A Little Life Lesson

I came across this picture the other day and it is so very true.

I do know who my true friends are. I am blessed with some really amazing friends. They make an effort to see me. To stay in touch. To check in and say hello. To celebrate with me (and my husband and child). To listen. To share. And I really try to do the same for them.

I go to the birthday parties. I set up play dates. I drive long distances to make sure I stay connected. I try to make time. I really try to be a good friend. Because that is what friends do, right?

Unfortunately, I have known people that stopped making the effort for one reason or another. It is hard to have to be the one to always do the reaching out. And it is also hard to be there for someone that doesn't return the favor.

I realized a while back that if it is too much of an effort to stay in touch with someone - if you are finding that you are the one doing all the work on your end to keep it going, then it is probably time to move on. For a very long time, I had a hard time moving on and letting go of friendships, but in recent years, I find it a bit easier. And I'm not saying it is easy, but easier. I guess I am getting a bit wiser after 39 years on this earth. ;D

And this is something I am sure Briana will have to find out one day as well.

Just a little life lesson I thought I would put out there!

Oh - I am taking a bloggy break for a couple of days. Be back after the 4th of July!

Blueberry Pickin' - Year 5!

It is that time of the year again!!! Blueberry pickin' time!

This year Briana and I headed to Blueberry Hill - the patch we had gone to for a few years. Last year we went to another farm, but unfortunately, the frost North Georgia had in April killed off their crop. So, we went to Blueberry Hill once again this year.

If you want to read about our past blueberry picking trips - just click ~

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4

Here is Briana in her red, white and blue ready to go...

 We usually go picking with our friends Kathy and Chani, but they were heading out on vacation, so Bri and I went it alone.

I knew the patch was opening on Thursday and when I called to verify, I was told they would be open Thurs - Sunday. I was worried though that if I showed up on Friday that they might be picked clean already. I attempted it anyway. We got there super early and the gate wasn't even open yet. There were a number of groups already there that were going in around the gate (this is basically just a "mom and pop" patch with about 9 or 10 rows of trees) and starting to pick. So, Bri and I followed and started picking. A lot of the lower branches were picked over. Looked like little ones had been picking on Thursday. There were lots of berries on the higher branches though. Bri picked low and I picked high. I also bent some branches down a bit so she could grab the berries...

Some of the trees are in the shade and some in full sun. It was already pretty warm in the sun, so we tried to stay in the shady places...

There definitely weren't as many berries available as in years past, but we ended up with about a half of bucket. Not too shabby. Bri was happy...

There wasn't anyone around to take the money today, so I left several dollars in the bucket sitting on the counter to cover the berries and left.

My sister and I made plans for Briana to meet her new cousin and spend the late morning/afternoon at her home after our blueberry picking.

Here is Briana helping to feed the baby...

Briana and Cousin N playing iPad together...

And I got to snuggle with a bundle of goodness...

After spending time with my sister, my mom and nephews, Briana and I drove home and I washed all the berries...

Guess who couldn't keep her hands off of them... :D

Another Super Fun Swim Play Date With Friends

 Well, I can't say we haven't been getting enough swim time lately! LOL! Bri and I headed over to my friend Miranda's house Thursday afternoon to swim with her and her two boys, Jacob and Dylan. Miranda's pool is so gorgeous. I never can wait to jump into it when we arrive.

Above is Jacob with Briana and below is Briana swimming and Dylan about to jump off the diving board...

Briana's turn to jump into the water...

Jacob showing me how he jumps out of the water...

Briana's silly hat...

The kids swam for 3 hours! Briana didn't want to go home. But, we finally had to unfortunately.

This is what the temp was when we were driving home (ugh)...

A big thank you to my friend Miranda for having us over for such a fun afternoon! I met Miranda when we both worked together at Coldwell Banker. We clicked immediately. We are so alike and I always love spending time with her. We have been friends for around 11 years now I believe. With busy lives and schedules, we don't get to see each other as much as we would like to. Trying to work on seeing her much more often!

Sprinkler Fun

 I think you will be able to tell by the pictures that Briana loves summer vacation. She loves not having to go to school. She loves not having to get up early. Her whole mood has been amazing the last month. She is just not a "I love to go to school"type of kid. She has been seriously beaming the last few weeks.

Can you tell?

Before heading into the sprinkler Tuesday afternoon, I pulled out a make your own stepping stone kit that Briana received as a birthday gift last year. I just never got around to doing it with Bri. I thought today was a perfect opportunity to work on it...

After we finished, I put it to the side to dry. It takes several days.

And then it was sprinkler time. There is really not too much to say. She always manages to find a way to have fun...

She was making silly faces at me...

She makes me laugh all the time.

And here is the finished product ~ the stepping stone...

Swim Lesson And Girl Time

We had our very first swim lesson this summer with Ms. Cynde on Monday. She used to be Bri's gymnastics coach, but we also took swim lessons from her last summer. She is so wonderful with Briana and Briana missed her so very much. 

Here is Miss B getting the goggles on... 

Practicing jumping off the edge and swimming...

She is improving with using her arms and trying to take a breath...

Miss B was so hungry after the lesson and I told her we would go to a girls lunch to Sweet Tomatoes...

And then Briana begged asked if I would take her to her favorite girlie store. It is filled with all things girl. And it is all color coordinated. She could stay in that store for hours...

I walked out of there with a bunch of ideas for Briana's birthday that is coming up in August. Can you believe my little girl is going to be six? Crazy!!!

After a quiet afternoon, I told Bri I would paint her nails in the evening. She chose this...

 Blue and pink. Pretty girlie, huh? :D

A Brave Sunday

Sunday, Doug, Bri and I met Matt, Kathy and Chani at Ted's Montana Grill for lunch and then we all went to see the movie "Brave." I asked the girls to pose in front of the sign. They look very brave to me. :D

Here are the girls giving hugs at the restaurant...

We got to the theater and I ordered a SMALL frozen drink for Briana to have while she watched the movie. See what she ended up with? It was huge!! Can you say major sugar rush plus brain freeze? I asked her what a brain freeze looks like...

The girls really enjoyed the movie. Briana was scared in a few parts and actually ended up in my lap toward the end of it. I recommend the movie, but if you have a child that gets nervous or upset easily, I say pass until the DVD comes out.

Between our surprise Friday and our amazing Saturday and our Brave Sunday, Miss Briana was completely worn out. She accidentally dropped her remaining drink in the parking lot and started to cry. It was time to go home! This is how she looked on the way home...

This week has been a lot quieter. Just swim lesson in the mornings and then mommy/daughter time at home in the afternoons. Bri and I are going to visit my friend Miranda today after swim lesson and Bri will meet her new baby cousin tomorrow. It was definitely time to take it back a notch!