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. 

it was a cold week

The kids were home from school on Monday for MLK Day.  I watched the inauguration most of the day while trying to stay warm.  We didn't get out of the 20's until the end of the week.  The kids were back in school on Tuesday and then it snowed that night and Emmy ended up having a two-hour delay and Bryce no school on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday we were back on track, and we braved the cold on Saturday night for an oyster roast at the Caddell's. 

recognitions

We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise on Monday morning as we started getting back to our normal routine.  

Emmy was supposed to receive an award last Monday at school but because of the snow it got postponed to this week. Unfortunately, Jason couldn't attend with me because he was still in WV with Bryce.

A boy and a girl from each grade level are chosen for awards each nine weeks.  Emmy received the Radiant Award.  This award is given to students who simply shine.  This is the perfect award for Emmy because she does in fact SHINE!

She's always happy and willing to help and participate.  We're so thankful for Grace Christian School and how it is working in Emmy's life. 

Chase also received the Radian Award.  Two peas in a pod cousins!

The volleyball team was recognized at this month's school board meeting.  It's been fun to continue celebrating this big milestone.  This week Bryce even got sized for his championship ring!

Bryce and his buddies went snowboarding today and the conditions were perfect!

I love that he has something to do during the off-season of baseball.  

an extended winter break

After two weeks of Christmas vacation, the kids were scheduled to go back to school on Monday.  That all changed Sunday night when we got our first snow in three years!  Bryce was patiently waiting its accumulation. 

We sent the kids to MeMa's on Sunday night to get snowed in at her house.  They broke out the snow toys and had some fun on Monday morning instead of going to school.  

Jason and I enjoyed waking up to a winter wonderland at home and not having to go out in the snow!

The temperatures stayed cold, so we enjoyed the snow at home on Tuesday since school was still out.

Things changed drastically on Wednesday when our water supply stopped, and we had to adjust to cold temperatures and no water. This kept school closed on Wednesday and Thursday.  Emmy went back to school on Friday, but Bryce was still out. 

The boys were able to get an early start to their Snowshoe trip since there was no school on Friday.  

The boys had a great time and will never be happy at Wintergreen again.  

We woke up to another round of snow on Saturday morning.  Emmy and I had our fill, so we stayed in bed and relaxed.

Emmy and her friends are all turning 13 this year!  She went to a birthday party on Saturday to celebrate her friend Emma.  They went shopping, had dinner out and then had a fun sleepover.

I picked Emmy up early Sunday morning for a meet.  It was a rocky start on bars with a mishap, but she powered through on the beam next and got a first-place score!

This was just an in house meet with only her gym, so it was good to shake off the dust after a month off from competing.  Emmy went back to school today and Bryce has a two-hour delay, so Jason is trying to get him back to school form their trip in time for a class or two.  Here's to a little more routine and normalcy this week!