homecoming week

This week was homecoming at both kids' schools.  They had fun spirit days each day.  One day at Emmy's school the teachers were Cruella, and the students were dalmatians.  Emmy will get to go to the dance next year.   

Bryce decided to participate in moms and dads day where the boys and girls switch roles.  

The homecoming theme was welcome to the jungle, so they wore themed clothes to the football game on Friday night. 

I cracked up when I saw this picture.

I had trouble finding a matching tie, but we got the right color at the last minute!

Homecoming through the years. 

The gang's all here!

Bryce's best buds.  

Baseball buddies

They had a huge group.  Luckily, they split up a little for dinner. 

Emmy had pictures for gymnastics instead of practice this afternoon, so the girls went out to lunch and Target afterwards. 

We hosted youth group tonight and got into the Halloween spirit with some pumpkin painting.  

Callie is still just as sweet as ever.  She's getting longer, but she's still so small.  

state fair, volleyball and baseball

Emmy went to the state fair with the Caddells and Jason and Kelly's cousin Josh and his family on Monday night.  She had a blast.  Jason and I went to Bryce's volleyball game instead.  It was a tough game, but we won!  Bryce went to the fair with DECA on Wednesday, but no pictures.  They had a tough loss at volleyball on Wednesday, but it was a good game.  They were worn out for their game on Thursday.  We should have won, but we lost in five sets.    

We were in Charlottesville for baseball this weekend.  It's been hectic being on the road every weekend for the last month, but we've done some fun things.  We went to a brewery, a burger joint, a famous bagel shop and a BBQ place this weekend.   

Bryce continues to play well and make some amazing plays in centerfield.  

 

a busy week

I gave Jason tickets to Weird Al for Christmas, and the concert was this Monday night.  Jason's parking deck is close to the venue, so we parked there, walked to a restaurant for drinks before the show and then walked to the new amphitheater where the show was.  The show was weird as expected, but Jason loved it.  The venue was nice, and it was fun to do something different on a work night. 

Bryce gave Avery tickets to Tyler Childers for Christmas.  The original concert date was in the spring, but it was postponed to this Monday night. Jason was supposed to go to that concert, but it was inconveniently rescheduled for the same night as Jason's other concert.  We gave the ticket to Avery's mom, and she took the kids.  

Bryce had a full week of volleyball.  He had games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  He's enjoying rotating as libero and playing the back row.    

Bryce got to play at Longwood on Saturday.  It was a rainy day, but as we left home in the pouring rain, we eventually drove to clear skies.  

The baseball schedule fell into place just nicely so Bryce was able to go to a concert with his friends when we got back to town.  

Matching tour shirts for Treaty Oak Revival

Bryce played at the Diamond today.  This is where our local double A team plays as well as where VCU plays.  PaPa was a pitcher for VCU, so this field holds lots of memories for us.  The double A team is building a new stadium, and this may have been the last chance to play here.  SO fun!  Bryce played really well and was even invited to a camp in December hosted by VCU.  

Callie is still in full puppy mode.  She loves to play and sleep but when she's playing, she's wide open.  She's still super sweet.  Emmy didn't make an appearance on the blog this week, but she's busy have fun with friends and family.

a weekend away

Bryce and Jason's mahi they caught in Mexico arrived recently and it found its temporary home in our bedroom.  I say temporary because it's Bryce's to take when he moves out some day. 

Bryce had a baseball tournament in and around Harrisonburg this weekend.  We ended up making it a mini vacation and I'm glad we did.  We are so busy at home, that we don't all see each other that much.  I enjoyed the family time for sure.  Bryce had a game Saturday morning and then Bryce went off to golf at Massanutten with two of his teammates so the three of us went for a hike.    

We had time to kill waiting for Bryce to finish golfing, so we continued to enjoy the beautiful day at a brewery.  

The mountains really were a beautiful backdrop to everything we did this weekend.  

Bryce played well and impressed the umps and spectators with his sweet plays in center field.  

Fall is here.  I prefer hot weather and long days, but I do love decorating for fall.

a good week

PaPa would have been 69 this year.  We got ice cream to celebrate his birthday when everyone was done with their sports.  Mema was at the beach with her brothers and sisters.  Bruster's just isn't the same without him.  Peep Callie and her first pup cup.  She LOVED it.  I was worried if dogs could get a brain freeze because she was eating is so fast. 

The theme of Bryce's Friday night football game was USA.  He was prepared with his Tik Tok shop purchase.  

The girls' volleyball game theme at Emmy's school was also USA on Friday. 

We had our 25 year class reunion on Saturday night.  It was a great turnout and a great time.  Covid put a damper on our 20th, so 25 it is! 

We were voted cutest couple for senior superlatives our senior year.  

Of course we had to recreate the picture.  

We continued the celebration with an after party with our group of friends.  So glad we're all still friends after 25 years.  

And of course all of the spouses make it even better. 

This little girl is the sweetest.  She doesn't love a card ride, but we're trying.  We took her on a road trip for Bryce's baseball games on Saturday.  She didn't really settle down on the ride down, but she was great at the games and so worn out that she slept the whole way home.  Here she is in the school car line with me today.  

back to work

After almost two years of being a stay-at-home mom for the second time, I headed back to work this week.  I'll be working mostly full time.  I'm five days a week but have to leave just a little early each day to pick up Emmy from school.  

Jason and I have found ourselves with lots of time in the evenings while the kids are at sports, so we've been enjoying dinners on the deck and working on a deck project.  

The weather has been cool, so I pulled out the fall decorations.  I even had a glass of wine on Friday night.  Something about a Friday night after a work week just hits different now.  We had gone to dinner early on Friday to get to Bryce's volleyball game, so it was nice to come home and unwind on the deck with a glass of wine and s'mores for Emmy.  

My good friend Beth is battling stage 4 breast cancer.  She is such a warrior!  Her neighborhood friends threw her a lovely birthday party on Saturday.  The venue was a cancer retreat center where she has found tons of support while battling cancer and going through treatments.  

All of our husbands were the best of friends in high school and now the husbands and wives are the best of friends.  We were missing a few in this picture.

 

Avery gave Bryce tickets to the Lumineers concert for his birthday and the concert was Saturday night.  He played two volleyball games in the morning and then they headed to DC to Nationals Park for the concert.  

LBD weekend

We are still smitten with this little love bug.  

We had a four-day weekend for the Labor Day weekend, and we kicked it off at the beach.  Kelly was going to the beach Thursday night to watch Taylor play volleyball, so Emmy hitched a ride and had a blast with Taylor's teammates. 

Of course, the boys wanted to go so Jason and I drove them down Friday morning and we met up with the girls. 

A day at the beach is always better than a day at home. 

They were so pleased with their Five Below shirts. 

The girls got dressed up for dinner after the beach, but we took the boys to Chick Fil A and headed home a little earlier than them. 

The rest of the weekend was spent outside enjoying the beautiful weather and watching football while Bryce was at the Bay with Avery's family.