Brooke's Mission Trip To Clarkston, GA

 Brooke decided to go on a mission trip during Spring Break.  She joined a team headed to Clarkston, GA which is one of the most diverse cities in the United States.

Southern Clogging Invitational

 The Southern Clogging Invitational was held in Columbus, North Carolina. 

Juniors

Moving Traditional - 1st place

Hoedown - 1st place

Traditional Moving Line - 2nd place

Standing Line - 4th place

Elementary Team of the Day (Traditional Moving Line)

Seniors

Moving Traditional - 3rd place

Hoedown - 1st place and Grand Champion

Traditional Moving Line - 1st place and Grand Champion

Standing Line - 3rd place

Formations Line - 1st place and Grand Champion

Precision - 1st place and Grand Champion

Overall Amateur Traditional Team (Precision routine)

Overall Amateur Contemporary Team (Traditional Formations routine)

Kayla and Gracie finally had their duo to put on the stage, and they did great! 

Brooke and Neko also put their duo on stage for the first time today.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture. Next time!

Finishing Out February

 Macy hasn't enjoyed driving, especially driving my large SUV. She prefers driving Kayla's smaller car, but it isn't always available to us.  We decided to go ahead and look for Macy a car a little earlier than we had planned so that she would be able to get some more driving time.

Kayla is enjoying her senior year.  She has a morning routine that often includes a cartoon and a nap. 

As soon as there is a warm day this one finds a way to get water involved. 

We ended the month clogging at a senior center. 

Blueridge Winterfest

We traveled to Lincolnton, North Carolina for a clogging competition this weekend. 

Macy continued to work on her blanket. Competitions can be long days, so she enjoys taking something to work on. 

Brooke did a great job with her solo.  She is more confident every time she gets on the stage. 

Juniors

Hoedown - 1st place and Grand Champion Elementary

Traditional Moving Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Elementary

Traditional Standing Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Elementary

Standing Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Elementary

Elementary Team of the Day - highest scoring routine (Standing Line - Popular)

Seniors

Hoedown - 1st place and Grand Champion Junior

Precision - 1st place and Grand Champion Junior

Traditional Moving Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Junior

Traditional Standing Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Junior

Standing Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Junior

Moving Line - 1st place and Grand Champion Junior

Junior Team of the Day - highest scoring routine (Traditional Moving Line - Best Day Ever)

Kicking off February

 Brooke decided that she wanted to try contacts.  It took over a week for her to be able to take them in and out on her own, but she's been excited about them. 

We went bowling, and it is extremely rare that we order food while bowling. The girls loved that their food was delivered by a robot - and a robot cat at that! You can pet the robot and it will pur. 

Battle of the Books - Team Book Jovi

They did a great job, read a lot of books, and had fun!

Fun Times in January!

 Escape rooms are a family favorite.  A Star Wars escape room is even more of a favorite.  This one was fun, and we escaped!

I think someone was a little cold in the house today.

The girls piled into Kayla's bed to watch a movie on her new projector.

Macy started making a blanket from the yarn Chris, Amanda, and the girls gave her for Christmas.  She's made it pretty large so far!

Black and White Dance

 The Verve hosts the Black and White dance every January. Both girls had a fun evening with their friends.

Cataloochee Skiing

Marc has been wanting to take the family skiing. I hadn't been skiing since high school, and it wasn't my favorite thing to do. We took a long weekend and headed to North Carolina to let the girls give it a try.

The machine-made snow was wet and icy.  It was constantly blowing on us, but the girls started getting the hang of moving on skis.

Part of the deal for me was that when I was ready to be done for the day, no one would complain or argue.  I wasn't out long before I opted to stay warm inside and keep us a spot in the lodge. 

The girls popped in and out. Brooke had a rough time down the green slope and ended up with a slight injury to her eye, so she ended up calling it a day.

I'm not sure skiing was their favorite, but maybe they'd try it again somewhere where snow wasn't being made all day long. Macy was super excited to use her snowball maker before we headed out.

The drive down the mountain was scary.  The roads were starting to ice, so we needed to get out of there. Marc had to ride the brakes most of the way down, and are car started smelling as we neared the bottom.  We ended up pulling over at the base and letting the car cool down and rest a bit. We started home, debating on if we should find a hotel for the night, but after talking to a friend from the area, we decided to make it around the last mountain where he said it should clear up.  Thankfully we made it home safely.  It was definitely an adventure filled weekend!