Back to School Essentials

HAPPY Monday, friends!!! It's my last week of summer (I go back to work next Monday) and I've been deep in the trenches of all things back to school ;)  I'm really hoping that y'all are still in full summer mode but in case you're starting to think about back to school gear this post is for you!

Griffin picked out this strawberry backpack...

... it looks more beige online but it's actually the prettiest pink.  It's LARGE and she's so excited about all the pockets.  Her last backpack was cute but didn't hold up to her being an absolute TERROR on backpacks.  I don's know how/why she makes such a mess of them but she does!

We still love a hydroflask and this straw lid is her bottle of choice.  This color was from the NSale a few years ago and is still the cutest.

Love that the side pockets are still big enough for the giant water bottle!

MY boys Northface backpacks are still in pretty good shape, but have been relegated to the "camp bag" category after several years of school use.  Mason picked this black Hershel backpack and he LOVES IT!  It's simple and deceivingly large and it's "exactly what he wanted".  SCORE! 

Loaded down with two 1.5" binders, paper, notebooks, etc.  HOLDS A TON!

Luke decided on this Adidas bag and it's very "him".  I love the unique pockets on the front and he loves the sportiness.  All three backpacks have padded laptop pockets as well.

We kept lunch bags for the boys super simple... 

... and G is going to use hers from last year.  

Both of my boys have metal water bottles but typically end up using one of these Gatorade bottles.

These labels are still my go-to for everything.  Uniform pieces tend to be hard to track down if they're not labeled and these stay on FOREVER and make things easily identifiable.

If you're looking for a little flair for your kiddos gear I can't say enough great things about this etsy shop.  I used her to make these personalized keychain party favors for G's birthday and she has the CUTEST name keychains as well.

I MEAN!!! I ordered one for G to coordinate with her backpack and can't wait for it to come in!

She has really cute name stickers and teacher keychains as well!

Griffin's love language is lunchbox notes ;) and while I still stick one in my boys lunches occasionally G LOVES getting them daily.  I've built up quite the little collection and here are some cute ones I have my eye on!  (Pro-tip... I have a ziplock baggie of a bunch already signed so Dave (who handles mornings) can just pop one in there OR he'll sign one himself)

You can get ALL THE DETAILS on what planners I'm using for school and home as well as which planner G is loving on THIS POST!

Griffin is being picky about her shoes at the moment BUT these are on the list of contenders...

... and both of my boys have these in different colorways.

Phew! There you go - all of our FAVES! Not sure I've ever been more glad my kids wear uniforms ;) hahaha

HAPPY Monday and happy the rest of summer!!! :)