Our first week of summer break was kind of hectic (in the best way), and it’s hard to believe that one of our ten weeks is already gone… just like that – poof – in the blink of an eye. I know the entire summer is going to feel that way, especially the month of June since we’ll be traveling so much, so I’m going to try to soak up every little bit of it that I can.
Here’s how our first week went…
Monday, May 25
Monday was Memorial Day, so Brian was off from work which meant that we were all able to sleep in and have a leisurely breakfast. After breakfast, I sat down to do a couple of things on my computer while I enjoyed my cup of tea, and then it was time to get going because Brian and I had the Dave Matthews Band concert in Orange Beach, AL!
We always go to the Atlanta/Alpharetta show, but this year, it happened to fall on the same day as Olivia’s dress rehearsal, which meant we couldn’t go. The Charlotte show was on the night of her actual recital, so that was out of the question, too, but thankfully, this year, they did a show in Orange Beach (which isn’t usually on their schedule), so we got tickets to that one. I’ve never missed a summer tour in 24 years (yes, literally… aside from 2020, of course, but that’s because they didn’t tour), so I was happy to be able to go even though the drive was almost three times longer than our usual drive to Atlanta.
Since the venue was so far, Brian and I had to spend the night, so I had to pack and the kids had to pack, too, because they were staying with my parents for the night. Once everyone was packed and ready we had a quick lunch, and then we dropped the kids off at my parents’ house.
Brian and I hit the road with plenty of time to get there because the weather was looking awful and we wanted to make sure we didn’t have to rush. Thankfully, we made it a little more than halfway before the rain hit, but the last two hours were spent driving in a downpour. My anxiety always goes through the roof driving in the rain, but thankfully, all went well.
When we arrived, we checked into our hotel. It was right across the street from the beach, but the day was a complete washout, so we never made it down there even though we were just a few hundred yards away from it.
After we checked in, we unpacked, I got everything laid out and ready for the morning so we could make a quick exit to get home, and then we drove across the parking lot to a Mexican restaurant called Cactus Cantina to eat dinner.
Brian and I both ordered their Cactus Margarita along with our meals, and everything was good! It was very similar to the Mexican restaurants we have at home, so it wasn’t super special, but we enjoyed it.
Well, we got soooo lucky Monday because the rain literally stopped about 15 minutes after we got to the venue, and it stayed dry the entire show!! Brian and I were in a HUGE puddle for the whole show, so our feet were wet, but it could have been much worse. And our seats were in the front row right behind the pit, so I couldn’t complain about that!
We grabbed a couple of beers (though they had terrible options at this venue) and then when we sat down, a sweet lady a few seats down gave us DMB stickers that she’d had made to hand out for the show! So fun!
DMB ended up playing several songs that they rarely play like The Stone, Gravedigger, and The Space Between, so I was a happy girl! They also did Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel as a cover, and it’s always a good one… we’ve seen that one live at least once. We also got to hear Dave do a solo of his new song Making It Great Again that he wrote in protest of our current administration… it’s a song about their hypocrisy and empty political rhetoric. He’s only performed it live three times (I’d already seen it on Stephen Colbert) and I was so happy to get to see it live.
I was excited more than anything about hearing The Space Between again, though. I’d only heard it live three times prior to this show, so it was great to finally catch it again! DMB is not like other artists doing the same setlist repeatedly night after night… they do a completely different, random setlist every single night while they’re on tour, and they pull from their massive catalog of songs, so you never know what you’re going to get! That’s what makes their shows so fun!
Here's the setlist and some stats... and also the Dave selfie that I got from social media. We almost made it in there this time, but we were too far to the right. Bummer! Oh, and a beautiful picture that DMB's official photographer got of the sunset behind us! We're in there somewhere on the right!
Tuesday, May 26
Tuesday morning, we got up at 7 AM CDT which was 8 AM back home, and we got ready and then had breakfast in the hotel (we love some hotel waffles!) before hitting the road. The weather was looking v questionable the whole day again, but thankfully, we made it home before any of the bad stuff hit.
We ended up getting stuck in some traffic for quite a while, though, making our drive five hours (yeesh) but we somehow managed to drive straight through with zero stops, and we were home by 2 PM our time.
For dinner, I made beef and parmesan pasta with zucchini and garlic cheese bread, and then after dinner, I had just enough time to take a walk before it rained yet again. I jumped on my vibration plate for the second time after that, and then I got showered and in my pjs.
After the kids got in bed, Brian and I discussed the whole Colorado trip again for my cousin’s celebration of life, and he ultimately decided he wanted to come, too, even though I was prepared to go alone. We decided we might as well take the kids, too, and make a whole thing out of it since they’ve never been out west. We’ll be going for less-than-ideal circumstances, but I’m hoping to get some joy out of the trip, too. The good with the bad. The bad with the good. Life is such a roller coaster.
After our trip was booked, we watched a little bit more of Your Friends & Neighbors and then we headed to bed.
Wednesday, May 27
Wednesday morning, Brian headed off to work, and I got up at 7:30 AM. I ate breakfast while the kids were still sleeping, and then I went to my office to get some work done before my hair guy came.
Both kids were up by 8:30 AM and they grabbed their own breakfast, and then they went to work in their Minecraft world together for a bit while Jamey cut and highlighted my hair. Third attempt was a charm because I was finally able to get it done! And thank goodness, because my roots were loooong.
After Jamey left, I had to put heat on my foils for 30 minutes, and then I showered all the coloring out and got ready for the day. And by get ready, I mean shower and throw on some bumming clothes because we had nowhere to be. No makeup or hair for me Wednesday!
I got two more loads of laundry done and then I put it all away, and then I went to check on the kids. They spent most of the morning making a movie with their Palm Pals, and it was hilarious. After they filmed it, they put it into CapCut and they added sound effects and music and transitions, and I was dying laughing when they showed it to me. It’s the most absurd thing ever and it is hilarious and creative and fun.
We all had lunch together after that, and then I got a few things tidied up around the house. The kids went back to working on their movie after that, and I went to my office to do some more work and prep for all the things coming in June. I also finallyyyy caught up on blog reading. That took forever because I was so behind per usual!
Once that was done, I caught up on my devotional and did a Bible study, and then Olivia and I cleaned out her backpack. I think she still had stuff in there from August. Hahahaha. It was SO packed full of stuff.
I put away the last load of laundry after that, and then I headed downstairs to prep for dinner. When Brian got home, he made eggs, and I made all the other stuff to have breakfast for dinner.
After dinner, Brian went outside to mow, and I went for a walk. The sky was ominous the whole time, and I ended up walking in the rain for the last ten minutes of my walk, but thankfully, there wasn’t a downpour or any lightning.
By the time all that was done, it was after 9:30 PM and Brian and I both had to be up early the next morning, so we sent the kids to bed, we watched a few minutes of Your Friends & Neighbors, and then we went to bed.
Thursday, May 28
Thursday morning, I had to be up at 6:45 AM for a 7:45 AM orthodontist appointment (what was I thinking?!) so that wasn’t ideal. The kids were up super early Thursday and I’m not sure why, so I left them playing Minecraft, and I was back in less than 45 minutes.
My appointment was just a quick checkup. The orthodontist wanted to make sure that both my fixed retainers were doing well, and he also wanted to shave down my Hawley retainer (the OG traditional retainer) so it would fit over my fixed retainers. While the fixed retainers keep my teeth straight, they won’t necessarily keep my upper palate from moving, and since my upper palate was originally very narrow, the doc wants to make sure it doesn’t get narrow again. He said he wants me to pop the OG retainer in once or twice a week for a couple of hours (or as long as I can stand it) to just make sure my palate stays in the right position.
The good thing is that after not wearing it at all for two weeks nothing shifted, so he said that’s a good sign that everything is stable. He said it’s common for the OG retainers to have to be forced into place after a couple of weeks without wearing them, so he was happy mine was still easy to get in and out.
On the way home, I stopped to top off the gas in my SUV since we were going on another road trip later in the day, and then I went home to have breakfast, unload the dishwasher, and do all my morning chores that I didn’t do since I had my appointment.
I settled in my office for a few minutes after that to get my calendar organized. June has unexpectedly turned out to be bonkers – we are traveling four times! (although, one time is just Brian alone for work) – so I needed to get my calendar prepared, and there were several things I needed to schedule and reschedule. It was like putting a puzzle together trying to fit in all the things. Sheesh. Hopefully, July will be much quieter.
Mid-morning, the kids and I headed out to run a couple of errands. I had to go to the library to pick up my beach book stack and then we ran to Walmart to grab some other stuff for the beach… gallon jugs of water to refill thermoses and car snacks!!
The rest of the early afternoon was spent getting all my evening tasks knocked out since we wouldn’t be home, and then we all got freshened up and out the door to see Beauty and the Beast at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta! Olivia and I dressed in our Belle yellow best, of course! ;o)
My father-in-law had to be at the theater early, so split off from us after we arrived, and then Brian and the kids and I walked to Publik Draft House right next door to the theater. We’ve passed it a ton of times and it’s always crazy busy before a show, but we were there early enough to beat the crowd and get a table right away.
We started with a round of cocktails – an Old Fashioned for me and a specialty Moscow Mule for Brian, and then we all ordered burgers. The kids got sides of mac n cheese which was soooo good (I had to sneak a bite!), and Brian opted for the Cajun fries while I went with the cinnamon sugar dusted sweet potato fries. I have to say, those were probably the best fries I have ever put in my mouth. They tasted like a cross between an apple cider donut and funnel cake, and oh, my word, they were heavenly. The burgers were excellent, too. We were all very impressed and the kids are already saying that we need to eat there before every show at The Fox now. Haha.
Needless to say, this show was something that I’d been looking forward to for a long time, and it didn’t disappoint! It is officially my favorite production we’ve ever seen. The sets were breathtaking; the cast was perfection – Belle’s voice was just like the original movie, and Beast... GAH! Just perfect. – and I think I teared up at least five or six time throughout the production.
I had high hopes for the song Be our Guest since it’s such a big ordeal in the movie, and I was thinking there was no way that they could possibly duplicate that on stage, but boy, was I wrong! It was SPECTACULAR, y’all. My face was killing me by the end of the night from smiling so much.
If you have the chance to go see this, DO IT. It was simply amazing.
We made it home around midnight – traffic is always rough after a show lets out – and then we all went straight to bed.
Friday, May 29
Friday morning, Brian worked from home, I slept in until 8:30 AM (and then lay in the bed being lazy for 15 more minutes), and the kids slept in until 10:15 AM which is super late for them.
I had a list of things to do a mile long because our beach trip was Saturday, but my atlas dislodged yet again earlier in the week, and it was a bad one because all my symptoms had come rushing back in – dizziness, unsteadiness, brain fog, neck tension, sensitivity to light, etc. etc. So needless to say, I was frustrated and extremely fatigued which also meant that I was completely unmotivated to do anything.
I tried to work on a couple of blog posts that needed to be done before we left, but sitting at a computer is hard when I feel yucky like that, so I didn’t get a whole lot done.
Late in the morning, the kids did their laundry, and I got ready for the day. Then, Olivia and I went to get pedicures with my Momma. We weren’t able to do anything with her on Mother’s Day because Jacob had Confirmation practice, so we finally got to do our Mother’s Day with her on Friday.
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Transfer photos from my phone to my computer
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Organize the photos
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Work on this blog post
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Work on Friday’s blog post
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Catch up on all emails
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Pack me
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Assist the kids with packing
And soooo many other things that I never got to… whoops.
Brian finished up with work around 5:30 PM and he picked up takeout from Olive Garden per the kids’ requests. They are both so obsessed with OG right now.
After we ate, I got to packing, watering the outdoor and indoor plants (and checking on our new eggs and our sweet baby birds… they’re so alert now!), ordering a birthday gift for my nephew, tidying the house, putting my Poshmark closet on hold, and so many other little things that needed to be done before we left.
We only had time to watch about half of it before sending the kids to bed, and then Brian and I made toasted marshmallow Old Fashioneds and settled in to watch the last two episodes of the first season of The Testaments. Since the kids had gone to bed so late, we only made it about halfway through the second episode, so we still have a little left. It is so good, though.
Saturday, May 30
Saturday morning, we slept in, I made waffles, I finished the last two blog posts for our beach week, I finished packing, got ready, we had a quick lunch, and then we left for the beach! And I’m very much looking forward to being lazy for the next seven days. Amen.
I’ll be recapping that trip in separate posts per usual, so stay tuned!
Happy Wednesday, y’all!
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