Eggs, Bunnies and Baskets - Oh My!

 See all the eggs behind Bri? I took the above picture at the neighborhood Easter egg hunt. Well, it's obviously not really a hunt - more of a scramble to grab as many eggs your basket can hold. Bri loved the whole 3 minutes it took her to grab eggs. The event itself was pretty abysmal. I hate to say that because I'm guessing a little bit of effort went into it. But, that is all it was - a very little bit of effort.

My neighborhood sent out several different e-mails talking about this egg hunt like it was going to be a bigger deal than it was. The Easter Bunny was even going to make an appearance! Exciting stuff! I was excited because we went to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt several years ago and it was awesome! There was a magician, petting zoo, pony rides and crafts!! Age 8 was the cutoff for the hunt this year, and with Bri turning 9 in August, I knew this was gonna be it for her - we had to go! We even asked Bri's friend Ella to join us at the field for fun, fun, fun!!!

See below how cool it was in 2012? Bri even made it into the neighborhood newsletter (bottom left)...

 So I'm thinking with all announcements sent out by the HOA about the event this year, there were going to be some fun things for the kids to do to keep busy until the hunt. Um, nope. I was so very, very, very wrong. The e-mails said the event started at noon and the hunt started at 1. Well, the Easter Bunny showed at noon, and after taking a couple pictures with the bunny, there was absolutely nothing to do. I mean absolutely nothing. For an hour, the organizers expected everyone to just stand around until the hunt started. Not even a coloring sheet was offered. There was nothing. And then the hunt actually went according to age groups (youngest going first), so Bri and Ella (being 6 and 8) would have been waiting around for 1 hour and 45 minutes to eventually grab some plastic eggs. I noticed it was put together by the local moms group. Looking back at my e-mails and I do see it was announced that it was going to be hosted by the local moms group this year - but it was only mentioned in one e-mail. And I still figured it would be good. Not so much. So disappointing.

Understandably, Ella and her mom left. It was unusually chilly that day and there was nada to do. Doug, Bri and I decided to grab some lunch and then swing back by after lunch just to see how the hunt was going. Bri really wanted to grab some plastic eggs for some reason.

We got back just in time for Bri to grab those eggs - and we had to scoot right after because we had a soccer game that afternoon.

I seriously won't be attending another neighborhood event again. The couple of events we have attended lately have been pretty disappointing. It's really a bummer. You'd think with the amount of money we have to pay for HOA dues in our neighborhood that we could get a decent event planned.

The only positives that day were that we got to see Ella, we got some cute photo opps and Bri got some eggs with candy in them.

The girls with the Easter Bunny...

The scramble...

It's amazing how exciting it is to carry a basket full of colorful plastic eggs - heh...

On a lighter note, we dyed Easter eggs several days before Easter - and that was really fun. Bri loves dyeing eggs. And she does a pretty groovy job of it...

Mei Mei's first time joining us for egg dyeing...

The Friday night before Easter, we had an Easter/Passover/Birthday celebration with my family. I gave the cousins these adorable bunny sunglasses (I am going to do a separate blog post on this next)...

The night before the Easter bunny came, Briana put out lettuce and carrots...

When she awoke, it was gone!!!

Time to look for the basket...

She found it in the half bath!!!

Look at my loot!!!!!

And Gramma and Papa sent over an Easter bag for Bri to open that morning too...

Mei Mei thought she could hide from all the commotion, but we still spotted her.

"In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it"...

Overall, we had a really nice and quiet Easter Sunday. Doug smoked BBQ ribs - yum!!

Another Soccer Update (Undefeated!!)

I am so stinkin' proud of these two. Doug has been an absolutely amazing coach this season and Bri an amazing player. In fact, the whole team rocks. I hate to say it but...

 "Team Argentina is killing it!" 

Team Argentina is undefeated (so far) and a few of the other teams don't really like to play us because our girls give it their all and they keep winning. The girls are aggressive, but not in a bad way. They just want to do their best and their teamwork is amazing. I am in awe of how well they pass to each other and assist each other when it comes to goal making. Most of our girls could totally play academy. I am sad that the group will be split up next season due to age restrictions.

I knew this group of girls was something special from the very first game...

One Saturday, Bri's teammate/friend Hadara came over to our house before the game to eat some lunch. They are sweet together...

Then they played their little hearts out...

After game snack...

One game had to be played on a Friday evening and it was very cold...

The games they played on the Saturday before spring break were amazing (they play two 30 minute games against two different teams each Saturday).

Game 1...

I caught a picture of Bri making a goal...

And Game 2...

And I actually caught Briana making a goal on video! That is pretty impossible to do because I never know if or when she will make one. I start recording and pray. But I caught it!!!

I am quite sure now that I want Bri to move on to academy in the fall - and it will be with the Y. Bri has shown this season how much she loves soccer and has proven just how good she is playing it. And Y academy has shown some major improvements since Doug's friend took over the league. If B doesn't like academy, we can always still move back down to rec - there is no pressure.

Tonight, we are taking Bri to another academy practice to see how she likes it. If she joins academy, this would be her team. It's nice that she'll get to know the girls ahead of time. (It will be at an indoor facility tonight - the rain has been relentless all week. The fields are soaked. I can't see there being a game tomorrow.)

Soccer will be over in just a few weeks - I can't believe it! I just made a reservation for the end of the season dinner. Makes me sad thinking about it!

A Young Lady

I blinked. I totally did. And now she seems so grown up to me. Even in just the last few weeks when I take a picture of her, she looks like a little lady - not even a little girl anymore. It's freaking me out a little. She's amazing. How in the world have I raised such an amazing kid? Luck plus a little bit of effort I guess. I'm truly blessed.

I took her shopping at her favorite store a few weeks ago - Justice of course...

She picked out these shades that change color in the sun. Just look at the way she positioned herself. It screams "I'm growing up!"...

She's got the body of a runner - long legs and slender build. She's really blessed in that area...

At the end of March, Bri and I took Gramma to the movies (to see Cindrella) for Gramma's early birthday present. B put on her shades and added a purse...

Growing up I tell ya...

Another little shopping spree at Target afterwards...

Briana watched her very first "Kids Choice Awards" at the end of March...

 Where in the world did this baby go? Wasn't this just yesterday?

All of a sudden, the adorable caterpillar came out of her cocoon and is now this gorgeous butterfly...

This all makes my heart beat a little faster. The older she gets, the more complicated her life gets. I just hope I can help her maneuver through it. I barely got through my own teenage years. I'm already seeing more mood swings from her and she's only 8. I guess I better hang on for this super bumpy ride!

3rd Grade Science Museum Field Trip

Briana was so bummed when she missed her 2nd grade field trip due to a very nasty virus she picked up. So, she was super pumped this year when the 3rd grade field trip finally rolled around. This year, the kids went to the science museum!

Parents were allowed to meet the kids at the museum - and Briana asked me if I would come on the field trip. Of course, I obliged.

Here are the buses pulling in...

Bri was happy to see me when she got off the bus...

Bri's class had the "fossil man" as their tour guide. I wasn't sure how he would be with the kids, but he ended up being really amusing and a really good guide. He started out talking about different kinds of fossils. He passed around a really old fossil to the kids and had them rub it on their faces. Of course, he eventually revealed that the fossil was fossilized dinosaur poop. You should have seen the kids' faces when he told them. It was so funny...

He moved the kids on to the dinosaur section comprised of the three different dinosaur eras...

The kids were then ushered to a classroom to make pictures by rubbing crayons on paper over fossils...

Then it was time for a fossil dig...

Izzy's little brother joined in on the action...

My sweet gal...

The kids were able to go to the gift shop and then they looked at the swinging pendulum in the lobby of the museum...

I love being able to enjoy this time and make memories with my sweet girl. She is going to be young for only so long. I don't want to miss a minute...

Lately, I've really been noticing what a little lady she is becoming. She's growing up so fast. The baby she was seems so far away now. I wish I could slow time down - just a little.