spring break day 3

The kids headed to Washington DC today for a Washington Nationals game. 

The only one without a glove or Nationals attire on got a ball from a player.  She's cute! 

Isn't she cute?!

You've hit it big time when you make the big screen.

spring break day 2 - passion for kindness

Bryce's class has spent a good amount of the year talking about kindness.  They have focused on random acts of kindness they can do each month.  They have also been working on a Passion for Kindness Project throughout the year.  They were going to be given $10 and they had to make a plan to spend the money to carry out an act of kindness.  Bryce decided he wanted to donate supplies to the SPCA.  They were given their money on Friday so they could carry out their act of kindness this week over spring break.  

We found a wish list for our local SPCA and made a plan to get as many items as we could with the $10!  We started off at Aldi for green beans.  These are treat for dogs on a healthy diet!

They were looking for specific training treats to we made a stop at Pet Smart where he spent the majority of his money.  We found later that Target had the same treats for a little cheaper, but what do you do?

We also picked up some waste bags and limited ingredient dog food (that was specifically on the list) at the dollar store to round out his purchases.  We put it all in a cute basket and off we went to the Richmond SPCA.  

Lots of great photo ops!  He'll get to make a slide show to detail his project when he gets back to school.

The "Be Kind" sign was a perfect back drop for our project! 

This sweet lady was happy to take his donation.  

When we were done, we were able to tour the facility and see all of the sweet cats and dogs they had for adoption.  This was a great opportunity and experience for Bryce and Emmy too!

spring break day 1

The kids stayed with MeMa last night since we were at the wedding.  She had a fun day planned today to kick off spring break.  Their first stop was Westmoreland Sate Park to hunt for sharks teeth.

Spring break is early this year and it doesn't really feel like spring.  They didn't last long looking for teeth because it was too cold!

Their next stop was George Washington's home, Mount Vernon. 

A fun and educational day was had by all.

wedding weekend

The wedding festivities started on Thursday night.  The wedding wasn't until Sunday but there was another wedding at the venue on Saturday so that couple got the traditional Friday/Saturday time slot.  The original plan was for the wedding to be outside, but the impending rain for the weekend moved us inside.  Luckily, the venue was just finishing the outdoor structure so we could use it on Sunday.  It ended up looking so beautiful.  

On Friday morning some of us went to a barre class to burn off the last few calories we could before eating our way through the weekend!

We went to brunch after barre and got much needed mimosas.  

After brunch we all went home and showered and got ready for our afternoon of pampering.  We got mani/pedis and then spray tans.  I brought us some snack to enjoy while we took turns for our tans.  

Saturday night was the rehearsal dinner.  Some of the wedding party couldn't make it to town for the rehearsal Thursday so the bride waited for Saturday when everyone could be there.  

We were back at the Milestone clubhouse where we had her bridal shower.  It's such a nice place.  There was a Chipotle bar, yummy drinks and the bride and groom gave gifts to the wedding party.  She made me cry talking about our 21 year friendship!

She gifted us these bags with our names on them filled with goodies for the wedding day (earrings, scarves for the cold, swig cups, and more).  Her finace/now husband gave her a turquoise glock!

I cherish this group of girls.

We all arrived at Alturia Farm at 7am on Sunday to get ready.  I thought our dresses looked so pretty all lined up ready to go.

Here wedding dress was beautiful.

And the cutest little flower girl dress to match our rose gold dresses.

The flowers were gorgeous.

After a morning of hair and make-up, we were ready to go!  Everyone looked amazing.  Especially the bride!

Nails, toes, tan, hair, make-up, fancy dress, shoes and earrings sure can make a girl feel pretty.

I was honored to stand by her side on her special day.

My mom stopped by to see us so we snapped a quick picture before heading to the ceremony.

It was a good thing the decision was made to have the ceremony inside.  As we were walking in, it started to sprinkle and the wind picked up as a cold front came in.  The structure was open so we were cold and wind blown, but we were dry.  We were still looking pretty good for pictures after the ceremony.  Jason wanted so badly to sport one of his tacky suits he's known for, but I begged him to dress normal so we could get a good picture of us.  I think we succeeded. 

Cheers to Mrs. Kothe!

The reception was the best party I've been to in a long time.  So much fun and the food was delicious!

YUM!!!

We were missing one of the girls in this picture.

Ready for the sparkler send off!  

Getting ready to head off in to the sunset with her hubby!

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Kothe

I wish them many years of happiness!

march madness

March came in like a lion with a flu diagnosis for Emmy.  She started with a low grade fever on a Thursday night and it was pretty high by Friday morning.  I don't normally take the kids to the doctor right away, but it was bachelorette weekend for my girlfriend and I knew the flu was going around.  Jason got her an early appointment and a quick flu diagnosis.  She rested through the weekend and was good to go by Tuesday.

Bryce ended up getting the stomach bug the same day Emmy was diagnosed with the flu, so it was a long weekend of sickness.  Jason was a trooper and stayed with them so I could still enjoy the bachelorette weekend!  I kept the kids home on Monday to make sure they were all germ free.  By lunchtime, you could tell they were done being stuck inside for 3 days.  We ended up going to lunch and then to Barnes and Noble to cash in their free birthday treats.

Emmy loves chocolate and Bryce does not!

We stopped by the bakery one day after school to order pies for pi day and the kids needed a donut snack.

We don't frequent the bakery as often as the kids would like, but it's probably best for all of us!

Bryce's tournament season was supposed to start the first weekend of March, but endless rain canceled it.  When we finally did get out for the first game, it was still wet and SO cold.  The first day didn't go well with a loss and a tie.  

It was miserable playing conditions, but it's always fun to see the team play.

We finally had a sunny and warmer weekend for sports.  Emmy had her first softball practice and is so excited to be playing with all girls this year instead of a baseball team with a mix.  

Bryce had a tournament that weekend and his team went 1-1.  We even got a little sunburn at his game.  We had forgotten what the sun looked and felt like.

Bryce is growing up so fast.  I took him to get a haircut and he looked so handsome!

I'm hoping March goes out like a lamb as I'm in an outdoor wedding on Sunday and we're hoping for sun and a little warmth!