a good week

Baseball is in full swing!  See what I did there?!?  Bryce received the wooden spoon award at practice on Monday.  This is something new this year that players award to a teammate who worked the hardest at practice.  Of course I couldn't get him in the picture too.

Emmy went on a science field trip on the Learning Barge in Norfolk on Tuesday.  And notice that pretty smile.  She got her braces off on Monday!  

Jason got to chaperone!

Friday was pi day (3.14) and Emmy's school celebrated Greek and Pie Day.  Each math class had to design a shirt to wear with free dress pants.  We were able to incorporate pie and Greek on her shirt.  She had to include Pythagoras' name in English and Greek.  

They had a special hot lunch brought in from a local Greek restaurant and they sold slices of pie.  

Bryce's high school (our alma mater) was playing the state basketball championship on Friday and we all went.  Bryce wore blue for the theme and sat in the well attended student section.  We WON!  This has been a monumental year for the basketball team.  It's the first time in school history to win a state basketball championship.  The team they played is local and they had never beat them in school history until this year.  It was a great season and it's been a great year for state championships for our school and the year isn't over!

 

not much to report

My stay-at-home mom days came to an end a couple of weeks ago.  I'm working two part time jobs, and they are keeping me busy!  I've been able to carve out just a few hours to work in between morning school drop off and afternoon school pick up.  The evenings are spent driving the kids around and hopefully getting dinner on the table.  Jason and I used to squeeze in Friday day dates, but this is the first time I've worked on Fridays in 13 years so there hasn't been time for dates.  We did manage to find a couple of hours for us on Saturday afternoon.      

We went to a local winery for a sparkling flight.  

They also had a lobster food truck, so I knew there'd be something for Jason too!

We were able to sit outside in the sun and not freeze.  Spring is coming and boy does that make me happy!

Bryce's "sweet" SIXTEEN

Bryce is 16!!  He got up a little early on his birthday so we could do presents.  16 seemed a little anti-climactic since we already got him a car in the fall, we already sent him on a birthday trip in January and you can't drive until sixteen and three months in Virginia.  But we were excited to gift him a soft top for his jeep!  
Well Visit Stats (6/16/25)
Height - 5'8"
Weight - 156.4
Blood pressure - 116/62

Since he got up early, we had time to go Chick Fil A for breakfast on the way to school.  And yes, I brought the candles and made him put them in his chicken minis for a picture!

He picked Chipotle for dinner with MeMa and Nana and Paul and then we had cupcakes and opened a few more presents at home.  Notice Jason's new wall ornament behind Bryce.

Money was a big ticket item on Bryce's wish list this year because he knows he's going to be spending lots of money on gas before too long.  He did get a job life guarding this summer so that should help too!

Here's a flashback to how we surprised Bryce with an early snowboarding trip to Snowshoe with his buddy.  

Bryce is in a club that requires volunteer hours this year.  Good friends of ours asked if he wanted to volunteer at the ASK Gala with their son who is one of Bryce's good friends.  We attended this Gala last year in support of these friends and their middle son who was being treated for bone cancer.  It's a great cause and I'm glad Bryce got to be a part of it.  

After manning a croquet game for donations, they got to help with the auction during dinner. 

When people bid on an item, they had to go bring attention to them so the auctioneer could see them. 

Bryce even ran into his and Emmy's third grade teacher who we adore!

While Bryce was volunteering most of the day/night, we headed to the beach with Emmy for her last regular season meet.  We usually have late Friday night meets that get us home around midnight.  But since this was earlier, we enjoyed dinner and shopping before we headed home.  

a crazy week

We had a hard time finding a time to get all of Emmy's school friends together to celebrate her birthday this year!  We settled on President's Day because it was a school holiday, and nobody had sports or out of town events!

The girls love going to the mall so I thought it would be fun to do a scavenger hunt while they were shopping.  We had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen and then the girls had a fun afternoon at the mall. 

One of her friends was sick and wasn't able to join us. 

The girls found the yellow dress on the scavenger hunt and then they all chose a different color of the dress and had a fashion show. 

Shoes with really high heels made for a fun time!

After the mall, we came back to our house for a cookie dough ice cream cake and presents.  

The kids went to school on Tuesday (the only day for Emmy and the second day for Bryce) before getting the rest of the week off for snow.  This storm initially called for anything from 3-9 inches.  After and all-day snow event, we probably only ended up with 3 inches, but it was enough to shut school down.  I don't even know how many days this is now, but they're starting to have virtual days to keep up!

Three of the girls in Emmy's friend group have February birthdays so they've been busy celebrating.  She went to a party on Saturday for one of her friends.  The other friend is going to have her party in the spring in order to accommodate everyone's schedules.    

February is a busy birthday month for us!  Bryce celebrates his sweet 16 this week!  We celebrated with family today!

 

We went to Noodles for lunch and then everyone came to our house for cake and presents.  Bryce has been on a health kick and hasn't been eating much sugar and didn't want a cake.  I told him people want the cake.  He chose Devil's food cake with white icing.  Emmy and I made it, and it was delicious!  We'll celebrate him again on Tuesday after baseball tryouts! 

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!   

Bryce's treat, but no picture of him. 

We left for VA Beach after lunch on Friday for a gymnastics meet.  We got to town with just enough time for a Valentine date. 

Emmy had a tough meet with a fall on the beam, but she came out in 2nd place on the floor!

Emmy's level 7 team placed 2nd.  

Emmy is a TEENAGER

We kicked off Emmy's birthday week with a manicure after school on Monday. 

She came home from the gym on Wednesday night to a fun surprise from MeMa. 

How bittersweet to say goodnight to my 12-year-old knowing she'd be a teenager in the morning!

Emmy got up early for presents and birthday donuts.  She was excited to be gifted highlights and a haircut for her birthday.  

I brought her Chick-Fil-A for lunch and chocolate covered strawberries for a birthday treat for her and her friends!

She was SO excited to get her hair highlighted.  

I had planned for my stylist to do her hair, but we had to make a last-minute change due to the flu, but so glad she was still able to get it done on her birthday!

And she instantly looked like a teenager!

13yo well visit stats:
Height: 58 5/8 in (12th percentile) She grew 4 inches this year!
Weight: 84.6 lbs (17th percentile) She gained 15 pounds.
Blood Pressure: 114/62
This was the year for Emmy's first measurable growth spurt!

Nana and Paul and MeMa joined us for BBQ and cake and ice cream to celebrate.

Emmy picked pizza for lunch and MeMa's chocolate cherry cake for her family birthday party.  It has been a fun week celebrating our girl and the fun isn't over yet.  She gets to celebrate with her friends from school next week.  Long birthday celebrations are way more fun!

SNHS and Charleston

Bryce was inducted into the Spanish National Honor Society this week. 

Bryce works really hard for his grades and we're so proud of him. 

We took Emmy out of school early on Thursday and headed to Charleston.  Of course we made a stop at Buc-ees!  When we got into town, we went to a brewery to relax after the ride and then we hung out by the fire pit at the hotel with another gym family!

Emmy had a good meet on Friday.  The judging was tough, but she did well and had an amazing save on the beam!

We headed to downtown Charleston on our last day to do a little sight-seeing before heading home. 

Jason and I went to Charleston for our 10-year anniversary in 2013, so we decided to recreate this picture while we were here.