Cinderella

After roasting marshmallows and making s'mores one Sunday afternoon, Shannon became obsessed with washing the goo off all the plates. She spent at least 20 minutes washing a single plate. Of course an even bigger mess was created from all the bubbles that ended up on the counters, cabinets, and floor, but it was all worth it to see such a hard worker having fun. Hopefully this is a preview of things to come and I will have a full time maid by the time she's 6. Wishful thinking.

A present fit for a princess

Shannon received a package entitle "princess Shannon". Of course she pulled out the first item, a princess bag, and was so fixated on it that it took 5 minutes to get her to check out the rest of the package. Mrs. Robinette was too kind and sent us some treats, a princess card, and a Halloween Princess book in addition to the bag. The last page of the book says, " What are you going to be for Halloween? A princess?" How did she know? For those of you who aren't aware, Shannon has a slight obsession with the Disney Princess. I no longer enjoy going grocery shopping as Shannon spends most of the time pointing out princess balloons, cereal, fruit snacks, etc. We have read the story at least 15 times today and I have a feeling tomorrow will be no exception. Thank you for your kindness Mrs. Robinette. we will bring Princess Shannon for a visit soon!

Blueberry

....A NEW CAR!

Ok, So, I hate car salesmen, I hate cars, but the time came to buy one due to that fact that we have the worst luck with cars and needed to trade in our 4th car that we've owned since we've been married. So we did all the research, found a weekend to go to Atlanta (lower prices), and were ready to bargain. The first car lot we came to was basically a house with a million cars around it and a greasy salesman with gold chairs and awful cologne. We test drove a car and after leaving the driveway we feared the the engine was going to fall out. We did a U-turn and went back to the "dealership." Upon exiting the car another customer was yelling at a salesman saying "God saw what you did and the police will know! They'll be here soon!" Needless to say, we high tailed it out of there.
The next "lot" we came to and were getting ready to test drive a car, this associate kept trying to get into our wagon (which had a computer, GPS system, etc in it). So I stayed to guard our assets and Steve went for a test drive. Once again, we ran from the "dealership".
Next "car lot" = razor wire and a salesman who tried to convince us the car had not been smoked in despite the cigarette burns on the seats. At this point we were getting desperate. Our plan was to go to the last car lot we had researched then head to the hotel, do more research, and probably break down and pay for a Honda Dealership.
4th car lot = Steve and I started cheering when we saw flags and asphalt. A real dealership! How sad that we'd been reduced this. By this time I was tired and done messing around. We got a young salesman, Rafael, and after driving 2 cars, and some snappy bargaining on our part, we drove away with an 05 Honda Accord. It survived the drive home and we're hoping that it's a car that will last through the millennium. Hope you get a good laugh at our expense as laughter was the only thing that got us through that day. A picture of our new car "Blueberry" will be posted soon!

The Importance of a Father

I'm kind of against using a blog as a soap box and very rarely do I get mushy, but I took this picture of Steve and Shannon and had one of those moments. I felt so grateful to have a husband who is such a good father and uses his valuable and minimal free time to take his daughter to the playground or to feed the horses. I don't think you can measure the importance of a father in a little girls' life.

Pumpkin Patch Pickin'

For family home evening we venture to a faux pumpkin patch at a

local church. Of course Shannon wanted the largest and most

expensive pumpkin. As Steve says, "I don't have expensive taste,

just quality." So I guess like father like daughter. It seemed very

odd to me to be looking at pumpkins in shorts and t-shirts, but

when it's 80 degrees outside, what are you going to do?

Dancing Queen

Shannon has been in "creative movement" classes for over a year. I think I love seeing the see of pink tutu's more than she loves to dance. I call her the "instigator" because she's the one who runs off, and the entire class follows. She does love the beam and parachute. I love being a girl's mom!

Princesses on Ice

This week Gigi, Papa, Melissa and Shannon had the privilege of attending Disney Princesses on Ice. Of course Shannon wanted every item of merchandise, from coloring books to cotton candy. Shannon choose to go as the Little Mermaid, complete with high heels. She sat mesmerized for 2 hours. Now she gives everyone she comes into contact with a complete play by play of the event, must include every princess in her prayers, and is asking when we will go again. I'm such a sucker, but I got such a thrill of watching her clap incessantly for every princess and yell at Snow White, "Don't eat the apple. It will make you sick!" I love having a little "princess"!

First Blog

Going, going, gone. While the family was visiting for Aubrey's blessing, Paige and Trey Clark, who are living at McCallie, invited us to play at the lake. We had a great day of water slides, "kitty pool" which was Shannon interpretation of when I said "kiddy pool", and jumping off the tower. We managed to get all the guys to do a massive jump. It was a fabulous day!