Making Our List

 We have been making our Christmas list and checking it twice to make sure we keep everything organized in December....

Celebrated Zanna's 40th Birthday ✔

Hosted Maggie's Level 7 Christmas Party at Crazy Love Coffee ✔

Forced Family Fun at Bowlero ✔

Originally we planned for dinner and ice skating at the Avalon, but rain prevented that. Jay suggested we do some family bowling. It was the most fun! Tuttle took home the WIN!

Christmas Piano Recital ✔

The boys played beautifully for family, friends, and shoppers at Von Maur. Maggie has stopped taking lessons due to her demanding gym schedule, but she was there to support Tuttle and Jacob.

High School Football Signing Day and 8th Grade Banquet ✔

We continue to be impressed with Tuttle's commitment to play football. The high school training schedule is a huge responsibility, but Tuttle is excited to take it on!

Organized the Foxhall Ladies' Annual Party ✔

Arranged the December Bacon Club Meeting with a Sock Swap ✔

We loved having this sweet group of boys at our house at 7:30am. Bacon Club has continued monthly throughout middle school, and Tuttle is lucky to start his day with such polite and fun boys!

Partied for Piper's 7th Birthday ✔

Maggie and I treated Piper and Holland to Starbucks and manicures before we joined the real party for a movie and dinner at the Avalon.

Sugar Plum Classic 2023 ✔

Maggie competed in her first meet of the season. It was not the performance that Maggie had planned, but she is ready to move forward, make corrections, and train hard for the next meet. 

The boys tackled rehearsal for the Nativity service at church on Christmas Eve. Jacob will play the part of a shepherd. After church the boys headed to Gram and Grump's house to celebrate Christmas with all the cousins. Maggie and I were so sad to miss this favorite event, but the boys had a wonderful time and brought presents home to us!

Jacob's 2nd Grade School Holiday Party ✔

Jacob and Max went head-to-head in a "Snowball Pong" competition. I am glad the school is focusing on real life skills even during a celebration. :) I cannot wait to see these boys in 10 years dominating the beer pong tables at UGA!

Santa Visit at Phipps Plaza ✔

The lists are officially submitted. A highlight of our Santa visit was driving through our old neighborhood and meeting Ms. Jenna, our favorite next door neighbor, for dinner. It has been two years since we have seen her face, and we finally caught up on all her world travels and adventures!

The kids have wrapped up midterms and final grades. Christmas break has officially begun!

Holiday Season Start

 We hit the ground running with Christmas cheer this year. Immediately after Thanksgiving we put up the real tree in the living room and filled each weekend with holiday activities.

Jay and I always enjoy serving at our church's Christmas Kindness event which provides gifts for local families in need. This function really put the reason for the season into perspective. I helped four families shop, but one particular grandmother had both Jay and me in tears with her gratefulness. I think we have found someone meant to be in our lives.

While the boys did some shopping, Maggie and I joined Gram at the Marietta Tour of Homes on Sunday. I had not attended the tour since Maggie was a baby. The historic houses were beautiful and provided so many new decorating ideas. Thank you, Gram, for a festive day together!

The elves have been up to their antics again, but to be honest, Jacob has little interest in them. Tuttle and Maggie used to bound out of bed every morning to hunt them down, but Jacob just casually mentions if he sees them, sometimes going until the evening until he notices. Much less pressure but also the real possibility for the elves to forget to move. :)

Let's do this, December!

Thanksgiving 2023

 "The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for."

- Norman Vincent Peale

Luckily we get two opportunities to celebrate Thanksgiving with our families. 

We appreciate the Peace Family and Gram and Grumps for hosting this year!

High School Reunion

I cannot believe twenty years have come and gone since my graduation from Harrison High School, but it was already time to celebrate! Thanks to a few amazing graduates that planned and organized a perfect event, we had the absolute best time reminiscing and catching up on life with about 85 classmates and spouses in downtown Kennesaw. The highlight was spending the evening with "The Gang" and realizing we needed to put more effort into our friendships going forward! (We definitely missed Ashley and Allison!)

We laughed about all our teenage antics and took over the dance floor at the after party. I loved high school, and these girls are the main reason!

Just a little PSA. If you are going to buy a round of shots for your friends, make sure they will actually take them, or you will end up drinking most of them and making a fool of yourself. :)

Everyone felt the late night and drinks the next day, but we are already planning our next night out! 

Go Hoyas!

Carving, Costumes, and Candy

 Our much anticipated pumpkin carving contest brought a lot of trash talking, but ultimately everyone produced a pretty amazing creation.

We took the vote to social media, and it was a CLOSE race between Daddy and Maggie. In the end, Daddy claimed victory with his "Ghosty Besties" pumpkin.

Special recognition goes to Jacob for his "Big Jaws' pumpkin that he carved completely by himself!

Halloween looked a little different this year for our family since Maggie and Tuttle both made plans with friends instead of a family walk around the neighborhood. Maggie went home with Hannah after school, and Tuttle ventured to the neighborhood across the street. Luckily I received photos from Hannah's mom throughout the night, and Tuttle stopped by the Mitchell's house for dinner before Jay dropped him off in Fernwood.

The Mitchell Family hosted several families for pizza and chili before the kids took over Foxhall.

Our sweet neighbor, Lindsey Smith, allowed our crew to hitchhike on her golf cart to trick-or-treat. Jacob loved running around with Hudson!

While the kids are still eating too much candy every afternoon after school, Maggie could not take down the Halloween decorations quick enough to start decking the halls for Christmas. Since we do not host Thanksgiving, we use this as an excuse to decorate the house early! 

Happy Hallothanksmas!

Touching Base With The Thornes

 Homecoming for Maggie and Tuttle was such a fun event, especially since they are in school together again. Tuttle played it more relaxed and just met up with friends at the dance while Maggie was invited to pictures and dinner beforehand with a new group of girls. Jacob spent the night with a friend, so I could focus on the older kids.

The following weekend was busy with football games for the boys and the Roswell Youth Day Parade for Maggie followed by the Eras Tour at Phipps Plaza AMC with gym friends. I joked with Maggie that I got her floor seats to the concert because this was the closest she was going to get with inflated ticket prices to the actual concert. The girls dressed up, traded friendship bracelets, belted out every lyric, and took home some merch. Maggie and I channeled out inner "Lover" and "Fearless" vibes. Such a memorable afternoon with these girls!

Sports have not slowed down as football playoffs and meet season are quickly approaching.

I cannot get over all the activates we cram into one week, and the kids continue to meet goals and challenge themselves outside their comfort zones. Jay and I are lucky to know them. :)