First Day of School 2010

August 17, 2010 was the first day of school this year. It's such an exciting year. Ben entered the 4th grade and gets to join clubs and take trips. Zachary entered the 2nd grade and gets to go to the fair in January/February and bowling in May. Courtney is going to full day vpk and loves it. The boys came home full of stories about what they get to do this year. Everyone is off to a good start! I took pictures on the first and second days. I wanted Zack to stand up so we can see his true height. The first day, he was leaning on the arm of the couch. So, anyway, here are some pictures. The boys were both wearing navy on the first day. Ben is in green and Zack in red on the second. They are really loving the freedom to branch out and wear different colors!

One funny little fact about Courtney's class this year is that of 13 kids only 3 are girls.

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Renzo's 5th Birthday Party - 8/13/10

Renzo celebrated his 5th birthday at Pump it Up in Davie. It is one of those indoor bounce house places. I'm not a huge fan because they usually smell like locker rooms and feet. However, the kids don't really seem to notice. They had a blast on the slides, obstacle courses, climbing walls and bounce houses. They were worn out at the end of the party.

Chicago Trip - Day 4 - Naperville

Monday morning in Naperville was entertaining. We watched deer in the backyard for a while. It was unexpected because they were just out in the grass eating grass and fruit 20-30 feet from the houses. It was quite amazing. We headed to downtown Naperville to hit the playground at the Riverwalk, have Chicago style pizza at Lou Malnati's, and shop for books at Anderson's bookstore. Courtney also ran up and down the big hill by herself. The boys were too tired to run it! The downtown Naperville tour is something we tend to do on most of our visits. The playground is lovely and they have Courtney's favorite slide. Add on some pizza and books and the kids are happy. We headed back a while later to once again let the kids jump off the diving boards at the pool.

Chicago Trip - Day 3 Naperville

Sunday, the kids and I joined my parents for breakfast and then walked down Michigan Ave. while Andy got the car packed and then got ready for the day. The kids loved the breakfast at Corner Bakery and shopping at the Disney Store. We actually found Zack's backpack and lunch box while we were there! After checking out of the hotel, my parents headed to the airport and we headed to Naperville. We weren't at Andy's parents' house long before the kids were begging to go to the playground and the community pool. The kids had a great time. The pool is always a big hit because it has diving boards. Ben and Zack went off the high board repeatedly while Courtney jumped off the low dive for the first time!

Chicago - Day 2- Graduation Day

Kaplan's graduation was held at the Arie Theater at McCormick Place. I had to be there at 7:15 am for individual and honor society pictures. The graduation ceremony started at 9 and ended around noon. I now officially have a Masters in Teaching Mathematics grades k-5. It was supposed to end at 11 so I was quite cranky after sitting through the ceremony after not sleeping well the night before. Andy and my parents were there to cheer me on while Andy's parents watched the kids at Mike and Karen's place. The kids would have had a hard time sitting in the auditorium for 4 hours. After the graduation, we met Andy's parents, the kids, Maggie and Tom at the Rock Bottom Brewery. Lunch was nice. We all kind of went our separate ways after lunch. My parents went to take the tour of Chicago. Andy's parents drove home. Maggie and Tom went out to look at condos. Andy and I took the kids to the Lincoln Park Zoo where we met Mike and little Frances. We had a good time walking around the zoo and ended the fun with ice cream. We headed back to the hotel and then met my parents for dinner at Pizzeria Due so they could try Chicago style pizza. It was an early night as we were all pretty exhausted from the eventful day.

Chicago - Day 1

We flew up to Chicago on August 5, 2010 to attend my graduation ceremony on August 7, 2010. My parents came with us and we got to see Andy's parents and siblings while we were up there.

On August 6th, Andy and my dad went to a Cubs game so my mom and I took the kids and explored Chicago. We took the kids to the Lego store and then walked to the American Girl Store. After the kids had their surprises, my mom and I explored each of the floors at Macys. We shopped for a while and then went on a tour of Chicago. We saw Oprah's house, Sears Tower, Hancock Building, Trump Tower, the Aqua building, Millenium Park, a lot being used for the new Transformers movie, and Navy Pier. We actually met my dad and Andy at Navy Pier. All 7 of us went on the ferris wheel, which the kids really enjoyed. The kids went on the carousel and then we headed back to the hotel to meet Andy's parents. We ended up going to Rainforest Cafe. Zachary spotted it down the street and it worked out well because they were able to seat all 9 of us immediately.

August 1, 2010

For the second year in a row, Andy and I spent our anniversary with me attending a shower. This year, I was actually one of the people throwing the shower. Andy and I did manage to sneak out the night before (Saturday night) for dinner at Bahama Breeze and a movie (Inception). The dinner was great and the movie was cool.

My mom and I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Olivia. She is expecting a baby girl, Jillian Frances, next month. It was big hit and a lot of fun. I made 2 diaper cakes for them. We had the guests decorate onesies for the baby. Everyone got really into it and did a great job painting the onesies.