bryce is 12

This guy is growing up so fast and we're so proud of him!  He was recognized this week at school for his generosity.  His teachers' words about his participation in class and how his insight contributes to the class discussion was so nice!

Thursday was all about Bryce!  We started with donuts for breakfast!

Height: 56in (17th percentile)

Weight: 75lbs (17th percentile)

School dismissed early on Thursday so we went to Top Golf.

He's made two new friends this year in his class so we brought them along to celebrate!

His favorite, Sweet Frog, for dessert.

Today we wrapped up his celebrations with the family.  He picked Q Barbeque for lunch and donut cake for dessert!

The family bakery came through with some yumminess! 

It's not a birthday celebration without your cousin and best friend so we took the boys to play Putt Putt after church/lunch.

How in the world will he be a teenager next year?!?

a snowy gymnastics valentine weekend

Emmy had a gymnastics meet in Virginia Beach on Friday.  She was going to have to miss school so our original plan was to leave early Friday morning and be home before Bryce got home from school.  We ended up having snow and ice so we sent Bryce to Kelly's for the night and we headed down Thursday ahead of the storm.  School ended up getting canceled Friday so that was good for everyone. Emmy had us to herself and had fun in the hotel pool when we arrived!  We got up Friday morning and had a yummy breakfast and then headed to the meet.

This is officially her first competition year and the first real meet of the season.  The scoring was tough and the competition was tight, but she did well.  She placed 7th all around and 5th on floor.  

We celebrated a great meet with ice cream before heading home.

We arrived home to a winter wonderland.  It snowed the past two weekends before this but we weren't home to enjoy it.  Emmy suited up and Jason took her over to Kelly's so the could play in the snow with the cousins.

We stayed warm inside most of the day Saturday but went out for a little fun when our neighbors called to say they were out.

The kids did some sledding and Jason pulled them on the neighbor's golf cart which was fun.  We came in and got warm, washed/dried the wet laundry and fixed dinner and had just finished up when the power went out.  Jason hooked up the generator for lights and tv and we cuddled in front of the fire.  We bundled up for bed and hoped for electricity in the morning.

It was a cold Valentine's Day and I didn't get my typical pictures because no one wore festive clothes and we didn't have power to make our traditional treats.  Good thing Emmy got a blanket for Valentine's Day.  She needed it. 

We probably should have gone to church so we could get warm, but the thought of showering with cold water and changing in the fifty degree house wasn't appealing so we watched from home.  Right about the time church ended, our generator ran out of gas.  We packed bags and decided to go to my mom's for showers and warmth because by the seventeenth hour without power I was chilled to the bone.  

As we were getting ready to leave for my moms the power came back on!!!!  I had to celebrate with a Valentine "mimosa".  Emmy and I also had a special Valentine flower delivery.  

We ordered a Papa John's heart shaped pizza for lunch!

Jason and I wrapped up the day with a candlelight dinner!  

Emmy's birthday weekend

Jason's parents booked a house and weekend of fun in Massanutten for Emmy's birthday!

We hit the slopes early Saturday morning for the kids' first ever attempt at skiing/snowboarding.

The kids each did a run or two in the practice area and struggled a bit so Jason told them they just needed to hit the real slope.  They could have both benefited from lessons, but by the end of our allotted time, they had each gotten the hang of it.  

The first run took them about an hour!  They both struggled a bit.  Not enough to scare Bryce away, but Emmy decided it wasn't for her.  After some snacks inside, I got her to practice some more and she was willing to do one more run and really enjoyed it.  I was glad their first experience ended on a good note!

Dave and Chase and Taylor also skied and the rest of us hung around the ski lift for pictures!

When our time was up on the slopes, we went back to the house for a quick lunch and outfit change and headed to the indoor waterpark.

It was cold on the slopes and hot in the pool!

We ended the day with dinner, cookie cake and presents.  

Emmy picked out candles that shot out edible confetti instead of a candle to blow out!

But it's not a birthday without making a birthday wish so we got a candle for her piece of cake to be extra covid friendly!

This morning we woke up to a fresh blanket of snow!  The kids were so excited because they missed snow at home last weekend while we were in Florida.

 We knew it was going to snow so we came prepared with sleds and snow dishes!  The kids enjoyed lots of snow play and sledding this morning before coming home.  All the snow had melted at home, but it's going to get cold enough tonight that our county already issued a two hour delay tomorrow which is the best day after the Super Bowl gift!

Emmy is 9

 Height: 49 1/4 in (9th percentile)

Weight: 53 pounds (13th percentile)

a long weekend in Florida

Midway through the first semester, our school district decided to give the students a few days off between semesters to give teachers time to get ready for the new semester.  We took advantage of the five day weekend and planned a trip to sunny Florida.  The trip couldn't have come at a better time because it was cold and snowy when we left town on Thursday!

It wasn't quite as warm as we hoped, but sixties are better than thirties any day!

We were up early on Friday to snorkel with the manatees.  It was forty degrees when we hopped in the water.  Luckily the water was in the seventies and we had wet suits!

The cutest snorkelers I ever did see!

Jason took his go pro so we had some really good underwater footage.

The manatees swam all around us and under us.  The mamas and the babies were the cutest.  We were even able to touch them if they got close enough.

This was a super fun experience for us all.

Friday night we checked into our last hotel of the trip and the kids took a dip in the pool.  Thankfully the pool was heated, but it was cold when they got out.

This still beats cold and snow any day!

We went to Legoland on Saturday.  It was a beautiful day in the low seventies.  

The lego creations were really cool.

There were a mix of rollercoasters and family rides that we enjoyed.

This tree was planted in 1939!

Our plan for this trip was to alternate days at sea and days on land, but unfortunately the boys' snorkeling shark encounter was cancelled for Sunday.  We had planned to drive to Jupiter, Florida for them to go out in the Atlantic but the winds and seas were forecasted to be bad.  We ended up at Hollywood Studios instead.

We were able to ride everything (some things twice) and Emmy loved that she got to ride an upside down roller coaster!

We had Krispy Kreme donuts before heading to the park but when they sell donuts the size of your face at the park you must partake!

You also must eat all the Mickey shaped food.  We had a soft pretzel too but it didn't get photographed.

There were lots of 3-D simulator rides that I didn't enjoy but I powered through.  I can ride a roller coaster any day, but all the other things make me feel car sick!

Toy Story Land was my favorite!  I just loved the theme and decorations.

The slinky dog ride was the cutest!

We had already planned to do Magic Kingdom on Monday.  We brought the kids here so long ago that Bryce was too young to really remember and Emmy was a baby.  I feel like it's our parental duty to take the kids to Disney World and in my mind Magic Kingdom is the iconic "Disney World."  By the time Monday rolled around, we were all a bit indifferent to going since we had already done two parks in a row.  It was a cold and windy day and our legs were tired but we powered through and did all the things we wanted to!

We knew there were fewer people at Disney because of covid and lines were shorter, but we couldn't really comprehend what a normal day must look like because we thought it was crowded and didn't love a 60 minute wait.  

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was a popular one so we made sure to do it and we enjoyed it.  I think my favorite was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  The kids would say Space Mountain was their favorite!

We recreated a few of the pictures we took back in 2012 when we were here last.

I think I preferred Hollywood Studios to Magic Kingdom but I'm glad the kids got to experience them both.  They've been to Animal Kingdom in the last few years.  Maybe one day we'll get to Epcot.  We all agreed that we don't know how the Disney fanatics do days of Disney in a row.  We're not real fans of waiting in lines all day for a combined 20 minutes of fun, but I know the memories made will last!  It was in the forties when we boarded the plane in Orlando and we were greeted with more snow when we landed at home!  We've also decided we're going further south next time we escape winter!