and July is over..

Hello out there in blogland.  Do I even have any readers anymore?  Who knows.  It seems like the blogging community has really petered out the past few years.  I guess with Instagram and Facebook it is just an easier way to keep people updated.  Also a lot of the blogs I used to read regularly have either turned into giant advertisements (Beach Body!  Essential Oils!) or again just sort of faded away.  If anyone has any recommendations for honest, parenty blogs that don't fall into those two categories.  We have really been enjoying our summer and I haven't taken much time to sit down and update.  

Summer highlights so far include:

Putting our hair in pigtails!  Seriously, could there be a cuter hairstyle for a 18 month old?

Getting good use of our season tickets to Sesame Place.  We took all of Ryan's kids and we have gone back one more time.  Hannah's obsessed with Sesame Street but Isaac likes a lot of the rides too, especially the water park.

She actually was really excited to meet Murray despite the look on her face in this picture.

Her favorite.  She ran right to him to hug him.  It was ridiculously adorable.

Playdates and babysitting with friends.

Hannah and Alexander

We have been doing some shopping.  We have already started some Christmas shopping and did some back to school.

We all got a free dinner on Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fila.

Isaac has been doing stuff too, he is just resistant to having his picture taken.  He has done a bunch of sports camps which has kept him busy.  We both did the dentist yesterday-- NO CAVITIES!  He spends a lot of time roaming around the neighborhood with a big group of boys, riding bikes and playing cricket.  Soccer has started up again with twice a week practices.  He is in a wedding in a few weeks and my parents are taking him to Virginia to see his first real Shakespeare play.

We have been trying to limit screen time, do some cleaning and organizing and hauling stuff to Goodwill, keep Hannah on a decent sleep/nap schedule, listening to NPR

We still have quite a few things on our list left for summer and only a few weeks left until I have to head back to school.  

July!

Happy mid-July people.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks.

This school year finally came to an end.  This was my worst year ever as far as special education paperwork.  My best years I have arranged things to have no paperwork at all the whole last quarter of school, but this year I had meetings and paperwork due literally until the very last day of school. Yes, you read that right.  I had no choice but to schedule an IEP meeting on the last day.  Also, I had to pack all my stuff and move classrooms for the sixth time in seven years in the district.  I am keeping most of my kids for the third year in a row, so it didn't quite have the finality that the end of the school year usually does.

I have been applying to other districts and even had one interview.  I felt pretty confident leaving the interview, but I guess I was overly confident because I never heard back from them for a second interview.  The other day I got an email saying they decided to go with another candidate. Womp, womp.  I wasn't convinced it was the right position for me anyways but I have applied to at least 20 positions now and haven't heard back from anyone.  My mom and I did go shopping though and got me two incredible Ann Taylor suits, so when the opportunity for an interview comes, at least I will kill it in the fashion department.

Anyways, to add the the craziness of the end of the year we left for our roadtrip to Florida immediately.  Like, Ryan pulled up to the school with the packed up minivan and we started driving.  It was a little intense but better than our last roadtrip where we got on the road straight after my brother Tom's wedding.  I will write more about our Florida trip later.  Highlights including finally meeting my nephew Lucas:

Lots of relaxing pool time at the resort:

Hitting all four Disney Parks:

and lots of great family time with Ryan's siblings and parents.  It was a great trip, but it took a few days to recover from it.  It was a long car ride but the kids did great. 

The Fourth of July was a nice low key day.  Isaac was with his dad.  We took Hannah to the Pottstown Parade.  It rained off and on during the parade but really started pouring after it ended.  That derailed the plans we had for the rest of the day.  

The rain did let up in the evening and we did see some fireworks at the Reading Phils game.  Hannah watched for a few minutes but slept through most of the show.  Isaac saw several fireworks displays in Philly.

Now that we are home we have been working on things around the house (looking at new flooring and some updates in the kitchen), cooking and baking, sending Isaac to various sports camps, track club and soccer practices and having fun family times. I opted out of ESY summer school this year, so it is nice to have another summer entirely to spend with the kids.  My brother Joe met up with us and took Isaac Go Karting over the weekend.  Ryan and Isaac got to see a play in Lancaster and then we all had fun with my parents.   Summer is flying by.