Go, Go, Goers!

We've quickly settled back into a normal routine...work, school, homework, seeing friends and family, etc.  This week had some high moments though:  Ava and I went in for our annual eye exams, and she might need to get glasses.  She is SO excited about it...she already has her frames picked out.  I say "might" because the doctor wasn't emphatic about her needing them; he said they might help when she's reading, or looking at the boards in school.  So...we'll see.  Maybe I'll wait for a special where if both she and I can purchases new lenses, there's a price break.  Also, I went it to get my hair cut on Tuesday night...usually I'm pretty neutral on what we do with it, but this time, I had a plan!  My amazing stylist and I had a chat about short hair, and how it would work for me.  My biggest concern is that I'll look like a boy with short hair.  We ended up doing a super short bob, and I love it!  When I walked in on Tuesday night...

Hunting season is right around the corner...'tis the time of year where the kids and I get to spend A LOT of quality time together!  Scott headed up north early Friday afternoon, so I needed to be home to meet Ava when she got off of the school bus that day (got to the house the same time she did!)  And I loved seeing little G's excitement when he realized that I was picking him up.  Plus, I had an extra benefit of missing all of the rush hour traffic, and then was able to shut down my work laptop at 5:30pm for a clean stop.  We had a great dinner of buttered noodles on Friday night, followed up with a bath in the "big bathtub" (the tub in our bathroom.)  Once G started talking about pooping in the tub, Ava ordered him out, and bath time was officially over (note: he did NOT actually poop in the tub.)  We then enjoyed a kids movie on Netflix, and flavored up some popcorn with caramel, ranch, and buffalo spices (separately, of course!)  And everyone ...

It's official, we have a 3rd grader!  Tuesday was Ava's first day back at school, and it was a good one.  Her teacher seems to be very organized, responsive, and great with the kids...perfect!  Even better, she no longer has snack time at school.  I know this seems like a small thing, but for the last three years I had to remember to pack a snack for school every single day...and some days, my memory failed me.  But, it's confirmed, snack is a thing of the past! (Welcome to the real world, sweetie...) She still wants to be a baker...I need to find a kid's baking class for her! I picked up a few sweet treats to celebrate the special day back. (If she was a professional baker, she could have made these instead!) And some flowers for my girl G starts soccer this week at daycare, so I'm super excited to hear how that goes.  Since it happens during the day, I won't be able to watch on a regular basis, but I do think that we can come to watch ...

It's official...the summer is over. Ava completed her last week of Summer Power (this week, they went to the Crayola Experience at the MOA, and also took a boat ride down the Mississippi...awesome!) to celebrate their final week. She made a new friend that goes to another school, and she remembered to get her phone number.  I know that doesn't sounds like a big deal, but after worrying for years that she didn't have any good friends, I'm finally able to begin putting that concern to rest. (She does have many friends, I think I was just paranoid.) We also dropped off her school supplies at the open house this past week. We were able to see her classroom, where she sits, and who the other kids are in her class. She was SO excited when she saw her friend/neighbor Cece is in the class with her. I think third grade is going to be a fantastic year! G also had a change in teachers this past week...and with the change comes different organization in the classroom. My little...

Never a dull moment!  Never a chance to be bored!  NEVER!  I remember the days when I had down time, both in my personal life and at work...and I can confidently say that those days are long gone.  We started off the week with an emergency HOA meeting...the tension was high near the end of the meeting, so I was happy to head home, and let the board do what we elected them to do. Tuesday night was Ava's literacy assessment for 3rd grade.  We never find out exactly how she does, but she informed me that she got all of the words right, except for a few that she didn't know.  I'm confident in her reading ability, so I have no doubt that she did well.  Earlier in the summer, she had told me she was scared of third grade, since she was going to have to learn both cursive and multiplication.  After meeting with her new teacher, she is pumped about learning cursive!  She begged me to teach her how to write an "a" so she could start practicing....

What a great family vacation we've had this past week!  All of the planning and the prepping was totally worth it...and now I can't wait for us to start planning our next vacation.  Plus, I haven't checked my work email this entire time, so I feel like I truly have had a break from things (I was at work until 10pm the night before we left, so I definitely needed that break!) We're on the road...and fast asleep! Except for Ava...she was awake and chatty for the entire drive there... We stopped and had lunch on a waterfront patio in La Crosse.  Ava was quite taken with the baby ducks in the river. We finally made it there!  The line to check in was super long...I'm so glad Scott and G stayed in the truck while Ava and I took care of things. After settling in, we decided it was time to explore. I had done my research on the resort, and decided that Ava would like the MagiQuest game (searching for different items in order to collect ru...