Jemma Turns Five

Jemma's birthday festivities started with a Jojo Siwa themed birthday party with family and close friends the weekend before her birthday!

As an early birthday gift, we surprised Jemma (and Jade) with tickets to see Jojo Siwa in concert! It was a late night for both girls (not to mention a school night) but we had such a fun girls night!

Jemma's birthday was a school day! She was so excited to bring goody bags for all the kids in her class!

After school we opened presents and went to Culvers (Jemma's choice) for dinner. In addition to the concert, Jemma's big gift this year was a Razor scooter, just like her big sisters! :)

We wrapped up Birthday festivities with a fun night of pizza and bowling with Uncle Paul and Aunt Nancy! 

Happy FIVE sweet Jemma!

First Day of School

School starting has been a big change for me this year, as I now have both kids in all day Elementary school!

Jade started 2nd Grade, with teacher Mrs. Poska. She absolutely loved school last year, so I'm hoping that trend will continue. We don't get to meet the teachers prior to the first day of school, and I didn't meet Mrs. Poska until curriculum night, which was a week after school started. Jade seems to be enjoying her class so far, eventhough word on the street is that Mrs. Poska is strict! ;) She's most excited about the Chromebook's they get to use! :)

The first day of school for Kindergarten is a 30 minute "Sneak Peek" of their classroom, meeting the teacher etc. The following day was Jemma's first full day of Kindergarten! She has Mrs. Gamboa, which is the same teacher that Jade had! I think it helped both of us knowing the teacher in advance.

First official day! Jemma was SO excited to finally get to ride the bus!

Our neighbor made these adorable shirts for the girls to wear each year on their first day of school! Will be fun to see the shirts shrink over time ;)

End of "Summer"

We had to squeeze in a little more fun before school started back up!

The girls and I spent a day at Brookfield Zoo. The highlight of the visit was the Lego Animal Exhibit! The girls loved reading how many Lego bricks were used in each animal and the number of hours it took to construct.

Nate took the girls to Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve with his friend Matt and his kids, while I was at work! Jade has really become quite the adventurer.

I'm gonna miss my errand buddies...well maybe ;)

Definitely going to miss our park stops!

We celebrated my Dad's 60th Birthday at a family favorite, Pilot Pete's!

Nate took the girls to a new park one day while I was working. I love that he enjoys taking them to new places as much as I do!

One of the girls biggest requests was a family fun day at Sea Lion Aquatic Park!

We also had our first visit to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle! It certainly will not be our last. The girls had so much fun with school friends Aubrey and Brynn, and their little sister Kendall!

On our last day of summer break, I told the girls they could each choose anything they wanted for us to do that day! Jemma chose a visit to a favorite park and Jade chose ice cream from Dairy Queen. My pick was to take the girls to the salon for their first manicure! We had the best day!

The girls are excited to go back to school, but I'm going to miss spending all day with them! We had such a fun and memorable summer, beyond blessed!