Winter Break

 We survived winter break this past week. Overall it was pretty rainy and VERY cold, but we made the best of it with a movie marathon and adding in some baseball and extra gymnastics. Our previous school district did not have a whole week for winter break, and it was honestly a little too much after all the COVID quarantines and restrictions. We were all ready to get back to the real world this week!

The kids and I did make pinecone bird feeders, so the birds could tolerate the freezing temperatures a little more.

Rosie also seems to love the bird feeders. The peanut butter base must be too tempting because I have caught her jumping into the air several times to reach the pinecones in the trees.

While Tuttle officially started back baseball this week on his new team, Maggie competed in her fourth meet of the season hosted at Roswell Gymnastics.

Her hard work paid off when she took home 3rd on beam, 4th on bars and floor, and 5th all around. She received a 9.225 on beam and a 9.025 on floor- her first 9's of the season! Her team also took home 4th place at the meet. Maggie is still beaming over her scores and medals.

A huge highlight of the week was going to dinner with the Burkes. We just love Paul and Val and cannot wait to see them again! The service left a lot to be desired, but the company more than made up for it!

The weather is predicted to reach the high 60s this week, and we will be outside soaking up the sunshine as much as possible. I know it is just a tease, and we will have more cold snaps, but we are ready for spring and pool time!

Valentine's Day

 We celebrated the sweetest Valentine's Day with our family yesterday. Breakfast included a themed plate of our favorites.

Maggie and Daddy made banana bread from scratch as a treat for later.

Tuttle did not join us until late afternoon because he spent the night at Gram and Grump's house on Saturday night. Only the oldest grandchildren were invited, and Landon and Tuttle savored every second without younger siblings around them. I love that Gram and Grumps are inviting the kids over more individually, so they can really focus on each child. The sleepover included a trip to the bookstore, playing cards, attending church, and going out for breakfast. Jacob is looking forward to his turn next!

Maggie has been planning a family Valentine's Day party for weeks now. She spent her own allowance to buy decorations and made homemade additions, too. She organized games, music, and snacks. It melts my heart how much she loves her family, especially her brothers.

Jay hung new art and a mirror in our master bedroom as my Valentine's gift. Since hanging anything is the last thing Jay wants to do, it was the perfect act to show me some love!

The kids are out of school this week for winter break. While the rest of the country is getting tons of snow, we only have very cold rain. We are counting down the days until warmer weather- our family was not cut out for winter!

All The Love

 Maggie and Tuttle had a big sports weekend, and Jay, Jacob, and I were all there to cheer them on! Maggie started off our busy Saturday with a gym meet at the Georgia World Congress Center.

The entire family attended to watch Maggie, and she performed so well! She took home 6th on bars, 7th on beam, and 8th All Around. Level 4 is definitely more challenging than last year, but Maggie always finishes the meet knowing she did the best she could and ready to train harder for the next competition. I wish I had her drive and determination!

The highlight of the meet for Maggie was meeting the YouTube star, Whitney, who was also competing at the meet. Maggie's team lost their minds when they found out she was also there, and Maggie begged to meet her!

We left straight from the meet to watch Tuttle at his baseball evaluations. It was super cold, but that did not stop Tuttle from really showing what he could offer on the field. I cannot wait to cheer for Tuttle this season!

This week is a little disorganized with Jacob attending Pre-K virtually due to a spread of COVID among the preschool staff. He was interested in the Zoom meeting today, but I do not know how long that enthusiasm will last with online learning. I cannot even fathom having him in virtual learning for an extended period of time like so many of my friends!

Another Covid inconvenience is sending in valentines early, so they can "quarantine" before the students touch them. It is really comical, but we got everything together this weekend. I honestly teared up realizing this is the last year that Tuttle will be taking class valentines to school. How can he possibly be in MIDDLE SCHOOL next year?

Jacob already celebrated with his friends last week, but I hope the Thorne kids feel all the love this week at school!

Brush It Off

 Maggie competed in her second gym meet on Saturday and made a huge come back from the first time one a few weeks ago. 

We agreed that the goal should be to improve scores on all four events, and except for a bizarre deduction on bars (we believe she lost points for touching the bar prior to starting her routine when the springboard was adjusted), she brought all her scores up significantly! 

The biggest surprise was her performance on vault which resulted in a 4th place medal. She has always hated vault, but she changed her mind after Saturday. She held onto a 1st place title until the last team made their rotation to vault. We were SO proud!

Maggie also received a 7th place medal for beam. All her hard work is really paying off.

This meet really helped boast our tiny gymnast, and she is looking forward to making her corrections and improving even more at her meet next weekend. While Gram usually comes to all her meets, she is taking a break while Jay, Tuttle, and Jacob come to cheer her on at the Georgia World Congress Center.