Let It Snow

Last week we got a light dusting of snow which then froze when the temps dropped to the teens and twenties, meaning I had a few extra days of working from home and some late arrivals to work.  I'm hoping this isn't the last we see of the snow this season, but if it is here are a few pics to remember our first little snowstorm of the decade :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Christmas {Part IV}

Christmas morning Dad and I headed out to the island for traditional breakfast casserole and family time.  Though it was cold, the sun was shining and it was such a beautiful and quiet day to be out there.  On our drive out we saw so many bald eagles in just about every tree and on every telephone pole so on our way back I made Dad drive the long way out to what I've dubbed "eagle tree" which was full of those beautiful {and, frankly, frightening} creatures.  When we got home there was a bit more drone flying before we settled in for a yummy Christmas dinner.  It was a wonderful Christmas week with the fam and I'm so happy I was able to spend all that time at home :)

special surprises from santa

matching aprons from g&g!

eagle tree

drone flying

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Christmas {Part III}

Christmas Eve afternoon Christian headed back to the city to spend time with his family while I stayed to finish up the holidays with the parents.  My biggest job of the day?  Not taking care of Mom but making sure Dad didn't crash land his new drone into the field {spoiler - he did}.  I spent more time than I'd care to admit searching for a lost part to this new drone {another spoiler - it was on the kitchen counter the whole time} and went trekking into the woods through cow pies and mud looking for said drone that had crashed into a tree and landed out in the middle of the forest.  After finding it in one piece and putting it away for the night, Dad and I headed down to Marsha's for a quick pop in to say hi to the fam and enjoy some of my favorite once a year rice pudding.  It was a quieter holiday missing some very important people but still a fun way to spend a day with those I love.

drone flying

drone hunting

another field, same drone

leonard's take on the cheez-it bowl

kelsey and i got tapped for the reading

family picture in front of marsha's tree was missing a few this year

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Christmas {Part II}

Christmas Eve morning we woke up bright and early to see what Santa had left for all of us, but especially Baby Jack.  We spent the morning opening presents, making breakfast burritos and mimosas, and snuggling sweet Jack before he and his parents headed back over the mountains to celebrate the holiday with the other half of the family.  Our time together always goes by way too fast and I'm anxiously awaiting our next get together to soak up those baby snuggles.  Until then, enjoy all of these pics of Jack's first Christmas which was an extra special one for all of us :)

with his new penguin bestie from auntie stephie

christmas outfit coordinating with nana

baby yawns are the cutest

mimosas

happy boy

love him :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Christmas {Part I}

The best part about Christmas this year?  Jack!  And as you'll see from the many pictures in the upcoming days, he was definitely the star of our holiday season :)  On the 23rd, Christian, Shaun, Sara, and Jack all arrived to the valley to start our short but sweet Christmas celebrations.  C and I headed out to visit with Grandma and Grandpa for a bit then quickly headed home to spend as much time with my cutest nephew as possible.  Turns out visits were popular that night as old neighborhood friends descended on the house as we were preparing our traditional lasagna dinner.  While the dinner ended up being pretty well done and we ate a little later than anticipated, we didn't care because the best part about the holidays is spending time with loved ones and we did just that, catching up with friends and getting lots of Jack snuggles :)

not so sure about this selfie thing

new friends

some traditions will live on forever

xoxo,
stephanie marie