Our Week - The One with Christmas Decorating, Northern Lights, the Fall Carnival, a NASA Visit, A School Dance, and the Georgia vs. Texas Game

Oh. what. a. week.  Y’all!  It was the busiest, best, most festive week, and if you follow me on Instagram then you know that I GOT TO MEET MATTHEW MCCONNAUGHEY!!!!  I still can’t believe it.  Grab a cup of tea or coffee and settle in, friends.  This is going to be a long one!

Monday, November 10

Monday morning, I woke up feeling mostly normal with the exception of some lingering vision issues.  (If you’re new here, it’s a long story, but I had some major withdrawals when I tried to stop taking my medicine that I’ve been on for vertigo, and it was awful.) 

I felt good enough to take the kids to school – finally!!  While I was out, I had to drop something off at my parents’ house, and then I headed to Walmart to get groceries.  While I was there, I loaded up on dry goods for our church’s outreach center as they’ve been feeding almost triple the number of families they normally feed because of the government shutdown.  They have been in desperate need of food, so we’ve been sending extra stuff their way for the last few weeks.  Walmart had no milk whatsoever – like, NONE – but thankfully, that was the only thing I was unable to get. 

When I got home, Brian helped me unload the groceries, and then I grabbed a banana chocolate chip muffin and my hot tea, and I got to work… there was a lot to catch up on since I was down the previous week. 

I managed to tackle three loads of laundry, get a Poshmark shipment out the door, finish my blog post for Tuesday, clean out my email, and get Olivia’s old Barbie Dreamhouse ready to be picked up – all before lunch!

My uncle came to pick up the Barbie Dreamhouse and a couple of books before lunch, and then Brian and I ate together.  Right before lunch, I started feeling super unsteady and a bit dizzy again (UGH!) so I lay down for about five minutes after lunch to rest.  Thankfully, it mostly wore off over the next couple of hours, but for some reason every day last week around lunchtime, I had residual unsteadiness and dizziness.  It has pretty much worn off as I type this on November 18, though, thank goodness!  I guess it just took some time for my body to reset after stopping the meds and then starting a tiny dose again to relieve the symptoms.  I am reeeeally dreading tapering off again in the near future.  Sigh.

After my reset, I started my blog post for Thursday, and I started browsing Christmas card designs.  I ended up making a few different ones to see which one I liked the best and then I had to stop because it was time to hit the road. 

I was able to snag someone’s canceled orthodontist appointment to move mine up by two weeks (which is where it was supposed to have been, but they didn’t have any appointments available originally), but the appointment was at 2:55 which meant that I wasn’t able to pick up Olivia from school.  I took the appointment anyway because – anything to get these braces off earlier! – so I had arranged for my parents to pick up Olivia from school.

Thankfully, I was able to drive myself to my appointment even though my vision was still a little weird.  At my appointment, the orthodontist shaved in between two of my teeth a tiny bit to try to close one last gap around the top of my gums, and he told me that at my next appointment, I’ll be getting the braces off!!!!  I had to make an appointment to be scanned for my retainers and then two weeks later I’ll get my braces off completely.  I’m currently scheduled for January 20, and I pray that nothing gets in the way of that date! 

After my appointment, I headed back home, and I pulled in the driveway right before my Momma and Daddy got there with Olivia.

After Momma and Daddy left, Olivia did some homework and had some screen time, and I worked on updating a spreadsheet while Brian headed to Aldi to get some milk (Walmart was completely out which was so weird!) and then pick up Jacob from e-sports.

When the boys got home, we had sausage, tortellini, and kale soup leftover from my girls’ soup night on Saturday, and I also made some cheddar bay biscuits since they’re Olivia’s favorite. 

After dinner, we cleaned up the kitchen and then the kids both got showered.  While they were in the shower, Brian pulled out our main Christmas tree and got it set up, and I got all the garlands and decorative ornaments on it.  Then I started unwrapping all of our sentimental ornaments and I laid them all out and waited for the kids to finish up, so we could decorate the tree.  We turned on some Christmas music and Brian put a fire in the fireplace.  It was freezing Monday – the high was only 46!!  So, the weather was perfect for it.

We hung Maui’s little pawprint ornament on the tree first, and I got a little emotional knowing that this will be our first Christmas without her in 15 years.  I love this time of year so much, but it sure does amplify the loss of loved ones.  It’s bittersweet.

When the kids came downstairs, we spent the next while decorating the tree, and the house just looks so cozy now!  After the tree was all decorated and everything else was put away, we watched Olaf’s Frozen Adventure.  The kids loved that when they were little, and we always watched it at Christmastime, but as they’ve gotten older, they haven’t wanted to watch it.  Well, Olivia saw the recording of it on our old Tivo recently, and she decided she wanted to watch it this year for old time’s sake, and Monday night was the perfect night for it.  It brought back so many memories, and it reminded me of when the kids were tiny… Jacob was six and Olivia was just three when it came out.

After that was over, the kids got in bed and Brian made Manhattans for us.  We watched another episode of Wayward and then got in bed around 11.  The kids didn’t have school on Tuesday, so it was nice to have a lazy, late evening. 

 

Tuesday, November 11

Brian did have to go to work on Tuesday, so he got up and headed out.  I was dead to the world because of this tiny dose of vertigo medicine that I’m back on, so I didn’t even hear him leave.  I ended up sleeping in until 8:30 since I didn’t set an alarm, and when I got up, the kids were already up.

We all had breakfast together, and then they turned on the TV for a bit.  I got started on the last load of laundry and then I finished my blog post for Thursday and started my blog post for Friday.  Olivia started cleaning out the rest of her Barbie stuff since she’d gotten rid of her Barbie Dreamhouse, and then we all had lunch together. 

I got unsteady/dizzy at lunchtime again and it lasted for a few hours yet again (sigh), but it wasn’t so bad that I needed to rest.  Instead, I got some laundry put away, I caught up on emails – like, completely caught up to where I had an empty inbox by the end of the night – which is a rare sight, I paid a couple of bills, and I got started on my office Christmas décor (finally).  It’s usually the first décor that I put up every year, but this year, it was the second to last décor that I put up. 

After that, it was time to get showered, because the kids had places to be.  Jacob had a makeup piano lesson from forever ago, so we headed there first.  Olivia and I sat in on his lesson, and then we drove Olivia straight to dance after that.  School was closed for Veterans Day, but all extracurricular activities were open.

After Jacob and I dropped Olivia, he and I headed home.  My crazy self decided to go for a walk since I hadn’t been in well over a week, but it was freezing outside so I had to bundle up.  My walk went well, but I still felt a little off kilter, so I was swerving a little like old times when I had my vertigo, but I was just happy to be out there.  I usually try to walk around 2.5 – 3 miles, but I cut my walk short at just two Tuesday afternoon because the sun was starting to set and it was so dang cold.

When I got home, I ordered our Christmas cards – so early this year!  Made me feel very on top of things.  ;o)  And then I got organized for Wednesday. 

I got into my PJs and watered the plants, and I listened to Jacob play piano for a bit while I started dinner.  He got into the shower after that, and then we all ate dinner together when Brian and Olivia got home from dance.

I made meatballs, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and leftover cheddar bay biscuits for dinner, and the kids ate a ton.  They love when I make meatballs… it’s one of the few that they both agree on and love.

I indulged in a small glass of wine while I cooked, and we listened to Christmas music, and it was just the coziest little evening at home with all our Christmas lights turned on.  I just love this time of year, y’all.  So very much.  I was very much missing Maui Tuesday night, though.  I miss her every single day, but I’ve been missing her even more recently since this was the time last year that she started going downhill.  And I’ll never not miss her every single time I drop a piece of cheese (or any other food) on the floor.  Brian found a lone goldfish on the floor behind a plant in the kitchen the other day and it took everything I had not to cry because we never ever had food laying around on the floor when she was here.  I’ve had to vacuum more than ever since she’s been gone.

After dinner, Olivia headed upstairs to shower and Jacob logged some more service hours in their system for school.  The kids got into bed after that, and Brian and I ended the evening with another episode of Wayward.

Just before heading upstairs for bed, I went outside by myself to see if I could see the Northern Lights as they were visible here Wednesday night.  Unfortunately, they weren’t as bright as the last time they were visible here, but I was still able to see them a little on the horizon.  However, while I was out there, I just happened to look up at one point, and I saw a shooting star!!!!  I haven’t seen one in years, so it took me by surprise. It was brighter than most and it was gone in a flash, but it was SO NEAT to see one since I was only outside for a few minutes.  

The next morning, I woke up to see tons of pictures from people on Facebook including this picture that one of our neighbors on the other side of the neighborhood had posted in our neighborhood Facebook page.  The lights apparently got much brighter after we went to bed, and we missed it!  Waaaahhhh!

Wednesday, November 12

Wednesday, I dropped the kids at school and then I met someone in the parking lot to give her some dresses that she’d bought from us on Facebook.  We have a local private group of people who sell in town, and I’ve had a really good experience selling on there.  It just happened that the girl who bought the dresses has kids at our school, so it was an easy transfer. 

After I was done there, I headed home to bundle up at my desk and work.  I had an extremely productive day Wednesday completing three blog posts, decorating the tree in my office, doing quiet time, and getting all the laundry put away.

Before picking up the kids, I put gas in the car, and then I read in the car line.  That was my first car line pickup in nearly two weeks, and I sure did miss the afternoon car conversation with the kids.  I look forward to that every day, and it was nice to be able to be back at it even though the car line wait is soooo long. 

When we got home, I hung out with them for a while, and then I put the finishing touches on the tree in my office while they did homework.  I did the dishes after that, and then I took Olivia to dance.  The weather had warmed up a bit that afternoon, so I opened the sunroof and played my music all the way home, and that made driving a little more enjoyable.  I had yet another few hours on Wednesday where I felt unsteady and my vision was STILL a little weird, so I did all the things to try to make the drive a little easier.

When I got home, I got out for another quick walk.  I didn’t have much time because the sun was rapidly setting.  And I made the mistake of going in my leggings and a tank top, but it was freezing by the time I got home. 

On my walk, I finally got to see my neighbor who is going through cancer treatment.  He was finally up and about, so I got to talk to him and get an update.  He said his surgery was successful, but he’s still waiting on another biopsy to come back, so he was a little nervous about that.  I’m praying that it comes back clean.

When I got home, it was nearly dark outside, and it was time for dinner, so Brian and I made breakfast.  Brian, Jacob, and I ate together, and then I prepped for Thursday.  The boys watched Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune while Brian worked out, and I watched a little with them while also putting the finishing touches on the Christmas décor downstairs.  I finally pulled out my Christmas mugs, and I got my letterboard ready, too.  Name that song!  ;o)

Brian left shortly after that and Jacob got in the shower, and then when he was ready for bed, he and I pulled out the fall puzzle we’ve been working on, and we put a good dent in it.  Olivia got showered when she and Brian got home, and then Brian and I watched half an episode of Wayward before bed. 

I did peek outside one more time to try to see the Northern Lights, and again, they were just barely visible on the horizon but look at this beautiful picture I was able to capture!  So many stars and all the fall foliage!  The iPhone camera has really gotten good, y’all, because it was pitch black out front aside from the streetlight when I took this.

Thursday, November 13

Thursday morning, I took the kids to school and then headed home to continue getting stuff done.  I got an entire blog post done for Thanksgiving week, I responded to 75 blog comments (I was so behind!), I caught up on blog reading and emails, and I finally got the Christmas tree up in our bedroom. 

After that, I had just enough time to make an Amazon purchase, meditate, change clothes, and put the clean dishes away before it was time to pick up the kids.  Again, on Thursday, I felt unsteady in the early afternoon, but thankfully, it was milder than in previous days.  My neck did feel a little stiff, hence the meditation.  I lay on my neck pillow when I meditate, and it always helps loosen my neck.

I headed out to pick up the kids after that, and I did some browsing of Taylor Swift’s holiday collection that had just dropped… soooo many cute things!

When the kids got out, we headed straight to music lessons.  I sat in with Olivia this week, and she practiced her piece for the recital.  Her teacher has wanted her to do the recital for so long now, and she’s finally decided to do it this year.  She’s playing his favorite song (the theme song from the movie Interstellar) and they’re both so excited.

When we left music lessons, we headed home, and I had just enough time to do my quiet time and have a snack before getting ready and heading back out.  The kids’ school had their annual fall carnival, so the four of us loaded up and headed there at five.  Both kids found their friends and ran off, and Brian and I spent the evening chatting with friends and watching all the kids run around.

We left a little early so we could go have dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant that we hadn’t been to in forever, and then we headed home.  The kids got showered, they got in bed, and then Brian and I finished the series Wayward.  It was good!  Intriguing.  Very different.  And worth the watch.

 

Friday, November 14

Friday morning, I drove the kids to school and then headed straight home to knock out some work.  There was a Pokemon boxed set that dropped at midnight Friday, and Jacob wanted it badly, so Brian lined up outside Best Buy before it opened.  He had about 15-20 people in front of him, and the box sold out five people before him.  Sigh.  He ended up going to Barnes & Noble since it wasn’t far from Best Buy, but it didn’t open for another 45 minutes.  He said there was already a line there, too, and an employee came out to tell everyone that they hadn’t even received stock yet, so it would be at least 11 AM before it arrived.  Brian promptly left the line, but he said that everyone else stayed.  He headed to Target after that to see if they had any and they didn’t either.  Needless to say, Jacob wasn’t able to get what he wanted.

Brian said that the people in line at Best Buy were talking about how they were at Walmart at midnight when the card boxes dropped and that the first person in line bought up every single thing leaving nothing for the others.  Walmart should be ashamed of themselves for letting that person do that.  It really sucks how ridiculous the scalping has become.  One person has to go and buy everything up and sell it online for crazy amounts of money and the people who really want the items either don’t get it or they have to pay some insane amount of money for it secondhand.  They really should make that kind of stuff illegal.  Do NOT get me started on concert tickets!!!!  Haha.

Anyhoo, while he was gone, I got started on this blog post, and I worked a little more on getting my planner set up for 2026.  Brian and I had lunch together, I scheduled my mammogram and ultrasound for January, and then I started packing.  I had just enough time to squeeze in my quiet time for the day before I had to leave, and then I headed to the school.

I had to pick up something from the church office first, and then my little brother who works for NASA visited the kids’ school to talk to Olivia’s sixth grade class.  Jacob wanted to be there for that, so I checked him out of his last class of the day, so he didn’t have to miss it.

My brother is a systems integration engineer for NASA, and he’s currently working on the Artemis rocket that will go to the moon.  He spoke to the kids for about 20 minutes to talk to them about what all that entails, and then they had a few minutes to ask questions.  They asked a ton of questions, and I was shocked at how thoughtful and intelligent their questions were.  My brother was able to answer every single one, and I learned a lot, too!  Haha.

Afterward, we spent some time with him and then we had to hightail it out of there at three to get Olivia home to get ready for her first middle school dance.  My brother was in town for a few days, but sadly, we had so much going on that we were only able to see him at the school for his presentation. 

When we got home, Olivia got changed and I did her hair, and then I got freshened up, and she and I headed out the door to meet all her friends and their moms at a local restaurant near the school for a pre-dance dinner. 

We ended up having 14 girls – sheesh – and eight moms, so all the girls sat together at one table and the moms sat together at another.  They got us in and out of there shockingly fast for having such a massive party and we arrived at the dance just a few minutes after it started.

I had been asked to chaperone, so I stayed while all of the other moms left, and I hung out with all the middle school teachers all evening and watched Olivia and her friends dance the night away.  One thing about my girl – she will be the first and the last one on the dance floor… that girl LOVES to dance.  #SheGetItFromHerMomma  Haha.

The dance ended at 8, and then we headed to an after-party at her best friend’s house.  Her mom had Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Dip, a candy platter, and Shirley Temples for all the girls and we stayed for about an hour.  The girls played in the basement only coming upstairs every now and then for snacks, and I hung out with all the parents in the living room. 

We got home close to 9:30 and I couldn’t get in my PJs fast enough.  Brian and Jacob had gotten haircuts, eaten at Chipotle, and watched Transformers 2, and they were hanging out in the living room.

The kids went to bed shortly after that, and then Brian made Manhattans for us and we started watching The Perfect Neighbor, a documentary on Netflix before heading to bed.

 

Saturday, November 15

Saturday morning, we were up at our usual time, I made homemade waffles for breakfast, and then we hit the ground running – showering, getting ready, and packing – because we were heading to Athens for the Georgia vs. Texas game.  The game wasn’t until 7:30 PM and we already had reserved parking in a lot that didn’t open until 2 PM, so we didn’t have to rush out as early as we usually do.

On the way to Athens, we stopped at Chick-Fil-A for lunch (and ice creams for the kids), and then we drove the rest of the way.  Traffic was pretty bad heading there – worse than it has been in a while – so we didn’t arrive until 3 PM even though we’d aimed for getting there a little after 2. 

When we arrived, we joined my Aunt Joy and Uncle Greg + my cousin’s girlfriend at their tailgate, and they had a bunch of other friends there as well.  The next few hours were spent drinking, eating all the tailgate food, and watching football, and it could not have been a more perfect day… it was clear, the skies were bright blue, the sun was shining, it was cool (and cold after the sun went down), and there was a nice breeze.  Seriously perfect.  Not to mention the fall foliage is always at peak in Athens in early to mid-November!  It was just a gorgeous day!

When we arrived at the tailgate, my Aunt Joy pulled me aside and told me that since my cousin, Shelby, couldn’t be at the game, they had an extra field pass (because my cousin works for the football team so he’s able to get them sometimes), and they invited me to come down with them before the game!!!!  OMGGGG. 

I hated that Brian and the kids wouldn’t be able to join me, but they were all very gracious and told me to go, and I wasn’t going to say no to that!  I was like, PEACE OUT, FAMILY!  Hahahaha.

Since we had the field passes, we got to the stadium about and hour and a half before the game started, we got in the gate, I kissed Brian and the kids goodbye, and then I headed to the field with Aunt Joy, Uncle Greg, Cat, and my cousin, Wil’s, friend Chad. 

We were allowed to stay on the field until right after kickoff, so we were down there for nearly two hours, and it was SURREAL.  Such a major bucket list check for me.  And it was extra special because it was a night game in November, the weather was perfect, they did the fun light up bracelets again, and this was the first time EVER that Texas has played in Athens!!!!  Both teams were highly ranked, so it was a HUGE game, and I just could not believe how lucky I was to be down there for such a momentous occasion.

Oh, and did I mention that we knew that Matthew McConaughey was there?!  He’s always down on the field with the team, and we had to be at the other end of the Texas sidelines with our passes, but we had one goal – to see him.  Hahahaha.    

For a long time, we didn’t see him, but I did locate Brian and the kids up in our seats, and I also got to see Greg Sankey (the SEC Commissioner) (he walked right by me), and I got to meet Javon Wims, a wide receiver for UGA back in 2016-2018.  Keith Marshall, one of our star running backs from about 10 years ago, also walked right up and started talking to the person next to me.  I wanted to ask him for a picture soooo bad, but I didn’t.  We also found out after that there were tons of other people down on the sidelines with us that we didn’t even see – Zac Brown, Kendra Scott, Peyton Manning, Quavo (he’s at most of the games – LOL), Jason Aldean, etc.

My cousin, Wil, who works for the team, was able to come over and say hi to us for a few minutes before he had to run drills for the team.  He’s the one with the white visor, glasses, and whistle.  And of course, we got to see Kirby Smart (our head coach), Hairy Dawg (one of our mascots), and many of the current players up close including our QB1, Gunner Stockton.

Brian texted me about 45 minutes after we got on the field to tell us that they could see Matthew McConaughey from our seats since they’re in the end zone above Texas’s locker room.  He gave me updates as he walked down the sideline and then I was able to see him for myself when he stepped out onto the field to talk to Kirk Herbstreit.  I looooveeee Kirk Herbstreit, too!

Cat and my Aunt Joy and I were determined to see him up close (LOL), so we kept looking around for him, but he stayed down in the other endzone and our passes didn’t technically allow us to go down to the other end.  However, Cat’s best friend works for the school and has an all-access pass, so she came down there with us and told us to follow her down to the other end zone.

As we were walking down there, Matthew McConnaughey walked RIGHT PAST US going the other way towards where we’d been standing previously, and I couldn’t believe it!!!!  We all immediately turned around and wondered what to do.  I wasn’t about to waste the opportunity (I will always have regrets that I didn’t take a picture with Matthew Perry when I met him at my cousin’s wedding), so I just decided to shoot my shot, and I started walking quickly to catch up with him. 

When I got right up next to him, I asked if he would mind taking a picture, and he said, “I’m just walking.”  Hahahaha.  I guess that was his polite way of saying no without actually having to say no.  He wasn’t rude, but it was just a funny response that I wasn’t expecting at all.  Turns out, we heard him say it to other people who asked as well, so I’m guessing that’s just his go-to response when he doesn’t want to take one.  It also turned out that he had to be in the end zone for the National Anthem, and it was just about to start, so he was in a hurry to get down there. 

We got back to our spots on the sidelines and got to watch all the pregame stuff from the field.  We have tons of traditions at UGA such as singing the National Anthem (John Bell, the lead singer for Widespread Panic sang it Saturday), singing the school song, listening to the trumpet play Glory, Glory to Ole Georgia while they show a bunch of old plays on the jumbotron, singing Saturday, and then singing Teenage Wasteland, and that whole process gives me chills at every. single. game.  Watching it from the field was an incredible (probably once in a lifetime) gift and I’m just so grateful for the experience.  We also got to watch the band play while the team ran out, and the fireworks were going off.  It was just such an amazing night.

After the National Anthem was over, Matthew McConnaughey walked right back by us (literally right in front of me – I could have touched him!), and Cat had the forethought to turn her camera around and shoot a picture of him with herself in the foreground.  Hahahaha.  I was soooo sad I didn’t think to do that, and at that point, I had no proof that I’d even been next to him (other than the picture below that Cat took of him with half of my body in the picture right behind him) and talked to him (waaaahhhh).  But later in the evening, the craziest thing everrrr happened...

One of my friends from back home had a friend who was at the Georgia game.  Her friend happened to be sitting on the sideline, and she videoed Matthew as he walked down the sideline.  She sent it to my friend just because Matthew McConnaughey was there, and my friend ended up texting me and sending it to me because I was right there in the video.  WHAT ARE THE ODDS?!  Hahahaha. 

Her friend just happened to capture that moment of me walking and talking with him and now I have the whole thing on video even though it’s kind of far away.  The craziest part is that her friend doesn’t even know me… she was just excited that Matthew McConnaughey was there.  Lol.  So now I have a whole 27-second-long video and a bunch of pictures that I took from the video of the whole exchange.  If that wasn’t destiny then I don’t know what is!  I told Brian I totally manifested it.  Hahahaha.  I had been talking ALL WEEK about the fact that he’d be there and that I needed to meet him, and I didn’t even know at the time that I was going to be able to go on the field.  I was totally just being silly.  CRAZY.

Here are the pictures I took from the video.  You can see me, my aunt, and Cat all walking with him like we're part of his entourage.  Lol.  And then a snapped a picture of myself talking to him, although, it's a little blurry.  And then there's one of me passing him to leave him alone.  I didn't want him to think I was a crazy stalker.  Hahahaha.

Anywayyyy, after kickoff, we had to exit the field and head to our seats, so I made my way back to Brian and the kids.  The game ended up being one of the best ever – we whooped their butts, which was not what I expected.  The light-up bracelets were magical, we all had a BLAST, and it was definitely one of my top games of all-time.  And I have been to oodles of Georgia games.  I also finally remembered to take a picture with our seat neighbors who we've gotten to know well over the years.  We love Kathy and Glen SO MUCH.  They are the sweetest humans.

We ended up leaving the game with about three minutes left on the clock because there was no way Texas could come back at that point, and we had a 45-minute – 1.5 hour drive ahead of us (depending on traffic) to get to our hotel.  Plus, it was already nearing 11 PM. 

We made it back to our car in record time since we didn’t stay until the end of the game, and the parking lot that we parked in this time had a back exit that we didn’t know about, so we were able to sneak out that way and avoid all the traffic which was HUGE.  That shaved off, like, 45 minutes, because that’s about how long it usually takes to get out of Athens from where we park.

We made it to the hotel in record time with hardly any traffic, and we were in bed by 12:45 AM which is way earlier than our usual 1:30 / 2 AM.

Oh what a night!

 

Sunday, November 16

Sunday morning, we woke at 8:45 AM and headed straight down to the hotel lobby in our PJs to eat a very quick breakfast.  We all got showered and ready after that, and then we had to hightail it home to eat lunch with my MIL and step-FIL.  They ended up running about 30 minutes late, so we had time to drop off our luggage and unpack a little before heading to their house.

We ended up getting home later than usual since they had run a little late, so we only had a couple of hours to unpack, put everything away, start laundry, prep for Monday, catch up on all weekend things that didn’t get done since we were gone, and then I had just enough time to transfer all the photos from my camera to my computer before we had to leave for Sunday dinner at my parents’ house.

Momma had made a Mexican soup for dinner, and my uncle had picked up queso and salsa and chips from a local Mexican restaurant, so we had a FEAST.  Momma had also made a brown sugar poundcake for dessert, so I was uncomfortably full by the time we left.  Haha.  It was soooo worth it, though!

When we got home, the kids got into bed (we were all so exhausted from such a crazy, busy weekend), and then Brian and I watched a few minutes of SNL before hitting the hay!

Happy Thursday, y’all!