good friends

We had a great time at dinner on Friday night with our good friends.  We don't get together nearly enough, but we try to as often as we can.  

Celebrating Leighton's birthday.

These girls have been best friends since sixth grade.  Three of them have February birthdays.  Two of them were this week.  They went to dinner on Wednesday night for one birthday and then dinner and a sleepover on Saturday for another one. 

valentine's day, a meet, and the rest of emmy's birthday

Emmy had a spirt day on Friday and she borrowed something of mine so she wouldn't have to wear a uniform.  I was excited that she wanted to borrow something of mine, so I had to document it.  

Emmy's Valentine 

Bryce's Valentine.  Jason, Emmy and I had to leave early for gymnastics, but I think Bryce loved his treats!

We got to the beach early for Emmy's meet, so we stopped for brunch at our favorite place, Doc Taylor's.  A festive mimosa was perfect for Valentine's Day. 

Emmy was in good spirits for this meet.

Emmy had a great meet.  She placed 2nd on beam, 1st on floor, and 3rd all around.  This is a big meet with tough scoring, so she was pleased with her results.  

Bryce and Avery went to Mellow Mushroom for their Valentine dinner. 

Avery made Bryce the sweetest Valentine.  

Emmy's friends got together today to celebrate her birthday.  They hung out and bedazzled their products, went shopping, went to dinner and then had cake and ice cream.  

I'd say it was a great week OR two of celebrating!!

 

emmy is 14

Birthdays are always fun around here!  Emmy got her nails done on Monday to kick off the week. She was still out of school due to snow/ice on Monday and Tuesday.  Jason and I celebrated our 29th dating anniversary on Tuesday and had a nice dinner.  But back to birthday fun, Emmy got a new phone and had a fun day.
Well visit stats:
Height: 60.5 (made it to 5ft) 15th percentile
Weight: 100.8 33rd percentile
Blood Pressure: 116-64

Emmy's birthday was on Friday, and she was happy to be at school.  Her friend Leighton decorated her locker, gave her a pinata and gave her a birthday crown to wear for the day.  

Jason delivered CFA lunch and a mini Crumbl cookie order I had made.  Her friends loved them!

After school we set up her phone and then cashed in on birthday freebies.  First stop was Starbucks. 

We went to Five Below for a phone case and happened upon the LAST dumpling!

Next up was Sephora.  We still need to go to Ulta. 

We went to Sedona Taphouse for dinner.  It's a family favorite for sure. 

MeMa wasn't feeling well, but Nana and Paul joined us. 

They posed for a nice picture after Bryce pelted her with a snowball. 

After dinner we came home for cake and ice cream.  This was the sign her friend made for her locker. 

Emmy had a friend come over for a sleepover because they were going skiing the next day.  

The kids went skiing for the first time on Emmy's birthday five years ago.  Bryce loved it and has never looked back.  Emmy hated it and was fine to never do it again until it looked like a lot of fun when we went to Snowshoe this year.    

We told her it would be good to get a lesson if she wanted to try it again.  So, she brought a friend to make it more fun.  They had a two-hour lesson and then they were off.  

Bryce said that Emmy was a natural.  I was so glad she picked it up and loved it.  She and her friend spent the day on the green slopes. By the end of the day, she was ready to try a blue.  Bryce took her out for the blues and then got her on a black diamond.  It was definitely a successful day.    

We brought Bryce's buddy with us so they could snowboard while the girls skied.  

Emmy requested MeMa's chocolate cherry cake for her final celebration of the weekend.  We went to Noodles for lunch with the family after church.  It was a full and fun weekend celebrating our best girl.  

 

winter weather part 2

It's been a long week.  Evidenced by the snow day delirium of seeing how far we could stretch mozzarella stick cheese.  The kids missed the whole week of school if you're wondering.   

Virtual/Remote learning days are not the best, but we're trying to work through it. 

The kids did escape to the Caddell's for a little while this week.  Stairs, sidewalks, and driveways are ice skating rinks, but the streets aren't too bad. 

This was our driveway after the ice.  You could drive over it and not even put a dent in it.  We finally put the sun and warmish temps to our favor and chipped away at the driveway.  

Once Jason broke it up, it was easy to push it away.  

It was hard work, but we did it.  Sore muscles and all!

These vibration plates are all the rage and I needed one!  I've had plenty of time to test it out while we've been iced in. 

Jason and I snuck out one night for a break from cooking and running and unloading the dishwasher.  We met some friends and it was a fabulous night out.  Bryce is already out of school Monday and Tuesday and Emmy on Monday.  We're hoping to get a few days with temps above freezing so we can get sidewalks and parking lots clear for school to go back.  

 

winter weather

The kids were out of school on Monday for MLK, so Bryce went to Massanutten to snowboard with the Atlee ski club.  He drove himself and made it to and from safely and had a great time.  He's second in line on the right side.  Emmy slept in, made some money cleaning with Nana and then went to the mall with friends.  The rest of our week was spent prepping for a snowstorm.  

Emmy's school had a parent/staff vs student basketball game on Frida night.  She skipped gym so she could go with friends.  It was a theme night, and she and her friend won most creative.  They got coupons for free CFA meals, and she cashed hers in the very next day!

At the beginning of the week, we were forecasted to get A LOT of snow.  The predictions diminished throughout the week, and it looked more like an ice storm.  We prepped everything we could think of for every scenario.  As of Sunday night, we still have power and didn't seem to get as much ice as predicted.  We're hoping to make it through the night with heat.  We have plenty of food to make it through without power, but it is supposed to be bitter cold, so we hope we keep power.  The kids are out of school tomorrow and may be all week if the temperatures continue to stay so low.    

 

awards all around

We had a volleyball banquet to recognize the players for a great season this week.  Bryce received the most improved player award.  He received this award last year for JV and now this year for Varsity.  I'd say he's ready to tackle his senior season in the fall. 

Bryce went to the varsity basketball game at our rival school on Friday night.  The theme was camo and he and a buddy got a picture with one of their favorite teachers. 

Jason, Emmy and I headed to Christiansburg on Friday for the Rockstar meet.  To say Emmy "rocked" it is an understatement.  She started on the vault and that event typically sets the tone for the meet.  This is her weakest event that we can't seem to understand the skill and the scoring.  She flipped what looked like a similar vault as usual, but when her score came up, I almost fell on the floor.  She got a 9.55!!  We are typically ecstatic if she gets a 9.0.  This was huge!  She was in first place until someone knocked her out with a 9.6.  She got second on vault.  She also placed second on bars and beam and had an amazing dismount with a perfectly stuck landing!  She performed her best floor routine to date and scored a 9.75 earning her first place on the floor.  She ended the night in first place all around.  It was a great night!

It was a late-night meet, but it didn't stop us from closing down the local Outback afterward.  It was a fun time with teammates. 

We got home from the meet in time to join our group of high school friends and spouses to celebrate a birthday.  Most of us our local, but we had one friend drive up from South Carolina to join us.  

california

We left bright and early Friday morning for California.  

We arrived around lunchtime.  Since we knew we weren't doing Disney on this trip, we headed to the beach like we always do when it's an option.  We went to Huntington Beach and ate at a fun restaurant, Emmy did some shopping, and we walked on the pier. 

We wrapped up our beach day with ice cream and then headed to our hotel.  We had dinner with the other gymnast from our gym and her family before calling it an early night since we had an early morning.  

Saturday was meet day.  The host hotel of the meet was right across the street from Disneyland so of course all of the gymnasts got Mickey ears.  

Team Virginia consisted of two girls from our gym and four girls from a gym in Northern Virginia.  

I liked the purple leos.  I doubt she'll wear it again, but it is cute!

Our girls and our coach. 

Team Virginia and coaches. There were 17 teams represented at the meet.  (16 states but California was divided into two teams) Virginia placed 4th which is great!

Emmy placed on beam and floor.  It was a fun experience and nice to compete against different gymnasts.  You start to have the same competition locally, so it's nice to see other talent.  And luckily, none of the other teammates from team Virginia were in Emmy's scoring group so it was a fresh set of athletes.  It was a whirlwind trip and we only spent one night on the west coast, but it was worth it for our girl to experience it.