January - This past year for Christmas my parents gifted our family with tickets to see Jurassic World Live Tour. It was incredibly fun and such an awesome experience with the girls. This month Grace also started training on the lyra with Ms. McKenna and LOVES it!!
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| Jurassic World Live Tour |
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| Grace and Ms. McKenna on Lyra |
February - This month was quite the busy, but fun one! The girls and I did our annual lineman rodeo outing to support our Duke Lineman. The girls and Garrett attended the father-daughter dance this month, which was Scarlett's first experience and Grace's second. I was able to attend a Legoland field trip with Scarlett this month, which was fun, but she did give me a scare when she blacked out on her first big girl roller coaster. We had our annual state fair trip and took a sweet friend with us this year. Thank you Frank and Jeannine for lending us your child for the day! We attended the Daytona 500 with great friends, whom we are SOOO happy moved back to Florida! Lastly, this month, Scarlett Lily got to train with the one and only Hannah Goldy!
March - We started this month by attending a Zach Williams concert with some very sweet friends. It was an amazing night of worship and music. One highlight of that evening was meeting Cain the band. Paul and April, thank you for this wonderful night. Scarlett had her very first Jiu Jitsu tournament this month. We are so proud of this girl. She fought hard and gave it her all. We ended the month with a trip to North Carolina for spring break to spend some quality time with family.
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| Zach Williams Concert with Friends |
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| 1st Ever Jiu Jitsu Tournament for Scarlett |
April - This month started out strange with spring break not really ending; COVID has come around and the entire country has practically started shutting down. This meant that the girls were now doing school virtually and Garrett and I have both started working remotely from home. This was quite the change, but I will say the girls handled it like champs. I'm so grateful for their teachers and for Garrett and I's jobs. We are able to bring some normalcy to the family despite the abnormality of it all. One way to keep things normal is holding a barn birthday for Grace's 8th birthday. Thank you Melissa for helping to pull this one off. I think Grace is sold on barn birthdays for every birthday! We have started attending church virtually this month, but that does not make Easter of any less importance. Happy Easter!
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| Virtual School has begun |
May - This mothers day, we spent it with our dear friends. And the husbands did great by getting us a nice dinner and helping with the kids, while April and I could just relax for the night. We also visited the fire fighters which was a lot of fun! After a month and half of shut downs, we attended our first barrel race again! So thankful for more normalcy!! Well virtual school and school in general has finally come to an end for the school year and the girls had their virtual awards banquet; Grace received the "Super Smiler" award and Scarlett the "Personal Best" award. We are so proud of them both.
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| Fun at the Fire Station |
June - I took the girls painting this month. I love our girl time! Scarlett has been asking and is finally old enough (in our eyes) to get her ears pierced... she did amazing and was so excited. We also adopted a new member of the family this month. Rory Girl came into our lives at just the right time... Scarlett (our puppy lover) was over the moon and cannot wait to raise sweet Rory and be a good mama to her. Thank you so much Tracie for trusting us with a piece of your heart.
July - This is the month of camps. Scarlett did Jiu Jitsu Camp while Grace got to do Aerial Arts Camp. They both always have such a great time and they looked forward to each and every day. We celebrated little bit's 6th birthday this month; where is the time going?! Sadly, we had to put down our sweet gentle giant, Bailey. Bailey has been a part of our family from day 1 and reached the golden age of 40. We are very heartbroken, but are so grateful that he is no longer in pain. Love that sweet guy!! Scarlett has started riding with Melissa this month and is LOVING it!! Lookout Melissa, you're in for it now; looks like we will have two little barrel racers to keep up with.
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| Scarlett is now riding with Ms. Melissa! |
August - Finally, as the girls would say, BACK TO SCHOOL! They have been counting down to the days they were able to see their teachers and school friends again. This month, I got to surprise my sister in Alabama unexpectedly for her baby reveal... then we were surprised when we found out her and Thiago are having a little boy!! Woohoo!! I am so excited to be an Aunt to the luckiest little guy ever! On the way home from my sisters, we made a pit stop and I got to see my best friend of 31 years. We go years without seeing each other unfortunately, but we never miss a beat. Stephanie, your turn to come down here now!
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| 1st Day of School Looks a Little Different |
September - Grace got to ride in her first larger, multi-day, show. She rode in PacWest and absolutely loved every second. She is growing such a fondness and joy for riding. She also adores all the older girls and looks up to them, so she was on cloud nine getting to hang with them all weekend. Also this month, our sweet Grace Lynn was baptized. This is by far the biggest and best decision she will ever make in life and it brings Garrett and I joy that is unexplainable. If nothing else, this is probably the single most important and exciting thing of the year. I love you baby girl and cannot wait to see what you do for God's kingdom.
October - The girls and I (plus nana this year!) attended our annual mother-daughter retreat and had so much fun. We saw some old friends and also made new ones. Grace had her aerial showcase this month and performed on the lyra for the first time. This is quickly becoming a greater love than silks... I didn't think that was possible. Her Aunt Boo was even able to see the performance which meant the world to Grace. While Boo was here, we got to spend some time with her one last time before baby Mav makes his arrival. We also went trunk or treating this year for Halloween... costumes were quite fitting for each girls personalities.
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| Fun at Mother-Daughter Retreat |
Aerial Showcase Day and Proud Daddy being silly with Grace
November - Scarlett attended another Jiu Jitsu tournament and did amazing! She won a Gold and Silver medal and was on cloud nine! We are so proud of her for how far she has come. Garrett and I celebrated the marriage of our dear friend and former neighbor, Esther. Congratulations Esther and Rusty! Here's to new beginnings and happily ever afters. We celebrated Thanksgiving this month with family and we certainly do have so much to be thankful for. We ended the month with our annual Christmas tree cutting. We sure did get a big one this year too... 13ft! Garrett wants to go taller next year, but I may have to veto that decision.
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| We Clean Up Pretty Nicely - Wedding Time |
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| Time to get our Christmas Tree |
December - We watched Grace perform for Light up Mount Dora and followed up with a stroll through downtown checking out all the beautiful lights. Scarlett attended her first ever belt ceremony this month and was promoted to Gray/White belt!! She also got to meet the one and only Hector Lombard, which is pretty cool! Thanks Coach Annie and David for that wonderful opportunity and event. Another big highlight of not only the month, but of the year, is that we have added another member to the family. Grace now has sweet Freya and is excited to grow with her. I just adore the bond that they are already building.
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| Light Up Mt. Dora Performance |
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| Grace's new baby, Freya |
This year has been quite the interesting one. However, despite the country shutting down, our family was blessed to be able to spend more time together making some incredible memories. Whether this year was difficult, exciting, or emotional for you, I hope that you each can take something positive from it and cherish that. If anything, it has opened my eyes to just how precious and amazing family time is. I hope to continue cherishing this time and valuing it highly, especially as Garrett and I look forward to 10 years of marriage on the 1st!! Happy Anniversary Garrett, I love you forever and a day!
