Summer Traditions

As I get older, I am amazed at how the summer seems to fly by! When I was a kid the summer's went on forever. Now it seems like they've come and gone before I've had the chance to really enjoy them. Lucky for me my family is big on traditions and getting the extended family together at least twice a summer.

Every summer I have two family reunions to attend that remind me of what it was like when I was younger. Now I bring my family to those reunions and realize that I'm passing on history and tradition...which I think is pretty darn cool.

The first reunion of the summer is always held on Fathers Day weekend at my Aunt Margie and Uncle Ray's house on the lake! It's the smaller of the two reunions, just 50 - 75 family members, depending on the year. I have a good friend that swears that I make up family memebers. She doesn't believe that there are that many people related to me! Made up or not...we have a pretty good time when we get together!

There's lots of swimming, boating, eating, drinking and of course, reminiscing with family that we haven't seen since the year before. I seem to "get it" a bit better now that I'm bringing my own family to these reunions. As a kid, it seemed like more of a chore to go...but I always ended up having fun!
It's a lot of fun to watch my children play with their cousins, younger and older, and dazzle the adults with their cute (and sometimes annoying) antics. I love introducing the IrishKids to some of the things I grew up loving: swimming in the lake, boating and skiing, and most importantly spending time with my best friends...my cousins! And honestly, I think it's one of Alan's favorite weekends. He hangs out with the guys all day and night...I hardly see him!
I realize that as Kit and Fionn get older, they too may go through the "reunions are boring" phase. But ultimately, I hope that they'll look back at those times with lots of laughs and great memories, the way that I remember the reunions from my younger years!

Hangin' Out In Downtown TP

On Sunday, we invited the family (minus Uncle B) to our house for dinner. Alan made a roast on the grill, and we felt it was best to invite enough people so that the two of us wouldn't feel compelled to finish it! After dinner, the nine of us walked up to the local ice cream parlor for dessert. Fionn had his first taste of chocolate ice cream (that I'm aware of anyway). As you can see, he didn't mind it one bit!
Kit was loving her ice cream as well. Mostly, I think she was just glad to be out and about. As you can see, she didn't mind "hammin' it up" for the camera. How 'bout those shoes? Lily has a red pair. They're a souveneir from Florida from Lily, Uncle Jack and Auntie Michelle.

And there are the girls waiting for their train to come in. They love those "choo-choo's"! And finally, I think we were able to make Michelle very happy with our trip to the ice cream parlor. You see, my sister-in-law is a big fan of dessert. The poor girl rarely gets it with this crowd. But as you can see...she should take care of any and all cravings to satisfy that little bump that we get to meet in November! And I'm sure she's going to kill me for posting this picture (I think she's cute preggers). Love ya, Mic!

Making Cookies

Conversation overheard at the IrishKids house at 10:30pm on a Friday night:

Alan: "Shannon, do I have to mix these cookies by hand?"

Shannon: "Well, what does the package say?"

Alan: "Mix by hand..."

Shannon: "Then I guess you should mix them by hand."

Two minutes later, Shannon walks into the kitchen...

Shannon: "Alan...what are you doing?"

Alan: "I'm mixing by hand."

Summer Weekends Rock!

This weekend we spent more quality time with the Grandparents. It's a favorite thing to do anytime really, but especially in the summer! As you can see, the kids enjoyed a variety of activities during their visit. Saturday, Kit got to take a dip in the pool (cute swimsuit, eh?). This is something she absolutely LOVED last summer. This summer...not so much. She didn't scream or cry, thankfully, she just preferred to be out of the water as opposed to in it! I'm sure that will change as the summer heats up.

On Sunday, she took a bike ride (aka: great adventure) with her grandparents, Aunt Carol, Uncle Pat and his sons, Tyler and Kyle, and my cousin, Rhett, his wife, Caroline, and their little guy, Evan (who is 5 weeks older than Kit). Unfortunately, Alan and I were not able to join the group. Alan had to work and I am healing from an injury (I fell on my bum, HARD, about a week and a half ago, and the thought of my bike seat made me cringe). Fionn and I hung out at my parents house for the afternoon. He slept and I read...soooo nice.

I think the "bikers" rode about 10 miles in all! Now, the way we go for bike rides may be a bit different than what you'd expect. This 10 mile ride lasts about 3 hours...yes, 3 hours...and includes a few pit stops along the way. We have a trailer for the kids and my uncle has a trailer for his kids...Miller and Heine! Not the best workout, I realize...but we always have a great time. Alan and I were sorry we missed the great adventure!

And the little man...he was content to hang out with his mom and grandma! Until she sprayed him in the face with the hose...on accident of course! All in all, a great weekend.

The Little Man Talks

So, we're having a nice family lunch today after our walk up to the Farmers Market. As usual, Kit is kind of dominating the conversation while the rest of us finish our sandwiches. And as usual, Fionn is just kind of hanging out minding his own business as his big sister monopolizes Mom & Dad's attention. And then out of blue, Alan and I hear this husky, little voice say "Daadee".


I think my husband got a bit of a shock and was really pleased that Child #2's first word was Daddy (same as his sister)! Anyway, I picked up the digital camera and we immediately went to work to try and get a repeat performance (check him out)!


I'm amazed at how quickly the little guy is growing up!

Much Happier...

As you can see, the little Miss is feeling much better. We actually got her to laugh, smile, sing, and dance for us tonight...all sounds that we've missed tremendously this past week!

Taming of the Shrew...

My sister-in-law saw, Michelle, read the previous post and laughed at how bearable I made our Memorial Day weekend sound (as I mentioned in my last post, Kit was a bit off). In reality, last weekend and this WHOLE week, were quite UNBEARABLE with the little shrew! She was extremely whiney, highly irritable, and nothing made her happy, no matter what...for SIX straight days! Your probably thinking..."what the hell is wrong with you, you MORON, take her tiny, little butt to the doctor! There's obviously something wrong with her!" I promise the next time she starts acting this way...we are going to the doctor straight away!

My reasoning behind skipping the doctor visit: her fever went away, her gums looked swollen and white where her molars should be, and it's spring...she can't be sick...she's teething! Another lesson learned, do NOT self diagnose! We did eventually see the good Doc, who informed me that indeed, Kit's gums are swollen...but her main issues are her DOUBLE ear infection and BRONCHITIS! No wonder she's been a shrew. Anyway, the nice Doc gave me a perscription to make Kitzer feel much better. Unfortunately, there is no perscription for taking away Mommy's stress and guilt. Just one of the things that goes along with being a Mom, right?

The good news: her medication must be kicking in, because she's actually kind of fun to be around now! The bad: I've discovered that my daughter can give looks that will stop you in your tracks at 21months. I must say I am not looking foward to the teenage years at all (especially because I remember what I was like as a teen...YIKES)! And what about Fionn...it seems that he's all ready learned to "fly under the radar" when his sister starts winding Mom & Dad up! Hopefully, that will never change.