Summers' End

Well, it is Monday. I didnt post yesterday because I had a really bad weekend. Long story short, I wrecked the van. It is rather embarrassing to admit that I hit a fixed object (a cement post) but I guess that was actually a good thing. Much better that, than another car with people in it. Anyway, the whole passenger door has to be replaced so we are currently driving a rental vehicle. I finished the Harry Potter book last Tuesday. Best book of the series! I wont say anything to spoil it, but it was pretty intense. I cried....a lot....and had no idea what was going to happen until the very end. I wont say how it ended but I will say that she made a good decision with the way she finished it. I am going to read it again this weekend. For those still reading or planning to read, make sure you dont listen to the spoilers. It will ruin the intensity of the book.

So, this week was uneventful (besides the wreck). We went and saw a movie on Saturday. It was Ratatouille. Super cute movie focusing on good food. The kids liked it. I have actually been pretty sick all week and lost my voice for a couple of days. Thankfully the worst has passed and I can speak again. We went swimming this afternoon (foggy picture to the left) but it didnt last long due to someones kid pooping in the pool. They made everyone get out and closed it for 2 hours....needless to say we didnt want to wait around so we went and got pizza and a couple of movies. The boys are watching "How to Eat Fried Worms" as I type. What a funny movie!

Well, the end of summer is quickly approaching. It ends in 2 days for Ian as he starts school on August 1st. We spent this past week buying school clothes and supplies for him. He got a letter in the mail the other day from his new 1st grade teacher and was feeling pretty good about that. He is very excited to learn about Australia this year and also that he gets 3 recesses! Makes me miss school...... Evan is very upset that he has to wait 3 more weeks for his school to start. He goes on August 24th. He cant wait to be in Kindergarten and go to his new school- Bonneville Elementary. Im excited for him to experience everything that Ian did last year. I worry about his tenderness sometimes though and am pretty sure there will be a few tears shed during the year. I hate the thought of him getting hurt by his friends but I guess that is part of childhood. I only hope I have the ability as a mom to help him through it without being too protective.... :)

So, Alec returns home on August 1st. It has been a pretty easy going month with him considering he is in the midst of pre-teenage angst. I was pretty nervous at first but other than a few eye rolling incidents and one or two attitude problems, he was pretty mellow. The month passed by really quickly and the boys are going to be pretty sad when he leaves. It is always hard for them and the questions they ask show that they still dont understand the situation completely. Denver was able to spend some time alone with Alec this time which was good for both of them. Alec will be 18 before you know it.....it is hard to believe that I have known Alec and been his step mom since he was only 3 or 4 years old.

Well, I think we had a great summer. We saw alot of movies, went on some picnics, watched the fireworks, went swimming. All in all it was fun. Next year I think we are going to attempt a trip....maybe to San Diego/Disneyland. We'll see........

Ciao for now,

Vanessa

Harry Potter.....the end is here.

So, I got up early this morning (Sat) and bought the final book of the Harry Potter series....boo hoo. Seriously though I have already started it (2 chptrs done) and I can tell it is going to be a tear jerker. Im fairly certain that Harry will die in this final chapter of his wizarding life and this is going to be sad but almost unavoidable. Im sure that may sound lame to most of the grown ups out there but Im telling you....if you havent read the Harry Potter books and you enjoy reading, then you are missing out. Believe me, this is no kiddie tale. It is FANTASTIC! and Im going to miss it thoroughly. I can just about guarantee that anyone with an imagination will get hooked the minute they read the first book. So anyway, I cant wait to get into the book tonight. Denver asked me how long I thought it would take to read the 764 page book....knowing of course that I usually cant put them down once I start them. Considering I have to work next week, I assume I will finish it by tomorrow evening.

We went swimming today at the Fairmont Aquatic Center. I still cant believe I actually went to a public pool in my swimsuit....yikes..... This place is cool though. It has a play center with fairly shallow water, a water slide, a lazy river and lots of fun water spouts and fountains for the kids to play in. They also have a large lap pool.. it was fun. Addison is such a little fish. She LOVES the water and it is all I can do to keep her in my arms. She constantly tries to walk away with the boys and doesnt care one bit to go under the water. I dont think she has cried once since the first time she got in a swimming pool at mom and dads. We came home and ate pizza and then Denver and Alec went golfing.....peace and quiet right now with Addison asleep and Alec gone so he isnt tormenting his little brothers. The other 2 are watching spongebob and thinking about sleeping after their big swim. MMMMMMM.......sounds like a good time to jump into my HarryPotter book :)

Ian starts school in 2 weeks! I cant believe it....he is very excited to be in the First grade now. Of course he will feel that way about every grade since that means he closer to being grown up. Alec goes home on the same day that Ian starts school. Evan doesnt start until the 24th. Which is also when Denver goes back to school. School, school, school......its a great thing though. Im actually thinking about taking some voice lessons. Its a long story but basically there is a man in our ward whose sister teachs voice out of her house. I heard her son sing in church and he had such a beautiful voice and thats how I found out that she trained him and her other 9 children. Seriously, Ive heard from my aunt Debra who sings with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that this woman has an amazing voice herself. I love to sing but wish that I had a respectable voice so Im thinking I may do it once everyone else starts school. I found a class for 20 month to 2 years in gymnastics so Im thinking of enrolling Addison in that around Christmas time. Since she is too young for dance classes yet. I have to wait until she is 3 for that....but I thought it would be fun for her to learn tumbling too...

So, I got new pictures of my future nephew. I dont have any nephews yet and am very excited to meet this little boy. His name is Soren Addicus Ries (if they dont change it) and personally I think he resembles my brother the most....sorry Alisa....although, there are a couple where I can see Alisa's genes too. He is going to be so cute (and stylish.....) Im thrilled to be an aunt and for the boys to have a cousin even though there is a huge age difference. Anyway here is the picture. Babies are so much fun (and work) and what an amazing process it is to become a parent for the first time. Everything is so new and exciting and scary. I remember being pregnant with Ian and being very frightened that I was going to screw up. Well, I guess I have screwed up once or twice but that is the learning process and eventually I figured out that no matter how hard I tried, I was going to mess up at some point. Thankfully Ian (and the rest of them) are turning out to be great kids with no lasting affects of my inadequacies. I wish my brother and Alisa all best at becoming parents to Soren and hope that they are able to see through their inadequacies enough to enjoy all the ups and downs that come with it.

So these are my thoughts today....Im going to go read now.

Vanessa

New Pictures

So, Im going to try and do this each Sunday I guess. Seems to be the only time I have to sit at the computer anymore. We had a nice week. Didnt do a lot during the week because of work of course, but on Saturday we had a big day! First I went to Alisa's baby shower which was lots of fun. We are so excited for her and it was fun to see all of her friends giving her fun gifts for their little boy. I thought it was funny though because anyone who knows Nate knows what a fashion freak he has ALWAYS been and it seemed to emulate through all of the gifts that were given to the baby. Very stylish onsies and outfits.....every one kept saying how Nate was going to love them and I finally said "I thought this was a shower for the new baby not Nathan"......ha ha...... We love you Nate and know you will enjoy the stylish gifts..........even more than Soren will. I made a cake for the shower which of course drove me crazy. Im not sure why I do it because the process drives me nuts and I almost never really like the end result, but I guess I do enjoy it and I always hope the recipient likes it too. I made this cake to match Alisa's shower invitation and it turned out cute.

After the shower was over, me and all the boys went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I have been waiting to see it all week since it came out on Wednesday.....Denver was nice enough to stay home with Addison so I could really enjoy the movie. Wow it was great. I just love Harry Potter and cant wait for the new book which comes out in 6 days. Sadly it will be the last one and I guess I will have to find some other book to read. Addison loves to sing and has been singing the theme to Harry Potter all week. Even in church she will start "singing" during the song. I think music affects her....Im very happy about that.

Today, we went to church and afterwards we went and had some new family pictures taken. It has been awhile since we have had any taken with me and Denver in them. I have avoided it for years because of my weight but I finally decided that Im going to just have to do it because the last picture we took, Ian was just 9 months old and now he is 6! We have had 2 other children since then. Anyway, I posted the new picture above and below are a couple more.

Well, that is about it until next week........

Welcome to The Shannon Family Blog

Im really going to try this blogging thing and see how it goes. I hear raves about it from friends so, I figured I should try it too. I guess I will start with the latest about the kids since that is the whole point of this blog. It is summer (obviously) and it has been VERY hot here in Salt Lake. The kids are enjoying the summer but are also excited about going back to school.....at least for the first week anyway. Alec has joined us for a month and the boys are especially excited about it. Although, after just 3 days, they are already fighting like cats and dogs. Gotta love boys. We spent the 4th of July at a BBQ with one of Denvers friends from work. This friend also helped us move twice so we felt a little obligated to spend some time out there. It was nice......we came home and then walked down to Sugar house park for the firework show. It was a good time. The boys went and saw the new Transformer movie yesterday.....it got rave reviews......even from Denver. Me and Addison just hung out at the house. I wasn't so into seeing the Transformers, besides, I am eagerly awaiting the new Harry Potter movie next week.

Ian has lost 4 teeth and the permanent ones are starting to come in. He is growing up so fast. He has been in the ELP program at school which is for gifted and talented students. He is a great reader and ended the Kindergarten year reading at a 4th grade level. Evan is getting ready for Kindergarten this year and it very excited about it. He is going to be my creative/artistic child. He loves to paint and draw and create and he tells the funniest stories sometimes. What an imagination. Addison is growing like a weed. She is FINALLY getting some significant hair. It is even flipping up on the ends....as soon as the top gets long enough, I can get a hold of it and start putting bows and clips in it. She is running all over the place and loves to play in the dirt. She is very girly though and loves to watch me do my hair and makeup. When she gets dressed, she goes up to her daddy and shows him her dress or whatever.....as if to say....."look at my pretty clothes".....very cute.

If you werent aware, we moved last weekend. Yes we move a lot I know. But, we are happy to report that this house is a keeper. At least until we are able to buy our own. It is a beautiful house with a yard and so much space Im not sure what to do with it all. Alec is so excited to FINALLY have his own room so he doesnt have to sleep with his little brothers anymore. Plus we have 2 bathrooms YAY! Anyway, the move was just around the corner.....literally. We stayed in the same ward and are even keeping the same phone number. Only the address changed. We are very happy already and look forward to a few more years in the same house.

Well, I guess thats it for my first blog. I will try to keep up on it and post pictures regularly. I still love email too so dont be afraid to email me anytime. I just thought this would be an easier way to share stories and updates. Here are a couple of recent pictures....a couple from the last days of school for each boy and a recent one of Addison.

Take Care!
Vanessa