A Book and stuff....

A friend of mine, Meredyth, had told me about the book "Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes, so I started reading it randomly this week and could not put it down! The moment I walked in the door yesterday from school, I sat down and finished it. It was incredible! It was different then I expected going in but it was an amazing story. Go out now and read it! So good!

Now I cannot decide if I should read "The Husband's Secret" or start reading our book club book next which is "Defending Jacob."

When I was on one of my Target trips...this caught my eye. I really need a new crock pot (see I'm moving onto the random part) and thought this one was so cute!

Something I do not need but is always fun to think about it is a new car. I of course have mentioned before how I think it would be cool to have a Hybrid car but saw the new Infiniti today QX60 and it was sweet looking! So if I win the lottery next week, I think this is what I would pick for one of my cars! Ha! :)

Tonight starts college football and the Panthers have a Pre-Season game on tv...then this weekend football explodes and we are some excited peeps in the Hoppe House about it! And of course add to all this that it is a three day weekend...perfection!

I have signed Norah up for some great activities starting next week...art, tennis and a program at school...she is excited and I am too! I will say that she has had so much fun coming to my classroom each day after school as the teacher across from me has a 4 year old that comes over too. Norah and her daughter play so well together and totally entertain each other while we are able to get some work done. When Norah started kindergarten she was so tired everyday after school getting used to the school day but with 1st grade...she is wide open and ready to play after school!

Another thing is Norah has gotten really into modeling clay. We are on our second bucket of clay. Norah loves to make all kinds of things out of it and then let's it dry. She sometimes paints it depending but it is a great entertainment for her. She learned all about it when she went to art camp with Mrs. Hays this summer.She now wants one of the pottery wheels for Christmas! Well I am off to enjoy the night!

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A Book and stuff....

A great weekend!

By the end of the school day on Friday...exhaustion had hit but the week had been such a success! The students and teachers were beyond fabulous and it was a great start to a new year! So as much as Jeff and I were ready to crash...we were headed to a "Back to School" party which turned out to give us our second wind...and it was a BLAST! Such a fun group of people and the kids played hard...Norah was dirty from head to toe when we left! Awesome night! (There are a few kids missing from the pic!)

Saturday Jeff headed out to play some golf while Norah and I had a chill kinda day...it was just what we needed. Sunday brought Church and then after a grocery store run...I made buffalo chicken egg rolls (I got the recipe from my friend Glenn and tweaked it to what I have on hand...we love them) and made homemade granola bars for breakfasts this week (Thanks Amanda for the recipe...which I tweaked to what I had on hand...)...have you noticed I always tweak a recipe! I got a pic of the egg rolls which you bake (who knew they are so easy to make!) but did not take a pic of the granola bars before I had them all wrapped and packed away.

I also got to finish my book I was reading, "Circle of Friends" by Maeve Binchy. I had seen the movie and always thought it was so cute so decided to read the book. It was good and I could totally see all the actors that played in the movie fit perfectly.

Well off to get a couple things ready for a new Monday tomorrow and watch a little football action. Hard to believe we have a full week at school and then a three day weekend coming up! Wahoo!

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A great weekend!

1st Grade and other things....

Today was Norah's first day in 1st grade! Since I had my own school duties, Jeff took Norah to school which is becoming a first day of school tradition (this is the third year he has done it solo!) Jeff took pictures for me which I love!

This one makes me laugh because I know she was looking at all the things around her when he took it!

A thank you to Norah's teacher for taking this pic of her and Jeff! Such a Daddy's little girl!

Norah said she had a great time! When asked what her favorite part of the day was....recess was the answer! She saw a lot of friends throughout the day too. Excited to see what day 2 has in store for her! And it is still hard to believe she is in 1st grade!

I have to back up to this past week...I went back to work last week and could not have done it without the help of my mother-in-law. She was a HUGE help and we really appreciated her coming to watch Norah for the week. We hated it was not that exciting for her and it rained a lot....but Norah loved having Vee Vee all to herself! Thanks again and we promise the next time you visit...to be more entertaining! We did get one night out and hit up the "Blue Crab" for dinner.

I also have to mention our trip to the beach this past Sunday...the water was so clear...it was literally like being in the Caribbean! It was crazy!

And last but not least....today was my first day back with the kids and it was fantastic! I love all the students and it went really smoothly! The teachers are fabulous and I know we are going to have an amazing year! Middle School rocks!

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1st Grade and other things....

The End and The Beginning...

Last week was my last piece of summer and I enjoyed every minute! I had the most amazing time with Norah...we had VBS time at our Church, beach trips, pool time, movie watching, errand running, hair cuts and even roller skating (just to name a few things!)

She loved it! I didn't have my phone on me while we were actually on the floor part (as I was trying not to fall myself!) so I took this before we left while she was on the carpet area. Can you believe they have those "walkers" now? Who knew!

I finished reading "The Lost Wife" by Alyson Richman and it was fabulous! I loved it and read it in two days! Tomorrow I have my book club and cannot wait to discuss it! I wish I took more pics of Norah during our week but no worries...I soaked in every minute of my last bit of summer with my baby girl and have all the memories!

Norah was worn out after our skating adventure!

So with my summer vacation ending...that means that the school year is beginning! We have been very lucky to have had my mother-in-law come down to watch Norah while I work this week so I have not had to worry about her. She has been so excited that her "Vee Vee" being here and they have even had knitting lessons.

She is so proud of her knitting and has done such a good job!

This week has been a whirlwind and I literally have gotten 4 hours of sleep in the last two nights...but so worth it! Today was the first day that all teachers were required to return to school...and they proved how amazing they all are and what a great year we have ahead! Not only have I worked with the best team this summer to prepare for today but after our group meeting, I knew how fantastic this group of teachers and staff will be this year! While I was having fun at school...Vee Vee took Norah to art class where she painted a Lobster!

So tonight ends and I am gearing up for the rest of the week which I feel will be just as successful as today proved to be...and then one more weekend before school officially begins for Norah and me! Now to get a little sleep...

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The End and The Beginning...

Slow Down August...

Last week was a whirlwind as I worked extra so that I could have this week off to spend the last bit of time with Norah before the craziness that is the beginning of a new school year brings. However, I did squeeze in a night of fun last Thursday as my Aunt Susan/Hankie, Cousin Erica and I went to Palette to Palate and painted a Tuna fish!

Looks like they are having fun!

Here is my fish...I decided not to do a blue background! Rebel!

Then this weekend started my last weekend to the start of the last week of vacation (does that make sense)! So over the weekend we had a lot of fun as a family and just relaxed. I did a trip to costco, etc. but we watched movies like "Back to the Future" (such a classic!) and just did what we wanted with Jeff and Norah hitting the pool. etc...Church was great on Sunday and then Sunday night brought back the most awesome thing ever....football! Jeff and I were giddy with delight as pre-season NFL football started with the Dallas vs. Miami game. We were so excited that it was ridiculous! We love football! So we watched and cannot believe that football is back...we have missed it!

I do love Cris Collinsworth (seriously...he is awesome!) And it was great to see Cris Carter in the Hall of Fame!

Today brought the first day of VBS at our Church which they did a great job with...Norah came home and said how much fun she had and loved it! I just helped at the first part during the registration but everyone that volunteered did a tremendous amount of work during the day...which the kids loved! Then Norah and I went to the beach.

Yes, my favorite thing happened...my daughter played on the beach and waves while I got to read my book!

The weather was amazing and it looks like the rest of the week might be the same! So here is to the week of fun...I wish summer had about 3 additional weeks....since that isn't happening...I guess I will enjoy this week with my little one to its fullest!

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Slow Down August...