And she's off! Time for Kindergarten!

We just dropped Cassidy off for her first day of Kindergarten!  She was very excited and walked into her classroom ready to have fun.  We are so proud of her!  Here are a few photos from this morning.

Arriving at school...ready to go in!

Ready to step into Miss Orth's Kindergarten classroom

Standing next to her favorite things in the room - the 3 frogs!  One is named Indiana Jones, and the other 2 will be named by the class this year.

Cassidy and her Kindergarten teacher, Miss Orth.

Meet Gilly

Our newest family member has arrived...in the form of a betta fish named Gilly.  Cassidy has been asking for a pet for a while now, and knowing that we are years away from being able to take in a dog or other cute furry animal, we decided to go with the lowest maintenance pet that we could find as a way to buy ourselves a little time!  We planned an afternoon outing to the Wilmette Pet Store, and the kids picked their fish out within minutes and had him named before we got the front counter.  Since bettas are fighting fish, he has to be the only one in our tank, but he's very fun to watch and enjoys hiding in his little plants.  We give him daily exercise by holding up a mirror to his tank as he puffs out his gills and flutters about trying to claim his territory from this new fish enemy.  Cassidy also made him tiny books out of paper and set them next to his tank in case he gets bored and wants to read.  He gets 2 food pellets a day, which works out perfectly for the kids to each have their own job every morning.  We are enjoying having Gilly around and the kids are very excited to be official pet owners.

The Best Campout Ever!

Grammy and Grandpa Brown hatched a plan with the kids sometime last winter to have a summertime backyard campout.  This month, that plan became a reality when Grammy and Grandpa Brown took in the kids for 2 days and hosted a backyard campout along with tons of fun daytime play.  Erik and I really appreciated 2 days of a quiet house - we celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary with dinner (Depot Nuevo!) and a movie (Batman: The Dark Knight Rises!), and we got a lot of things done around the house to prepare for baby #3, who's due to arrive in about 5 weeks!  But back to the campout fun - here are some photos that Grammy shared after their great time together!

Grammy and Grandpa took the kids to the Morton Arboretum, along with Aunt Mel and Jackson

Helping Grandpa set up the tent in the backyard

All set to go!  On the swing with Grammy

Swinging with Grandpa as nighttime rolls in

Fast asleep in the cool tent!

The next day was spent at the Brookfield Zoo - they loved the giant bug exhibit!

Cousins!!!

Oostburg, WI

We enjoyed a great trip to Oostburg, WI - just south of Sheboygan - this month, with the whole Brown clan!  We joined Grammy and Grandpa Brown and the Tieman family and spent the week at a pretty rental home on Lake Michigan.  We spent our days on the lakeshore playing in the warm sun and our evenings relaxing together and watching the 2012 Olympics that were being broadcast from London that week.  Here are some highlights, in pictures...

Playtime at the beach!

 

Taking in the local car show - especially fun for Grandpa, the car enthusiast!

Making s'mores, delicious...

 

Celebrating Grandpa's 69th birthday!

Playtime with the adorable Vlach kids - we were so glad they could join us for the day!

Day trips to the Bookworm Garden and The Flying Pig

A morning beach stroll with Grammy - we found a cool sand sculpture!

 What a great trip!!!

Summer 2012 - thus far...

What a fun summer we've had so far!  We captured some of the good times in photographs - here's a recap of what we've been up to...

Celebrating Father's Day

We loved spending time with Grandpa Brown

To celebrate, the kids thought Daddy would love a package of 200 water balloons!

Playtime at the beach and local pool

Gavin enjoys a snack poolside

Cassidy worked so hard to learn how to float

Mornings at the beach were so fun!

Many sandcastles and sand villages were constructed

First day of summer camp

The 4th of July (our first time celebrating in Wilmette!)

 Making a new fairy garden with Grammy Brown

Going to Ravinia with friends

 Backyard Fun - Baseball, Swingset, Grilling, Having Ice Cream...

 

Visiting the Vlachs, just north of Milwaukee (We LOVE how close they live now!)

 And even a little downtime spent indoors...

We only have a few weeks left until the start of the new school year.  We've got a little more summer fun planned, and then fall (and baby #3!) will be upon us.  We're excited for all that's to come!