the Paul's hospitality and influence, and also Grandma Mels generosity, Seren decided to start sporting her cowgirl boots!

PERKS OF PECAN

There were a lot of perks for living in Texas. There was a nice club house, where we ate dinner. There was also a tennis court. I had a friend Daniela, from Mexico, come an visit the last week we were in Texas. We played tennis, took her around in the golf cart, and showed her around Granbury Town Square.

PECAN PLANTATION

One of Seren's most favorite things to do was to go on walks and runs at the Pecan Plantation. (even though she fell asleep most of the time). There was hardly any traffic, perfect 80 degree weather, and beautiful scenery. There were always deer and wild turkeys running around. Birds of all colors, like vultures, crows, hawks, blue birds, red birds, yellow birds. Once Me, Brennen and Seren went for a walk, and we were talking about all the animals that lived in pecan (including the skunks and possums) and we wished we could see a fox. When we got home we looked out our back window, and two foxes ran across the lawn. They were so pretty, and sleek. We do miss our walks in Pecan.

Texas Family

Patti and her boys were great! We sure miss having dinner with them. And we couldn't have survived with out the help of Patti. She saved Brennen's life, literally. And she taught Seren how to speak Spanish. Thanks to her, we have a bi-lingual daughter :)

A Glance at the Life of Seren Gee......thus far

There are a few more pictures I would like to put up of Seren....of course.... I thought it would be fun to put some earlier pictures up of her, and her now, so you could see the difference; of how much she has grown.

OCTOBER 6 2008


NOVEMBER 6 2008

DECEMBER 2008

JANUARY 2009

FEBRUARY 2009

MARCH 2009

APRIL 2009