Updates from March

March wasn't very exciting this year. I was pretty swamped at work (not as if that's new though), Ryan was working, the girls were at school and rehearsal a lot, and it was cold. No too much to report, but here are a few pictures that I managed to get.

Mamma Mia came to the Fox as part of the Broadway series. Ryan said this seemed like a good time to have a girls' night. We were thrilled to have Gabby Fogas join us that evening. She's friends with both Lily and Mia, and she's also in the upcoming Brylliant production of Mamma Mia with them. This show was so much fun! At the end of the show the cast comes out for a dance party. They play a few songs again and encourage everyone to get up and dance and sing along. We couldn't resist!

Afterwards, we ran down to stage door. A lot of the cast came out, and it was cool for the girls to meet the actors who play the same role as them. This was a great evening.

Lily's class got together to hang out one evening. I think they're beginning to really feel that the end of senior year is quickly approaching.

I received two different bouquets of flowers for my birthday as gifts. Look how beautiful they are!

Mia made me a peanut butter pie to celebrate. It was absolutely delicious, and I thoroughly enjoyed it for several days. Plus, it had a really cute smiley face on it!

Ryan and I took our friends, Clay and Susan Corley, to see The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise at the Fox. We weren't really sure about it going in, but we ended up really enjoying it. They did a great job in a unique way of telling his story and how many of his songs came to be. He has a ton of incredible music!

Ryan and I went to CEPAC to see a production called The Thorn. We had heard it was something of a Cirque telling of the Passion story. I'm not sure that's the best way to describe it, but it really was interesting. It told the story of the Bible accurately and in a creative way. I can easily see how this could draw in many people to hear the gospel. I'm really glad we had the chance to see this.

That's it. Like I said, not a lot to share from this month.

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!

A Starlit Ball

 Stonehaven hosted its first ever formal dance for the rhetoric students at the start of the year too. They called it The Starlit Ball. Lily had a fantastic idea to host a "Brunch & Bouquet" party that morning. This was a brunch to spend time together and then putting flower bouquets together for pictures later on in the evening. All the girls from the class as well as the girls from other schools who were coming as dates of some of the guys were invited. Most of them RSVP'ed they could make it. Lily put so much work and effort into getting everything ready. I was so impressed with how creative she was!

She bought so many beautiful flowers from Trader Joes to use for the bouquets and found some pretty ribbons to tie them up.

I made the food for the party (sausage casserole, pigs in a blanket, bacon, cheese grits, and fruit with dip), and Lily put together a very impressive charcuterie board. She had carafes of orange juice, sweet tea, and water out as well. She hand decorated around each of the items and each place setting. It came together perfectly and looked absolutely beautiful!

I am proud of her for putting this together!

Look how pretty all their bouquets turned out!

Way to go Lily!

Mia looked absolutely beautiful in her purple gown!

Mia was excited to invite her friend, Judson, to attend with her. He used to attend Stonehaven but transferred to Pebblebrook for their magnet performing arts program. They've remained friends with a shared love of theater. How cool that he matched with a purple shirt!

Lily was absolutely beautiful in her navy dress; look how great the bouquet looks with it!

Lily's classmate, Nate Grote, asked her to go to the ball with him. His mom made a gorgeous wrist corsage for Lily which she loved.

Lily and Nate left a little early to head to the Marietta Square where the seniors were meeting up for a photo shoot together. Don't these kids look great?

Lots of Stonehaven kids in this picture! Lily and Mia are both right in the front.

The girls left home at different times, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of them together all dressed up beforehand. I was so excited they took a picture for me at the dance!

It was fun to see several pictures from the evening!

The classes had all choreographed dance routines to perform. Way to go Mia and the sophomore class for taking home the trophy!

The Miley family hosted an after party for the 12th and 10th graders since they have Raegan and Hudson in both classes. I didn't see a class picture for Mia, but Lily's class all changed into comfy pajamas to hang out and snap this one. I love these kids!

Overall, I'd say this night was quite a success!