FUNKY TOWN!

Being out of high school is kind of a depressing thing. You start to have withdrawals and miss all of the fun activities that went along with school. I mean, don't get me wrong! I love not having to worry about high school drama anymore! But when I was in school, I participated in a lot of stuff! In the musicals, student council, choir, sports, stage crew, dances, and clubs. I tried to take advantage of all the opportunities that were put in front of me! But now that I'm graduated and all I have is work, online college, and hanging out with friends, my life has never felt so empty and repetitive. 

A couple months ago, I was given the opportunity to try out for a group called FunkyTown. It's a show choir group that is a part of FUSE Performing Arts! I was thrilled! I finally had something else going on in my life to change things up a bit! We sing, dance, and get to wear cool outfits! I knew right away that it was an answer to my prayers!

We recently went on a trip to St. George, Utah, for a performance exchange with the school there! It was incredible! The weather there was perfect! We also had the opportunity to see the fantastic dance show there called, "Thriller"! Oh.....my.....stars. It was unreal. The best creepy dance show I have ever seen! I would absolutely recommend it to anyone! The trip was short but we still had an amazing time! I can't wait for the next trip!

The view was incredible

This is what the "Thriller" show costumes were like! You can see why it was so awesome right!? 

The "100 Year" Flood

         For those who didn't hear, a few weeks ago, Arizona endured an insane and terrifying rain storm which apparently, we are calling the "100 Year" Flood...(hence the title)

It came out of no where. It being near the end of monsoon season, people never expected us to get hit with such a heavy rainstorm. But it happened. Not only was it beautiful, but it was also miserable. It rained for so long, EVERYTHING was flooded! People's homes, the school's, the street's, the freeway's, stores....we definitely weren't prepared for something like this.

 This picture was taken at 6:30 in the morning. I am at a park that was flooded all the way up to the top of the hill and was even over-flowing a little bit into the street on the other side.

This is my Dad's workshop with tons of electrical equipment in it. I know that it was stupid of me to go walking in there, but I'll be totally honest. I didn't even think about it until after I was already all the way in there.

This was later on in the day near the end of work for me. I took Mickey (the little boy that I nanny), outside to play in the puddles. He really enjoyed it! 

~Home from California~

This....trip...was....EPIC! 
Although this past week in California was great, I couldn't be more thrilled to be home! Showers, home-cooked food, a comfy bed, no bugs in my face, and NO DIRT!
We stayed at this campsite in San Clemente, California. Not too bad. A little crowded I suppose. And being the teenage girl that I am, I was pretty peeved when I found out that there weren't any outlets on the camp ground...... Honestly. You would think that they would put outlets on every campsite just in case people needed them.

But regardless of all the up's and down's, it ended up being pretty fantastic.

SixFlags and the Beach!!

~California Bound~

            Ever since I first started my job as a nanny in June, I haven't been able to go on many big summer trips. You know, the kind that every newly graduated senior dreams of going on with their friends? Well, luckily, I have friends who had to wait until the end of summer as well! (Good thing too! Less busy)  And I couldn't be more thrilled!

            We are going to California and camping out on the beach for about 4 days! Plus, we are going to Six Flags too (which I have never been to before)!! Exciting, right!?

I am so glad that I have such amazing parents who love me and trust me enough to take care of myself! I am so excited! So wish me luck everyone!

(My next post will be pictures of the trip!) 

But for right now, here are some pictures of my Student Council trip to California when I was a Junior!

Mesa High School Student Council 2012-2013

Space Mountain YO!! 

Bet you can't tell which one is Allan? ;)

~Bows and Toes~

        As some of you already know or happened to read in my first post, I am a nanny for a very nice couple watching their two kids. They have a little girl about 6 years old and a baby boy around 9 months old now. With school starting I don't have to watch their daughter as much anymore since she is going to school. So now that I have a little more time on my hands whenever the baby naps, I tend to go into the craft room and let my creativity work its magic. Obviously, it isn't my craft room, so I don't know where everything is. So because of that, I just stick to the basic easy crafts! Here are a few of them!

           

(This was the hardest one to make!)

SATURDAY CLEANING!

In every home, the parents 'bless' their children with a list of chores that they have to complete in the certain amount of time given to them if they want to have certain privileges awarded to them. That's considered a Win-Win Situation. My family, originally housing 8 kids of all different ages, moved into a house that would be big enough to accommodate for all 10 of us. That was back in '97 or '98, not too long after Allan was born. Since then, I guess you could say we've done A LOT of work on the house to make it more modern and in style. We've knocked out walls, added more space to our rooms, kitchen, bathrooms, built a pool, a workshop, a craftroom, etc.....But now, because everyone, (besides Allan and I) have gotten married and moved out, the list of chores has slowly been handed down to just us two. Although we have been pretty good about cleaning up after ourselves (by that, I mean better than when we were 10 years old), we still have family and friends who come over for most hours of the day and forget to pick up their messes. So our weekly chores aren't always done in the best of moods. Allan and I will probably never understand why we have to clean up a mess that someone else made. Obviously a baby doesn't count, but a kid about 3 or 4 years and older shouldn't have a problem picking up a little if we are there to keep them focused, right?....

Our thoughts exactly.

But regardless of how much we moan and groan about the whole situation, Allan and I still get the job done so that we can have certain privileges awarded to us. (Win-Win)

About once a month or so, we have a day called Deep Saturday Cleaning. Which usually means waking up early, doing yard work before the suns gets too high, and then spending as much time as possible cleaning inside the house once our outside work is done. We spend most of the day cleaning, so Saturday chores mainly go for about 8 or 9 hours. Our housework chores mainly consist of the area's on the lists. Sometimes there is either more or less depending on how messy our house is. But these lists are the general idea. 

My list (Upstairs)        Allan's list (Downstairs)          Parents list (Whatever they feel like cleaning)

Kitchen                       Family Room                          It really is whatever they feel like cleaning.

Living room                 Bathroom                               

Bathroom                    Hallway

Hallway                      His room

My room                    Trashes

Entryway                    Dishes

Stairs

Dishes

You may be sitting there wondering, "Why would anyone want to clean that much for that long!?"

Well my answer is brief..... When you have a family like mine, it's hard not to have fun while you clean.

Here is my example/proof of what I mean. :     

(You don't have to watch it all the way through to understand my point)
(And no we didn't choreograph any of this)

Yes, we do dance while we clean. It's sort of a family tradition. Dancing can be a little....distracting at times I'll admit. But hey, if the job gets done in the end, does it really even matter? Sometimes it's better to take your time and have fun while you clean so you can relish in every moment you have together. 

And there is nothing wrong with that.

Me scrubbing down our back door

In the video, my Mom was crawling on our kitchen counters cleaning.....not dancing haha! But here she is cleaning the window while Allan is scrubbing down the counters in the back!

Because Allan and I had worked (and danced/sang) hard for most of the day, my Mom decided that she would treat us to lunch at a restaurant of our choice. Who could say no to that right!? A fun (and free) lunch date with your Mom? Sounds like a pretty legit deal to me. So of course we both decided to go to Applebee's! Allan and I love their wings, but I especially love their pasta dishes! Holy cow, they are SO GOOD! I purposefully don't finish my meals just so I can take them home to have for left-overs!

Not to sound super cheesy here or anything.....But I honestly don't think I could live a day without these two in my life. They are my best friends. I am so grateful that I had the amazing honor of being put into this family by my Father in Heaven. He was really looking out for me on that one. I know that my parents and all my brothers and sisters are the best thing that I could have ever received. Being in a big family can be hard. Most definitely. But think about it this way....

The more siblings you have, just means the less amount of time you have to spend alone.

The DeWitt Crew

             To start off on my new blog, I find it only right to tell you about myself and my family so that you can get the gist of what we are all about.

My name is Shannon and I am 18 years old. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a very strong love of clothes and crafting! I am a HUGE romantic. (Seriously. It's almost sad how much I love romance.) I am, as most of my family and friends would say, extremely over-dramatic. I personally think I have gotten better since I was 16....but my dramatic tendencies can only be held back for so long Haha! I just recently graduated from Mesa High School (Class of 2014 - WhooHoo)! Including myself, there are 8 kids in my family. Four boys and four girls. I'm lucky number 7. I currently have a job as a nanny for a really sweet couple watching their two kids and their two dogs.

Now onto my family members......this should be interesting. I'll go from oldest to youngest, starting with my parents.

I have two awesome parents (Doug and Becky) who are supportive, strict, loving, and they always have my back when I need it. They are such great examples to their kids and happen to be some of the best Grandparents in the world! They are crazy fun and are willing to fight back if you want to wrestle! My Dad owns DeWitt Equipment Company (DEC) and has been successfully running it for 20+ years! He loves music, ice cream, slow dancing, and crying at movies. (Yes, I get most of my romantic and sensitive qualities from my Dad). My Mom loves to craft, sew, dance goofy, eat chocolate-covered strawberries, and play card games. Notice I specifically said, "dance goofy".... Her strategy is the same as mine. I mean, why try to dance good if you know you can't? You might as well make it look like you aren't trying at all! But really, in your mind, your hoping you don't look like a total idiot Haha!

 Child #1 : This is Carolyn, my oldest sister, and one of my best friends. She is married to a great guy named Jeff and they have 4 kids. Three boys and one beautiful little girl. Carolyn is an AMAZING runner and a surprisingly good dancer! I say surprisingly, because we DeWitt girls aren't exactly.....graceful dancers. But Carolyn is the close exception to that! Carolyn and I have the same taste in movies and books! So whenever I watch the Twilight series or Glee, she doesn't judge me. She understands that there are times that you just have to watch them. She is also good at singing and doing hair! Whenever I had a school dance, she was always the first one I would call to help me!

           
 Child #2  : This is Brian. He is wicked funny and really smart! He is married to a beautiful young woman named Celynda. They have 4 kids. One boy and three girls. (Couldn't find a good family picture with all of them in it). They are currently living in Florida for his job. He went to school in Nevada, and is now in practice to become a Pediatrician. He loves playing games, being goofy, fighting, and crackin' jokes. Whenever a birthday comes up, we are always excited for the birthday card he is going to send us! They are priceless! He is also a really great Dad. You can tell by how his kids always cherish every moment they have with him. He is a great example of hard work and diligence and I am grateful to have a role model like him in my life.                        

Child #3 : Next up is my sister Jill. What a cutie, right? She is super awesome! Jill is such a sweet-hearted, loving person and friend to all. She worked at the ARC (for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities) for a few years and became great friends with many of the people she took care of there. She is married to Jonathan (the guy in the photo with the cool mustache obviously). They have 2 (well 3) kids. A boy, a baby girl, and a little boy up in heaven. After they got married, they lived in Hawaii for about 2 years and had their first kid there! They moved back to Arizona over two years ago and now we get to see them every day.

Child #4 : This is my brother Jason. He is one of the craziest people I know. He is married to a stunning young woman named Stacey. They have two kids! A boy and a girl! Jason loves omelets, guns, the Ravens football team, wake boarding, and poking you until you go insane. He is such a great Dad to his kids. Jason is an amazing student and does extremely well in school! He is currently studying to become a doctor! Or, to be more specific, a surgeon! He took the MCAT test and got a 35! Which is really good! We were all so proud of him! 

  

 Child #5 : This is my brother Kevin. He... is... weird. Haha I'm joking. But really, who isn't weird? Kevin loves video games and going on spontaneous trips with his friends. He is married to that super pretty girl right there! Her name is Jessii and she is from Australia. Kevin met her while he was there on his LDS mission. Obviously he couldn't ask her out on a date while he was there, but he got the okay from his mission president to write her throughout the remainder of his mission. After he got home, he waited 6 months, flew back to Australia, and spent a couple weeks hanging out with her and her family. Long story short, they fell in love and got married. They currently don't have any kids, but have 3 Huskies which you could consider a close second haha! There are 2 girls and a boy. By the way, one of the girls just had a batch of puppies this morning! Exciting right? Kevin also just bought a quad the other day which he is super excited about.

Child #6 : This is my sister Katie and also one of my most favorite people on the face of this planet! She is about 5 1/2 years older than me. (My parents weren't planning on having me...that's why there is a big gap between she and I). Growing up though, we always got put in the same room together and I was always by her side! At the dinner table, watching movies, playing games, and even when she had her friends come over. I was stuck to her like glue! I would borrow her clothes without asking and I would try to sneak them out of the house in a bag even after she told me no, just so she wouldn't see! But somehow she always knew! All I wanted was to grow up and be just like her! She is athletic, smart, funny, and knows how to make me mad and happy all in under a minute! She can read through all my bull crap like no one else. Katie is really good at volleyball and gets opportunities to coach high school teams! She is married to the handsome young man next to her. His name is Brandon. He is pretty great! They have one beautiful baby boy! They are the cutest little family!

Child #7 : THAT'S ME! :)

Child #8 : Last, but definitely not least, is my brother Allan. Now this kid (who happens to be 17 now) has been with me through think and thin. We have been the best of buds since the moment he was born. Although we fight a lot, we wouldn't be anywhere without the other. We are each others support beams. Even though he is younger than me, he can be pretty wise at times. Most days, I'm just too stubborn to admit it. Allan loves video games. If you ask him about any video game, he has either played, seen, or heard of it. Crazy, right? He loves acting, dancing, anime cartoons, the Japanese language, Disneyland, Ramen noodles, and playing the ukulele. Allan is a phenomenal actor! If any of you had or will have the opportunity of going and seeing him in any performance....Do it. He honestly makes the shows better. And I'm not just saying that because he's my brother. You can ask anyone who has seen him perform. He reaches for the stars and seems to always get them with ease. I look to him for inspiration and guidance and I hope that one day, my kids can look up to him the way that I do. He will never stop making me laugh and I envy him for that. He is an amazing younger brother and I love him dearly. He will never cease to amaze me.

Well that's my family. 

((This picture is of the main DeWitt pack))

At times, it's hard when you have a big family. But later in life, you realize the blessings that come with it. Fun vacation trips, games, hilarious dinner conversations, sports, family reunions, and especially the support that comes with it.