Super Noob:
Our Family

We went up to spend Easter with my family in Phoenix this year. I just love being around lots of family for any holiday. It's what make it so special for me. Fortunately I have a husband who is willing to go along with my whims :)

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day...

Playing in Grandma Rosie's and Big Papa's (great grandparents) backyard. This yard is a kid's paradise!

A little hunting, of course...not to mention, far more candy than they will ever eat. Seriously, we still had Easter candy from last year!

Colton and Munashe with the bubbles. Colton always looks forward to seeing his cousin.

Look at that her make the connection! That's my girl!!
We'll see you next year, Easter Bunny!
Shannon

The first week of June we took our annual Lake Powell trip. My family has been going there since long before I was born…so it’s a bit of a tradition. As a kid, one of my favorite things about going was that every year we would have some crazy stories to tell. Nothing crazy happened this year, and the adult in me is thankful.

Here are just a few of the pictures from our trip.

These two were taken from the house boat as we motored up the lake.

First day on the house boat, and my graceful daughter already has a battle wound. Face meets storage bin.

Have I mentioned that Colton is a lover. Proof positive right here. Smooching a waterdog.

The water was cool, but refreshing. Usually it’s way too cold when we go to really enjoy any type of swim.

My brother always has the best ideas. Lawn chair in the lake. Beer in the hand. Who needs anything else?

These last few are pictures from inside our little cove.

My father and my son. For so long I looked to my dad for guidance, reassurance, support, a firm hand and a loving heart. I still do actually. Now, along with my husband, I aim to provide all of these things to my own children. To this little man in my dad’s arms.

I pray that together my husband and I are able to help him become the kind of man anyone would be proud to know. A man like my dad. A man like my husband’s dad. Strong, patient, intelligent, wise, loving, and a bit salty. Hard worker, a dedicated family man, and supportive husband. Then one day, a father. A father willing to sacrifice for the good of his own children. Willing to put his dreams on hold in order to put his little ones’ first.

Yes…that is exactly the sort of man I hope he becomes one day. Fortunately he has some amazing examples before him.

My father in law, my husband and Colton. What a threesome. Looking at Andy’s dad’s silly face in this photo brings a huge smile to my face. This picture says so much. It reminds me of one more very important aspect of a person’s character…and that is humor. This man has amazing humor! I adore him, and feel so very lucky that my children have been blessed with two very fine grandfathers.

I thought it would be fun to do a photo post on Saturdays. I don’t plan on these particular photos to be award winning art, so therefore, I deem them snapshots. This isn’t a meme, though you can feel free to do the same if you like!

My husband has a major pet peeve about the shutters and our kids playing with them. I understand why it bothers him…but it just doesn’t bother me. So, shamefully, I don’t do the best job at reinforcing this rule while he is away at work. Enter exhibit A…

Perhaps this is the reason my dear, sweet husband has such a difficult time getting them to cease and desist with this behavior. Eh. Ah well…he needs a challenge.

Everyone says that Addyson looks just like me. She does look like me, but there is a lot of Andy in her face too.

Colton on the other hand...looks just like his mama.

These are some photos of me, Colton and my dad. The first is Colton, then me…about the same age. The last two, are my Dad then me, several months apart. (Oh, and that is my own mama holding me in the last one...so young...just 20 years old). I think there is a very strong resemblance down this line. I suppose this explains why everyone on my dad’s side tells me that Colton looks just like my dad.

I promise Andy had something to do with it!

It has been one of those days. Specifically one of those days which has me sitting on the couch at this very moment, stuffing my face with a huge cadbury cream egg, and thinking about another. If I didn't have to wake up at 6am to go running, I'd be having wine along with it. Yes. That kind of day.

I'm not sure if I wake up and my patience is already wearing thin, or if the kids gang up and decide to see how far they can push me. Or maybe it's a bit of both. Whatever it is, it leaves me feeling wasted. Feeling like I'm 95 years old...and wasted.

I love these kids more than any other thing on earth...but MAN! My mother said I'd have one just like me. I'm proud to report she's wrong. I had TWO just like me. Defiant, stubborn, strong-willed and just wild. Fortunately for them (or I'd throw them right out the window), they are smart, loving, compassionate, adorable and mine ;)

I never forget how blessed I am to have such amazing little people in my life...but days like today have me counting the minutes, no seconds, until bedtime.

Goodnight my little angels. I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.

Soon I will be traveling from Arizona to Florida with my two little ones in tow. Unfortunately, Andy will not be with me. Fortunately, my brother and his girlfriend will be. I know many a mom before me has travelled alone with small children, but I am happy to have the help. Without it, there is a strong possibility I may throw myself from the plane. Best we don't test that theory.

We will be visiting my mom (who is traveling from Massachusetts), her husband, and my grandparents (who live in Florida). Sadly, my brother and I will only be staying for a couple of days. I'm grateful to have that time, but it is so little. I miss my mom. I wish that she lived close like my dad does. I so long for her to be able to see my children on a regular basis. So, I have vowed to try to visit her again this year for a longer period of time. Somehow, however, it doesn't seem to be enough.

I understand how fleeting and unpredictable our time here is. I want to make the most of it. I want my mother to have a relationship with my children. I don't ever want to look back when she is older and wish that she had more time with them. Though I can't change the circumstances of the distance between us, I can do something about the frequency between visits. If monetarily possible, I will make a point to see her once each year. If she can manage the same, then that would be twice a year...and while that hardly seems adequate...it would be far better than we've managed thus far.

In any case, I am looking forward to our upcoming visit. I am excited at the prospect of having a four generation photo taken (not professionally). My grandmother, my mom, me and my daughter. I've always wanted to have that...and now we will!

Lately I have been doing a lot of absent minded answering. "Mom, we're playing time out." As the two little ones scoot chairs across my kitchen floor, screeching and scraping as they go. "Hmmm. Ok." I respond as my mind is focused on whatever nonsense has flitted into my head.

"Mom, can I have a cookie?" Me: "In a second." Them: "You said yes?" Me: "Yes, what? Oh! No! Lunch is coming in just a minute."

"Mom, Colton is playing chicken in the street with the cars." Me: "That's nice...is he having fun?" Okay, so the last one is an extreme exaggeration. Er, or it's at least an exaggeration.

"Honey, we have to move to Tanzania for my job." Me: "Oh that sounds wonderful." Again, exaggerating, but I believe this conjures an image which is at least close to the truth.

Big sigh. Fortunately, my children are persistent, so they don't relent until I actually answer them, and my husband knows when I've really heard him and when I have not...so we won't be moving to Tanzania anytime soon, and my children will not be playing in traffic.

Shannon
P.S. That's my name...for those of you who only have been acquainted with the Mamma side of me.

We are conducting an experiment in the name of science. Heading up the experiment is Drew. It's for his 6th grade project.

After having several ideas dashed to bits by the science teacher, Drew finally found (well, Andy found, but who's keeping score), a grand idea. Who has the dirtiest mouth? The subjects? Two dogs, two horses, and two people. Drew has to test in order to prove his theory. He believes (as do I), that the people will have the dirtiest mouths. Orbit anyone? Followed by the horses, then finally, coming in with the cleanest of the three types, the dogs.

In a petri dish he has mixed a sterile solution of agar (forms a gelatin), upon which he swipes a swab that has been rubbed in the mouth of the subject. He is to make observations daily, and note any changes.

The project began last night, and already the two dishes with activity are...you guessed it...the people. Condensation is forming in the veritable hot house of germs within the peoples' petri dishes. Nothing so far on the others.

Isn't this riveting? Soon, we will all be armed with the ever so useful knowledge, and answer to the age old question...Who has the dirtiest mouth?

Stay tuned!

he's my brother...

I hope that this is a foreshadowing of their future relationship. I have a brother, and he is without question one of my best friends. My love for him is very much like the love I have for my children...it just is. It exists free of condition, free of burden. My brother has added a layer of depth to my life that has aided in the shaping of who I am today. Together we lived, laughed, cried, loved and faught our way through childhood, adolecsence and into adulthood. My life is richer, fuller and more complete as a result of him. Of all the gifts my parents have ever given, my brother is undeniably the most cherished I have ever received. It is my deep desire that my children also share the same amazing bond that my brother and I are so lucky to have. I hope that they carry each other through hard times, laugh with each other through good times, cry together through sad times, and pull each other through when the rest of the world seems to have left them bereft. So...it is my hope that this photograph of Addyson pulling her little brother, is a foreshadowing of their relationship, their ever growing friendship, and their unbreakable bond.

It seems unfathomable that at one point I could scarcely go a day without blogging, let alone weeks. Yet...here I am, reaching (and I mean really reaching) for something about which to blog. I am hearing Jeopardy's theme song in my head, yet...nothing. Nada. I'm convinced my head just takes up space in the world without having the ability to contribute anything meaningful.

So, instead I guess I can write about our trip to Pensacola, Florida to visit my brother in law and his family. The fact that we just got back last night, and Addyson seems to have contracted conjunctivitis (pink eye). Fortunately, our doctor doesn't require a trip to the office. She'll simply call in a prescription to our pharmacy. Thankful for that. We've never experienced pink eye here before, and I've never had it in my life. So, I really didn't know if it was the real deal.

The trip itself was great. I happen to love my in laws and consider myself blessed that they are such great people. Oh, and I happened to learn a very interesting tidbit of information. These same in laws have 6 kids and counting...and they have named Andy and me in their will should something ever happen to them. WOW! I'm incredibly honored that they would choose us for such a huge responsibility...and not a little intimidated at the thought of going from 3 kids to 9 (or more!).

That's it. I'm tapped out.