Catch-Up Time

Well, now the summer has come, and the summer has gone, and I haven't written anything at all. I guess I've been either busy working, travelling, or on vacation, or just plain lazy. But Anyway, here's some catch-up news.

Shannon went to 2 dance camps, California, to spent time with Grandpa Munson, and some of her friends. She and I also went to our Munson Family Reunion at Tropic Reservoir, and had a great time. Karen stayed home. I think this reunion had the highest attendance since I can remember. It was lots of fun.

Shannon also went to EFY in Rexburg at BYU-I, with her cousin, Janessa. Karen went up with her, to see Elise and Annie while Shannon was in Rexburg. On the day they checked in, Shannon called me and told me they were going to the bookstore, and to see if I could see them through the bookstore's webcam. Here is the picture I snapped from the webcam... It was hard to get them to smile, because they said it looked silly smiling at a blank wall. http://www.byui.edu/Webcameras/

Here are some pics of the summer's events.

Dad resting in the trailer...his favorite spot is his recliner!

Part of taking a 4-wheel ride includes posing with his grand-daughter, and also fixing broken down machines.

Rae Jean and Don set up for their "Pet Rock" painting booth at the carnival

while Richard and Dana just finished a TREK in Wyoming.

Lunch time on the ride, and time for some pictures of the beautiful scenery.

And no reunion would be complete without a performance by the Uncles of "Ol' Shep"!

(The video is too big to load, so if you would like a copy of the video, I'll send it to you on a CD. Just email me with an address where to send the CD.)

Shannon Makes Officer

Friday night, Shannon tried out to be an officer of the Shining Stars Dance Team. She had been practicing the dance for a couple weeks before hand, and had to do an interview, and make a 'life book'. She worked really hard on the things she had to do, and was chosen by the other on the team to be one of the seven officers for this next school year. She was very excited, and they all went to Applebees after the try-outs to celebrate (I guess it's kind of a tradition thing..).

Go-in' To The Ch-a-pel.....Gon-na Get Mar-ried.......

Around April 10, Elise decided she wanted to bump up her wedding date to April 17, 2008, in Las Vegas. That was hardly time for us to arrange to get out there, but we scrambled and bought airline tickets/hotel reservations and flew out there on Thurs, the 17th.

We arrived around 9:00am in Las Vegas, rented a car, and drove to the Tropicana Hotel, where we were all staying. Elise and Rowdy still didn't have a wedding place picked out yet, nor did they have their marriage license.... so they had a busy afternoon getting the license, and finding a place to have the wedding. Karen went with them to look at wedding chapels, and they all returned back to the hotel around 5:00 pm. The wedding was at 7:30 pm.

Well, to make a long story short, I walked Elise down the aisle, and Elise giggled all the way, and kept pulling on me. As we got in front of the preacher, I was asked to give my daughter away.

It was a nice, short ceremony, and Elise and Rowdy looked very happy together. After the wedding, we went to Harrah's hotel and had their buffet, but since it was almost 9:00pm by then, we kind of got what was left. Having gotten up at 4:00am CST to catch our plane at 6:40am, we were pretty tired by the time the night was over.

The next day, we all just kind of hung out, did some shopping, etc, then met for dinner that night. I'm really glad my sister Dianne, and my Dad came for the wedding. It was good to have some family there. Karen's mom and sister couldn't make a decision to come on such short notice.

We flew home Saturday afternoon, and were ready for bed by the time we got back to Dallas that night. Daniel especially had a good time in the casinos. We hardly saw him. It was nice to see Annie again, and be with family for the short time.





Videos:

• Just Married - Part 1
  
  
• Just Married - Part 2
  

• Tossing the Boquet
  
  
  
• Watch the actual wedding.
  
  
  More pics can be viewed at the following website:
  http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=95rkfaj9.aud1kuz5&Uy=-l5tk0f&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=369294905497_891295234209&localeid=en_US

Karen's Green Thumb Come To Life

During the last few weeks, Karen has been planting flowers, and starting her gardening. Actually, she started in December planting her Tulip bulbs, because they have to be planted in cold weather.







Today, she finished planting her Earth Boxes, which is our vegetable garden. She planted tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, and still has one more box of something to plant. This year, we'll use the fence to help the tomato plants climb. These boxes really do well, and we have lots of vegetables every year. That's good, because we like tomatoes and cucumbers. And best of all, Hallie doesn't bother them! She also planted a few more flowers out by the front porch to make the house look even better!

Shannon, and her favorite past time

She didn't want me to take this picture, but this was very typical of Shannon's afternoon activities, in front of the TV, with some kind of food on a plate. I even tried to trick her by going around through the kitchen, but she informed me she wasn't "born yesterday". Good thing she was finished with her food!

We Like Nap Time

Hallie always naps...but on this day, Shannon decided to join her. Take a look!

A Typical Texas Storm

They don't last very long, but they come, drop the rain, then leave.

A couple weeks ago, we had a nice rain. It rained so hard, that the water on the street was up to the curb. Not a big deal, but a took a couple pics, and a short video to show the water level. This will just give you an idea of what it's like when this happens. Take a look.