First day for Evey

After Labor Day it was finally Evelyn's turn to start school.  She was counting down and ready to go this year.

 I realized she picked the same outfit Audrey did for the first day of 4 year old preschool.  I had to do a side by side of them in the same outfit.

 That first week back wore her out and she fell asleep on the couch a couple of times.

 So happy to be back with her friends

I had to throw in a picture of Sasha getting loved on by all three at the same time.

MKE Zoo

 We spent Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee.  We took the kids to the Milwaukee Zoo since the weather was so nice.  We also brought Crownie with us.  Crownie is kind of like the school mascot and Flat Stanley in one.  

The kids liked the elephants

 The highlight this time was feeding the giraffes!

 It was a really neat experience

 Of course we had to stop at the Cedar Crest ice cream stand

 Meijer was handing out free sunglasses.  I love this pic!

We managed to get a family pic on the way out

Student of the month

 Carter started the school year off strong.  He earned student of the month for August!

 Proud of my royal student

I'm so proud of his work at school.  He has earned student of the month every year while at Dunlap Grade School.  Not all kids can say that!

Girls trip

 A couple of my friends and I got away for a long weekend.  It was a much needed mom getaway. We knew it was going to be a good weekend when we were greeted at check in with champagne.

 The beautiful view from our room

 Toes in the sand

 Enjoying some R&R on the beach

Boat ride back to the resort.  We enjoyed a lot of great shopping and good food over the weekend.  This will definitely have to become an annual event.

Pearl Jam

 Grandma and Grandpa we not only in town to celebrate the Mini but also, to watch the kiddos.  Chuck and I went to Chicago for a couple of days.  The weather was gorgeous and we were able to enjoy a long walk along the lake.

 And Lincoln Park

 We got to do some shopping and enjoyed the excellent restaurants we lack in Peoria.  We even had time to stand on the ledge at the Willis Tower.

 The reason we took off to Chicago...Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field!

 Funny how our fist time at Wrigley Field was for a concert and not a baseball game.

 It was an amazing concert!

The set list

Mini is 4!

Our Mini Miss turns 4!  She had been counting down to the big day.

 Diving into her presents.

 She had been asking for an American Girl doll that looks like her (truly me doll) for the longest time.

 Naturally, our dog lover needed to have the American Girl dog for her doll.  Look at that face!

 The other most frequently asked for item was the car seat for her Bitty baby.

Grandma and Grandpa were there to celebrate. 

She asked for a repeat of the dog cake she had for her second birthday.  I couldn't even talk her into a different design.  She wanted the exact same cake!

 She blew out her candles so quickly I didn't really get a good pic of it. 

 After cake she had to change to match her doll.  She never has been creative when it come to naming her babies and dolls.  Her truly me doll has been named, Baby Evey.

First day of school

 The kids brought a treat for their teachers on the first day.  We did an easy one this year-homemade chocolate chip cookies in a blue mason jar.

Their first day of school breakfast.

 My 5th and 2nd graders

Carter's first day of 5th grade and last first day of elementary school.  Where has the time gone?

 Audrey's first day of 2nd grade. 

 They are ready! If only the bus was. The kids have a new bus driver this year and he was extremely late the first day.  I was getting the kids in the car to drive them when he finally came. 

 Finally, made it to school!

 The teachers greeted the students with the Dunlap Eagle at the entrance.  A fun start to the first day of school!

 We are so grateful Audrey got the same 2nd grade teacher Carter did.  Mrs. Pitzer is an amazing teacher!  She makes learning fun and knows how to encourage the students to challenge themselves.  Here's Audrey's class pic from the first day.

Sure enough, Audrey wrote about her stitches in a journal entry.  Ha!

wrapping up summer

Audrey and I had a girls night out with some of our other mother/daughter friends.  We took the girls out to dinner then went to the Dancers with Heart fundraiser performance benefiting the Children's Hospital of Illinoi Congenital Heart Center.  Here's some of the girls.

More of the girls 

 It was a LONG performance but these girls were troopers and had a great time.  On the drive home they were making plans for the next mother/daughter night out.

 The real reason why she's my helper in the kitchen.

 Celebrating Heather's birthday

 With the hubbies and kiddos

 2 days before school the kids had their back to school night.  It's a sports, All Star theme for this school year.

 We enjoyed the last day of summer having fun and relaxing at the pool.  We couldn't have asked for a better day until...

 As we were getting ready to leave, Audrey slipped climbing out of the diving well and hit her chin.  Luckily, Chuck was on call and had a break in cases.  We headed straight to his office to get her stitched up. When we turned the car on to go the song, Stitches by Shawn Mendes came on.  The kids thought it was hilarious!

 She knocked it good and required a couple layers of stitches.  She was a champ and handled it well.  It made for an eventful last day of summer.  She was excited to have a story to tell on the first day of school.