THE THINGS THIS LITTLE GIRL SAYS:

Brianna is selling Entertainment Coupon Books for her school. I came home from work one day this week and got approached by the little "Sales Lady". She said, "Momma, I have this coupon book. Look, it has Bi-Lo coupons in it, you shop there. These coupons will save you money. Oh and Steak and Shake, have you ever ate there? Do you like it? Oh, Back Yard Burger-We like it don't we? At every turn of the page, this is how she responded, Have you ever ate there? Do you like it? Have you ever driven past it? Have you ever seen the sign? If I sell 10 books, I get to go to GattiTown. If I sell 20 books, I get to ride in the LIMBO to GattiTown!"

Later this week we had this conversation while getting ready for work/school:

"Momma, why do you wear a bra? What does it do?" I said, all girls/ladies wear them when they get bigger. She said, "Granny's got a whole bucket full of bras!"

"Momma, why do some people call me "BriANA". My name is "BriANNA"? I asked her, what her teacher calls her and she said "Britney". "Nobody knows my name!"

GLAD WE GOT THOSE FIRST FEW DAYS OVER WITH!

I must say the first 3 days of school went better than I thought it would have. I didn't have to argue with Brianna in the mornings to get up and I didn't have to argue with her at night to go to bed. To be honest, come night time, she was more than ready to go to sleep. The only thing she has a hard time doing is getting ready in the morning. I have to make sure that I am ready when I get her up so that I can stay on her to get herself ready. Other than dealing with that, she did really good. She didn't come home one night last week with homework, but I am sure that will all change tomorrow. In Kindergarten, she had homework every night and it was always a chore to do it. So I am definitely not looking forward to that, neither is Brianna.

For all you parents of small children:Do you have just a hard of time as I do getting your child to eat breakfast? I have to make Brianna eat something in the mornings, then she has lunch at 11:00, and by the time she gets home in the evenings she is starving and can't wait for dinner. No wonder she's so dern little.

OUR FIRST GRADER!

Brianna started school today. She is such a big girl. She didn't even want me to go in with her, but at the last minute she opted for me to walk her in "just for today" to make sure she could find her class. I was sure to get a big hug and kiss from her before we left the house because I knew she wouldn't want to give me one in front of her class.
When I arrived home from work this evening, I found one tired little girl. She said she did good in school today, but she was so tired afterward. Looks like we will have to shoot for a 8:30 bedtime. Wish me luck!

TRIP TO ATLANTA

Last weekend, we took a trip to Atlanta. We wanted to do something with Brianna before the new school year started. We arrived Saturday morning and headed out for the Georgia Aquarium. This is a helpful hint for those of you that may want to go one day: GET YOUR TICKETS BEFORE YOU GO!!!! Thank goodness we didn't have to stand in that crazy line. It was weaved in and out up the steps and down the street. The aquarium was great. They had many different exhibits. Brianna's favorite was the Beluga Whale and the Sting Rays. However, I will say it would have been a better experience had it not been so crowded. After the aquarium, we rode back to the hotel. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. I don't think I've stayed anywhere so nice. The hotel was beautiful and in a great location. Brianna loved riding up and down the glass elevators in the atrium. Sunday, we went to Zoo Atlanta. I think this was probably my favorite. It wasn't too crowded and there were tons of animals. They had a huge reptile exhibit. For those of you that know my child, you know that she was just so delighted to walk through and look at all those scaly creatures.

We ended our trip in Atlanta with visit to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was just a block from the hotel, and Brian or myself had never ate there so we thought we would give it a try. Although I must say, I thought Brian was going to turn around and walk out when we walked in and saw a 6ft picture of Jon Bon Jovi. If you don't know already, I love Jon Bon Jovi and my husband absolutely can't stand him. Brian calls him "Anchovy". Our meal was fast and delicious. But they do not how to get you. You must exit the restaurant thru the gift shop. How can you not go there and get a Hard Rock T-shirt.

We came home Monday. I'm so grateful for my family to have been given this great weekend. We may have only planned on staying 1 night, but I'm glad we stayed 2. Brianna needed 1more blast of fun before school and Brian and I needed some down time.


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FISHING WITH HER DADDY

Brian took Brianna fishing this morning. She called me at work this morning and said, "Momma, I just caught a cat fish!" She was so excited. To my surprise, she was still fishing with her Daddy this afternoon at 2:30. I couldn't believe that she hadn't lost interest. Heck, 4 hours fishing is enough for me yet alone a 6 year old. She caught a total of 9 fish(2 she caught all by herself). I know....she is quite the angler.

NOT MUCH GOING ON HERE

I don't have too much to write about so this post will be short. This past week at work drug by; I mean really slow. Sad thing is that this weekend has flown by. Friday night, I picked up a new computer desk from some guy on Craigslist. We got a pretty good deal and it looks really nice, but boy did Brian and I have a hard time getting it in the house and put back together. We started unloading it at 7:30 and didn't finish putting it together until after 11:00. Then by the time I hooked all the computer stuff back up and got our mess cleaned up it was almost 1 o'clock in the morning. Saturday, we slept in a little then I finished cleaning up the house. After lunch at McDonald's, Brianna and I decided it was hot enough to take a swim. We took a ride to Camp Mary Elizabeth to play in the pool there. It was wonderful;not too crowded and we had a great time. Today, I went fishing with Brian. We just went to Cannon's, but it was a nice day and there was a cool breeze. We fished for about 3 hours. Brian ended up catching only 1 catfish. Oh well, I guess that is better than none at all. As for me, it is now 8:25 and I'm in the middle of doing laundry and trying to get my work clothes out. Ya'll have a good week.

BRIANNA WENT TO THE RODEO

My Mom and Dad took Brianna to watch the rodeo in Anderson Friday night. Brianna was so very excited; she even took her cowgirl hat. Mom said she kept in on the entire night. Brianna loved the bull riding. Her favorite part was when the bull called Eagle Eyes knocked the guy off of him and drug him around. She says, "Eagle Eye is the best bull. Nobody can stay on him-not for 8 seconds!"

HUMP DAY! THANK GOODNESS

It's only been 3 days, and this week has already been the longest one ever!!! Work has been absolutely crazy, but what else is new there? Brianna has finally gotten better. The last time she had a fever was Sunday morning, and other than complaining about her head hurting Monday;she is doing well. Her rash is even beginning to disappear. She lost her 3rd tooth Sunday evening. She was so excited to learn that the Tooth Fairy left her $5 dollars for it. Sure wish I had Tooth Fairies like that around when I was little.

VACATION IS OVER, TIME TO GO BACK TO WORK

Since returning from New York Wednesday night, Brianna has been sick. She has caught a fever virus from one of her cousins. According to Aunt Gina, temperatures will be as high as 103.5 and will last about 3 days. After the fever has broke, a rash will develop. Just to be on the safe side, I took Brianna to the doctor on Friday. She checked Brianna for every possible infection and could not find anything that would make her have a fever and since Brianna was exposed in New York to a virus, she concluded that it was probably Fifth's Disease. I assure you it sounds worse than what it really is. From what I've read online, it is basically a fever virus. The only thing you can do is to give Motrin and Tylenol and wait it out. Today, thank goodness, Brianna finally developed the rash and she hasn't had a fever since 5:30 this morning.
In addition to taking care of a sick child, we really haven't been doing too much of anything. We rented a couple of movies and other than the occasional trip to the grocery store, we really haven't been out much. It has been a nice change. I think I was trying to get rested up as much as possible since I will be returning to work tomorrow. I'm dreading it already.
One thing that I have gotten accomplished this weekend is that we managed to get unpacked from our trip. This may not seem like a big thing to you, but since most of the time we live out of the suitcases for 2 weeks upon returning back from trips--this was a huge deal! I also found time yesterday to update my blog. It needed a change, but it sure did take alot of patience! Between dealing with "Blogger" and this crazy computer of mine; I about pulled my hair out---SERIOUSLY!!!


Well, I must say that I have definately blogged more this weekend than I did the entire month of June. So maybe I will find the time to keep it updated. But then again......

As a side note, I thought I would put this in here cause it's cute:
It's 8:37 tonight, and my little girl is sitting in the living room watching ETV. She is watching Nature inwhich they are discussing Grizzly and Polar Bears. Not only am I impressed that she actually found this on tv and decided to watch it, I'm also thankful that it's something other than that fricken yellow sponge!

LOOK WHAT BRIAN & BRIANNA HAVE BEEN GROWING IN OUR GARDEN!

Photo Session at Reedy Falls;Courtesy of Aunt Shirl

BRIANNA'S TRIP TO THE BEACH

BACK FROM VACATION

It has been over a month now since I have blogged. But in my defense, I was on vacation for a little bit of it. We went to New York to see Brian's family. We were originally going to drive, but on a whim we found airline tickets for really cheap so we flew instead. We arrived in NY on July 1st. It was great to visit with the family that we very seldom see. If we are lucky, we get to visit twice a year. Brian went to NY last Thanksgiving, but has been since last August that Brianna and I have been back. Brianna spent the week playing with her cousins, going on shopping sprees with her Nana, taking a trip to the beach, and visiting the aquarium. She even made brownies with her Uncle Kevin. Although we only got to stay for a week, we enjoyed our time there!

THIS IS HOW I KNOW BRIANNA WATCHES TOO MUCH SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

Yesterday, they took the Kindergartners to meet their 1st grade teacher and the other kids that will be joining them in their new class. Brianna was excited to meet Mrs. Hardy and she is super excited to have Michael and Christian in the class with her.
Today was Brianna's last day of school. I personally can not believe its over. Although I was apprehensive at first(sending your child into such a big place, with new people, to be dependent upon herself is a BIG thing for a parent), I must say this school year went better than I could have ever anticipated. I appreciate everything Mrs. Danner has done for Brianna. She recognized Brianna as a Terrific Kid and always commented about how sharp and smart Brianna is. Mrs. Steading, the assistant, helped Brianna discover her inner artist. She would come home almost every day with a picture that she had drawn at Mrs. Steading's table. But I must say that one of my favorite things Mrs. Steading taught Brianna was this: "You get what you get, and you don't pitch a fit!" LOVE IT!

I asked Brianna if she was sad to leave her teachers. She said no. I think she's ready for summer break. I know that I am!

AWARDS DAY

Brianna received her Kindergarten Awards today. She received the following

Perfect Attendance Ribbon for the last 9 weeks

Governor's Reading Honor Roll Certificate

March of Dimes Reading Champion Certificate and Medal

Awesome Artist Certificate and Medal

Kindergarten Certificate



We are so very proud of our little girl. We are especially proud of her for her Awesome Artist recognition, as it is awarded to only 1 child in each class. Here are some pictures that we took.

LAST GIRL SCOUT MEETING

We had our last Scout meeting on Saturday. We ended the year with a tea party and a trip to Gatti Town. The girls dressed up for the party and were treated to a fancy table with real China cups and saucers, mini cupcakes, and homemade cake squares(I don't EVER want to make those again!) After the meeting, the Troop went to Gatti Town. This was their reward for the cookie sale earlier this year.
As I look back on this year as a Girl Scout Troop Leader, I am very proud. I started this year a bit apprehensive and slightly confused. However, I must say that somehow I pulled it all together. I feel confident that the girls had fun and learned what it means to be a Girl Scout. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.

I FELT LIKE A CHANGE

I'm sure those of you that follow this blog were ready for a change too. I thought the ice cream would be appropriate for this summer. The only bad thing about changing the template, is that you loose other things. And we all know that I do not have the time to go back and add all that stuff. So for right now, what you see is what you get.

(Thank you, Heather for the website. I just LOVE IT!)

I TOOK BRIANNA TO PORTRAIT INNOVATIONS TODAY

BRIANNA'S 6TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

Brianna had her birthday party at the YMCA. She wanted a Littlest Pet Shop themed party, so I tried to come up with something to go along with the whole "pet" theme. The room was decorated with paw prints, dog and cat food bowls filled with animal cookies, and of course Littlest Pets. I was thankful that Heather got to the party early enough to help me set everything up.(Thank you.) Brianna was quick to point out that she didn't need anyone to get in the pool with her and with the help of a floaty she managed to do just fine. All of the kids had a really great time.

Thank you to all that shared in this special day with us and for the many wonderful gifts Brianna received. For those of you that could not attend the party, I thought I would post some pictures for you.

THE DECORATIONS

"DOGGY" BAGS / PARTY FAVORS

THE CAKE



FUN IN THE POOL

BLOWING OUT THE CANDLES

OPENING PRESENTS

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR ALL OF THE GIFTS.