Hello! My name is Shannon. I live in the desert with my husband Scott and 3 kids (Conner, Payton, Anna). I have been blogging since 2005 and I love to write about my family, everyday life, dating my husband, projects and parties, memory keeping, being a mom, faith, setting and working towards goals, and finding joy in the journey.
Thank you so much for dropping by!
Thomas S. Monson - I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey -- now.
since 1999 // about us
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Our boys love knock knock jokes and make them up all the time with punchlines that are just bizarre to Scott and I, but completely hysterical to a 4 and 6 year old. It looks like Anna has picked up on this too. I pulled her out of her nap today and while changing her diaper she went on to tell me 4-5 knock knock jokes. Totally random, but totally cute.
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We just had a family visit to the dentist this morning: Scott and Conner at 7am, Payton and I at 8am.
And I just have to say that Payton was awesome! He was sooo well behaved, he let them clean his teeth without any problem whatsoever. But here's what takes the cake . . . . he let them take TWO x-rays!!!!! I was floored. At first the dental assistant asked me if we wanted to do them today. I told her that I really didn't think he would go for it. She suggested we just try so he gets an idea of what it's all about. So I stood back out of the room and watched her coax the films into his mouth and he was amazing. He didn't complain, he didn't try to choke or cough or take them out. Seriously, I'm standing there getting teary-eyed at what a champ this boy is being. You must understand that Payton is our timid one - he's fearful of a lot of things, and when he doesn't care for a situation he can go from 0 to 60 in two seconds flat. Honestly, I can't say how proud I was.
Conner was also great and he got sealants on his back 4 permanent molars that have recently come in. And me, I got a clean bill of dental health which makes me ecstatic! Especially because this was a visit with x-rays. Those blasted x-rays always do me in. Here's to 4-6 more months of dental bliss.
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Recently I've heard or read about people trying to establish a routine or schedule for summer and just plain trying to get their lives organized. It's also something that I've been thinking about now that summer vacation has began. I want to make sure we don't waste away our days. I want to do fun outings with the kids, projects at home, keep them from watching too much tv, and once and for all get them to help out with chores around the house! I've been mulling over some ideas, trying to come up with a good plan. But we've got one more upcoming trip so I don't feel like I can really implement anything until we're back home and life is "normal" again.
Okay, I do have a point to all this rambling. Stacy Julian posted some really cool ideas on her blog about her family's summer fun schedule and I'm totally inspired at this moment -- we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow, though ;o) -- so I wanted to share the link. Maybe it can help someone else, but most of all I just wanted to paste it here to remind me!
http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/altogether_too_happy/2007/06/the_plan.html
and here's where she shares a pic & more details of the popsicle jobs - http://stacysbigpicture.typepad.com/altogether_too_happy/2007/06/note-to-self.html
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Hello again! Remember me?? Friday night we returned from a 10-day trip to see my parents in California. We did a ton of stuff, as evidenced by the 300 pictures I uploaded to my computer once we got home! Definitely need to do some major weeding down. So for this post I thought I'd give a quick day-by-day summary of what we were up to.
Tuesday, June 12th
Conner's "unofficial" last day of school. We pulled him out 2 days early because of our vacation plans. He had a great day and told me that all his friends said they were going to miss him. How sweet. About 4pm we all hopped in the van and made a 5 hour drive to the half-way point and stayed in a hotel for the night.
Wednesday, June 13th
Up early with 6 more hours driving in the car. We drove into the Bay Area to drop Scott off at a hotel where he had work training scheduled for thursday and friday. The kids and I sped off to find lunch, bathrooms, gas and were back on the road for another 3 hours. We finally made it to my parent's house just in time for dinner. And thanks to the CD mix I made, our kids are addicted to the song "Peaches" -- we had quite a bit of fun rocking out to that one.
Thursday, June 14th
My sister-in-law Heidi and my niece Carlee made the 3 hour drive from their home and arrived just before lunch. They ended up staying through Sunday so it was really nice to visit and play with them. Today, though, was all about swimming and it was so fun to watch the two little girls splashing on the big step. Conner dove in and practically started up where he left off last summer. And Payton was a little more timid on the water, but got much better as the week progressed.
Friday, June 15th
Heidi and I took off for a girls day, which was very fun. We drove to the mall and headed to the Clinique counter where we each received full consultations -- cleansing and make-up. I had never done this before but always wanted too. We each walked away with a bag full of goodies. Then lunch at Fresh Choice (a salad buffet type place) and back home to the kiddos. And more swimming. I just love this pic of the girls hanging out on the lounge chairs. And here's Payton definitely feeling more comfortable in the water. Also visiting the tree house ("The Coyote House") and roaming with the gopher-eating dog, Pepsi.
Oh, and Sam (my brother) found out he didn't have to work Friday night (later he also got Saturday night off) and drove up to join the party.
Saturday, June 16th
Family day at Great America! On our way there we swung by Scott's hotel and picked him up.
Sunday, June 17th
For Father's Day the kids gave Scott a trophy (their idea) with the inscription "World's Best Computer Game Player Love, Conner, Payton, and Anna". I also got Scott a World of Warcraft t-shirt to go along with it. I just realized that I forgot to take any pictures! Oh, well.
On Sunday we had a very unique experience for church. My parents live somewhat near Yosemite (about 1 1/2 hours away). In "the park" (as the locals call it) there is a small chapel that is available for different religious denominations to hold services on Sundays during the summer. So my parent's stake performs this service each Sunday. My dad is on the high council and one of his assignments is to get volunteers to sign-up each week. Knowing that we were going to come, he reserved this particular Sunday for us. Basically we show up at the church, wait for the group from the previous hour to move out their guitars and amplifiers and drums. We go in, remove all the crosses, set out hymn books and the men start preparing the sacrament. I played the piano and my mom led the music. My dad conducted and the meeting is only scheduled to last 45 minutes at the most. Mason & Scott blessed the sacrament while my dad passed it. Scott gave a talk. The boys sang "I Love to See the Temple". And after the closing prayer we handed out Big Hunk candy bars to all the fathers & future fathers. Aside from us there were about 15 people in the congregation. Some in half-church dress, but most in their regular camping apparel. It was a pretty cool experience. So if you ever go camping at Yosemite over the weekend, be sure to go the LDS Sunday services at 1pm!
Monday, July 18th
Mostly a regular day at home. A regular day includes: swimming, playing Nintendo 64 in The Coyote House, and picking plums and strawberries from the garden. For FHE my aunt Libby and my cousins Ashlee (6) and Mikayla (4) came over for BBQ'd ribs and swimming -- John was held up at work and couldn't make it. The kids always have such a great time when we get to see them (which is about once a year). When they left Conner announced that Ashlee is his best friend. The kids also got to have a whack at a pinata. My mom held a naming contest for the tree house a few weeks ago and Payton's entry was "Viva Pinata". So the pinata was brought out in honor of him.
Scott and the boys also attempted to spend the night in the Coyote House. But after their movie ended at 10pm the boys thought it was waaay to dark out there and opted to come sleep in the house with their night light.
Tuesday, June 19th
I drove the kids into Gustine (my hometown) to see Papa at work, have lunch, visit with our old neighbors, feed the ducks at the park, and drive past the home I grew up in. At my dad's work (the nut plant, or "nut house" as we always called it) the kids were amazed at all the tools and machinery. Payton would point to each one and say, "wow! Look at that contraption!" But the primary reason for this visit was to ride the bulldozer with Papa Dan. The boys had a great time and each of them mastered the operation of the horn.
That evening my parents took the kids out to pizza while Scott and I enjoyed a quiet dinner out.
Wednesday, June 20th
My mom took me to a nearby scrapbook store. Now understand that "nearby" means an hour away. My parents live in the middle of nowhere. It's so out in the sticks that we don't get cell phone coverage at their place. Scott had some conference calls that he had to take care of during the week (it was not the best week for him to leave on vacation). So he would get in the car and drive about 20 miles until he got full bars on his cell phone, pull over into some farmer's field and join the conference call while sitting on the side of the road. Wednesday was one of those days and he piled the kids in the van and took them along with him while he talked for nearly 2 hours. Ouch! But he said the kids were great (Anna napped the whole time) and afterwards he treated them to lunch at Wendy's.
Thursday, June 21st
This was our last day at Grammer & Papa's house so the kids made sure to get in some good swimming. Over the week Conner learned several diving board tricks from Uncle Mason and he proudly performed them for anyone who would watch.
Payton also grew to love swimming in the water and surprised us all when he very reluctantly jumped off the diving board to Scott after nearly 15 minutes of coaching.
Friday, June 22nd
The long drive home. We left my parent's house at 6:30am and pulled into our driveway at 7:30pm. We walked into the door and the kids went nuts running and laughing and screaming through the house while we unloaded. We had a great visit with my parents, but it's always nice to be home!
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One afternoon a few weeks ago I was in my room conquering the to-do list and thinking about Father's Day (and amazed at myself for putting thought into it that early) when Payton came in. I said to him, "hey, Payton! Remember a few weeks ago when it was Mother's Day and you guys got me a fun present and made cards for me?" It took a few seconds & additional descriptions to jog his memory. "Well, in a few weeks it's going to be Father's Day so we need to think about what kind of presents we want to get for Father's Day." After a very short pause, Payton, with his squishy, matter-of-fact, somewhat disappointed face and outstretched/questioning arms says to me, "Mom . . . but I don't have a father!" I guess he has never heard the term "father" before and obviously had no idea that it meant dad. Gotta love this kid.
One night this week I put the kids in bed and jetted off to the grocery store. Back home an hour later they are still awake and begging to go potty. So I stood in the hallway while Payton was on the pot with both the bathroom & bedroom doors open. I looked into their room and noticed a big box covered with a blanket sitting in the middle of their room. I checked it out and it was a bucket/bin full of toys. The boys then excitedly tell me that it's all the stuff they've collected to build their pirate ship the next day. Here's the rest of the conversation.
Conner, holding up his blanket: "ya, and we're going to use this as the sail"
Payton: "We put a blanket on top because we don't want the other pirates to get our stuff."
Mom, listening intently and amused by it all: "ahhh"
Payton, with the squishy face: "Mom, you can be the guy who steers the ship. The Admiral. Yep, you can be the Admiral."
Mom: "Wow, thanks Payton!"
Payton, still sitting on the potty: "Ya, and I'm going to be the guy with just one eye."
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Payton is really into making silly/funny faces lately. Much of it is at my encouraging, because I think he just looks so cute when he tries to entertain me. He'll stand in front of the mirror, practicing his faces. But 90% of the time, this (below) is the one he comes up with.
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Yesterday I tagged along with Conner's kindergarten class to the zoo. I went with the intention of me, Payton, & Anna wandering around and then meeting up with Conner's group at the end to just take him home. Instead I was assigned to a group -- that's fine, I'm always glad to help. But it ended up being a little more than I had planned for. Picture this: 2 moms, 4 kindergarten boys, . . . . and Payton and Anna in a stroller. Not to mention the zoo was packed!! I have never seen so many people there at once (all school groups). Then there were the torrential downpours. Oh, and two of the boys were runners -- as in, they ran away and completely disappeared from us on two separate occasions.
It was an exciting day to say the least and I was exhausted by the time we got home. The kids on the other hand were on cloud nine and had a total blast. Really, no complaining out of them ever (except for when they all wanted a snack 15 minutes into our zoo excursion).
Conner was the official navigator and had this map opened for most of the day. He was so proud that he led us directly to the penguins. This is sooo his personality.
Anyways, not much else to share. Just felt like posting.
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So I just figured out a formula to get Anna to let me take her picture. Buy her new clothes and let her try them on at home.
We picked up a new swimsuit today and I wanted to try it on to make sure it fit. Of course she had to try on the new jacket too. Then that led to opening the dress-up drawer and pulling out a few accessories. As she stood there perfectly still playing with the zipper, something told me, "get the camera, get the camera." Lately it has been really difficult to get pics of Anna because she is 1)running away, 2)showing her brow / scowling face, or 3)running away.
You know how your kids have a hundred facial expressions and it's weird (at least with Anna), just how different she looks with each one. There are a few that are my favorites and that I get to see a lot at home & during the day, but have been impossible for me to capture on film just yet. Well, today I "caught" one of them and that makes me very happy. This is the little girl that I love everyday.
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Just felt like posting a couple pictures of the kids from this last month. You know, it's rare when I can get all three of them together for a picture where everyone is happy. And I've even lowered my standards quite a bit to where all three don't even have to be looking at me. Just as long as they're still and not screaming. Done.
at the park
At the children's museum for Payton's preschool field trip. I dressed them all in construction orange so I could easily keep an eye on them. It's a challenge to keep track of 3 walking children at a place like this, but I'm proud to say that we did surprisingly well. 2 whole hours with no major melt-downs.
That was the "let's humor mom and pose nicely" picture. Now, here's what they look like in real life.
Anna (chowin' down on a fruit snack, and looking cute), Payton (blinded by the "bright" sun), and Conner (demonstrating his ninja moves).
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