Back to School

Well, it is official. Summer is over and Bel and I are back in school. We both had a successful first week. I started on Monday and then my students came Wednesday. I had so much work to do to get ready. Looks like I have a pretty good group of kids again this year (except for one little trouble-maker. He seems to be shaping up though after our little "talking to" on the first day :) I must say I wasn't really looking forward to going back this year, but now that I am there I am regaining my enthusiasm. In fact, I have some fresh ideas and am looking forward to trying out some of my new resources and our new curriculum. Bel also had a good week. She goes to daycare on Mon., Thurs, and Fri. and this year she moved up from "Little Angels" (the infant room) to "Kitty Cats" the (18 - 24 month old room). There are only 4 other kids in her class right now and NONE of them are there on Fridays! So, this week they decided she could be in "Ducklings" (the toddler room) on Fridays. Of course she really loved this because she always wants to be with older kids. Ms. Lindsay is her teacher this year. She is a new college graduate- young and nice. Belly likes her and that's what counts. Overall, I feel much better about daycare this year in general. I guess it's because Bel is older and much more self-sufficient and active. I know the socialization and structure at school are good for her. When she was a little baby it was so much harder to leave her there. I feel like she is very lucky now because she gets to spend all Tues. and Wed. with her grandma and grandpa (going to lunch, the library, parks,stores etc.) and then play with all her school friends the other days.  A good balance.

The first day of school - Bel was very tired and didn't want to get out of bed.

She looked like such a big girl with her Elmo back-pack (which she is obsessed with by the way)

One change this year is that we have to feed Isabel breakfast before school- last year they fed her when she got there. The problem is that "sleepy head" doesn't want to be rushed through her breakfast. She likes to eat at a very leisurely pace.

Jason pointed out that Isabel was only at daycare about ten minutes before she got sick. That is always the downside of the "germ factory" that is daycare. Well, she will have an amazing immune system by the time she heads off to kindergarten. We'll keep you updated on our school adventures this year.

Mmmmm...Berries

My friend Kathy told us about a "you pick" raspberry farm that she visited recently and I knew we had to try it. Isabel is OBSESSED with fruit and other than "bloobies" (blueberries) raspberries are her current favorite. So, since today was a gorgeous Sunday, and my last free day before school starts, I convinced my mom and Jason to make the drive out West to go picking. It didn't take us very long to get there (maybe 25 min. or so) and the place was really great. It was actually just some one's GORGEOUS home with a raspberry field on their property. They operate under the "honor system" so you just grab a container and then put your money in a locked box. They even provided a tub for washing the berries and bug spray! (And boy do you need the bug spray because they were vicious) Isabel got the hang of picking very quickly. Unfortunately, for every berry picked, she ate three- so we didn't end up with too many in our bucket. Luckily, My mom picked a basket for us to share.

Dinner and a Movie

Woo hoo! A date night for our 3 year anniversary! We dropped off Isabel with her grandparents for a few hours so we could go out. (Bel insisted on wearing her new leopard print teal dress-up skirt, Mardi gras beads AND sunglasses for grandma- this girl has style)

And we decided to see a movie- since this is something that is pretty impossible to do now that we have a child. We settled on "Dinner for Schmucks" with Steve Carell- which was pretty ridiculous but I did laugh out loud more than once. The really cool part about the movie was that we went to a "dinner" movie theatre in Barrington at the Arboretum.

This place was AMAZING! Very cool decor in the lobby with a bar, fireplace, and lounge. You actually eat your dinner in the theatre so when you get there your waiter shows you to your seats- in our case they were huge orange velvet recliners with automatic buttons to adjust your seat up and down. (and I adjusted it up and down.. up and down... up and down) Then the waiter brought me a glass of wine and a blanket because I was chilly. You could request a pillow too but I thought that might be pushing it. We ordered a delicious dinner (Jason had steak and I had BBQ chicken pizza) and then we had our own "call button" to page our waiter throughout the movie in case we needed anything else. (Like more gourmet popcorn or chocolates etc.) Ha! It was a pretty neat experience. Totally expensive and unnecessary-but fun! Mostly it was just good to get out with my hubby- my favorite person and best friend. It is pretty mind-boggling that we have been married three years already. It has gone fast.. but a lot has happened in our lives too. I know we will be married for many more and I am excited to keep experiencing life together- xoxox Happy Anniversary Jason!

Only one more week....

This is my last week of freedom and then...dum da dum dum... back to school. I am worse than the kids. I REALLY don't feel like going back this year! It is strange because normally I am feeling pretty refreshed and excited by the time August rolls around. Full of new ideas and ready to meet my new group of students- but not so much this year. Maybe it is because I took classes for the majority of June and some of July. Maybe it is because my long-time teaching partner and dear friend Kathy retired last year and I am already feeling that loss and dreading starting the year without her... or maybe it is because I am just finally getting into my "stay at home" mom groove again. (Yeah... I could get used to lunching with friends, going to the splash park, and taking trips to the library. Not a bad life) But either way- I am going to make the most of this last week of freedom. I am going to enjoy time with my Bel, celebrate my anniversary with my hubby and just plain relax. Here are some photos from this past week....

The neighbor girl decided that she "outgrew" her dress-up clothes so she donated them to Isabel. Great for Isabel... not so great for Lucky. Poor guy.

Another SUPER hot day....... time to play outside in the splash table

On Saturday night I went out for a few hours for dinner with my girls. Kristin had us over to see her new (AMAZING) house. We didn't bring our kids but Dylan and Kylie were there and I must say they are the most well-behaved kids ever!

Colleen, Arian and Jill

Arian and I

On Sunday I went Mom, Mandy and I went to my cousin Katie's bridal shower at Maggiano's. The food was AWESOME and I am bummed that I forgot to bring my camera to the shower. Her wedding is coming up this October.

(Weird. We are dressed like clones and we didn't even plan this. We must have all decided black is slimming- lol)

Grandma and Grandpa Leppin surprised us by driving up and taking us all to dinner. We had a great dinner and then Bel ran around like a crazy baby outside (burning off her ice cream energy I guess)

Bel couldn't go to dinner without "baby"

Poor Uncle Aaron got stuck hanging out with "baby"

... and Isabel had to carry her "baby" under her dress in her belly. (Really?! Thanks Dad)

a sweet picture with her Grandpa

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the new clothes!

and she was ready to fall asleep as soon as we got in the car.

Well.... one more week and then it is back to the daily grind. I plan to enjoy this!

Family Vacation 2010- Indiana Beach

My family has been renting a cabin at Indiana Beach on Lake Shafer for the past 20 years. I have literally grown up there and I have so many fun memories- going to the beach, tubing, riding rides, flirting with boys on the boardwalk (ha ha - sorry Jason) and just spending time with my family. So it was pretty cool to be able to go back after a few years off and now bring MY family with. My parents rented a 3 bedroom cabin, and my sis, Zack, Jason, Bel and I packed up the cars and we spent a week together. Here are some highlights from our trip.

We arrived- only a 3 hour trip! Would have been shorter but you have to love that Chicago road construction traffic.

We did a lot of sitting out in back of the cabin. Great view of the lake and dock- but I forgot to take a picture of that.

Zack was our honorary Boy Scout- he built some beautiful fires!

It was HOT!

Eggs.. bacon...toast... fruit... doughnuts...

We ate very well this trip. Jason and I cooked dinner two nights and Mandy and Zack cooked dinner two nights also. We figured mom and dd cook for us almost every week at home so we should pull our weight :)

Jason was the only one brave enough to ride rides. Actually Mandy really wanted to but apparently that is not a good idea when you are 7 months pregnant. Next year Bean

My mom and dad watched Bel for us so we could get out on our own sometimes- that was a nice break.

Daddy Daughter.... Bel loved having her dad home from work for over a week

The boy's Jet Skied... poor Mandy. Once again- no preggos allowed.

Delicious- beer butt chicken

Smores!

Out for dinner

Think Bel liked it?

Bel wasn't a huge fan of the sand beach... well she liked the sand. Not the water as much.

Splash Park!!

So sweet..... Isabel was fearless at this Splash Park. Running everywhere.

We rented a pontoon boat and all the guys took a turn driving it. (Bel thought she deserved a shot too)

Yes... I got in the lake. Even though I was convinced my toes would be eaten by a carp.

Bel rode her first carnival rides on this trip. Even though she looks serious in this pic- trust me- she LOVED these little cars... and the little boats.. (not so much the merry-go-round) She rode these rides several times per day. I think she will miss them most.

Walking the boardwalk is a regular tradition. We stopped for ice cream and treats on more than one occasion.

Our last night- overall, the trip was great fun. Thanks Mom and Dad for keeping the tradition going. We made more memories- Love, the Leppins