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Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Our Week - The One with Two Dave Matthews Band Concerts, a Girls Dinner, and the Last Week of School

What. a. week.  Y’all!  Just when I thought things couldn’t be busier, they got busier.  Last week was absolute chaos, but it was the happiest of happy chaos and I’m so very grateful for every single second of it, even if we were completely exhausted by the time it was over. 

However, it’s officially summer break around here, so we are finally settling down, and we are looking forward to having some downtime to just BE.  Praise hands!!

Monday, May 16

During our spring social, our school had many things that parents could bid on including being any teacher or administrator at the school for a day, and we won the auction for Jacob to be his teacher, and for Olivia to be her teaching assistant.  Kids Rule the School Day was Monday, so our kiddos woke up super excited to hold their position of authority for the day. 

I dropped them off and then headed home to get laundry done and work on some blog things.  Mid-morning, I went to the library to pick up a book I had on hold only to find that my book was at a different library in town.  As I was leaving, an elderly woman tripped as she stepped up on the curb, and she fell really hard onto the concrete.  I rushed to her side to help her up, and she was bleeding pretty badly from her hand, and also from her nose. 

I gave her all the tissues I had in my purse and then asked her who I should call/how I could help/etc.  She was stubborn and didn’t want any help… she didn’t even want me to go inside and ask for help from someone in the library.  She did ask me if I would go turn in her library books, though.  Lol. 

She was bleeding pretty badly, and we had run out of tissues, so when I went inside to turn in her books (per her wishes), I told the girl at the front desk what was going on.  I felt terrible going against the lady’s wishes, but thought it was best for her and the library because I figured they would want to file some kind of report. 

On the way back out, I grabbed a ton of wet paper towels and some dry ones, and then I went back outside to help her clean up.  At that point, she was still sitting on the curb, and I think she was more embarrassed than anything.  She was mentally sharp, and she didn’t seem disoriented at all, and she kept laughing at herself and shaking her head, which let me know that her head was most likely fine.  I didn’t think she had hit her head anyway since she fell face-first, but since her nose was bleeding, I knew she had to have hit her face.

I helped her clean up her bag and gather her things, and then two girls from the library came out with a first aid kit to give her some bandages and file a report.  The lady was super sweet and very gracious, and she ended up driving herself home and being just fine.  They asked her to call and let them know when she was home safely, and she did.  What a rockstar, right?!

I had my last neck physical therapy appointment right then, so I ended up being a bit late for that, but I wasn’t about to leave that lady until I knew she was in good hands.  I’m so grateful she was okay.  She scared me to death!

After my appointment, I headed home and had lunch with Brian since he was working from home, and then I worked on blog stuff until it was time to pick up the kids. 

After school, the kids told me all about their days and they were both thrilled because they’d gotten to have so much fun all day.  For Jacob’s be the teacher day, he had planned the schedule, and they started with donuts and a dance party after announcements followed by extra recess.  His teacher and the other fifth grade teacher also bought decaf frapaccinos for the two boys who were the fifth grade teachers for the day. 


Olivia’s teaching assistant just happened to be out on Monday (such a bummer!), but she was excited because they ended up letting her be the school president for the day instead.  Lol.  She got to sit in on a meeting with some other kids who were being administrators for the day, and they got to decide what to put on the lunch menu for the rest of the week since their food supplier had to cancel some orders due to a chicken nugget shortage.  Lol. 

After that, she got to walk to Burger King (which is just across the street) with the school President to get a milkshake.  She and Jacob then both had a special lunch on the football field, and the school provided Chick-Fil-A for them.  I was invited as well, and I was so sad to have to miss it because I had my PT appointment that I couldn’t cancel.


They both had the best time, and I had the best time scrolling through social media for the rest of the evening seeing everyone’s pictures.  It was such a fun thing for their school to do, and they raised a lot of money doing it!

Monday evening, we made breakfast for dinner, and then we headed to Jacob’s baseball game.  We brought Maui along again, and we sat with all of Jacob’s grandparents for the evening.  Jacob was walked once, he got hit by a pitch once, he got a single, and he scored one run.  He also caught another ball, and it was a good one because he had to dive for it!  I was so proud of him!  There’s no way he would have done that a year ago!

We got home late yet again so it was another late night for one and all.


Tuesday, May 17

Tuesday morning, I dropped the kids and then stopped to grab gas and then chicken from Fresh Market before heading home.  I spent the whole morning working and getting stuff done, and then at noon I headed to the kids’ school for Olivia’s end-of-the-year class party, stopping by the library (the correct one this time, haha) to grab my book.

I was Olivia’s room mom this year, so I helped host the party with Christy, the other room mom, and we went with a luau theme since summer is almost here!  We started the party with snacks and drinks in the classroom, and then we took the party outside where Christy had set up all kinds of fun activities for the kids to do. 

I had made a photo frame and Christy had brought some photo props, and those were a huge hit.  We got so many sweet pictures! 





Jacob’s 5th grade walk to transition to middle school was at 2, so we got the class lined up on the sidewalk along with the rest of the school, and the kids walked through the crowds, led by a drumline.  They ended their walk in the middle school wing where all of the middle schoolers were waiting to cheer them on and welcome them to middle school.  It was so sweet. 





After that was done, I helped Olivia’s teacher get the kids back in the classroom, we got things tidied up, and then I checked both kids out so we could just leave.  There wasn’t any reason for me to wait the extra 30 minutes, and it helped me avoid the car line.  Woo hoooo!

That extra time helped tremendously as I still had a ton of stuff to do when we got home, but I didn’t have much time to do it because I had a girls dinner to get to at 6.  I was a total whirlwind when we got home from school, prepping for the next day, packing myself and both kids since B and I were leaving town Wednesday morning, tidying the house, putting laundry away.

Bu the time dinner with the girls rolled around I was feeling pretty overwhelmed, so some downtime was MUCH needed and welcomed with open arms.  So was an ice-cold craft beer.  Haha.

We sat outside and participated in one round of trivia while catching up with each other.  We ended up having the worst service I’ve ever had in my life at the restaurant we went to, which was weird, because I’ve been to that restaurant a ton of times and I’ve never had that happen.  I somehow managed to get my drink and food in a timely manner, and both were correct, but pretty much everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for everyone else.  It was a nightmare.

We ended up cutting our stay short, so I was home by 8.  And even though we’d had terrible service, the company was amazing, and it was exactly what I needed during the midst of a tumultuous week.



When I got home, Brian and the kids and I all watched a few minutes of American Idol, and then the kiddos went to bed.  After bed, B and I watched This is Us, and Y’ALL, I cried so hard I gave myself a headache.  Oh my word, that episode was so sad, but so beautiful.  If they don’t win some awards for that, then it’ll be a shame!


Wednesday, May 18

Wednesday morning, B and I got the kids off to school and then we headed out of town.  Yep, right during the busiest week of the whole year, we decided to pack up and leave.  Lol.  Dave Matthews Band plopped their concert tour down right at the worst possible time of year, but y’all know me… I’m not going to miss it, so we figured out a way to make it work.  Haha.

Miraculously, Wednesday was the only day of the week that the kids had NOTHING going on.  My parents picked them up from school and stayed with them, so Brian and I were free to go!  Woo HOOOO!

The concert on Wednesday evening was in Huntsville, and it was at a brand-new venue that only holds 8,000 people.  Dave Matthews Band typically does shows at venues that hold 20,000+, so I knew this would be a treat because it would be so much more intimate than at their typical venues.  Brian had also gotten 5th row seats behind the pit, so there was no way I was going to turn those down. 

Huntsville is easily driveable for us, but it’s way further than Atlanta (where we usually see DMB), so we settled in for the long drive, and we arrived just in time for a late lunch at Stovehouse with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  My nephew was at school, so unfortunately, we weren’t able to see him, but it was so nice to be able to see everyone else!

After lunch, we followed my brother to NASA, where he works, and he was able to show us around for the next couple of hours.  Since our trip was last-minute, he wasn’t able to get full clearance for us, but he was able to get partial clearance which meant that we could tour some of the buildings, too. 

He took us into mission control first, and we got to see where he spends some of his time.  We were able to see the actual live feeds in mission control, which was really neat.  And don’t worry, I got clearance to post all pictures you see here in this post.  ;o)




Afterwards, he took us around the campus showing us some of the old test rockets, and then we ended our tour at the replica of Saturn V, the rocket that took man to the moon.  It was a really neat tour, and it was even better to spend time with my bro at his favorite place!




We parted ways at that point, and B and I swung by Trader Joe’s to grab some essentials (AKA two cases of wine – haha) and then we headed to our hotel to check in for the evening.  We had a couple of hours to unpack, relax, and Facetime with the kids before we had to head to the show.

They were just living their best lives with Pop and Cokie, and they had just finished having dinner at Chick-Fil-A and playing on the playground.  They told us all about their day, and Olivia was thrilled because her teacher who had to leave unexpectedly a couple of months ago came to spend some time with the kids.  Her teacher had already sent a couple of pictures to me, and she told me that Olivia was so happy to see her that she had cried for 20 minutes straight after she arrived.  Look at my precious girl and those teary eyes.  Break my heart. 



After our call with the kids was over, we headed to the venue.  We weren’t sure what to expect since the venue was brand new (it had just opened on Friday and DMB was the first artist to play there besides the people who played during the grand opening), so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to park, get through security, get dinner, etc.

We ended up getting there like an hour earlier than we really needed to, so we sat in the car for a bit because it was too hot to spend time outside.  The venue opened at 6 and we headed in, grabbed some craft beers and hot dogs, and had dinner.

My friend and fellow blogger, Sarah of Meet the Shaneyfelts (some of you probably know her!), was also attending the concert, so she and I had planned to meet up in the venue.  After B and I were done eating, we were able to hang out with her and her husband and sister for a few minutes.  We’ve “known” each other for seven years because of meeting through blogging and following one another’s blogs, but we’ve never met in person, so it was AWESOME to finally get to meet her.  Blogging is such a a strange thing… even though we had never met in person, we know so much about each other’s lives and we’ve texted and emailed and DMed so much throughout the years, that it felt like seeing an old friend again when I saw her.  I just love that!



After we got done chatting, it was time to head inside and find our seats.  As I said before, our seats were in the fifth row behind the pit, so we had an amazing view for the night.  The concert was ah-mazing as always, and they played some of my very favorite songs.  After Covid wreaking havoc for so long, it was so dang nice to be seeing live music again.  B and I used to go to several concerts per year before Covid, but since March 2020, we had only seen one… DMB last year in Atlanta just before Delta came and ruined things again.  I teared up so many times Wednesday night because I was just so grateful to be doing something normal that I love.









After the show was over, B and I made the two-minute drive back to our hotel and crashed.  We were both so so exhausted and we had to be up early enough to get home in time for Jacob’s award’s ceremony at school the next day.

Thursday, May 19

Thursday morning, we were up early-ish, we stopped by the cutest little donut shop on the way out, and then we made the drive home.  We had just enough time to drop our luggage at home and choke down a quick lunch before heading straight to the school to attend Jacob’s award’s ceremony. 

He completely rocked fifth grade, and he ended up with Principal’s List (straight A’s), the AR award, and the Religion award.  In addition to that, each class gives out three other big awards, and he was the recipient of one of them – the Grace Award.  The Grace Award is given to a student who embodies characteristics of a good Christian (is kind, loving, treats others well, etc.) and it just melts my heart to know that he was the one who received it.  I could not be more proud of this sweet boy, and I pray that no matter what happens in life, that he continues to be a good, kind person.  I cannot for the life of me believe that he’s going to be in middle school next year. 


After the ceremony, B and I jumped in the car line since we still had to pick up Olivia, and then the four of us headed home to prepare for Jacob’s baseball game.  We had just enough time to unpack our suitcases and prep for the next day, and then it was time to leave again. 

This game was a big one – if we had won, we would have won the championship and moved on to the city tournament, and if we lost, it would have put us tied for first with the other team.  We were up 8-0 by the second inning of the game, and then sadly, the other team came all the way back and beat us 10-9.  Ugh, such a heartbreaker.  Since we were tied for first, that meant that we had to play the additional game on Saturday morning to break the tie.  Sigh.

Jacob ended up with one groundout and one walk, and he did his part in the outfield, throwing a kid out at first with the one opportunity he had to make a defensive play.  He didn’t get much action defensively in that game. 

After the game, the kids had their end-of-season party with pizza and baseball decorated donuts followed by a little award’s ceremony, where the coaches presented them with rings.  His coach said a sweet little blurb about each of the kids, and he told everyone that Jacob had the fewest strikeouts and the third highest on-base percentage for the whole team for the season!  Such an accomplishment!  We are just so proud of him.


After the party, B and I swung through the Chick-Fil-A drive-through (again – haha) to grab dinner for the two of us, and then we got home, ate, got the kids in the bed, relaxed for a few minutes, and passed out.

Friday, May 20

Friday morning, I dropped the kids for their last day of school – a half day – and then I headed home for an hour to catch up on some work before it was time to go back to the school to attend their last school Mass of the year.  Our friars made Mass extra special as it was their last school Mass that they’ll ever celebrate with us since they’re leaving in June… it was definitely bittersweet.

Our pastor gave the best homily singing and praising with the kids, and then at the end, he called the entire faculty and staff to go to the front so the kids could pray over them and wish them a restful summer.  Words cannot even express how grateful I am to be a part of this wonderful school and church community, y’all.  It means so very much to me that our kiddos can worship and pray together like this.



After Mass was over, there were some awards and scholarships to hand out, and my girl received a very special scholarship for next school year – The Legacy Award.  The Legacy Award is awarded to a student whose parent is an alumnus, and I had submitted an essay about my time spent at the school, and my essay won!  Jacob won the same award when he was younger, too!



After Mass, I checked both kiddos out of school because there was no reason for them to stay… they only had an hour left, and it was the last day, so WHY NOT?? 

Then my Momma, Olivia, and I all took a picture together since we are all alumnae of the school.  Class of 1976 (Momma), Class of 2032 (Olivia), and Class of 2000 (me).


As we were leaving, the kids asked if we could go to Dairy Queen, and B and I are suckers, so we said WHY NOT?  It was the last day of school, after all.  We got them to go and stuck them in the freezer when we got home, and then after I made lunch, we let them eat them.

The rest of the day was L-A-Z-Y.  We were all completely spent.  I did some blog work, got some things done around the house, and read for a bit.  The kids played video games, and Brian worked because he had no choice.  Lol. 

Friday evening, Brian picked up Mexican for dinner, and we made some margaritas, and then after dinner we watched a ton of American Idol to attempt to get caught up (spoiler alert, we didn’t).  I was so wiped that I kept dozing off and I missed a few acts here and there, but honestly, I would choose sleep over just about anything right now.  Haha.

After the kids went to bed, Brian and I watched A Million Little Things and an episode of The Flight Attendant, and then we headed to bed early because we had to be up earlier than usual Saturday morning for a baseball game.


Saturday, May 21

Saturday morning was leftover donuts for breakfast that we’d brought home from Huntsville, and then we all headed straight to the ballfield for Jacob’s playoff game.  Because of their loss Thursday night, they were tied with another team for first place, so they had to face off one last time to decide which team were the champions for their league.

Unfortunately, after playing an amazing first inning, our fielding went downhill, and the other team stepped it up majorly, so they ended up beating us.  Our boys were pretty disappointed, but they ended the season 15-4, which is pretty amazing.  And the other team played amazing, so it was well-deserved.


After the game was over, we all headed home to eat a quick lunch and shower, and then we had a bit of downtime before it was time to leave again.  B and I had concert tickets to see Dave Matthews Band (yes, again!) in Atlanta, so we got the kids settled in with my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law, and then we hit the road yet again.

The drive was easy, and we ended up getting a great parking spot at the venue, which is always important at this particular venue since it holds 20,000 people.  We’ve had times where we’ve had to sit in the parking lot for hours waiting to get out, so it was nice to be able to park right by the exit gate this time.


All the while, the kids were picking and eating blackberries from Nana and Poppie's garden and helping them plant corn and radishes!



We were in the door right as they opened at 6, and then we headed straight to get beer and food, and then we ate in our seats.  For this show, we originally had tickets in the pit (the section right by the stage where there is no assigned seating), but I’ve never been a big fan of a pit at a concert, much as I love being close to the stage.  I’d much rather be able to sit down should the need arise.  #Old  Haha.

Instead, we managed to find third row seats in the second section, and the people in the two rows ahead of us sat down all night long, so it was basically like being in the front row of that section.  We had an awesome view!  And for the record, I didn’t sit a single time while the band was performing.  ;o)  It was nice to be able to sit and eat our food before the show started, though.  We wouldn’t have been able to do that if we’d been in the pit.


The show ended up being amazing yet again, and even though we heard a few duplicates from our night in Huntsville, the majority of the songs they played were different.  I also got to see them perform one of the songs that I’d been really wanting to hear, so that was special, too. 






When the show was over, we headed to the car and we were out of the parking lot faster than we’ve ever been at that venue, and we somehow managed to make it home just shortly after midnight.  That might be a record!!  B and I both hit the hay right away because we were exhausted.  How many times can I say we were exhausted in one post?!  Haha.

Sunday, May 22

Sunday morning, we had breakfast and watched the finale of Is It Cake? with the kids, and then I got some sheets and towels washed before it was time to get ready.  We headed to my in-law’s house for Sunday lunch and to celebrate my SIL’s birthday, and then we headed home where everyone was lazy for the rest of the afternoon.

Since Jacob doesn’t have a phone yet, he just started using my phone to text back and forth with one of his friends, so I found these two pictures on my phone Sunday afternoon after one of their conversations.  Haha.



We headed to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner, and my Momma made her delicious vegetable lasagna with a salad and bread and a death by chocolate cake for dessert.  Jacob asked whose birthday we were celebrating since there was cake, and even though we weren't celebrating anyone's birthday, my Momma jokingly stuck a candle in the cake anyway.



We stuffed our faces and hung out over there all evening, and then it was time to head home.  The kiddos went straight to bed since it was already their bedtime, and then B and I stayed up to watch one more episode of The Flight Attendant and an episode of Ozark before turning in ourselves.

And now for a few current things…

Currently Reading

 

In May, I read Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane and Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult and I loved both!

 

Currently Watching

 

With B:  This month, B and I have been watching A Million Little Things and Saturday Night Live on network television, and we also finished This is Us.  Y’AAAALLLL.  That show.  Oh my goodness, that show.  I’m so sad it’s over.  What a great series.  For streaming, we finished season two of The Other Two on HBO Max and we also finished Inventing Anna on Netflix.  As for both of those shows, they’re both okay.  The Other Two is really funny (also suuuuper tacky), but not something that I feel totally invested in, and I thought Inventing Anna was just okay.  To know that it was based on true events added to the intrigue, but if it wasn’t for that, I don’t know that I would have cared to finish it.  The girl who plays the reporter (the little girl from that old movie My Girl!) was just not my cup of tea… the acting was just terrible on her part.  And the girl who plays Anna… well, I just couldn’t get past her accent.  I just didn’t love it.  In addition to those, we’re also working our way through season 2 of The Flight Attendant, the final season of Ozark, and the final season of Better Call Saul.  The Flight Attendant is just okay so far this season… it’s not as great as season one was.  And Ozark and Better Call Saul are just not for me either, even though I LOVED Breaking Bad.

 

With the Kids:  We’re still finishing up American Idol and we also finished Is It Cake? on Netflix… so good!  We also started Book of Bobafett (which is not for me either).  We still haven’t picked back up The Fresh Prince of Bel Air or Mighty Ducks Game Changers, but now that the kids are out for summer, that’ll be happening soon!

 

Alone:  Netflix has soooo many good romcoms again this month, so I’ve been watching some of those.  I’ve watched New Year’s Eve a couple of times and I’m still watching The Big Wedding on repeat while I work.  I also love that Reese Witherspoon movie Home Again… if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must!  It’s a romcom from just a few years ago.  I’m also still watching my The Wedding Planner, My Best Friend’s Wedding, and Father of the Bride 2 DVDs as my happy background noise while I work, but I’m definitely going to have to retire my Wedding Planner DVD as it’s getting stuck a bunch now.  And it’s getting stuck during my very favorite scene in the whole movie, too.  Waaaahhhh.  #ShesNothingButAPoorMansMary

 

Currently Listening To

 

Summer playlist is in full effect, y’all!  And that consists of lots of “bro-country” as my Daddy calls it – LOL (Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, Chris Janson, Darius Rucker, Cole Swindell, Thomas Rhett, Walker Hayes, etc.), plus Dave Matthews Band, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Justin Timberlake, Chris Stapleton, and other upbeat songs by random artists. 

Happy Wednesday, y’all! 

 

 

9 comments:

  1. Wow, this was a really busy and full week! I'm happy for you that you got to see DMB twice. They played almost entirely different sets? That is so cool. Elton John played the exact same set when we saw him that he'd played a few days before, so I was able to know what he was going to play! lol. Congrats on finishing the school year - my boys' last day is today!

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  2. WOW! What a busy week; how wonderful to see Dave Matthew's Band twice in one week though. Now it's time to rest. LOL

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    1. Haha yes! We have been taking it easy all week and it's been so nice!

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  3. What a week!!! So much goodness packed into it!

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  4. Busy week indeed but I am so happy you got to see Dave, I know how much you love him, we loved his concert

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  5. You had such a busy week, but a lot of fun things in it. That was so kind of you to help the lady. I am glad she was ok! That is scary when older people (or even our aged!) trip and fall on concrete! Your daughter has the same school colors/plaid colors as Aut's school. Oh, I would love to have a nice long date day with Brian. It has been awhile! The concert looks fun and how cool to tour NASA!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  6. I am so excited for you to have the summer off from to do lists and enjoying your kids!!

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  7. Wow! What an exciting and busy last week of school! You guys deserve every minute of R&R! Congratulations to Jacob. He and Henry would be friends, I just know it. Jacob sounds like the epitome of good boy! I'm sure you're beyond proud of him...heck, I am and I've never met him...go Jacob! We're heading to see Dave in June and Jon and I can't wait! We're hooked! It's so cool about NASA, too!!!

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    1. Aw thank you! You are so right, he and Henry would definitely be good friends! Henry reminds me so much of Jacob! I'm so excited that y'all get to go see DMB again! I can't wait to hear how it is!

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