Spring Break 2018

Ahhh, spring break. Time to take things down a notch or two. Bri needed it. I needed it. Our winter break was so sucky - we needed a better break.

We decided to stay at home for spring break this year. We have a trip coming up in May and another one possibly in July, so we wanted to chill at home.

The first two days of our spring break were completely uneventful for Briana - and she loved it. This is pretty much all she did those two days...

After two days of pretty much doing nothing, Bri, my mom and I decided to have a "girls shopping day" at the mall on Wednesday.

Bri was totally enamored by this candy kiosk. Tons and tons of candy. I told her no this time (I am a mean mom) because she still has a lot of Easter candy to go through...

She got this stuffed cat called "Pusheen" - he's a big thing now I guess. Who knew?

Ready for lunch...

Showing off her new lip gloss...

There was a virtual reality game in the middle of the mall - she loved it...

She wants this $150 snorlax for her playroom. Heh...

Even though we didn't leave town, we did do some "vacation" type stuff on Thursday and Friday. Doug took some time off of work and we headed down to midtown/downtown Atlanta for an overnight stay at the W Hotel...

We visited the World Of Coca Cola on Thursday afternoon...

And the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on Friday morning...

We also saw "Ready Player One" Friday afternoon...

I will blog more in depth about our Atlanta adventure in my next couple of posts.

Saturday, Bri invited her friend Meredith over for some gaming fun...

Doug messing around with the girls...

We met up with Meredith's family for a nice hibachi dinner...

It was a great break. A great mix of fun and rest. The weather on Thursday and Friday was absolutely perfect.

Bri didn't want spring break to end. Me either really. But, we are on the home stretch to summer vacation now. Just have to get through standardized testing and end of the school year activities. I am ready - I love hanging out with my girl in the summertime. Just 7 more weeks!

She Was So Ready For A Break

As I write this post, spring break is officially over. B's spring break was the first week of April.

Bri had been feeling a bit overwhelmed with life/everything before spring break. As you all know, she doesn't love school and the pace is pretty quick with her being in advanced classes. She is also overwhelmed with soccer because there is a big learning curve for her right now.

Bri likes when things come easy for her. When things don't come easy, she gets super frustrated. Right now, not a whole lot is coming easy. She needed a break - badly.

I could already see her in a happier mood when she knew spring break was on the horizon. The week before spring break, the school had their "Mardi Gras" book fair. Each day had a theme. B loves going to the book fair to buy books.

Day 1 (above) was Mardi Gras mask day.

Then Day 3 was bead day...

Day 4 was wear Mardi Gras colors...

This was Bri on the last day of school before spring break. She was giddy...

I will write all about our spring break in my next few posts.

Bri had a great spring break. She was really able to slow down and catch up on her rest. She really needed it...

Well, Bri headed back to school yesterday morning. She was grumpy and unhappy once again. I had hoped that spring break would rejuvenate her for the home stretch of school until summer break. She has 7 weeks of 6th grade left. That's it.

Nope. She was still super moody.

I don't understand why B dislikes school as much as she does. I know a lot of kids don't really like school, but dang she really, really doesn't like it. She'd rather be doing stuff she likes/wants to do. Doesn't everybody though? But that's life. You can't always have fun 24/7. B seems fine once she is in school and always seems in a good mood when I pick her up. She always says she has a good day when I ask her how her day went. Her grades are good. She is used to the routine now. She's not getting bullied. She has friends.

It's just perplexing to me. She is just perplexing to me.

Lord - please help me get through the rest of middle school. This middle school/tween parenting isn't for the squeamish.

Easter/Passover Recap

Look at that smile. Bri sure loves getting an Easter basket. :)

Yes, I decorate my house for Easter - just like pretty much every other holiday I celebrate. Bri loves when I decorate the house - it just makes us feel more festive...

It was funny that our one-eyed rabbit friend made his appearance again right before Easter. We haven't seen him since last year. This time he brought a friend with him. Doug chased them both away because they were nibbling on our plants. I don't think they will be gone for long though...

Bri was very excited when her friend Kaelan invited her over for a "glow in the dark" Easter egg hunt the Friday before Easter...

The bigger kids waiting for their turn...

Glowing eggs...

Bri still enjoys coloring Easter eggs. I'm really happy about that. I hope she wants to continue as she gets older. Anything that is artistic and creative is right up her alley...

The Saturday morning before Easter, she colored eggs...

That evening, Doug, Bri and I got together with my family for a Easter/Passover celebration...

 

(My sister's wedding anniversary and my mom's birthday were also coming up, so we celebrated those events too.)

My dad breaking the matzah...

My mom's homemade chicken soup. One of my very favorite things...

Then it was time for an Easter egg hunt with the cousins...

They made out like bandits. I made sure each egg had a fun prize in it...

The rabbit trio...

Time to celebrate my mom's birthday...

Easter morning, Bri found her Easter basket...

She was over the moon with her pink panda...

She got dressed in a pretty Easter dress...

That evening, we went to The Melting Pot for dinner...

My kid loves sugar...

Pretty Easter smiles...

And this isn't really Easter-related, but I am including this picture of Bri and her friend Kira (and Kira's friend Elizabeth) because I love it so much...

 The weekend before Easter weekend, we got together with friends Khalid, Ansu and Kira for Ansu's birthday celebration. It had been too long since we had seen each other. Bri always looks forward to seeing Kira. Months can go by and when they get together, it is like no time has passed at all!

I hope everyone had a happy and blessed Easter/Passover...