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!

A Quiet House!!

Today I find myself at home, ALONE and it's Saturday. I will tell you this is rare. I decided it would be a good time to update my blog. I do try, although I'm not the best at it. Credit for attempting, right? The kids had basketball again today and they did really good. Carson just gets out there and gives it his all. He really does enjoy this sport. Kynlee is really getting into the game and I do mean physically. She learned real quick that girls don't always follow the rules on the court. She has learned that stealing is okay and sometimes you just have to push right back. The team we played today was more aggressive and sometimes we were beginning to think they thought this was hockey and not basketball. Who knew girls could be so pushy out there. Her age is a lot of fun to watch and the action just keeps you going. It gets very exciting to watch them play.



We also survived Girl Scout camp last weekend. Thank Goodness! The first night the cabin heat was out and it was in the low 30's. I didn't think I was going to the deer lease again, but it was beginning to feel like it. We had a fireplace going, but in such a large open area it didn't do a whole of good. Needless to say, we bundled up before going to bed. Saturday the temperature got into the low 70's and a large space heater arrived before dark. We all slept and felt much better that night and stayed warmer, at least compared to the night before. The girls all had a great time digging in the dirt and going on hikes during the day. Here is a picture of Kynlee and the house she built in the dirt.



The kids also had dentist appointments this week and I am pleased to say there were no cavities. Carson has had some receding in his lower gums and she was concerned about that. We now have an appointment with a periodontist the first week in February. It looks as though he may have to have oral surgery and/or a gum graph. Poor little guy. For those of you who don't know this is extremely painful for adults. Now can you imagine for an almost seven year old? We'll wait and she what the periodontist has to say and I'll keep you posted. Please pray for him because I know this is not going to be something he will be happy about. I would love to think she may not want to do anything yet, but I really doubt it.

I'm getting ready to change the look of our blog and add a new title in the next few weeks so stay tuned. Thanks for checking in on us!

Fast Forward to 2009

I have finally found a minute to get an update to this blog. I’ll do a quick fast forward since the last post after our trip. Halloween came and the kids had a great time. Kynlee was a witch and Carson was Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Carribean. We traveled to Austin and San Antonio for Thanksgiving and enjoyed catching up with everyone. We had a great time.

Next came Christmas which really snuck up on me this year. I was late with getting decorations up and shopping, but finally got it all done. I’ve posted a few pictures of the kids during the holidays. We went to the Bass Pro Shops this year for their Christmas Wonderland and the kids had a lot of fun. The both got Nintendo DS’ from Santa and so far it has been great for me during our longer car rides. They now have a distraction besides picking at each other. We had a very relaxing Christmas this year and it was really nice. Scott’s mom and dad came to spend Christmas here and we had fun just hanging out. I’ll post a few Christmas picks along with one of my parents with all the grandkids.

Now basketball season has begun and the kids love it. Kynlee has moved up to play with all girls grades 4th-6th. This is a bit more challenging for her, but I think it will be a great experience. They are much more aggressive and the rules have changed since last year. They can now steal the ball from each other and more fouls are called. We’ve only had one game so far. I think after a few more she’ll get the hang of what’s going on out there a little better. It surprises me that she jumps right in there and gets aggressive right back. Most of you know she’s more the shy type when it comes to this stuff. Carson is also doing great with his team this year. You can tell when he gets out on the court that his adrenaline is really up. He’s bouncing around trying to do his best guarding his opponent. It’s quite funny to watch these smaller kids play. They really don’t know all the rules very well and you can tell by the looks in their faces half the time. His team consists of Kindergarten and 1st graders. I’ll post some pictures of them playing soon.

Kynlee and I are off to a Girl Scout camp this coming weekend and are really looking forward to it. It may get pretty cold, but at least we’re camping indoors which will be much warmer. I should get some really great pictures of this. The last campout we did was a lot of fun and I took some really great pictures. Now if I can just get them in a scrapbook that would be even better. That’s a whole other project that I’m way behind on. I’ve decided until I finish school some things will have to wait or at least get done when I can get to them. Speaking of school, things are going really well. I can’t believe I’ve already been going for more than a year. I’m in the process of trying to transfer so when I find out about that I’ll put out an update.

The kids and I went with Scott on New Year’s Day to the deer lease for the last hunt of the season. We stayed in a friend’s fifth wheel and really had a relaxing, fun time. It was a different experience from ‘normal’ camping, but all in all it was okay. The first night Scott thought there was plenty of gas in the generator, but at about midnight it ran out leaving no heat for the rest of the night. We were freezing all night and by morning when Scott returned from hunting the kids and I were in the truck with the heat on waiting to go get more gas. When we left around 9:00am the temperature was 28 degrees. Did I say it was COLD!! I told Scott that’s not a really great way to introduce me to going to the deer lease J. After that it was much better and a lot warmer. Although he did not shoot a deer this trip the kids really enjoy sitting in the blind waiting to see if one would along. Kynlee was really excited and gets into the whole thing. Carson just kept asking why I came if I wasn’t going to actually ‘hunt’ with them. Roxi and I (aka ‘sissy dog’) just stayed back and enjoyed the peace and quiet. I will say by the time it got dark I was watching for the headlights. It got a little creepy out there! Oh, and Roxi is doing good although I’m still trying to get her completely house broken. I’ve been pulling my hair out with this, but I keep thinking the light bulb is bound to shine bright real soon! Overall she does good, just still has accidents more than I would like. She was nicknamed sissy dog by Scott’s dad since Scott has really grown attached to her he felt it appropriate. Don’t worry I don’t call her that, just in reference.

That’s our update for now! I didn’t realize it would be this lengthy and I know I should post these more often to keep them shorter. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

More Magic!

We made it back from Disney late on Friday night. We decided to leave on Friday instead of Saturday because it was going to be raining all day. We arrived in Houston without a hitch and then found out they had canceled some Dallas flights that morning. Needless to say we sat in the Houston airport for NINE long hours trying to get home. We knew we would get there eventually so we just stayed put. Trying to fly on a Friday, non-rev, is never easy. For those of you who don’t know the terminology non-rev aka FREE! We were all tired by the time we got home, but I have to say the kids were real troopers. Thank goodness they have remodeled that airport and we had some decent choices for our two meals.

We all had a great time and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. We’ve already decided we want to go back in two years. There is so much to see and the fireworks and parades were awesome. Kynlee enjoyed all the rides, especially the roller coasters. The faster the better and she could not get enough. Then we have Carson. Poor Carson had to spend some time waiting while two of us took Kynlee on a few rides. We tried to find something for him to do in the meantime. I say poor Carson because we did drag that kid on a few rides he really did not want any part of. We only did this on a few that we knew once he got on it would be fine, and then there is always that one that in the end you feel kind of bad about. The last ride was the Hotel Tower of Terror that you ride in an elevator to an old spooky hotel and the elevator drops a few stories and goes back up and drops again. You know the way a cat looks if you drop it and all fours are stretched to the max and their face has that terror in it, well that’s pretty much how he looked during that ride. At this point Scott and I are feeling like awful parents. In the end, he was just fine and didn’t think it was that awful! We certainly didn’t put him on there kicking and screaming just a lot of protests. He has never been one for fast rides and may never like them.

They had a great time getting autographs from the characters and having their pictures taken. I honestly didn’t think they would get into that very much. I was wrong and they were excited every time we happened upon a character and had to get that autograph. If the lines were too long they didn’t care to wait so that worked out great for us. J

On our last day Kynlee got a great surprise. In the afternoon after being at Epcot all day we decided to head back over to Hollywood Studios for a few last rides. Once we got there and were headed to a ride we saw a small group starting to gather in the middle of the street with a cameraman. As we got closer we realized that the Cheetah Girls had arrived to film a small segment. We got to watch the filming and take some pictures; however, they were not signing autographs. One of the PR ladies with Disney walked up to Kynlee and asked for her name. She took a picture over to the girls who each autographed it for her. She was the only one we saw get this special autographed picture. Needless to say she was on cloud nine and thought this was the perfect end to our trip.

Not the best picture, but they weren't posing!

Here is a picture of the kids at the T-Rex Café in Downtown Disney. It’s brand new and the kids really liked it. It’s owned by the same company that has the Rainforest Café so the set up is the same except with dinosaurs instead of the rain forest. It was really neat.

Next up…… Halloween!!

A MAGICAL TIME!!!

We made it! For those of you who don't know we planned a surprise trip to Disney World for the kids. Don't feel bad we didn't tell many because we didn't want the kids to catch on. We arrived on Saturday and they were thrilled. They were led to believe we were going to Corpus because that would be normal. We told them while we were waiting in New Orleans for our connecting flight and at first I don't think they really believed us. It took a little while for it to set in. They were so excited when we arrived and we are having a great time. I promised some pictures so here they are. We've had a busy two days and I'm about to drop so I'll post more later. Enjoy the pics for now!

EVERYONE LOVES MICKEY AND MINNIE!!

MOM AND DAD TOO!

SILLY HATS AND SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM!

October

How time flies! I know I have not been near as good at posting as I had hoped. We've had an interesting Octoboer already. Our septic has gone bust and now we're in the process of having a new one installed, better I hope than the last one. It was quite a site seeing the guys out there knee deep in mud and yuck trying to find the problem. I really should've taken a picture of that. Now the fence, that I so desperatly need, is on hold for a while to say the least.

We had open house at the kids school tonight and got a funny story from Carson's teacher. She said that at recess today he walked over as white as a ghost and said he felt real sick to his stomach. She said his little eyes were in a daze and asked him if he'd just gotten off the tire swing. She immediatly knew what the problem was. Other kids get to pushing and if you stay on too long the dizziness and nausea kicks in. He laid out across her lap for a good ten minutes and she said he did not move a muscle. She was afraid when it was time to go in she was going to have to carry him. I guess the ten minutes of stillness was all he needed. He got up and was ready for lunch. I heard the story right after school, but of course miss all the good details. I guess he will be staying clear of the tire swing for a while. He knows once he's on he can't always get the other kids to stop so he can get off. Meanies :)

For those of you who don't know, I'm going to be an aunt again. Scott's sister, Stephanie, is expecting in late March. We are all soooo excited to have another baby around. Kynlee is so excited she can hardly stand it. The night she got the news from her Aunt Stephi she started screaming and jumping on the bed. I guess if she can't have another baby brother or sister the next best thing is a baby cousin. She's finally realized no matter how many times she asks, the answer will be the same, NO! We're all good in that department.

Carson joined Boy Scouts last month and he's very excited about it. He thinks he should have a meeting every few days. Here is a picture of him in his new uniform.

Kynlee got to walk in our homecoming parade with a friend's miniture horses. It was a long walk, but they were real troopers. That's one thing I love about our small town. When there is a parade, the whole town comes! It was actually pretty long for a little town like Maypearl. Anyone can have a float, so that explains a lot. Here is a pic from that.

I'll have more pics in about two weeks so check back. We'll having something fun to post about.

September

The kids survived the first week of school and are enjoying it so far. That is until the homework gets underway and today is the first day for both of them. I was only able to get one picture of them before heading off the first day and Carson refused to have his picture taken once at school. Do you think they were embarrassed, their only 6 and 9? I really thought I had at least a few more years with Carson. Kynlee was fine with it so maybe it's a boy thing.

Now that hunting season has begun and we're outside city limits I'm hearing the sounds of the shotguns that surround us, including our own. Scott got home late last night and came straight in to get his shotgun and was back outside. This was about 8:00 so he had a little daylight left. I went outside and there he was sitting on his tailgate with shotgun in hand just in case a dove happened by. We sat there together for a few minutes watching and enjoying the cool air. I really felt like a redneck sitting there on the tailgate with a shotgun in the driveway no less. Things are definitely different around here! I told him why did he have to go off to go hunting when he can sit in our own pasture and shoot all day long. I guess it's just not the same, at least I tried.

Amber and Robert are settling in fairly well next door. At least the best they can living out of their RV while finishing the apartment. Should be the end of September. We're keeping our fingers crossed. I know it's hard for her having three kids and one who is crawling in an RV most of the time. Needless to say it's been a little hectic around here on the weekends with everybody coming and going trying to help where they can. Did I mention kids? Lots of kids and people. It seems for every adult we have two kids, talk about crazy!

Last week after school Kynlee and Carson really enjoyed having their cousins as neighbors. Carson has Caleb to play with and Kynlee gets to help with Kelsey and baby Chloe. She is a little mother and I see so much of myself in her at that age. She'll be wanting to babysit for money in no time for everybody she can. She loves babies and really is great with them. She can change a diaper, feed her a bottle and now even baby food. I'm so proud of her and the helper she is! They love walking back and forth from house to house and it's nice seeing them more. Amber and I are getting a chance to spend more time together too.

Stay tuned.... more to come soon!

Dynamite Strike

Today was meet the teacher at school and the kids are excited about their teachers as well as the kids in their classes. I think they got good matches for their personalities, at least I hope. This will be Kynlee's last year at the elementary school. Next year she'll be off to the intermediate school. Wow, how time flies. Right now I'm just thinking about 1st grade and 4th grade. That's enough for the heart to take. You always hear how fast they grow up and often get tired of it so for now I'm enjoying my little ones while their still "little".

Our new little puppy, well let's just say she's full of dynamite (hence the title of this post). I keep telling myself that eventually she'll be potty trained and that seems to help. Since we live in the country and on plenty of land it's been hard to keep up with her lately. When we go outside she usually does fine sticking close by, but lately she's finding that there are lots of other places to go. Of course she discovers this in the rain and with plenty of mud to go with it. Only weighing three and half pounds she's pretty fast and well, her minding skills, we're still training on those too. Needless to say, we need a fence. This is the only way to keep the dogs in the confined area we think they need to be in. I think this will save our sanity. For now, she's on a leash, at least while muddy outside. In the meantime we'll be checking out our fence possibilities. I'll let you know how it comes along. Keep your fingers crossed that it's sooner than later.

I hope everyone has loved watching the Olympics as much as we have. We are a little sleep deprived as I'm sure other followers are too. We're hoping to start catching up soon. If you have been watching the gymnastics I hope you all agree that the judging this year was not up to par. They need to work on that for London 2012. Overall we've enjoyed the competition and last nights beach volleyball win was great. May and Walsh did the US proud! I'll report back after school starts with some new pics!

Country Critters

Needless to say it has been a hectic few weeks. With me in school and the kids out, we are trying to balance my school work with summer activities. Kynlee was suppose to have horse camp the week of July 21 and after the first day with temps in the 100's she was done!! She came home after the first day and said she did not want to go back. She enjoys the horses, but the heat takes away all the fun. Can't say I blame her so we'll have make ups in the fall. She has never been our child to tolerate activities outside when it is hot out and for more than a couple of hours. Camp was scheduled from 9:00am to 4:0o pm.

School starts in 19 days and I can't believe how the time always seems to fly by. I think their starting to get bored and will be ready by the 25th. We still have some shopping to do for supplies, new shoes, etc.

Well most of you know how I feel about mice so I thought I would share this story with you. Now keep in mind, I'm usually the one on the table, chair, bed, or anything that will keep me off the ground if one appears and usually with a scream. Yes, I'm a wimp and I'm happy to admit it. They just give me the creeps, ewe!

The kids were outside with the dogs when I hear them start to scream. They came running into the house saying that Hagen had tried to catch something outside and it was moving. I had to come see what it was. Not sure what I would find I go into the yard and hear squeaking, my first instinct was to run. I couldn't do that, after all I am the MOM. Knowing the dogs would probably eat it eventually, which would be much worse afterwards, it had to be removed. Whatever it is. Kynlee and I SLOWLY approach the noise to see what exactly it was. The baby mouse was hardly moving and I just didn't know how to do this. After a little debating I found a shovel in the garage with a LONG handle, but before moving it I had to put the damn thing out of it's misery. With three throws and three screams (from me) it was silent. I (well I should say Kynlee) scooped the thing onto the end of the shovel and I went and tossed it over the fence into the field. This was not a pleasant experience, but living in the country is slowly strengthening my weaknesses. The frogs on the porch are even growing on me. Back to the end of this story.... when all was done Kynlee starting clapping and said she was so proud of me and that I was a big girl!! I just started laughing and figured it's okay for kids to see that even adults have fears sometimes.

We've taken the boat out a couple of times at the nearby Lake Waxahachie. This is a very small lake, but very convenient and the kids enjoy getting to swim. Upon the first trip out since giving the ducks their new home we found them in the same cove near the boat launch. They seem to be getting along well and the kids get so excited every time we go. Just thought you might like to know they are doing good too. Have a great week!

Gammy Camp/Sea Camp

Well, we've been in Corpus since Saturday for our annual camp fest. The kids go to Sea Camp at the Texas State Aquarium with their cousin Austin every year. Hence the name, Gammy Camp as well. Stephanie and I have also claimed this special week, Mommy Camp. We get to hang out together, shop, talk, and be pampered by Pop. It really is a fabulous treat for us as well so we thought we needed to add our very own camp name. The campers are all having a great time, moms included. Kynlee is actually having a sleepover at the Aquarium tonight. This is her first year to get to do that and she is so excited about it. They get to go 'behind the scenes' to see some really cool stuff. I'll have to post again later to let you know how that went.

Last night we took them to the Ringling Brothers Circus for the opening night. It was an awesome circus and the first for the three of us. We've all grown up going to the Shrine Circus so we got to see something a little different. It was a ton of fun and can you believe we didn't even leave with a light of any kind at all ...... none, zero, zilch! Parents know what an amazing feat this is :) The top photo is of the kids trying to catch the confetti that they sprayed around the arena! I'll post with some more good stuff later on! Thanks for being patient with me.

Kynlee's Sleepover

Kynlee celebrated her 9th birthday on Sunday and had a slumber party last night with her friends. Thank goodness we only had six girls in all. I like to keep things small and simple and keep my sanity! Her theme was "Camp Rock" from Disney's newest movie launch. They enjoyed a 'cool whip' fight in the back yard and made a mess. I've posted a goofty picture for you to see how much fun they were having. Ice cream sundae's followed the fight! Hagen enjoyed cleaning up the mess in the yard for them. I also posted a picture from her birthday lunch on her real birthday.

For those of you who have known about our duck problem, it has been resolved. They are now happily swimming in Lake Waxahachie with the other ducks in the community. We just hope they didn't take up camp on someone elses porch. Now I'm VERY MUCH enjoying a clean back porch again! It was sad to see them go, at least for Scott and the kids, but I'm good with it. I don't think we'll be raising baby ducklings again any time soon. It was a nice try. I'll post again with hopefully some good stuff. Thanks for keeping up with us and sorry it was a little longer than I thought to post the second time.

An Update from the Shell's

I hope this finds everyone doing well and enjoying the summer. The Texas heat is already in full swing and for once I'm thankful for the wind on our little hill. Well I have to say I didn't think the day would come when I found myself typing on a blog. With that said there are many times the kids do or say something that I want to share with others because lets face it, kids say the darnedest things. Half the time I forget so I thought this would be a good way to share with our friends and family what's going on in our world.

As you can see from the picture I've posted we have a new puppy. She is a little Yorkie and we are having a lot of fun with her along with a little work. I have to say this was my idea (yeah, surprise to me too) so I got to name her. Her name is Roxi and we all agreed it fits. So far she is doing really good and has even gotten a little feisty. The kids love her! As for Hagen, the juries still out. She hasn't quite figured out what to think of her.

The kids are out of school for summer and have a few camps lined up along with VBS at the Baptist church here in town. Carson is finishing up his 2nd year of t-ball and I think we're all ready for the break. He loves it, but it's getting a bit hot. Carson turned six in April and Kynlee will be nine on Sunday. I can't believe how the time has flown by.

Scott has been extremely busy with his A/C stuff and can hardly keep his head above water. We are still in the process of transitioning from Shell Aire to Maypearl Heating & Air. We are hoping to keep him a bit closer to home. Since buying his current truck in August he already has a little over 30,000 miles so far. Let's just say there is a ton of driving in this business. This doesn't include the trips I make to and from the parts house myself. Yes, I help when needed besides just the "office" part.

As for me, August will complete my first year since returning to school. It has been hectic with the online classes changing every five weeks, but I like that they are short. I hope to finish in about a year and a half and be teaching soon after. I'll keep you posted. That's about it for now and I hope to put updates as often as I can. With the kids being home for the summer and me still in school we'll see how it goes.