Winter Wonderland

I know I just posted pictures of 80 degree weather at the beach so let's shake things up around here! A few weeks ago when my younger brother and sister were in town, we all went snowshoeing in the Rockies! What an adventure! It was my first time snowshoeing and for some reason I had some serious concerns. Mainly being chased by a bear and not being able to get away fast enough. When I found out that if you come in contact with a bear you aren't supposed to run - just stand tall and if they attack, play dead- my fears were calmed. Who knew- it's like bear school.

Here's a few snapshots:

My sister, Lindsay, ready to attack in case we did have to fight for our lives.

I got a hydration pack as a Christmas gift which came in handy! Don't I look totally geared in?!? Mountain woman!!!! Rachael looks like she has long, white, mountain woman braided pigtails.

Let's do this!!!

Gorgeous view of the mountain. The snow looked majestic floating up in the air like that.

Colorful Colorado

Rachael and Dad. Don't you love his furry hat? I got him that for Christmas!

I made a little friend. He was eating a nut!!

This frozen waterfall was so freakin' cool! I felt like an explorer :)

My brother David decided to wander off and climb a mountain without telling anyone. That was like the #1 thing the park rangers were telling us NOT to do but he's a teenager so of course he HAD to do it. I got this shot of him when he finally decided to make his way back down the mountain and re-join his family. We all thought he was a goner.

Oh and Christopher Walken was there too. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

Akward Family Photos

My family is so sweet. They offered to help me improve my photo skills over the holidays.

1. Photo-bombing:

2. Red Carpet:

3. Classic:

4. Engagement:

5. Maternity:

6. "Partners":

That is all.

Pomp and Circumstance

My little sister Rachael graduated from college! So proud of her! It was a busy weekend full of food and family. Here's a few photos: 

Waiting for graduation to begin. My sister Lindsay, my step mom Janet, and Dad:

Rachael's boyfriend Dave there to cheer her on!

So proud of you little sister!

Rachael and Mom :)

Our sister Lindsay came out all the way from New Hampshire! She's the best- she even ran down the halls of the convention center with me when I realized I needed to more time on my parking. We actually RAN. And we barely made it too. The scary meter maid was like 10 cars down from mine writing some other poor soul a ticket.

We made a ridiculous amount of food for the party but by the time I got there a lot of it had already been consumed! We feasted! Rachael and I planned out the menu months in advance and she was busy preparing food and studying for finals even! I wish I had more pictures but for the recipes, check out my board on Pintrest. I did make a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting- my favorite!

My grandma brought these pictures of little Rachael through the years, so sweet! She's always thinking of stuff like that. My absolute favorite picture of Rachael is the one of her in the blue sweater on top. I think she was about 3. How freakin' cute is that?

And if you're wondering, she did just land a new job as an admissions counselor for a college here in Denver! The girl got some education and it paid off! Congratulations Rachael! 

New Landscapes

 Okay, these pictures are from Thanksgiving but I don't care! I still wanted to post them!

I was so lucky this year to spend Thanksgiving in Arizona with my mom's side of the family. My Aunt Maureen and Uncle Bill had their hands full with 11 guests and 4 dogs. Amazing! We did a lot of hanging out around the house and just spending time together. It is not very often that we're in one place on the holidays.

Here is my beautiful little sister, Olivia:

And Grandpa with his apple pie skillz..

We went for a little hike/walk around the neighborhood- totally different from Colorado! My little brother Jimmy wanted to find some "specimens" to take home, hence the plastic glove. You never know what you're gonna find out there:

My awesome Aunt Maureen! She is the hostess with the most-ess and an amazing cook!

Aunt Sarah came all the way from Minnesota to hang out with us! Love her!

Oh and did I mention there was a pool? Definitely not used to going swimming on Thanksgiving but I'll take it! This is where we spent the majority of our time.

Sitting around the table with family is the best. Jimmy came up with these crazy games every night at dinner. The first night, we did eenie meenie minie moe around the table and if Jimmy landed on us, that meant we got to put a napkin on our head- signifying that we would not be going to hell (idk). My sister Rachael was the one who ended up without the napkin on her head- very sad.

On Thanksgiving, we all got a little show when each of the kids sat on Uncle Bill's lap as he acted as a ventriloquist and the kids were the puppets. I broke out some black eye-liner for the occasion. Jimmy even wrote the scripts: 

Oh, and Bill and Maureen have Yorkies! Meet Dixie! Stella's cousin :)

Thanks Olivia :)