August Birthdays

I know its a few weeks late, but...
Happy Birthday to me!
This year I got to celebrate my birthday with my family in Farmington. The boys and I went up a few days early to escape the heat and spend some time with Grandma before school started. On Friday, Ryan flew up and we had a date night in Salt Lake. We had a great dinner at the Red Iguana and then went to THE GATEWAY. We walked around, looked at the stores and had a yummy treat at Ben&Jerry's. It was so nice to have some adult time with my Honey (thanks Mom!) and enjoy the beautiful evening (not to HOT!)

The next day, Ryan took the boys to Cherry Hill for a fun round of Mini Golf. My Mom had some punch passes that Parker had been eyeing for months. When my Mom asked if they wanted her to take them Parker was quick to reply " No thanks Grandma, my Daddy's coming so just the passes please!" I am so glad they have such a GREAT Daddy and that they love him SOOOOO much. So while the boys were off having Daddy time, my Mom and I got to go shopping. You know, the kind of serious shopping you can only do with your Mom (before children). We had so much fun running into malls and boutiques, laughing and talking. We found the PERFECT blessing dress for Baby and enjoyed looking at girly stuff (remember my Mom has 8 grandsons!)

Then we got to go out with the extended family to celebrate all the August birthdays. Jeff and Austin Pack were in New Mexico so they didn't get to party with us, but the rest of the LEOS were there. Me, my sister Jessica, our Uncle John and our cousin Tyson. It is always good to be with family, we are so blessed!

Thanks everyone for making my birthday weekend so great! Love ya all.

We Love Tuacahn !

We love Tuacahn, I am so glad we have such an amazing theatre right here in our own backyard! This year my Grandma and Aunt Daryl made their annual trek down to visit and see the Tuacahn plays. We were so excited to see Little Mermaid, since we had heard so much hype building it up. WELL...IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH EVERY PENNY AND THEN SOME! The scenery was AMAZING, and the special effects were breath-taking. The boys were entranced from the opening notes to the fireworks at the end. Jordan squealed with delight as he watched with huge excited eyes as the "Pirate Ship" came on stage. I could see Parker pointing out everything to Grandma G.G. and Daryl as characters and props came out. The vocals were great, and like I said the scenery was spectacular. Some of our favorite family scenes...the fight scene between the chef and Sebastian, the "Under the Sea" , the electric eels and of course the fight scene at the end. THIS IS A DEFINITE MUST SEE !!!!
P.S. if you sit toward the front you get the add benefit of a slight mist to keep you cool :)

We also got to see Grease, one of my favorite musicals. It was great to hear the old familiar songs and to see a different twist in the storyline, but it wasn't John and Olivia. Surprisingly the boys liked it, and Parker LOVED "Grease Lighting" and does a great rendition of it. The old cars and bikes were cool, and the race scene was great. If I had to do it again, I would see Grease BEFORE Little Mermaid. It was a little less spectacular. The vocals were great, and Rizzo was amazing (wow, she really new how to use her assets!) After the show, the boys were excited to meet the characters. The PINK LADIES, were all over Parker (this was the one and ONLY time I have seen him shy away from all the attention) they were mauling "the cute little man"! Jordan just wanted to ride the Motorcycle, and had a really hard time understanding why he couldn't. I personally love the picture of us with Danny and Sandy...I love how sexy I look standing next to Sandy (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?)!!!!

Thanks Grandma and Daryl for coming down and going to the plays with us, we loved it!

Our First Day of School

"HIGH HO, HIGH HO...IT'S OFF TO SCHOOL WE GO..."

That's right we are excited for this new beginning, look forward to all new friends and new things to learn and explore. Jordan started his second year of preschool at the Washington Rec. Center, and Parker started the BIG-K (that's kindergarten for those not up on the new lingo)

THE SCHUDDES HAVE INVADED THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM!

Parker is SOOOOO excited to start school! He has been counting the days of summer, until he could go to the BIG school with the big kids. Parker loved Back-To-School night last week and listened so close (he even caught some details that I didn't hear!) Then last week he finally got to go to school and spend some time with his teacher Miss Whitworth. Parker thought he was going to go play games with her and get to know her better, he was really going for Kindergarten assessment. After a long hour (for Mommy in the hall) Parker emerged with a huge smile on his face and even MORE excited for school to start. He had done very well, and had already endeared himself to his teacher. She said he reminded her of her son, with his fun personality and zest for life ;) Miss Whitworth also said Parker was a perfectionist (something new to me) he kept erasing his letters and doing them again if he didn't think they were perfect...huh who knew? So today Parker was up and ready (backpack and all) HOURS before it was time to leave. He was super excited to see all his little friends walking into school (there are 11 boys entering Kindergarten in our ward, 5 from our little circle!) Parker walked into class, with a huge smile and greeted everyone he saw and quickly introduced himself to all his table mates. He waved good-bye to me with a wink and a grin, and I was forgotten. I was afraid I would be one of those Mom's you hear about that cry at the bus stop,(especially with all the extra hormones) but with Parker being so excited and happy I couldn't help but feel the same way. I am so looking forward to all the excitement yet to come ;) I'm even excited for my first PTA meeting!

It was so fun to pick Parker up, he came out with all the excitement and joy that he went in with...I would call that a successful day! I noticed that he was for sure the tallest one in the class, HUMMMM I wonder where he gets that from? He told me all about class, PE and RECESS! They got to go to PE with the other kindergarten classes, so he got to see ALL his friends. His teacher said he always had lots of friends around him, and that he seemed to make friends with everyone around him. (yep, that's my little social butterfly!) A little girl came out to her parents (who happened to be standing next to me) and I heard this.

PARENT: 'Tell me about your day?'

GIRL: " I sat by Parker, I played with Parker, I talked with Parker....."

PARENT: "Who is Parker?"

She then pointed him out, and ran over to say good-bye. It was so sweet, she wrapped her arms around him, gave him a BIG hug and said "SEE YA TOMORROW!"

WOW, I'm not ready for THAT...I guess I'm going to have to keep a closer eye on those girls! But how sweet, only in Kindergarten can something like that happen...before they learn what is "cool". I AM grateful for Parker's ability to make friends and make those around him feel comfortable. I sure do love this little guy, and I am so proud of him and all that he does.

Jordan got to start his second year of preschool last week. He loves his class and his teacher Miss Mary. He loves all the activities they do (besides all the scholar curriculum) they have gymnastics, karate, swimming, yoga, ZUMBA (new this year) and rock climbing! Jordan's teacher said he is very social and loves all his classmates. Everyday Jordan reports "NO TIMEOUTS", I would be shocked if he DID have one! He is like a little sponge, I can't believe how much he is learning. The other day he said "we learned about a huge wave that comes ashore...if it touches you, you turn into a ZOMBIE!" ( I'm pretty sure he was talking about a tsunami) I guess he has watched one to many Scooby Doo's! They were also learning about their bodies, and at the dinner table he said... "Mom why is this call your forehead?" before I could respond he said "Is it because all of our parts have numbers?" now I was really confused. Until he went on, "you know...one hand, two hand, one foot , two foot...but we only have ONE head, so why is it call a FOUR-HEAD?" I have been laughing about that for days now, you got to love this kid! Jordan has the sweetest, kindest heart...he said "Mom did you miss us when we were at school?" I said of course I did, and he said "I sure missed you too...until I had open play time" I love Jordan so much and am so proud of all he does, and all his potential.

What a lucky Mommy I am! I have two fabulous boys, who are blessed with fun personalities and smart brains. PLUS, on Monday, Wed, and Fridays I have 3 WHOLE HOURS to myself to do what I please... at least for a few more weeks! :)