I've got the back to school blues.....

So it's here. Again. The first day of school.

I remember posting on that last day of school and said before I knew it I'd be doing my back to school post. And I was right. Summer flew by and it's time again.

I'm not one of those "I can't wait for school to start so my kids are gone and out of the house" kind of moms. I love having my kids home. Granted, I know they are ready to go back, and they were super excited, so I will be happy for them, all while missing them like crazy and watching the clock all day long today.

Parker is starting 2nd grade and Pacie is in 1st grade which is a huge move for her. Being there all day is a big switch. But I think they are ready. Scott gave them both the sweetest blessings last night and I got all of my tears out then. (Until my sweet mom came over and gave them a hug-that started the mini-waterworks again...but the girls didn't see me-so technically it didn't count)

They picked out their outfits, had their backpacks and boarded the bus like pros. Now here I sit in a house quieter minus two (it's still not THAT quiet-I do still have two little ones here and all) watching the clock.

3:00 won't come quickly enough. I can't wait to hear all about their day, who is in their classes and how their day went. I love you, girls! Hope your day is wonderful.

Just for fun.....

We got an old fashioned picture taken at Lagoon.

When I was growing up, we would go to Lagoon every summer. We would stay at near by Cherry Hill for a week and just swim, read, play..so many fun memories. One day would be spent at Lagoon and one day would be spent school shopping in Salt Lake. I have so many fond memories with my siblings from those trips. We would stay up late playing cards, talking, laughing-just such fun fun times. I remember one time specifically, we were caught in a HUGE thunderstorm. We were in our tent, eating Little Caesars pizza and listening to the thunder. I remember another time when Tyler and Mitch got into some sort of tiff on the miniature golf course and Mitch ran right into a pole across his belly and flipped over the bar. (It probably looked funnier to us than it was to him, for sure!) Anyway, I could go on and on about my memories, but I remember taking these pictures quite a few times. I always loved doing it and thought it was fun.

Scott and I had a picture like this taken in Jackson. And then we had one with Parker when she was about 6 months old. We hadn't done one since-so we thought, why not!

I love the way it turned out-other than my hat being pulled so far down. (Why didn't the lady tell me you could barely see my eyes??)

Our Dancing Queens!

I just found another reason to LOVE my Mac. I've been trying to figure out how to share video for a while. For some reason our camera has a funny extension and to make a long story short it would take literally HOURS to upload even a short clip. Tonight I discovered a real function of I-Movie and watched a 2 minute tutorial. And now, I know how to share video! I may be a little excited.

Here are 2 dances from Parker's 2008-2009 Competition season. Both of these were performed at the Spring Recital for Infinity Dance Studio. I don't need to say again how much I LOVE the studio. But I will. And I do.

Kung-Fu: Parker starts out on the end with a white umbrella. She is wearing a pink dress.


Jump-Up: Parker cartwheels onto the stage. Scott is a pretty biased taper-he keeps the girls pretty easy to find!! :) What a good daddy!
I didn't want to leave out Pacie. Here she is in her dance, "Everybody Dance Now". She is just off the center white line. And boy can she shake it!

Fields of Gold

I love living where I do. I live out in the country with acres of farmed field in my backyard. I have always wanted to do family pictures out in the ripened wheat. It didn't happen this year-but on the spur of the moment, I took the kids out into the field and snapped a few pictures. Just in time as well-they will cut it all down tomorrow. So-until I get a professional photographer out here to capture us just right-these will have to do.

A Day of Firsts...

We went to Lagoon today with friends. More on this to follow.

However-I just wanted to say that today Scott and I did this::::

And both Parker and Pacie did this::::

It was a good day. :)

Birthday Extravaganzas!

The first week of August is always fun. We have three birthdays in as many days. Presley's is the 2nd, mine the 4th and Scott's the 5th. When Scott and I first met, that was one of the fun things we discovered we have in common.

On my birthday-I took Landon and Parker to a playdate and then went and met my sweet aunt Nancy and my cousin Jess (who I NEVER get to see) at Sonic for a birthday drink. It was so fun! And what's better than a pop run in the morning??

Scott came home and surprised me with gifts-all of which I loved. I still think the over the door shoe organizer is more for him than me-but I know I will love it and take full advantage of it. My favorite gift was a new Willow Tree figure. It's a mother with two children. Truly, there is nothing I love more than being a mom. We got ready and then as a family went to dinner at the Olive Garden where I was also treated to a birthday cake and song. (Thanks, Lish!!) It was a great day.

For Scott's birthday-the kids and I went to get him his gifts which included a new Wii game, (MX vs. ATV Untamed) a couple of new pairs of dress pants, some socks...nothing very exciting, but needed. He played the game most of the afternoon while I made his cake and then he and I met Matt and Ashlee at our favorite little place: The Snake Bite! We had fun-as always when we're with those two!

Came home and lit all 38 candles for Scottie to blow out. (The dancing pic is my fave of the bunch.)

It was a great couple of days! Thanks for all of the well wishes. We appreciate our family and friends and feel very blessed.

While Landon sleeps.....

this is what Parker does to him.

Gives him a mohawk, laughs, and takes a picture or two.

You gotta love big sisters.

Presley is TWO!!

It's hard to believe our baby is two. The time has flown by.

Presley had her birthday on a Sunday-so it was pretty low key. Just our little family.

After church and dinner at a friend's baby blessing, she took a late nap. While she slept, I made and decorated her cake. She got to choose between a flower and a butterfly. She emphatically chose the butterfly, which I thought was really cute.

Landon couldn't wait any longer for her to wake up so he went and woke her. She was so mad right at first she wanted nothing to do with her presents. Scott thinks it was because we had wrapped everything in camo wrapping paper. (It's all we had on hand) she finally warmed up and loved her new tinkerbell panties, her baby with snap on clothes, her ABC book and a new outfit.

We then lit the candles and sang to her. She seemed a little more nervous than excited, which surprised me. She was aprehensive to blow out the candles-but did give it a good try. She got one on her own and then Scott/Pacie/Landon helped her with the second.

My favorite things about Presley at this age are:

The way that you always walk with a purpose-almost like you are marching.

Your obsession with clothes-especially dresses.

Your dislike to wearing shoes. You like to pick them out, but then will not keep them on your feet. You go barefoot everywhere-even outside on the rocks and through the weeds etc. You've got some tough little feet.

Your words. You talk quite a bit and say things really cute.

You love babies and blankets. Probably your two favorite things.

You love to eat hot things-salsa and onions just to name a couple.

You love your brother and sisters. You are always wanting to play with them.

You are trying to potty train yourself. This should be a good thing, but I don't know that I'm quite ready for it!

You love to dance!!

You are a good cuddler and always give hugs and kisses.

You are just a sweet girl and we are so thankful that you are in our family.

We love you Presley!! Hope your birthday was wonderful.