February Happenings

The cold stayed with us through February, but that's ok. We kept moving forward with all sorts of activities.

The girls had their mock trial competition one Saturday. They have been preparing for months. Lily did a fantastic job as captain preparing this team. It was a long but very fun day at the Marietta Courthouse as they had three rounds of competition. 

Lily made an excellent lead attorney (both on the prosecution and defense side) while Mia played defendant Casey Famsworth well.

Pictures of Lily examining Avery on the stand, and Mia being sworn in before testifying.

Lily won Outstanding Attorney in both rounds 2 and 3, and she was recognized for participating all four years of high school. She has truly loved being a part of mock trial, and it's inspired her to pursue a career in law.

The Quiz Bowl team became state champions! Way to go Mia and friends!

Originally the school was going to host a bbq cooking competition for the dads. Unfortunately, only a few signed up; I'm pretty sure it's because they knew they didn't stand a chance against Ryan's smoking skills! They pivoted and instead hosted a grilling class for several dads and sons. Ryan was one of the teachers here. I think it was a fun event!

We continued with one of my favorite traditions this year. I love putting admirable qualities for each of the girls on these hearts and sticking them to their doors each night. It reminds them that God has uniquely and beautifully gifted them, and they can use those gifts to glorify Him. We have 14 of them, and they go up Feb 1-14.

We had a charcuterie board Valentine's dinner this year. We included a heart-shaped bruton beauty cheddar, gruyere, triple creme brie, whipped feta, and harbison cheeses. The meats were jambon black pepper & cherry, prosciutto, and fennel salami. There was a strawberry lemon lavender jam, honey, garlic herb spread, roasted garlic cloves, dried sierra figs, dark chocolate covered almonds, and strawberry & pink peppercorn shortbread cookies. Of course there was a variety of crackers and pita chips to enjoy all these goodies on. It was delicious!

We had fun decorating little Valentine houses too. They were so cute!

One of Lily's Christmas presents was for the two of us to go see Dancing With the Stars Live at The Fox. This was such a fun night! We were super high up, but we could still see great. Lily's favorite dancer, Rylee Arnold, was there, and it was hosted by my favorite Olympic athlete, Stephen Nedoroscik ("pommel horse guy") who was Rylee's partner this season. This was an incredibly energetic and exciting show to watch. I'm so glad we got to do this together.

Ryan actually came downtown and sat in the Georgian Terrace lobby while we went to the show. As soon as it was over, the three of us drove over to Birmingham. Lily had a day of classes and interviews for Samford's Fellows program the next morning. This is a two year honors program, and it offers classes in the Socratic style; it's basically a continuation of the classical education that Lily has grown up with. As we looked in to this, we knew it was right up her alley and seemed like a perfect fit. They look and discuss all sorts of great literature "from Plato to NATO." Spoiler alert: she got a call a few weeks later inviting her to join the program! This is such an exciting opportunity for her. Even better, her future roommate, Kenzie, was also accepted!