Welcome to the Family Blog

I'm not exactly new to blogging but my personal blog is maybe a bit too much about me and not too much detail about the rest of the family. So for more general topics and the purposes of sharing with family and friends here's a blog that's about the whole family. If you want to know more about the random inner workings of my brain, go check out my other blogs.

Mel and Shelley met and married in 2000.

Mel's the dad. He works hard at work (Boeing), at home (remodeling), at school (about a year left for his B.S.), at church (executive secretary)and for his family (capable of doing own dishes, laundry and meals).

I'm Shelley. I'm the mom. Mel would also call me the wife and the boss. I like both of those titles. I'll probably be the author of the blog most of the time. I work hard at work (preschool teacher, piano teacher), around the house (except that the laundry never seems to get done and matching socks is the bane of my existence, hence the blog address), at church (primary music leader), and for the family (mother of five, enough said).

Erick is 19 and waiting until May 6 when he can enter the MTC and begin his mission to Missouri Independence, Spanish speaking. He also currently works full time at a call center and has worked enough since he turned 16 to pay for half of his mission.

Melissa is 14. She is in the 9th grade. She loves Seminary, reading, spending time with her Grandma, playing the piano and writing her own songs. She's just about the sweetest, nicest, most patient and giving person you'd ever meet. She's also the family babysitter. She's great at it, but I don't think she loves it.

Spencer is 13. He's in the 7th grade. He learns things faster than a lot of people, even though he'd tell you that's not true. He's active in his Boy Scout troop. He likes a variety of computer and video games, as well as playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends. He's also hysterical. Ever seen Potter Puppet Pals? Don't need to--Spencer can quote it for you word for word and voice for voice. He makes me laugh like no one else can. Also, I noticed in the most recent family picture that he's as tall as me. I don't love that.

Shannen is 11. She's in the 6th grade and is currently getting straight A's and getting involved in the school play, Midsummer Night's Dream. She's the kind of girl who knows what she wants and does her best to get it. Sometimes that's a good thing. She's creative, has a lot of energy and internal drive, and she's stinkin' smart. And she has great hair.

Noelle is 5. She's in kindergarten and loves it. In the last couple of months she's made huge progress in learning how to sound out words. I love to listen to her read. She takes piano lessons and ballet lessons. She can be shy until you get to know her, and then she's just crazy. Mel says she's like Jekyll and Hyde--sometimes she's mellow Mel and sometimes she's psycho Shelley. You never know what you're going to get.

We have no pets to introduce you to, and I plan to keep it that way.

And that's the truth. pthdth.