How do you know you brush well?

Here is a true conversation I had with one of my boys today:
Mom- "Son, did you brush your teeth?"
Son- "Yep."
Mom- "Did you brush them well?"
Son- "Yep, I even used toothpaste."
Gross. So sad and so true. Needless to say, tonight I will have a little better eye on the teeth brushing with my children.

Scaredy Cat

A few weeks ago, I took the kids to the circus with two of my sisters. I wish that I took more pictures, but the truth is that I was just so darned amazed, that I didn't even think to grab my camera. But, Korie's boyfriend, Larry, had my back on this one. The cute little boys are my nephew, Roberto, and my son, Zack. Now, some of you might be falling off your chairs laughing at me. I don't care. I am a big sissy, a big chicken, I freely admit it. If God himself commands something to crawl on it's belly, you know it's got to be bad. But, let me just tell you that I at least am in the picture. Where is my sister, Jennifer? She was right next to me. Where did she go? Oh ya. She RAN. I didn't even know she ran until I seen the picture and didn't see her! So, who's the chicken? And, this HUGE snake was gross. I mean really, really, gross. Slimy, scaly, thick, and just typing that gave me the shivers. So, I guess I wasn't a chicken. I was brave.


Ok, so I have mastered one fear. The next one I am going to tackle is heights. Shane took me to Seattle for my birthday the other night, and we had dinner at the Space Needle. I have really got to get over this fear. I got dizzy in the elevator. Do you know that Spin City, as the restuarant is called, is 520 feet up? And, that the elevator travels at a flying 10 mph? I got dizzy with the whole rotating restuarnt thing. It ONLY goes around once every 47 minutes, so why was I having such a hard time? Oh ya, we were 520 feet off the ground!! Thankfully, I didn't embarrass myself and lose my lovely Seafood Trio.


Now, I just have one more thing to say, or ask, rather. Is this my cat, or a dog?





Ok- I lied. I have something else to say. This is what I look like when I am arguing politics. I might just run in the 2012 election. Would you vote for me? And, please don't pay attention to my red eye. I didn't have time to edit:) I will once I am on the ballot. Because then, you know every picture will be on the web, and someone will hack into my email account.



Ryan took this picture. He is addicted to the camera. If I do not know where my camera is, Ryan does. In his back back, in his room, in some special hiding spot so his brothers and sisters can"t take the camera from him. It's his, all his.

PS- Can you guess what my favorite color is? Free comment to whoever gets it right!

6 Random things, huh?

Well, my dear friend, Alecia thinks that just because she can blog all day and night, that I can too. I think that it has been too long since we have hung out. Seriously- almost 2 years. September will be 2 years. I am not kidding. I'm a little hung up on that. Anyways, she forgets what I really like to do in my spare time. Like paint my toenails. Or curl my daughters hair. Clean toilets, and try not to get attacked my our new kitten. I honestly think that she came strait from the jungle. Her primal instincts have cornered more than one of my children and had them screaming for mommy. Side note: Shane who is a cat hater, is now a kitten lover. "Does anyone know where Jazz is?" Mmm hmm. The Aguilars are probably shell shocked.
Ok- Since I have been "tagged" to let everyone know 6 random things about me, here goes.
1. I have had the same toe rings on since before I was pregnant with Zack. He's now 8. I don't know why they don't break and fall off, or why I don't take them off. They are just a part of me. They slide up and down so I can wash between my toes, but they have just not left my person for over 8 years.
2. I have had the same weight on my driver's license since I got my permit 15 years ago. Don't laugh. You probably do too. I don't lie. They just ask me if everything is the same and when I avoid their question by suddenly taking care of one of my children or glare them down and ask,"Just what do you mean by that?", they just move on.
3. I am seriously scared of heights. I had to help Shane paint our house and hold the paint sprayer up on the roof of the garage so he could reach the second story, and I had to pray in tongues to get down. Once, and only once, Shane got me to go on a roller coaster at the fair. I was young and in love. I thought I was going to throw up. And, I swear I can still feel my stomach rolling. That was over 12 years ago. I'll take on the tea cups, the Gravitron, the ride that the floor drops out from under you, but if it's up high, forget about it. So, I tried to conquer my fear last Sunday. We had a rock climbing wall at church for the kids, and my friend Jaime and I thought we would be all bad and go up. Ya. I was still shaking on the way home. Although, I will say this for myself, I made it up about ten feet. It's a good thing I am only 5'6". I would probably get sick just standing.
4. I am extremely loyal. Once your on the inside, you'll probably stay there. Case in point-The New Kids On The Block are coming to Tacoma in November and guess who's going? Ya. I really am. With a couple of friends who are/were NKOTB fans. And I totally plan on decking out. Stirrup pants, 3 different colored pairs of socks, I'm gonna rat my bangs up high with aqua net, and try to get my short, thirty something hair in a side pony tail. And this free little tid bit: Joey McCintyre was my first kiss. I would wake up every morning, he would gaze at me with his bright blue eyes, and I swear he would say, "Good morning, Shannon". Ya, I had delusions.
5.My favorite types of books are thrillers. Vince Flynn and James Patterson are 2 of my favorite authors. They have great plots of the bad guy trying to kill the good guy, and I quite enjoy the chase. Sick, I know. Although, I love the emotions of Nicholas Sparks' characters. And, the movies are nothing compared to the books.
6. Something else that I am a chicken about? Mice. There is a night that sticks out as one of the scariest nights of my life. You need a little background about my eyesight to fully appreciate the humor of this story. You see I am just a smidgen from being legally blind. At least that's what my family tells me. If I am not wearing my contacts or glasses, there is a good chance that I won't even see the wall in front of me. Or, if Shane is on the lap top in bed and tries to show me this tractor that he really needs to buy off craigslist, I literally have to get about 2-3 inches from the screen before the image starts to clear. So one night, I go to the bathroom without my glasses on come out and scream like I just saw Freddy Kruger on my door step. Waiting for me on the other side of the bathroom door was a mouse. It just sat there glaring at me. My knight in shining armor comes to rescue me, and just about needs resuscitation from laughing so hard. I have already jumped up onto the sink, that is after I let my self down from hanging by my nails on the ceiling, and I do not think that a mouse keeping me hostage in my own bathroom is very funny. Well, Shane picks up the "mouse" by the tail and lo and behold, it is just the pump from a pump spray bottle. Ha Ha. And I admit that I was a total coward just last week. Ryan and Charlee were taking naps, Tyler and Zack were outside, and Jordan and I were hanging out in the kitchen. She yells, "Mouse!", to which I immediately jump up on the counter and to my shame leave my poor defenseless daughter to her own demise. There really was a mouse, and no we still have not caught it. So, I cook and do the dishes all with my feet at least 2 feet from the counters and lean over. My back is sure to be causing me problems soon. And by the way, Jordan forgave me.

Ok now I have a problem. I honestly do not have 6 friends to now tag. Most of my friends are not virtual. And my virtual friends have all been tagged. So, you can just enjoy knowing 6 things about Shannon that you did not know before. And, Alecia? I owe ya one, babe. See ya soon.

Oh, My Dearest Blog,
Can you ever forgive me for waiting so long to come back to you? I know that I haven't been here since April, but I thought of you all the time. I knew that I should have at least called or visited my own personal space on the web, but other things have caught my eye. Like the sun, for instance. It is just so beautiful. It's warmth and sunshine just call to me. I like to sit out on my front porch and read to my children, or visit one of my sisters. And, twice it burned me so I learned my lesson. Don't leave your blog abandoned to play with fire.
But, other things have called to me. For instance, my home. It's just so ...new. And, so much more fun than you. It lets me roam. And, I can come and go as I please. It doesn't make me feel like I am being unfaithful. It just fills my heart in ways that you don't.
Then there is my family. You know the ones. The ones that actually return my love. I can cuddle and snuggle and talk to them. But, you just sit there. They give me reason for living. You just take, take, and take. You say give me more. You are nothing but empty space waiting to be filled. But, my family and I fill each other. I talk, they talk. I laugh, they laugh. If I laugh with you, you just sit there. You never get my jokes. You don't even act like you like my singing. My kids at least laugh and make up new lyrics with me.
My friends all tell me that I should return to you. But, what do they know? If they knew me at all they would know why there aren't any pictures. They only want one thing, and if you know anything about me, you know what that is. If they were good, true, real friends, they would call, write, email, or text. And say, "Hey! Can I/we come over?" To which I would reply, "Of course! I would love for you to come over! Come stay the night. I even have a spare room for you out of towners." Then they would come over and it would be great. Oh, but wait, Blog! What if their waiting for an invitation? Well, just in case they are, I will invite them right now! So, if you are reading this, Call me, email, write, ot text, and let's get together! You are hereby officially invited to come over. I will supply everything. Drinks, food, dessert, and my children are great entertainment. They have me rolling all the time. Some of you could bring your new baby. I haven't even met her. Or him. I wouldn't know since I have yet to lay eyes on him/her in the flesh.
Well Blog, I should go. No, I can't stay. Other things are calling me. But, I will be back. I don't know when. But, look for me. I will return.

Getting Closer!

This is the most updated picture of our house. It is supposed to be ready by May 1st, (Do I hear moving volunteers? :) So we are getting pretty excited. The counters and cabinets are all in. The lighting is up, the light switches are all in and in working order. And most of the flooring is in. We are just waiting on carpet, plumbing fixtures, and the interior doors to be installed. They are all on site, they are just waiting to be installed.
I love my house. Today, Shane brought home a few of our appliances and I sat in the middle of the kitchen floor reading the cookbook that came with the microwave. Now, most of you who know me, know I WOULD NEVER COOK SOMETHING IN THE MICROWAVE! But, this is a convection microwave. I couldn't believe what I was reading. This bad boy doesn't just reheat your coffee. No sir. It browns, bakes, roasts, toasts and reheats your coffee. Anyways, I'll let you know how my first pie in the microwave turns out. Although I think this is just a little unconventinal. I was just so glad to actually be sitting in an almost finished house. I am one blessed woman! We go there everyday when Shane gets home from work to see what's new. The kids' bedrooms are all painted and picked out. We have most of our furniture "placed". It's pretty exciting.
One of the criteria (we had quite a long list of wants)we had when we were looking for a home was that it either had to have a front porch or the potential for one. And as you can see, my honey made my dream come true. Isn't he great? The kids are just waiting on thier dog. And, for those of you who are asking our home is on the Graham/Eatonville border.
And by the way, Tyler's bird didn't make it. He let it go after a few days, and when we went back to the house where we let it loose, it was dead. Tyler buried it, and he told me he "said a few words".

The Varied Thrush

This is a picture of a healthy Varied Thrush. I have in my house an unhealthy Varied Thrush. I was painting the inside of our house the other day and Tyler comes running in telling me he has found a bird with a broken wing. So, we catch it and are going to nurse it back to health, right? Well, upon further examination, not only does this poor bird have a broken wing, it has a broken foot too. Tyler asked me to call a vet, which I did, and they said that the bird will probably die no matter what we do. Birds with broken wings can heal, but birds from the wild brought into captivity do not do well at all. Tyler has such a sensitive heart. He made a little home for it. A box with hay, bird seed and water. Complete with twigs in case the bird wants to perch. Tyler has been hand feeding this bird worms, he takes it outside for some fresh air, and even tries to let it get some excercise, which basically means that the bird tries to run and get away from him.
Being the homeschool mom that I am have turned this into a great homeschool project. We can tell you anything you want to know about the Varied Thrush. It has been an adventure to say the least.
Tyler is trying so hard to help let this bird live. I think that we have the most prayed for bird ever. But, I am glad that Tyler understands that it may not live despite his best efforts. And, he is really thinking about releasing it this weekend. But he is undecided. He has grown a little attached to it. I will keep you posted. Please pray for Tyler and his little bird.

A preview of what's to come.......

We're back!

Hello friends and family! It has been a long time since we have blogged anything. Namely because when we moved, we cancelled our internet service and since we no longer had the same email I couldn't log into our old blog account. So, I started a new one.
Many of you know that the kids and I moved to Eastern WA, where the sun shined and there was very little rain, and Shane stayed here with his dad. Well, my mom had a rental come open so we rented it. We moved back in December. It's been great living with my husband again. He is definetly key to my sanity. Not that I was going crazy, I was just meant to be a wife, and I am just not complete without him.
So, what have we been doing? We have been building a house! It has been a very exciting process and not much of a headache at all. But, we're not done yet either :) We are learning alot about what goes into building a home. I think I wrote a while ago about what we were looking for. We wanted a home and not just any home. We knew that we were going to be living in our next home for a long time, and didn't want to just settle for something because we didn't have a house to buy. Well, God is so good. I prayed for our house to be released and God chose to release the property. It is beautiful. Although I do admit it was prettier before we dug into it, and have since created a mud pit, but that will settle in time. God also knew how much I loved to look at the mountain. That beautiful drive down into the Orting valley spoiled me! The add for the property said that there was a partial mountain view. Well, since it's cloudy all the time I never really saw it. But, I wasn't too disappointed because I loved the property anyways. And, I figured if it had a Mt.view, even better. Well, after we had started building, I finally saw my mountain. There is a peek a boo view at the house, but if you walk to the back of the property, through the trees, where the chicken coop will someday be, you can see a beautiful full view of the Mountain. I was so blessed!
The building of the house has went so fast. In only about 6 weeks time, the foundation has been dug and poured, the house has been framed, it's been roofed, wired, plumbed, the windows and exterior doors are in and the siding has started. It has definetly went by fast. There is still alot to do though. Hopefully we're in sometime in April.
The kids are all doing well. Getting so big. We joined a christian, homeschool co-op this year, and are just loving it. It's kind of like school for homeschool kids. We go just one day a week, for four periods, and the kids all take classes that are fun and to their interest. Such as, Tyler is taking classes on astronomy and cartoon drawing, Zack is taking a class on horses and lego building, and Jordan is taking a class on Frogs and amphibians. Ryan takes classes too, but more along the lines of nursery rhyme time. And Charlee goes in the nursery with a few other little ones, because it's a co-op. Which means if your kids are involved, you are too! It has just been a lot of fun. And it's been great for me too, because sometimes I feel guilty about being so busy that I don't get to do enough of the "fun side of homeschool" with my kids, and this way a whole day once a week, is dedicated to just having fun and learning with my kids. It's been great.
My husband is wonderful. He is about to finish his apprenticeship with the Sprinkler Fitter union, I believe in April. Last week we celebrated our 11th anniversary. We went to Seattle and took a cruise around the sound. That was pretty fun. Except as we were sitting there waiting to take off, Shane says to me,"I don't know about this, Shannon." I forgot that my navy sailor gets sea sick!! Oops! But, after the boat got moving he was fine. Thank goodness. That could have been interesting. Our anniversary, watching Shane feed the fish!
Well, that's about all for now. Sorry about this being a "book". I just had alot to share:)