Here we are in the new year! We've all gotten back into the routine of work and school. The girls have started back with mock trial practice. Both girls auditioned and have been cast in Brylliant's spring production of Mean Girls, so rehearsals have just started for that. We've had some other fun during the month too. Here's some of the pictures from along the way.
Mia painted this beautiful picture in her school art class. It immediately takes me back to Hawaii. We stood on this ledge, and I love that it inspired her.
I may have gotten a little excited when Goldbelly ran a sale recently. I'm always happy to order the Wagyu steak when it's on sale, but this was a great opportunity to try some new places too. I can't wait to enjoy these yummies!
Ryan planned the most fun surprise date for me one evening! We always love the "this or that" activities with the girls, and he planned a Friday evening where I got to pick all the items for us. First up was dinner. I was super excited to pick a new restaurant, K-Pot. It's a Korean BBQ and Hot Pot spot. It was so much fun! I've done both of these while traveling in China before, but Ryan had not yet tried either. It's an all-you-can-eat menu, so we ordered several different proteins, noodles, and veggies to try. I used a regular miso soup base for my hot pot while Ryan had a spicy Thai Tom yum sauce. After dinner, I picked a card that said "1 new book at Barnes & Noble" which made me quite happy. In the parking lot, he gave me the option to pick the other card instead. That's not usually part of the game, so I was confident he was sure I'd like the other card better. I switched it out, and he was right; it said "2 new books at Barnes & Noble!" I always love exploring the bookstore, and I got two great new books (Night Road by Kristin Hannah and The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer). Next up was dessert, and I was very happy to pick Great American Cookie Company. I ended by picking "read a book by the fire," but I switched it for the other option of "watch a show or movie together." I was having too much fun with Ryan and wanted to keep spending time together! We started the series "All the Light We Cannot See," and it was really good. What a fun evening of adventures for us!
Lily bought this hat on Amazon, and I truly love it. It says "This actually is my first rodeo," and I think it's fantastic.
Our family loves our season tickets to the Broadway Across Atlanta shows at the Fox. We were excited to learn that Aladdin was coming too. Mia was at the JTF competition that weekend, so Ryan, Lily, and I went and were happy to bring Lauren Martin with us too. How perfect to have Morroco-based Aladdin at the Fox! The genie absolutely stole the show.
Mia always loves going to the JTF competition with Brylliant. The studio decided to go with Shrek Jr, and Mia was thrilled to be chosen as Donkey. She was incredible in the show they recently performed, so we weren't surprised at all that they chose her to continue this part. The kids spend about 3 weeks getting ready for JTF. It's certainly similar to the full production, but they have to condense the story down to 15 minutes; they perform a lot of the same music, but they have a lot of new choreography to go with it. It's a lot of hard work to prepare for this, but it culminates in a very fun weekend. A couple of days before the production, Brylliant has a dress rehearsal night for the parents to come and watch. We were absolutely blown away! These kids did such an amazing job! I was so proud of each one of them (but especially Mia).
Their hard work paid off! I'm so glad they won an award for their ensemble. This group was fantastic!
The downside to JTF is that Mia picked up Covid while she was there. She was diagnosed on Monday (a holiday so no school) and was told to quarantine through Friday. She didn't feel well for several days, but turned a corner on Thursday. We were thankful that school was actually cancelled on Tuesday. It was ridiculously cold around here for about 36 hours temps never rose above 25 degrees. Schools were cancelled to avoid any potential ice on the road and to make sure they could be properly heated. The girls didn't mind an extra day off! We were glad this meant Mia only ended up missing 3 days of school that she had to make up.
Even though she was done with quarantine by Saturday, she decided to stay home and sleep while the other three of us drove down to Fayetteville to eat at Truett's Luau. Lily had gone with the volleyball team this fall, and it's been a place I've always wanted to try. A Hawaiian themed Chick-fil-a adjacent restaurant? Yes please! We all ordered a Frozen Hawaiian drink which was delicious and came in a fun tiki glass. Ryan tried their Hawaiian burger (yep, this Chick-fil-a serves burgers!), Lily had a breakfast bowl with nuggets, and I tried their tacos made with grilled nuggets, spicy sauce, and pineapple coleslaw. We all split their Hawaiian nuggets because we wanted to try them. They were delicious! This was a fun little outing.
What a great January it's been!
