A first!

we interrupt this blog about jovie to document that i had my first true pizza! not that anyone is keeping track, but i already said i had my first pizza way back when in Arizona!

that was delicious, for sure! but it was probably more like a bacon cheddar bread than anything else. however, since it had been ordered as a pizza, i maintained that i had a pizza.

The Mr. doesn’t buy it. after 25 years of togetherness, he still brings up more often than would be expected the fact that i don’t eat pizza.

so early on in this pandemic, as i was trying my hand at pizza doughs, i was going to make a delicious pizza with garlic white sauce that i could eat. that didn’t pan out because, according to The Mr., a pizza is tomatoey and probably pepperoni-y and sausagey.

yesterday i was feeling inspired and i made TWO pizzas. so he could have his boring one. and i can try this delicious one…

i am SO very glad i found the food blog Baked by Rachel. she also isn’t a fan of tomatoey! so when i saw this- i knew i wanted it.

and NOW i know i LOVE IT! guess who else loves it??? The Mr. he literally ate his words and was very happy with this actual, real live, true pizza that is not tomatoey.

i guess it is now making its rotation on pizza saturdays!

added spinach instead of onions from her recipe

Februarings

This month has been a good one, so I thought I would update on some goings on thusfar.

Superbowl Sunday was a fun one.  The Mr. took jovie hiking for the day while i stayed home and made some treats for the game (what a game!!).  while they explored a park we enjoy, I enjoyed some snuggly kitty cat time, and listening to some soundtracks.

Jovie kept me apprised of what they were up to and sent me some pictures:

then we enjoyed a low-key Valentine’s Day.  jovie pointed out this was the first time she wasn’t part of exchanging.  when i asked her about it, she said it only means she won’t come home “with a gallon of fun-dip”.

the next day we scooted up to the North GA mountains.  we were long overdue for renting a mountain house!  we went up to Blue Ridge and had an awesome long weekend!  the house was phenomenal.  the town was quaint.  and we did something we have never done as a family!  another long overdue:

we also:

hiked some mild and nice hikes on a chilly beautiful day….  walked across a swinging bridge (she was so brave!)…….went to an orchard…. shopped…..s’mored….. 2/3 of us hot-tubbed on a freezing cold evening (after waiting all day for it to sort of warm up enough)…. 1/3 of us had fun in a Top Bunk for the first time!…….3/3 of us enjoyed the house & games and porches a lot…….

it was great.  and that’s not all february has to offer!

next week, jovie is going on an overnight field trip to Space Camp in Huntsville!  i am so thrilled for her!  i went there for the day in 5th grade (because i lived in Selma) but we didn’t get to experience THIS!  it was pretty awesome, though, because in 1985 the space station was a pretty big deal, and they had it so we were able to walk through it before it went up!

lucky us, gramma & grampa are coming for a visit next weekend and they’ll be here to hear all about it, too!

 

starting anew

i am excited to share that jovie was in a very good mood this morning.  she is very excited about middle school!

we met some of her teachers last thursday, and have seen some friends.  she even has already made a new friend (that she met on the tour in may).

we know this year will be filled with lots of new opportunities, friends & responsibilities.  she’s excited to tackle it all!

on to new things!

goodbye elementary!

jovie is super excited and sad that 5th grade and her elementary years are in the past.  she is very much looking forward to next year, and is hating leaving what’s so familiar and warm.  i agree!  from the moment we walked in to IES 6 years ago, we felt welcomed & loved.  they have taught her well & i know that she is well prepared for the future!

this week was a blast though.  there was no pretense of any work being done.  she didn’t even bring her backpack to school!

movies were watched, picnics were had, kickballs were kicked (her class was crowned Champions!!), friends were talked to, and memories were made.  (there was even a glow party).

today we had to go to the local auditorium because we have too many classes to be in the cafeteria, so it was very much “official!”  a nice little send off.  there were words of inspiration [hope the 10 & 11 year olds can remember them later], awards announced & then they walked across the stage to get their little packet of whatever certificates & report card & writing examples over the last 6 years….

since it was off-site, jovie wanted to come home afterwards so we had lunch here & headed to see the movie Ugly Dolls.  right at this moment, she asked The Mr. to take her to the library.  Way to start the summer off well, Jovie!

tonight we are going to a nice restaurant for dinner, and we’ll be pretty lax with the bedtime.

it will be a fun & whirlwind summer (aren’t they all!).  we are looking forward to sleeping late, acting, visiting, vacationing, and relaxing!

 

just like grampa

wow.  WOW.  as I sit here writing this, The Mr. is outside with jovie casually riding their bikes!

yesterday was a gorgeous autumnal day, so she got it in her head to “spend 75% of my day outside…. scootering, rollerskating, playing & learning to ride my bike”

we have not had much success in the bike riding department over the last few years.  jovie does not like a challenge.  even her really cool bike with the training wheels sat largely unused.  then of course she grew out of it.  she never wanted another bike; anytime we asked, she just plain wasn’t interested.

so a couple of months ago, The Mr. had a great idea to go to Play It Again & see if they had a cheap bike we wouldn’t mind sitting unused.  we presented it to her and told her it was up to her.  it was there if she ever needed it.  she could try on her own; she could ask for help.  or she could ignore it.   the latter of which she did.  she even balked at sitting on it so The Mr. could adjust her seat way back when.

well; for whatever reason she decided yesterday was the day.  she asked for help some.  she got frustrated lots.  then she went out on her own and began to learn.  and now, she’s doing circles and riding a bike like you wouldn’t think she just learned yesterday!  everyone here is just so proud.  to see how much she loves it is awesome.  she keeps running in to tell us the new thing she mastered.

and the clincher?  she hasn’t fallen yet!

she is loving it and went outside this morning at 8:30 to go ride her bike!

hey grampa- it must be in her blood!

this.

the start of the end of elementary school.

W.O.W.

i know, come May, that dress will be shrunken!

she was more nervous than excited this year.  but she is ready to “rule the school”

ah, yes….  remember this one?

kiddie-garden

may i present

Ms. Phineas Trout, reporter in Willy Wonka:

I cannot say enough how awesome this production was!  In just a few short days, the kids opened the box, chose & learned lines/songs, decorated the set, made friends, found costumes (Goodwill- how smart!!) & performed for us parents!  They even did this during a heavy rainstorm & a 30 second power outage!!  Kudos to Ms. Dana at Creative Learning Studios!

Jovie had a great time, and the play was done so well.  She did a super job with her lines, and projected well!  The Mr. was very excited to have been able to see it.  He thought it was as awesome as “Crazy Christmas” she did in chorus this year.

If she chooses this camp again next year, we already know we can’t wait.  Lemme know if you need a ticket!  😉

 

 

things

Valentine’s Day has come and gone….  So, apparently has January!

right now, we are looking very forward to our Winter Break.  we will visit Aunt Stacey, Uncle Dave, Sophia & Sadie.  we will also venture around the beautiful state of Arizona with a jaunt in Nevada for the Hoover Dam!    it will be a lot of driving.  a lot of scenery.  a lot of reading.  a lot of kindle-ing.  a lot of eating.  a lot of hiking.  a lot of photo-ing. a lot of ooo-ing and aaah-ing.  (probably just from me; it seems jovie’s a lot like The Mr.)

[tho i will hope she exclaims over the Grand Canyon like i did- especially because she was FLOORED with the sand dunes.  this is essentially opposite that]

that’s the future.  the past has included spending a lot of time playing with our new-ish next door neighbor Salma.  she’s a sweet 1st grader that has only lived in this country for about a year.  i am getting to know the mom, and it’s great getting to hear about Egypt!

jovie’s modern dance class got canceled; there was only one other girl there.  so now it’s just ballet.  she has done art club with school a couple times a month.  she also enjoyed re-reading Charlotte’s Web & going to book club with our (awesome) public library.  during the school day once a month she does origami club.

we had a really fun day honoring the National Champs of football!  we had a whirlwind weekend where we left immediately after school on a friday; stayed in a hotel about 15mins away.  jaunted into town super early and watched Clemson’s parade before going into Death Valley for a very nice ceremony.  we all enjoyed it; though jovie was 1. scared of heights and 2. a little bored with all of the talking in the stadium.  but she managed thanks to Daddy’s phone.  we loved being there.  then we came home and the next day we honored jovie’s christmas gift & got to see Little Mermaid at the Fox again.

and this past weekend, she went to her first slumber party.  she had a great time, and The Mr. & i realized just how old and fuddyduddy we are.  we did have a nice dinner out.  i was able to have a Radler; which i haven’t gotten to have since Munich.  we were asleep by 9:45. i did not even hear the dad text me to tell me jovie was having fun.  i did, however, hear the phone ring at 12:15 when jovie needed to talk to me.  she did not come home; but i guess she needed some mommy-love.

it’s been a nice 2017 so far.  some snow would be nice.  if nothing else, some winter cold.  we’ve had very few of those days.  i look forward to posting about our trip!

really liked how many fans turned up for the incredible fun!  & jovie was excited for her first real trip to clemson.  “i’ve always wanted to go into the stadium!” she said when i told her what we were doing that weekend. we enjoyed showing her some of the places that are meaningful to us.

 

 

the start of the 2nd half

the 2nd half of elementary school has begun!!

wow.

the big hall.  WOW.  third grade.  WOWWOW.

her dress matches her bookbag matches her lunchbox.  she’s still freakin’ adorable!

depends on what the definition of “magic” is

A week ago, we were walkin’ walkin’ walkin’ all over (literally) Kingdom come.  From Magic Kingdom on Saturday to Animal Kingdom on Sunday.

Jovie really enjoyed herself; but it was a very long day.  Because we didn’t have a free day in between, I had hoped to go back to the hotel and rest a bit before the fireworks show.  That didn’t happen because of the dern Fast Pass situation.  (Don’t even get me started!)

So our morning started bright and early getting on the shuttle at 7am.  We finally climbed into bed at 11:30pm.  Jovie has seen 11:00 on the clock exactly once in her (aware-non-newborn) life.  That was this summer when we were at the mountain house with her cousin.

Despite the challenges, she had a great time.  And handled it well! (Better than The Mr.)

We had breakfast with Winnie the Pooh & Friends (don’t even get me started!).  We had lunch at The Beast’s Castle (this is a rant blog post of it’s own!!  grrr; i won’t bore you) and a very late dinner just on our own with no reservations.  The Mr. said she was lying down while waiting for me to come back with the food.   We rode rides, enjoyed the ambiance & food, played on playthings [kudos to both the Winnie the Pooh Ride & Dumbo!] & walked and walked and walked.  We enjoyed sitting down to watch the Electric Parade and the psychedelic weirdness that it was.  The light show & fireworks were watched on Piggy Back.

The next day we painted a face, saw lots of animals, had a photo session with The Mice themselves, had another lunch -this time with Mickey & Friends, rode rides, enjoyed the ambiance & food, played on playthings [the Boneyard was awesome!] & walked and walked and walked.  Oh, and canceled dinner reservations because we were all spent!

For 2 days, we spent entirely too much money doing things The Mr. & i would rather not have been a part of.  We spoiled our already experience-spoiled child.  Thank goodness she was appreciative & happy.  Therefore, we can be (a bit) glad we did it.

Jovie- when you read this yourself- know that is likely your one & only time until you are old enough (and interested) to possibly maybe go to Epcot.  A girls’ trip.  MAYBE.  And know that the possibility even exists because of how well you conducted yourself.  You handled the lines (even several for the bathroom!!) The walking.  The long  days.  You enjoyed the activities.  The characters.  The food (it was all good!!!).  You were appropriately delighted at things, and didn’t come to expect.  And you thanked us and showed your appreciation.

Still, don’t count on another trip to the Magic Place….unless you are also in a fantastic band.

…OH and if anyone is wondering- Jovie’s favoritest favorite thing to do for the 3 days in Orlando— the Swiss Family Robinson TreeHouse.  I don’t even have a picture.  You literally walk up the steps of a “treehouse” and see it all decorated.  It was the first thing we did after breakfast on Saturday.  It was more a tour than an activity/ride.  She always surprises me.

Day 1 @ Hotel (thanks to The Mr. for all of his points.  saved us about the cost of lunch.)

 

because always

because we literally walked into the hotel to a Frozen song & it was the hotel’s bday- so cupcakes. of course

Oh! and we also enjoyed a nice dinner on the water in Disney Springs (downtown disney). We ate at Rainforest Cafe & snagged a table outside as a first-come-first served thing.  It was perfect.

Day 2 @ Magic Kingdom

 

Day 3 @ Animal Kingdom:

here are some animals from the Safari Ride we took last thing.  We were at the very back which was perfect…..

gross

And this-  this about sums it all up….