Back to School Feels

I have all the feels about going back to school today.  It's the first day ever when all the kids + me return to school on the same day.  A family milestone.  I think the kids are feeling all the feelings, too.  They are excited to see their friends every day, a little nervous about all the new and a little sad about early bedtimes and early wake ups.

We're all navigating new pick up times, new routines, new teachers and new schools. 

3 different grade levels.

2 different schools and school systems.

2 different school calendars.

And 12 different teachers.

20 packed lunches a week.

And more!

I'm so thankful to be returning to kindergarten.  Year 2 feels a lot better than Year 1. I feel more confident.  I love knowing lots of families, have made lots of teacher friends and am no longer a "newb" as my kids say.  I'm hoping my students from last year will come see me.  I know I can't wait to see their cute first grade faces in the hall.  We have a lot of new things happening at school this year.  I'm just thankful that I've got a year under my belt and I'm not new.

We're sad to say goodbye to Summer.  It was a really good one.  But I'm confident that we spent every moment together relaxing, playing, enjoying Summer break to the max.  I am very thankful that my career and schedule lines up so well with my kids.  We love our Summer breaks together and I love that our daily schedules are in sync.

Wishing my family and your family the very best school years!

I'll be back soon - hopefully Friday - with a round of up our first week of school favorites!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Rice Krispie Treats

We tried something new for dessert.  We switched the cereal on a classic treat and loved it.

We used Cinnamon Toast Crunch in place of Rice Krispies.

The classic recipe is the same

1 bag of big marshmallows

3 T butter + enough to coat pan

6 cups cereal

We'd love to try this again with Reese's Puffs cereal or Fruity Pebbles.

Give this swap a try!  Use your favorite cereal and see how it turns out :)

July Faves

Happy Friday!  I'm back to work today with a day full of meetings.  I am excited to not be the new teacher this year + have lots of work friends to see again.  But I'm a little sad to say goodbye to a really fun Summer.  I'm going to recap some July favorite moments for you today.

1. The butterflies and hummingbirds have been loving my zinnias!

2. Pool parties!  The boys had a blast swimming with friends.

3. Lots of volleyball!  One of the moms made us cute shirts to cheer on our girls.

4. My crepe myrtle is in full bloom.

5. Rainbows!  We spotted a few rainbows this week which is always a favorite for me.  Bring on the slightly cooler temps so we can resume our evening walks and backyard hangs.

6. We love to add donuts to any day of errands.  Parlor has become our favorite this Summer.

7. Classroom helpers!  The kids helped me in my room to get everything ready for the start of school.  Olive and Fletcher were great helpers and Leo had a great time playing with all of my cool kindergarten toys.

8. We had friends over for dinner and Mr. Mittens was very helpful.  He thinks all table scapes are made for him.  I love red, white and blue decor all Summer long.

9. Grocery delivery is my BFF.  I'm so thankful for this service that makes my life so much easier.

10. Labubus are all the rage at our house.  It's so entertaining to hear them talk about real ones, fake ones, the marks to know which is which and to see their collection.

11. Olive loves helping me with school projects.  We did lots of assembling, laminating and prepping this week.  Mr. Mittens was very curious and eager to supervise.

12. The puzzle king.  Leo loves a good puzzle.  Don't try to help him because he has it all under control.

13. We switched up our bookclub plans for brunch this month and it was delicious!  It was so fun to try someplace new and see a little heart rock by my car.  

14. Mr. Mittens always finds the prettiest nap spots.  I love this corner.

15. Bedtime devotions.  We're all listening.  The cats are nearby and Leo wants to see the pictures.

16. I found a new hair girl!!  This should maybe be my #1 favorite from July.  She did a great job and I can't wait to go back.  This has been on my to do list for almost 3 years.  Whoops.

17. Our back to school shopping is done!  Let the labeling begin.  We all have some new things to get the year started off right.

18. We squeezed in fun stops like - happy hour at Sonic, snacks at the Costco cafe, Icee drinks and pretzels at Sams or drive thru lunches - all month long.

19. We met friends at fun play spots around town.

20. We got coffee treats at our friend's coffee shops.

21. And some of us completed our Summer Reading Challenges!

Our Summer has been so fun and it went too fast!  We're all trying to soak up our last few days before school officially starts back here on August 6th.  Lots of exciting things ahead!

See you back here next week!  I hope your Summer has been a good one.

Linking up with Momfessionals

Wisconsin Highlight Reel

I've got one last Wisconsin post for you today.  We spend a week up north every July and it's always a highlight of our summer.  We have been going since before Leo was born.  The weather was a little hotter, a little more humid than usual, but we didn't let that stop us from having a blast.  We did a mix of favorite spots + new spots and somehow we have yet to do everything we want to do up there.  I think that's the mark of an amazing vacation spot!

The pots of flowers all over the property were stunning!

Lots of time on the patio!

Exploring the property with my favorite people.

We went to Circus World museum and circus in Baraboo, WI.  It's where all things circus began and everything around town is circus themed.  The exhibits were all fun to see.

The circus is included in your admission so be sure to time your visit around the circus times.  The show was 90 minutes and we really enjoyed it.  There were lots of different acts.  The jugglers and the cyclists impressed us the most.  Then they all came out at the end to chat with the audience.  It was a sweet small town circus experience.

We had fun shopping at the outlet mall!

The Riverwalk was lovely.  Hot, but lovely!  We normally have pretty mild weather, but our trip was hotter than we are used to in Wisconsin.

We stopped in our favorite apple orchard - Ski Hi.

Lots of days at the water parks at Wilderness Resort.  We love coming up in the Summer when all the outdoor parks are open.

Lots of cheese!

I'm inspired by these giant flower pots filled to the brim with all kinds of flowers.

The weather was perfect for our cabana day!  Kevin rented a cabana at our favorite water park.  It was so nice to have a spot to enjoy a bit of shade, a snack and relax.

Leo loved the bucket drop.  He played here all day.

Big scary drop slides for Kevin and Olive.  The rest of us loved cheering for them.

Fletcher loved the obstacle courses.

We'd go for walks in the evenings to spot bunnies and pretty flowers.

Leo loved collecting "Consin books"/brochures to read about Wisconsin activities.

He loves taking pictures with mascots.

And Olive loved this candy store.  So sweet!

We had a wonderful week in Wisconsin!  We always enjoy heading north because we rarely run into any traffic, the weather is nicer than the Midwest in the summer and we find so many fun things to do.  The 7.5 hour drive goes by pretty quickly especially when you have Leo's silly lizards roaming around the van.  He hid them all over the condo and had so much fun with them all week.