Back-To-School 2024

This week Caroline started 5th grade and Thomas started 3rd grade! We met their teachers last week and I have such a great feeling about the school year ahead for both of them.

Back To School Dinner

To wrap up an incredible summer, we celebrated with a fun back-to-school dinner over the weekend. Our kids absolutely love this tradition and requested hibachi this year! And when it was time to eat, we surprised them with an actual hibachi chef!! The look of pure shock and excitement on their faces was priceless.

I was thrilled to team up with Let’s Hibachi to make this dinner unforgettable! Just before our chefs arrived, I set up our table outside with place settings and some flowers.

The dinner was not only delicious but also a total blast. Our chefs put on an amazing culinary show with fire tricks, hilarious jokes, and plenty of food tossing. The adults enjoyed sake squirt guns, while the kids had fun with water squirt guns. Everyone got involved in the dinner prep too—Matt lit the grill with a massive flame, Thomas managed to flip an egg into his hat, and Caroline had the fun of lighting the onion teepee. We were laughing the whole time!

We were all SO stuffed afterward we had to wait several hours before we could even think about dessert. Much later I served a classic Carvel ice cream cake which everyone LOVED.

Previous Back-To-School Dinners

• 2023 SHRIMP BOIL DINNER
• 2022 HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI DINNER
• 2021 SUSHI DINNER
• 2020 STEAK DINNER
• 2019 STEAK DINNER

Back-To-School Family Traditions

Each year, we have the kids fill out a back-to-school questionnaire. We use THIS ONE! This time, I brought out all the surveys from previous years to share with them, and we had a good laugh at some of their answers. But my favorite part? Watching how their handwriting and the way they write their names have improved over the years—it’s incredible to see the progress!

Once the kids finish their surveys, I laminate them along with our summer bucket list and store them in their keepsake bags. And I’ll gift them all their surveys during their final back-to-school dinner before heading off to college!

Our final back-to-school tradition? Marking the kids’ height on the wall! I love to see how much they grow each year! Caroline and Thomas are only a few inches apart now!

First Day of School

On the morning of our first day of school, Matt and I surprised the kids with bracelets. I gifted Caroline matching Dainty Heart Bracelets and Matt gifted Thomas a Morse code bracelet with a secret message. They loved these and I hope that when they look at them throughout the school day, they think of us…thinking of them!

Wishing you all a wonderful school year ahead!