Back to School time started with open house tonight. I just can't get on board with the idea that the summer is over already. Sad! We had such a great summer & it would be so nice to have just a few more weeks. Reality is it is not happening & the girls will go back to school next Tuesday. As much as I love having them home in the summer, they are all ready to go back. A little bit of a schedule & routine will be good for all of us. Open house was a little different this year with Marin starting at the intermediate school. {Insert my sad face.} We started at the elementary school tonight with Maeve being the first stop. Nothing unfamiliar in this classroom...

Maeve is following in her sisters footsteps with Mrs. V. She is a childhood friend of mine & we adore her so much. So excited for Maeve and all the fun she'll have this year as a first grader.

She was most excited for her desk & all the friends she has in her classroom. She is going to love every minute of it.

Next was Margaux's 3rd grade room with Mrs. E. {Marin also had her, so another repeat teacher for our family!} Somehow 3rd grade makes her all of the sudden seem like such a big girl. So many more choices in the classroom & no desks! Such a fun concept, the kids can choose where they wan to sit & there are so many different areas to hang out. She's going to do great.

Margaux also has a great classroom stocked full of many of her best friends. Hayden included! We'll see how these two do with another year together in the same room. Hopefully they can focus on something other than pigs! Quick pic with her fav twins Hudson/Camden & by her coat hook.  

Then we headed to Marin's new school to show everyone her home room classes & of course her very own locker!!! The excitement for this is through the roof...

 Marin got to practice & decorate her locker a week or so ago when the kids had an orientation day, but the littles could not wait to see it & give it a try. She got it open on her first attempt, so that was promising. Hoping she won't have any issues next week!

It is all decorated so cute. Lots of pink, teal, and rose gold. {Her "theme" as she likes to call it.} These lockers are a big deal! It was very clean, organized & cute. We'll see if it stays that way! No photo of Marin with her teachers. Sadly, I think those days are over. There were so many kids/families around, I was shocked she let me take her picture by the locker! Can't embarrass her, she is growing up so fast. Although I think she is a little anxious about the new school, I know she will adjust quickly & love it. So much more freedom!

Exciting days ahead for all three of our chicks. Next week will be quiet in the house. Always takes a bit to get used to. Next up, 1st day of school! xoxo

It's Monday and we are all resting up after a weekend of fun. Gary & I had an adult weekend up north with some of our favorite neighbor friends. Such a great weekend for the adults. Nice to get away & socialize without the kids every now and then.

We ventured out on the bikes on Saturday, it was quite the adventure! We made it to our destination for lunch & drinks.

 I am still amazed that no one got hurt. Drinking & bike riding don't mix well! haha Gary had a great time on this purple fat tire bike. He put on quite the show for the group doing tricks along the way & riding through the ditches/off road.

 Rainy & cool weekend that was much needed. We loved hanging by the fire in our sweatshirts & being outside without sweating. So relaxing & so much fun!

The big girls stayed with Grandma & stayed busy there all weekend. They did some craft projects, a little sewing & went downtown to Art Street.

 Maeve spent the weekend in Door County with Eva & her Grandma/Grandpa on their boat. The two of them were also busy with their own adventures. Trips to the candy store, out for dinner & also made some pretty cool t-shirts at the paint studio.

A great weekend for all 5 of us. Not very often that we are all in different spots for a weekend. Always a lot to come home to with all the unpacking & laundry but always well worth it. Summer is winding down, one of our last summer weekends already! The cool weather is making it seem like fall a little early, hoping we get a few more warm days in the next week or so. xoxo

This has been the view of our back yard the last two days...

The Great Backyard Camp Out 2017!!!

Camping in the backyard has been on our summer bucket list all summer. Only one-ish weeks of summer vacation left & we got it in. Night number one was Tuesday. The weather was perfect, cool & breezy. It has felt like fall the past couple of days.. perfect camping weather. We strung Christmas lights in the big tree for night lights which the kids loved. It looked so festive. The nights got cold but we were well prepared... footie jammies, hats & lots of blankets/sleeping bags. How cute are our little campers? Love Marg's head lamp!

After the first night quite a few of the tents came down & some adults/kids had had enough! haha But not our kids, they loved it so much we left them up and camped a second night last night. The first night we had 6 tents that slept 8 adults & 20+ kids! So much fun. The kids enjoyed snacks & played night games while the adults enjoyed a fire. Lights out at 10:30 but I heard giggles well past 11:30pm. Last night we were down to two tents between Wendy, myself & our kiddos. Much more mellow night, but still very fun. I slept like a rock! The cool temps make for great sleeping.

One last photo this morning. We all slept in until about 7:30 which was pretty good. Maeve was the first one up & she chilled with the ipad until the others woke up. Wendy & Bhodi were out cold! We are all definitely looking forward to the great camp out of 2018 next summer. This was a hit!

We are enjoying a solar eclipse today. The girls had been waiting all morning to see just how dark it would get. Such a fun & educational moment for the kids. They were so funny all walking around staring at the ground. We had told them that they were not able to look at the sky today because it could permanently damage their eyes. They were extra cautious.

 We only saw 80% coverage here, but it was still really cool to watch. Big group of neighbors gathered outside to watch & share the glasses. The peak was just a bit ago at 1:17pm

We've also been watching tv for the last hour or so. Pretty amazing to see the places that had totality & to see that they were pitch dark in the middle of the day.

Now almost 1:45 and the kids are back to running the neighborhood. Funny how fast they move on. Only two more weeks of summer. We're sadly counting down the days. I wish we had another month, we've had such a great summer. In the mean time we'll continue to check things off our summer bucket list in the next two weeks! xoxo

We love this pretty smile...

Her teeth have all come in so wonderfully, just in time to get some teeth pulled!!!

A panoramic x-ray showed that her adult eye teeth are not positioned well up in her gums so it was necessary to pull the baby teeth out in hopes that the adult teeth will naturally come down properly. 

Today was tooth pulling day! After being with Maeve when her tooth was pulled, I wasn't sure I had it in me to sit through it again. Thankful for Aunt Katie! She went with us to the appointment and sat with Marin the entire time. She sent me a text in the lobby letting me know when it was all done so I could walk back & see her. I was so happy to see her smiling in the chair.

She did great! So proud of her. Surprisingly she was very brave even leading up to the appointment. I was the one that was a ball of nerves. My stomach was just turning and it had no reason to be. She was fine and did even better than I anticipated.

We headed home afterwards & she rested a bit. She had a bit of a headache & they were pretty bloody. Once the bleeding stopped she was happy to enjoy chocolate pudding, noodle soup and applesauce. She had a big toothless smile by the evening.

Certain angles you can't even tell! We're hoping those teeth move down quickly & she won't be toothless for long. Until then we'll embrace her new smile... still so stinking cute!

 Tooth Fairy paid her well too! xoxo

Our first time at Packer Family Night.

We tailgated in the hood with some friends before heading down to Lambeau.

Kids were sooo excited and ready to go cheer on the Packers.

Little bit of rain didn't stop us. We walked as fast as we could to avoid being too wet. Quick stop outside the stadium for a photo with the Brown/Veraghen 7.

When we arrived it was still raining a bit, but it stopped pretty quickly & instantly a great rainbow formed over Lambeau.  So pretty!

Group selfie of our bunch.

The weather ended up being perfect. Nice cool night, almost felt like fall football weather. Kids were happy & their bellies were full of cotton candy. After the players left the field we watched the fireworks/light show which was fantastic. Perfect end to the evening.

I told Margaux I wanted one photo of the 5 of us. We quickly snapped this one {nearly perfect, everyone looking and happy} & then I saw a better photo opportunity in front of the field. {damn photographer in me!} So we all went down by the field & tried to take a photo. Margaux was not having it. I had promised her only one photo!!!

There are about 10 more photos just like this. I just love how Maeve & Marin are smiling perfectly. Made us all laugh, Margaux not so much. It was late and she was ready for bed. Sorry Margaux, mom's fault. But we really did have a great night together. Looking forward to football season! xoxo