Our Week - The One with Spring Break (A Day Trip with Friends, My Birthday, and Easter)

Last week, the kiddos were on spring break.  We didn’t take any big trips this year, but we did do lots of fun things… we took a day trip with friends, we celebrated my birthday, we visited Huntsville for a couple of days and got a private tour of NASA, and we celebrated Easter!  I’ll be recapping the Huntsville trip in a separate post, but here’s how the rest of our spring break went…

Monday, April 3

Monday was the first day of spring break for the kiddos, so we all slept in and had a very lazy day.  The weather was gross – it was pitch black and pouring outside most of the day – so we all stayed in cozy clothes and made the most of it.  The kids watched a movie after breakfast while I worked on the blog for a bit, and then they played all morning while I did five loads of laundry.

We made a light lunch and then I got showered and back into some cozy clothes, and then the kids played video games while I finished up my blog posts for the week and tied up some loose ends. 

The rest of the day was spent being lazy.  Haha.  The weather was seriously awful all day so there was no opportunity for outdoor time.  I ended up cooking parmesan chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and lemon poppyseed muffins for dinner, and then afterward, I got in a stair stepper and arms workout while the kids got showered and ready for bed. 

After that, we all watched old family videos all evening, and then B and I watched A Million Little Things and then we called it a night.

 

Tuesday, April 4

Tuesday morning, B headed off to work, and the kids and I headed out for a day trip with my friend, Jeannine, and her boys.  We went to Callaway Gardens for the day since there’s so much to do there, and we kicked off the day with some lake time. 

Their lake has a big beach, and there are tons of food vendors, a bar, miniature golf, paddle boats, and several other things to do in that one little area, so it’s always a fun place to go. 

When we arrived, it was cloudy and very chilly, and we were the only people there, but the kids didn’t mind, and they all got right in the water and played for the rest of the day.  It warmed up mid-morning, and by the early afternoon, there were lots of other people there. 

We had packed a picnic lunch, and we had to practically drag the kids out of the water and sand to come eat.  They were having too much fun playing in the giant hole they had dug, and they didn’t want to stop.  Haha. 

They went straight back to playing after lunch, and then around 2:30 we dragged them out of there so we could get packed up and get over to the Birds of Prey show at 3.  We got to see a hawk and two different types of owls during the show, and it was fun, although, it ended up being crazy hot out there. 

Our last stop was to the Butterfly Center, and the kiddos watched the turtles for a while.  Then, on the way out, we grabbed ice creams and lollipops before hitting the road to head home.  I’m always so thankful for this group, and I love how much our kiddos truly love each other and get along so well.  We always have the best time with them!  All of Jeannine’s and my high school dreams about having our future kids play together one day have come true and I just love that so much.  <3

By the time the kids and I got home, we were exhausted, and it was dinnertime, so B grabbed some chicken and biscuits from Bojangles.  I got in a quick arms and squats workout after dinner, and then the kids and I all showered, and then we finished the night with another one of those documentaries about snakes on Disney+.  <Insert crying emoji here>  I hate snakes.  Haha.  

After the kiddos went to bed, B and I watched American Idol and then we went to bed, too. 

Tuesday, while we were at the lake, it was chilly and cloudy for most of the day, and I also sat in the shade the whole time, so I never put sunscreen on my arms.  BIG MISTAKE, y’all.  EEK!  I had the worst sunburn by Tuesday evening, and it was misery.  It hurt so bad that I had to take Ibuprofen because standard aloe wasn’t cutting it. 

I’ve always been so careful in the sun, and I rarely burn, so it was very unusual for that to happen.  I’m still trying to figure out how it happened.  Haha. 

 

Wednesday, April 5

Wednesday was my birthday!  B had taken the day off, so we all slept in, had breakfast, and then watched The Good Dinosaur.  About halfway through the movie, I got up because I had a million things to do to get ready for our trip to Huntsville the next day. 

I got a couple of loads of laundry done and started packing, and then Olivia and I sat down together and played with her new tattoo machine.  She wanted me to have a birthday tattoo, so I put a gold heart on my wrist. 

After that, we had lunch at home.  Then, I spent some more time packing, and I got showered and ready for the day, and once that was done, I spent some time in my office making sure everything was ready for the blog while we were out of town.

For my birthday dinner, I wanted to go to the new-ish upscale-ish Mexican restaurant that opened downtown a couple of years ago.  I’d already been a couple of times with friends, but B and the kids had never been, and I knew they’d love it. 

On the way there, we swung by the library to grab a couple of books that I had on hold, and when I saw Jeannine, we both busted out laughing because she was a lobster like me!  We were totally twinning with our bad sunburns.  Hahahaha.  That cloud-covered sun really got us!  Haha.

We headed downtown after that, and B and I ordered a round of blackberry margaritas (they are soooo good, but HUGE!) and an order of queso and chips to start.  Then, I ordered a taco salad for dinner while B got some kind of enchilada with steak.  I tried a bite of his steak, and it was ah-mazing… so tender and well-flavored, and it was all delicious.  B loved it, so I’m sure he and I will definitely be going back sometime for date night!

After dinner, we headed home, and I opened my birthday gift from B and the kids.  B had a wrapped gift that appeared to be a book, and there was a card sitting on top of it that said, “...Ready for it?”  (Those are Taylor Swift song lyrics, in case you don’t know.)  When I saw that, I thought to myself, “These better be Taylor Swift tickets or that would be really mean!”  Hahahaha. 

Sure enough, I opened the card, and he’d written a little message in there using 12 different Taylor Swift song titles, but there were no tickets or printouts of tickets inside.  I opened the gift next, and it was a cookbook that had been on my wish list for a while.  I could see something sticking out of the top of the cookbook, and lo and behold it was a Taylor Swift bookmark with a printout of tickets that he’d gotten for the Atlanta show!!!!

Y’all may all remember the great Ticket Master disaster of 2022 when we were trying to get tickets for the show originally?  B and I were both on Ticket Master all day for like eight hours trying to get them when they went on sale, and we couldn’t get any.  Ticket Master was supposed to have had a general sale after that (the first one was a presale), but they mucked everything up and oversold all of the tickets, so there was no second chance to try and get them.  They have been dead to me ever since then and they will remain that way until they fix themselves. 

I have wanted nothing more in the world than Taylor Swift tickets since then, and I finally got them, thoughhhh. 

I am still in shock that we have them.

And he bought them from StubHub so they are legit, and we don’t have to worry about fraud like so many other people have.  I have seen soooo many people get screwed over recently trying to purchase tickets from Facebook or elsewhere.

Anyway, after I opened my present, I took off for a quick evening walk/run because I wanted to get in one last workout since I knew we were going to be going out of town the next day.  And I wanted to run off some of that marg and Mexican food because I had eaten way too much.

After that, B and the kids and I watched the newest episode of The Mandalorian, and then I grabbed a quick shower before getting into my PJs.  B and I watched a little TV before going to bed, too, but it’s been so long since that night that I don’t remember what we watched.  Lol.

 

Thursday, April 6

Thursday morning, we were up early to get ready and hit the road for Huntsville.  I’m recapping that in a separate post next week, so stay tuned!

 

Friday, April 7

Friday we were in Huntsville all day and we toured NASA.  Again, this will be in a separate recap, so stay tuned!

 

Saturday, April 8

Saturday was still part of our Huntsville trip which will be recapped next week, too.  Then we got home mid-afternoon.  The rest of the day was spent working out, unpacking, doing laundry, and getting everything prepped and ready for Easter.  We picked up pizza for dinner, and then afterward, the kids got showered, and then we started a new show called Weird But True on Disney+.  The kids love it, but I’m not all that impressed.  It’s pretty cheesy and not very well done in my opinion, but we’ll stick with it since the kids love it.

In other news, Maui always punishes me the night we get back from an overnight trip, and she won't lay in my lap.  Lol.  Every single night of the whole year, she sleeps in my lap in the evening while B and I watch TV, but on the nights we get home from an overnight trip (and we've left her behind) she will sleep next to me or at my feet or in Brian's lap... she will not sleep in my lap on the evenings we get back from an overnight trip.  Lol.  It's like she's trying to punish me for leaving her.  It is hilarious.

After the kiddos were in bed, B and I watched some TV and then we called it a night, too.

 

Sunday, April 9

Sunday was Easter, so we were up early.  The kiddos found their Easter baskets first, and then they dug in to see all of their goodies while B and I got breakfast ready.  Olivia was thrilled because she had gotten new PJs that included a little set for her stuffy, Sheepie.  She immediately put them on and wanted to pose for a picture.  So sweet!  She loves twinning with Sheepie!

After breakfast, we all headed upstairs to get ready for church.  It ended up being soooo cold Easter morning, so Olivia and I both wore maxi dresses with sweaters instead of the original shorter sundresses we’d both planned to wear. 

We headed to 10:30 Mass next and we sat with my family – Jesus is risen!!!!  After Mass, I braved the cold and took off my sweater for a couple of pictures, and then we headed to my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law’s house for Easter lunch.  Brian’s sister and her family met us there as usual, and we all sat together around the table and enjoyed a delicious Easter lunch.

After lunch, we all had dessert, and then the adults headed outside to hide a gazillion Easter eggs for the kids to hunt.  My nephews are 17 and 15 and they still love to hunt eggs, too, because there is money in many of them, so they still participate every year.  I mean, I would, too, if there was money in them.  Haha.

 

All four kiddos racked up, and we all enjoyed some time outside afterward since the sun had come out and it had warmed up.  It actually ended up being a gorgeous day which was wonderful after all the rain we’d had in Huntsville.

Once we wrapped up at their house, we headed straight to my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg’s house to hang out with my extended family for a bit.  Their get together always overlaps with Brian’s family’s get together on Easter, so we’re always racing from place to place. 

We ended up being able to hang out with them for about an hour, and then we swung by my parents’ house on the way home so the kids could grab their Easter goodies from Pop and Cokie. 

After that, we headed home, and B watched the end of The Masters while I got some stuff done in my office and the kiddos played video games.  Then around 6, my father-in-law and his friend stopped by to drop off more Easter goodies for the kids. 

After they left, we had a very light dinner, and then after that was done, I got in a stairstepper workout while we watched two more episodes of Weird But True.

And that was our spring break!  Stay tuned for the Huntsville trip post on Monday!

Happy Thursday, y’all!