A Texas Winter Wonderland!!!

The great snowman.

Fun in the snow.

Angel making!

Scott having fun too!!

They tried, but never made it very far.

Let’s just say it took something like a miracle to get me to blog again . Life has been so busy like everyone else, but I just couldn’t resist this opportunity and had to share it. Here goes…

Anytime we hear there is a chance of snow we are never very hopeful that we’ll see more than a flake or two. This past week the weathermen predicted 80% chance of snow with accumulation expected, still a bit skeptical. When we all headed out the door on Thursday morning the snow had already started to fall. By eleven it was still falling and school decided to let out at 1:00 to ensure everyone could make it home safely. We do live in the country with lots of rural roads for the busses to navigate. By the time we headed home the ground was already covered with several inches and more was to come. It snowed continually until about 3:00am on Friday morning and even a little more when we woke up. Now the ground was covered with about eleven inches, in Texas, who would have thought. We passed the record from 1978’s snowfall. The kids had so much fun and I know that they will always remember this snow because they may be in their 30’s also the next time it comes around. I got some great pictures while we made some great memories. I’ve shared a few with some of you already, but here are a few more.

This is Thursday afternoon.

This is Friday morning! Picture perfect!

All else is going well in the Shell home. We are just finishing up the basketball season and the kids have had a great time and have really improved since last year. Scott is getting ready to return back to work after his knee surgery before Christmas. He's done really well and didn't stay done for long. I never had a chance to post a blog during the holidays so I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. We sure did! I didn't get around to sending out Christmas cards either. We were waiting on getting our family pictures done first and now it looks like we'll be doing those in the spring. I have had trouble getting these pictures right where I want them as it seems blogspot has some functional problems. It likes to put all the pictures at the top, go figure. Until next time.....God Bless!!!

New Jersey, Wedding, Birthday, and Baptisms!!

The LIMO Ride w/ the Bride!!!

I decided I better hold true to my word and get this post out on the blog. The kids and I are currently in Corpus for Gammy/Sea Camp week. We have had a great time and I will have to do another blog next week to post all the good things about Gammy Camp! Let me back up first to our trip to New Jersey.

We were in New Jersey a few weeks ago for Johanna's wedding (Scott's cousin). We had a great time and the weather was unbelievable. For those of us from Texas, anytime we can escape the 100 plus temperatures it's a welcome relief. We walked the boardwalk along the Jersey Shore, this is where Uncle Charles lives, took the kids to the midway for lots of rides, went shell hunting along the cold east coast beach, stayed at a B&B for the wedding weekend, ate lots of great seafood, and enjoyed lots of family time together. I took a lot of pictures so I had to post some of them to share. The kids got to ride in the limo on the way from the B&B to the church. They saw it pull up in front and were so excited just to look at it. They didn't know they would actually get to ride in it at this point. When everyone was outside and Johanna said they got to ride with her to the church, they couldn't believe it. Thanks Johanna! Let me just say that they still like to talk about the famous ride in the limo. This is a big deal to a ten and seven year old.

The Bride's Family

The kids with Gammy & Pops

Uncle Charles, Pops, Scott and Carson

We got back from Jersey on Tuesday and next up was celebrating Stephanie's 40th birthday in Austin and celebrating Austin and Braden's Baptisms. We left on Saturday and headed to Temple for the Hagler family reunion. This is Brenda's side of the family. After the reunion we went to Austin and got ready to go eat at ZTejas for Stephs celebration dinner. We had a great time celebrating and the kids enjoyed playing with their cousins. Sunday morning was the big day for the boys. They were baptized together at church and we were all there to support the family. Here is a picture of all the kids together after church and Steph with her birthday wine glass.


Well since I wanted to add so many pictures this blog post has taken longer than expected, over an hour. There should be a faster way to insert pictures and move them where you want them. Needless to say we have had a busy summer and lots of travel this year. We have had a great time and this week has been a much needed relaxing one for me at least. The kids will be wiped out after camp. We have done lots of fun things this week so next blog will be about Gammy/Sea Camp!

July 2009

Jersey Shore (75 degrees)

Here I am once again, months behind. I figure if I can get something on the blog, occasionally, then I’m not doing half bad. At least this way there is usually lots to update on versus just giving little tidbits. Currently, we are in New Jersey for Scott’s cousin’s wedding. This was the first time the kids flew another airline besides Southwest. It was a 3 ½ hour flight and they were thrilled that a little screen pops down and we got to watch the movie “17 Again”. They did really well, or at least I was told they did really well. We flew with Gammy and Pops on Continental and we had five seats together and one separate. I’ll take that solo seat please! The kids each got to sit with a grandparent and enjoyed the flight. I enjoyed watching the movie and some rare reading time. In case you want to know I am reading Tori Spellings, Stori Telling. It’s really been a great book, hello 90210! I must confess that I really enjoy her reality series too. If you don’t watch it, well you should. It’s hysterical and lots of fun to watch, especially if you are from the 90210 generation.

Okay, so back to what’s going on with us. Carson is just finishing baseball and I must say he really has not enjoyed the season at all. Its machine pitch and he has had a hard time hitting the ball, he gets very frustrated. He finally hit the ball for the first time last week and of course we left for vacation and he hasn’t had another chance yet. Hopefully he’ll start to enjoy it again once he realizes it’s not as hard as he thinks.

We’ve been to Corpus a few times already and have had a great time. Scott went on his annual Father’s Day fishing tournament with all his buddies from San Antonio. He had a great time and I’ll try and find a picture to post. I believe I need to start a Mother’s Day trip of some kind, anybody else interested? Let me know. The beach has been great this year and the water is beautiful. Here are a few great pictures of the kids.

Both of the kids have had birthdays, Carson is now seven and Kynlee is ten. She has officially reached the ‘tween’ years. She’s growing up so fast. She went to church camp by herself for the first time this year. She had a blast and really grew spiritually during that week. What a blessing, God is great. Carson wanted to go, but I think he’ll have to wait until he’s ten. I think that will be our age for camp. Kynlee graduated from 4th grade and here is a picture of her on that special day with two of her best friends. It seems there is a graduation for everything now. What happened to only high school and college graduations?

I started this update while in New Jersey and will add another one as soon as I can. I have some really great pictures from our trip and the wedding so stay tuned.... I know what you're thinking..... not going to happen anytime soon!!! I might surprise you. Enjoy the summer!!

The Start of Spring

Wow, I didn't realize it had been this long. Maybe I'll have more to share this month. April brings baseball and now softball for the kids along with Carson's birthday and both dogs. Kynlee decided to give softball a try for the first time. She has just started practicing so we'll see how she likes it. Carson has moved up to machine pitch baseball and still trying to get the hang of hitting balls from a machine instead of a tee. It's somewhat comical to watch them trying to get those balls when they come out so fast. Games don't start until later this month and then I'll try and post some pictures.

I hope everyone is enjoying spring as much as we are. The wildflowers on the property are just beginning to bloom along with the bluebonnets. In a few weeks it'll be a beautiful sight. I'll try and take some pictures of that too. The warmer weather is finally here and I hope it lasts.

I've been on a short break from school and just started a new class this week. This will be my last class at Ashford. I will be transferring to Dallas Baptist University this summer to finish out my degree. Needless to say the fall will be a busy time for me.

Our newest nephew, Braden Floyd was born on Monday, March 23. I was there to see him right after he was born and was glad to a part of the celebration. They are doing great and he is adorable. We are planning to see him next week in Austin on our way to Corpus. Kynlee has been asking every week when she gets to go. She was not very happy with me for not letting her come with me when he was born. She had school and I enjoyed getting out by myself for the two days.

I wish had more to share, but life has been so busy for us that we haven't had a lot of interesting things going on. Hopefully I'll back on the blog this month after our trip to see the baby and the Sandfest in Corpus. Stay tuned......

Banana Nana Fofana.....

I couldn’t resist the title, just wish I had a monkey to go with it! Now I’m sure you’re wondering why I chose this. Well, let me explain…..
Since the beginning of the school year Carson has talked about this very special banana keeper his friend Tristan has for his lunch box. I have gotten a very descriptive detail of what this thing looks like, yellow and shaped like a banana, duh. It’s the perfect thing to keep bananas from turning brown and nasty, his words. Last week he came home talking about it again so I decided I needed to find out exactly what this was. He keeps asking for one. I called Tristan’s mom and found out the website in which I could order one. I knew it would tickle him so I ordered not one, but two. Kynlee or I just might want to use one too. When he got home from school on Friday I told him the good news and each day I was asked when it would be coming. Thank goodness we got it that Monday so he didn’t have wait too long!! Who would have thought something so little would get him so excited? Now let me say he has never been especially crazy about bananas, he likes them, but it’s not the kind of thing he can’t live without. He just wanted this cool little contraption I feel sure. In his defense I will say that one of the boys in his class brings a banana everyday to school and I’m always told how disgusting it looks because it’s brown and mushy. I think he felt the need to try this thing out and see if it would keep his banana nice and yellow. Well according to Kynlee and Carson, it works!! Here’s the link if you think you just have to have one too. You can even make a banana popsicle with it. www.bananasaver.com (I tried to add their image and link, but I'm not sure how to do that. Ashley, help!)


Our Update
Basketball season is officially over as of this weekend! We are looking forward to sleeping a little later on Saturday mornings. Next up, machine pitch baseball for Carson. They both enjoyed basketball this year and have really improved in their play. It’s amazing to see their growth from year to year. Next year should be lots of fun too. Carson will move up in the age group and play with kids in the 2nd and 3rd grade. I can’t believe he will be in 2nd grade next year, how time flies. Just looking back at the pictures from last year’s season I can see his ‘baby face’ fading away. He’s all big boy now.

Kynlee and I will be off for another Girl Scout campout this weekend near Palestine. The girls will get to work on their horsemanship badge and go riding. We are both excited about getting to go and it looks like the weather may cooperate and be really nice. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. No rain please!! I know we could all use it, but it could wait until after the weekend. I can’t imagine, or should I say I don’t want to imagine, twenty-something girls going in and out of the mud all weekend. No thanks!

Scott pulled out the big smoker yesterday and fired it up to cook out for all the employees at SWA for their annual Message to the Field. We had some great ribs for dinner last night and he’s off today to feed everyone else. It’s a lot of work to do by himself, but he does it. They always appreciate it and it gives him a few days to do what he enjoys. The weather was great yesterday and it was nice having everyone over to hang out. Heather brought her niece out and Jason’s kids came too. They all had a great time playing and were worn out by the end of the day. They seemed to travel back and forth between our house and Amber’s. It’s really nice that they can do that without us having to go with them each time.
That’s about it for now. I’m still looking into a new layout so hopefully not too much longer and our look will improve. Keep a look out!

A Day Full of Basketball!!

The day started out early with Carson's basketball game win. He made a few points himself and was so proud of himself. Kynlee's game followed with a win too. Here are a few pics from some of their games. Let me just say it's a little hard to catch them in action so this the best I have.

That night we got to go see the Mavericks play the Bulls. Robert's sister Jessica had tickets for her company suite and was gracious enough to let Scott and I come along with Carson and Amber and Robert took Caleb. We thought it would be nice for the boys to have a night out without the girls. After all there were only six tickets. Amber enjoyed the night without the little one's in tow too. Most of you know that Scott and I absolutely LOVE basketball and were very excited to get to go and see the Mavs take on the Bulls. We won 115 to 114 in overtime! What an exciting game. Carson had a great time and didn't hesitate to shout out at the game. He liked saying Defense when it popped up on the screen. We had gotten him a jersey to wear to the game since he outgrew his other one. Aunt Jessica bought both the boys hats at the game too. There is a great picture of them showing them off!

Me and Scott enjoying the game!

All of us at the game~

Me and Amber having a great time too!

I love this picture of Scott and Carson just after the Mavs scored in overtime! I'm sure Scott will not be crazy of this one though!

It's been a great weekend and now I am enjoying some time at home on a Sunday afternoon catching up on all my home chores including laundry, which I hate! Next will be some schoolwork.

Kynlee had a skating birthday party for her BFF Savannah yesterday and they all wore hot pink tutus and pig noses to skate in. Savannah wanted a pig theme and they were adorable in their outfits. As soon as I get a photo of this I will come back and post it.

I joined Facebook about a month ago at the urging of Amber and Tami and now I am glad I did. It's been a great way to reconnect with friends from my school days. I helped Scott set up an account this week and he has found it pretty cool too. If you are on Facebook look us up. I've also gotten to connect with my cousins who I do not get to see very often too. I try and put photos out there too and it's a little easier than here.

My goal with this blog is to print off the pages and keep them in a book for the kids to see as they get older. I think this would be a great way to share the memories from my point of view with them.

I almost forgot, we took Carson to the periodontist on Thursday and she thought we could wait one more year to see if there is any change in his gum tissue. She didn't think it would be likely, but at this point we could wait and see. He'll probably have to have a gum graph and a fenalectomy as well. This is where they trim the tissue in front of the lower teeth. However, Scott is scheduled for his consult in March. She took one look at his and said he shouldn't wait much longer on his. Maybe this will be the motivation we have waited for to quit dipping. He says once he has the surgery he'll be done. That would be awesome and much healthier for him too.

I'll post back soon! Happy blogging!

Life in the Country

I know, two posts in two days. It's quite amazing isn't it? I have shocked myself.
Well, over the last couple of weeks I have really been reflecting on our life in the country and what I love about it. There are so many things that I have grown accustomed to that I realize, this is the life I was born to live. I can remember being a young girl and wishing we could move to the country. It really has been a dream of mine for many years. I can now see that horses are definitely in my future. This is just a fun post that I wanted to share with all of you. Here are the things I love about the country:

• Driving up our long road in the dark, with the brights on, watching for the rabbits to go hopping through the fields. (The kids get a thrill out of this.)
• The stars at night, well they don't get any better than they do out here.
• Stepping outside our door into all the open space and the beauty of God's land.
• The amazing sunsets at dusk.
• The peace and quiet on our hill. I can never go back to a 'normal' neighborhood now.
• The easy going nature of life in general, at least some of the time.
• A true sense of community.
• No lines at the post office.
• Going outside half dressed, if necessary, to retrieve the dogs.
• All the different types of wildlife we have all discovered together. Mice, well that's another story. I am proud to say at least I don't always scream at the sight of one.
• Watching the kids discover new things.
• It's safe for the kids to play outside without having to hover.

I am sure there are more, but that's all for now. Thanks for staying in touch with us. Click on the column to the right to let us know that you are following our blog. More to come soon!