straffin.com » Shannon

Laughter keeps us young

Shannon — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 11:51:01 +0000

“Here I am, pining for my lost youth…”
- Shannon, getting ready for the day, sighing at her reflection

“No worries, Honey! They’re downstairs eating breakfast.”
- John, being helpful and making his wife laugh

It makes you a silly-billy!

Shannon — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:06:38 +0000

“Mama, what is ‘alidocious’?”
- Amanda, practicing at the piano

“What do you mean?”
- Mama, who has never heard of “alidocious”

“Well, in the song it says ‘super-cali-fra-gi-list-ic-MAKES-ME-alidocious’, and I just wondered what that makes me.”
- Amanda, succumbing to her penchant for reading the first part of a word and guessing at the rest when faced with “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”.

Directional challenge

Shannon — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:39:54 +0000

“We should be putting something on your scar every time you turn around”
– Mama, dabbing ointment on Emily’s keloid scar to try to soften it

“Good grief! I need to walk in straight lines!”
– Emily, very amused at her own joke

Watch out for the watermelon!

Shannon — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:50:48 +0000

“Look! A squirrel eating watermelon.”
- Daddy, glad that the rinds he left on the porch railing were being enjoyed

“EEEK! A squirrel-eating watermelon?! (Dramatically) Who knew a fruit could be so savage?”
- Emily, making her father very proud…

School daze

Shannon — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:49:48 +0000

“I got no school this week.”
- Amanda

“Sounds like you *ought* to have school this week.”
- Daddy, commenting

“I *have* no school this week.”
- Amanda, correcting

“No… I *don’t* got no school this week!”
- Daddy, “correcting”

“I *ain’t* got no school this week!”
- Emily, continuing

“I done told you I ain’t got no school this week!”
- Mama, capitalizing

“Y’all…”
- Amanda, completing

Read-alouds, Daddy style

Shannon — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:57:27 +0000

[John is reading Tales of Robin Hood to the girls]

“… He stepped up to address the crowd and silence fell. When they stood silence back up again, he said in a loud voice…”

[Oh, the fun he adds to make sure they're paying attention!]

Let’s put them out of their misery!

Shannon — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:02:00 +0000

“Mama, the brownies have sunk in the middle since you took them out of the oven! Poor little things. Maybe they’re tired. Maybe we should eat them?”
– Emily, who has had a one-track mind ever since the brownies went into the oven

I wonder what kind of camera He uses?

Shannon — Mon, 29 May 2006 15:27:02 +0000

>>flash from behind us< <

"Daddy, did you just take a picture?"
- Emily, knowing that Daddy has been very snap happy with his digital camera on this hike

>>KABOOOM< <
- The roll of thunder that started immediately after Emily asked her question

Fancy that!

Shannon — Mon, 29 May 2006 15:24:51 +0000

“Wow, even the trash is fancy here!”
- Emily, at Biltmore estate, admiring the cast iron scrollwork around a trash can in the parking lot

Moving to the mountains

Shannon — Mon, 29 May 2006 15:23:08 +0000

“Hey, we could move here– they have a Walmart!”
- Shannon, joking with John while driving through Hendersonville on vacation, continuing our casual search for the perfect place to move to in the mountains when the kids are grown

“But we don’t have enough clothes– or the cats!”
- Amanda, from the backseat, thinking maybe that’s why we’ve been doing all this driving