Keeks Starts Preschool

It was really hard for Kyra to see all of her siblings head off to school.  She is used to having someone around to play with all the time, and she felt lonely.  It was really good for her to start school and have kids to play with.

Keeks getting her bag ready.

She wanted to wait outside for her ride.  She didn't want Mommy to take her to school on the first day.  She wanted to go with her friend instead.  Talk about cutting the cord! 

She is independent and ready to go without me, but she still needs one last hug from her bird blanket.  I miss her while she is gone, but I do enjoy volunteering in Amy's kindergarten classroom during that time.

Blue Bell Creamery

I have been wanting to tour the Blue Bell ice cream factory since my parents first lived in Houston around 11 years ago.  Guess what?  I finally got my wish.  While on our family reunion/40th anniversary celebration we finally did it.  Never mind the fact that our GPS took us all the way around town before we found the fool place!

After we snagged this nifty picture, we stood in line and got tickets for the tour.  When we realized that our tour was going to start in 30 minutes, we decided there was just enough time to run back to the van and bring back the loaf of bread, peanut butter, jelly, chips, and drinks and eat lunch.  I have never seen a meal for 20 people prepped and eaten that quickly!  Nothing like three or four adults slapping pb&j sandwiches together on their laps and passing them out to hungry kids.  We even managed to get the crust off of certain sandwiches and only PB on some and only jelly on others.

This is my new favorite picture.  I love that little boy and from the looks of it, the feeling is mutual!

Amy showing us how much she likes her "free" ice cream.  I think this means ten times?

I think Jared was feeling jealous of the fact that Eric managed to get two cups of ice cream simply by asking.  We had so many kids (all wearing yellow so I could spot them all) that the scooper just handed them out.  I also managed to get a second scoop.  I told the kids it was because I smiled nicely and asked please and maybe they should try it sometime!

It was a really fun way to spend time with cousins!

Swimming

This summer Jared went on a canoeing trip with the youth he works with.  He wanted to be able to take some pictures, so he bought a water proof camera.

What happens when the Shannon boys combine pool time with a water proof camera?

Hand stand competitions

Under water conversations

Lots of pictures of the kids

How many Shannons can you fit on a float?

Ballerina Keeks

And this one just because I love it.

The Beach

While we were all together for the 40th wedding anniversary celebration, we spent some time at the beach.  Some of the world traveling grown-ups were less than impressed with the brown water and miniature waves.  But the kids!  They were impressed.  Having no other beach to compare Galveston to made it the absolute best.  They couldn't even fathom the idea of being able to see through the water.

It was a lot of fun to splash and jump in the shallow with the little girls.

Tara was in the water the whole time!

Eric liked the sand

Ian hated swallowing salt water and abandoned the water in search of living creatures in the sand.  Does this surprise anyone?  Not at all.

We had a great time hanging out with family.

It was a wonderful time.

Clyde and Linda's 40th Wedding Anniversary Dinner

We enjoyed a weekend together with the Shannon clan and celebrated Linda and Clyde's 40th wedding anniversary. It was a lot of fun.

Linda and Clyde

They did a pretty great job of raising five awesome kids who picked pretty incredible spouses (if I do say so myself!)

Jared and I

Michael and Kate (who we learned are Linda' favorite!)

Brent and Tamara

Mark and Catherine

Kristen and Micah

We had a wonderful time at dinner.  The goo-goo gang was at the end of the table totally happy to be free of the boring grown ups and left (mostly) to their own devices. 

most of the kids

Telling jokes

happily sharing cake

Not so happily sharing lemonade.  Jared doesn't like to share...

Brynlynn will eat from anyone, especially these two.

A great way to end the night.

First Day School

 Another school year is here again.  The kids were mostly excited.  Don't let Ian's sour puss face fool you.  He is thrilled to be going to the same school as Tara and Eric.  He isn't thrilled however about taking a picture. 

My stair steps on the first day of school

Keeks trying to be big enough

Kyra really thought she was going to school this morning.  She had her lunch box and was ready to go.  When she realized that she wouldn't be staying with Amy she began to cry.  It didn't help that I accidentally hit her with my purse as I attempted to get a picture of Amy at her desk.  Neither worked out very well.  She has been following me around like a lost puppy this morning.  Just looking for things to do.  Poor little lonely child!  She doesn't start preschool (or pre-k as she calls it) until after Labor Day and then just twice a week.

 Amy is so ready for kindergarten!  She told me she didn't need me to walk her to her class, but she would let me if I wanted to come say goodbye.  She is anxious to learn and soak up as much information as her teacher will give her.

 Ian is a ham.  He cracks me up.  He just doesn't want to write all day long.  Give this boy some time to run and climb and he will be golden the rest of the day! 2nd grade here we come.

Eric is excited to have two really good friends in his class this year.  I am excited too because they are good kids from great families.  He picks friends well.  4th grade is lucky to have this guy.

Tara is in 6th grade now.  Big man on campus.  I actually remember being her age.  There are these big fuzzy gaps.  I know that these years will really shape her as a person and I pray daily that it will be good experiences that she remembers.  She was a little nervous, but excited to see her friends.

Summertime

This is pretty much all we have been doing all summer. We add in a few trips to the store now and then and some reading and yep, that covers it.