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! 

new years week

It was a pretty quiet end to the week.  Bryce did some work for Nana and Emmy went to the gym. On Thursday we surprised Bryce with an early birthday trip to Snowshoe to snowboard next week.  We sent him on a little scavenger hunt through the house to make it a little more exciting.  He was skeptical at first! 

But he was quite excited by the end!

Bryce went to Wintergreen to snowboard on Friday, so the girls bundled up and went to Winterfest before they close, and our passes expire.  Emmy did a little ice skating.  

It was cold so we didn't last too long, but we ended our era of season passes on a good note.  The kids have phased out of amusement parks, so we didn't renew our passes.  Bittersweet but the older I get the fear of roller coasters has me ok with not going back for a while!

NYE

3rd annual NYE hibachi dinner.   We think we might mix it up next year and go to Applebee's!

After dinner we all divided and conquered.  Emmy went to a friend's house for the night, we dropped Bryce off with friends and then we headed to hang out with some of our friends. 

Kasey is my party twin.  We matched at Christmas too!

Emmy and Lexi ringing in the new year. 

I didn't get any pictures from Bryce. 

Happy New Year!  Best wishes for a great 2025!

all things christmas

We kicked off the Christmas celebrations at Nana's house on Christmas Eve.  We headed over early afternoon for a fun game, lunch, presents and dessert. 

  

We were all spoiled and had a great time with family. 

After Nana's, I did a quick outfit change into a new dress, and we were off to Christmas Eve service at our church.  After church we dropped Bryce off to exchange gifts with Avery and we went to the Kirby's for their annual Christmas Eve gathering.  It was fun doing something a little different this year. Then we headed home and stayed up way too late getting ready for Christmas morning.

Emmy wanted a vanity this year.  She got it and all the accessories and products to fill it up.  Bryce got a new grill and radio for his jeep and plenty of other goodies. 

After a quick present exchange, we got ready and went to Kelly's for breakfast, presents and the second annual saran wrap ball.  We headed home for just a bit to move Emmy's vanity to her room so she could start setting it up and then we headed to Nana's for stockings, and I made us a fun Christmas tree charcuterie for lunch.    

After Nana's we went home for just a minute and then headed back out to Jason's grandma's house.  We visited for a bit and then came home to relax and enjoy the rest of Christmas at home.  

We ended up doing our annual Beljacklock Christmas party after Christmas this year.  We dressed in glitz and glam and had a great time.

Saturday night we did Christmas with another one of our favorite friend groups.  

We have the best time when we're together even if it's only a few times a year.  

Bryce went to the Commanders game with Avery's family on Sunday night and we took Emmy out for some fun with a few families from her school including the Caddells.  It's been a fun week of celebrating with friends and family.  

I'm hoping to have a low-key day today!

a little christmas and a lot of emmy

Emmy got out early every day last week.  She had lots of fun things planned at school and with her friends.  

Her friend group from school had their second annual secret Santa reveal party.  

The 7th grade got to go on a field trip.  They went ice skating, to a park and to Chick Fil A for lunch. 

You can't beat the private school life.  They foster so many opportunities for fun and friendship.

Emmy's friend group from the gym also did their second annual secret Santa reveal this week and then they headed to the winter wonderland themed gym Christmas party.  

Bryce had a full week of school with not many fun things thrown in.  Once school got out for break, he's been doing an all-day lifeguard certification to get ready for summer work, so he's been busy.  He has had some time for friends and a movie, just no pictures!

a fun christmasy week

We went to see Santa on Tuesday night. 

All the kids are busy these days, but we still managed to find a small window for our annual Santa picture.

Emmy had spirit week at school this week.

Bryce had his end of season volleyball banquet on Friday.  Only three JV players received awards, and Bryce got the "most improved" award.  He also go a varsity letter and volleyball pin for his postseason play!

Jason and I went to a Christmas party hosted by an old co-worker on Friday night.  

We love hanging out with this group. 

We were only missing one couple this year. 

This sweatshirt has provided many twinning moments!

The signature drink was these Christmas margaritas with glitter.  So fun!

I made a veggie wreath.  I still love a good, themed food. 

I can't believe Christmas is almost here.