Halloween and a BIG meet

I never saw either kid in their Halloween costume.  I dropped Emmy off to get ready with friends and then they trick or treated and had a sleepover, so I didn't see her until after Halloween. They looked cute in their minions/Despicable Me theme.  

Bryce's costume theme changed so many times, I'm not sure what he wore on which day.  He celebrated on Friday and Saturday and I eventually got this mismatched picture of Top Gun and fire fighter theme.  Who knows!

Emmy had an exciting meet on Saturday.  This particular meet is only for level 7's and they can qualify to represent Virginia at a meet in California.  Emmy did this meet last year but was a ball of nerves with the high stakes. This year, however, she had a great meet and placed 3rd all around in her age group/division.  

The top six gymnasts qualified for the meet.  It was a very even split of qualifiers with 3 girls from our gym and 3 girls from another gym.  One of our gym's qualifiers went last year but wasn't going to be able to make the trip this year so the next highest gymnast from the other gym qualified.  Emmy is so excited to go to California to represent team Virginia in January.  

Emmy has been competing the same vault for four seasons now.  It has been a struggle for her to flip it consistently well.  This weekend though, she flipped it when it counted.  Her vault score typically keeps her out of medal contention at meets, but today it was strong and what put her over the edge to qualify.  We were all so excited.  

It's always fun to leave a meet with hardware.  4 medals this time!

Emmy has had a bit of transition to start off this meet season.  She was promoted to level 8 at the end of last competition season.  She trained with that team all summer but as this season started, she didn't feel like she was jiving with her team and was anxious about the work that needed to be done to be competitive at this new level.  Last weekend's season opener meet helped her see the road ahead of her and she ultimately decided to drop back down to level 7.  I think that was all the confidence she needed to jump back on the familiar saddle of her comfort zone and perform well at this meet.  I was glad she was able to articulate her struggles and make a decision that was best for her.  We're looking forward to an exciting season!

a busy weekend

We had a low-key week and a fun weekend.  Emmy had a birthday party for a friend on Friday night.  They dressed up, went out to dinner and had a sleepover.    

It was a chilly night, but they looked cute!

Bryce went to Blacksburg on Friday night for the game.  Jason ended up having to drive him to meet up with everyone, so he stayed for the game.  

I got lots of one-on-one time with Callie this weekend while everyone was living their best life.  

Emmy went to another friend's house on Saturday night for a bon fire.  They had festive food, made pumpkin bouquets and enjoyed s'mores around the fire. 

Practicing for homecoming bouquets next year.  

Emmy has made such a sweet group of friends at her school.

Meet season kicked off today.  Low quality pictures.  High quality gymnast.  

Emmy placed 2nd on beam. 

 

We realized tonight was our only night left to carve pumpkins before Halloween.

Callie was a big helper.

She almost went with 6,7 but went with the next most popular thing, a bow!!

Bryce asked, "why is carving a pumpkin even a thing".  Made me wonder if he was just doing this to humor me or if he really wanted to know, ha!

Never too old for a tradition. 

Happy Halloween!

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.