This week's motivation felt appropriate since it was raining when I sat down to write this post yesterday. We've had a lot of rain lately - the river is so high right now! - but thankfully most of our spring break was dry and warm.

My mom, Alexis, and I spent three days down at the beach. It's the first overnight girls' trip we've done that wasn't camping. We had so much fun, and it was a much-needed time away from the real world.

We spent most of our time on the beach, but we also did some exploring in the surrounding area. We stayed in Mexico Beach at a newly-rebuilt hotel; the original was destroyed in Hurricane Michael. The area has built back up nicely in the years since the storm, but it's still not a big tourist trap, which is nice for those of us who don't like crowds. We got Alexis a boogie board to play in the waves with, and she had the best time with it. The water was still cold, but it was warm enough that we didn't freeze (and truth be told, any later in the year and the water in the Gulf feels like a bathtub).

Port St. Joe is just a short drive away, and that's where we did most of our eating. They've got a cute little downtown district full of local places to eat and shop. I think my favorite place we ate was Joe Mama's Wood Fired Grill and Pizza. Their bruschetta was amazing! Our last day there we climbed the lighthouse, which was relocated from Cape San Blas in 2014 after it was shut down by Eglin AFB. It was a steep climb but worth it when we got to go out on the gallery (balcony).

One day we drove a bit extra to explore Appalachicola, which I'd never before visited. We ate at a place called The Owl Tap Room, which was a fun experience, saw the big fishing boats on the river, and explored their historic downtown district. Appalachicola is a fishing town most known for its oysters. The downtown area was filled with honeysuckle and smelled heavenly.

I didn't post all of the pictures I took to my actual feed, but I did share most of them in my stories, which I've now added as a highlight, if you'd like to check them all out.

Friday was Alexis's 8th birthday. Since it was Spring Break and Easter weekend all rolled into one, we decided to wait until next weekend to have her party, but we did celebrate her special day by taking her to a local fun park where we played putt-putt, rode go-karts, played in the arcade, and, Alexis's favorite part, bumper boats.

Saturday was our rest day, which worked out perfectly considering the all-day rain we had. And today we're splitting time between Chris's family and mine for Easter.

Tomorrow it's back to work and school. It's hard to believe the school year is this close to being over! We've got Milestones testing in two weeks, so my classes will be reviewing and preparing for that. And that's about as far as I've planned ahead at this point. Speaking of...I need to get my lesson plans finalized so I can upload them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday and a good week!