Kumquats and such

Whenever I want to practice something photography-related, I bribe Reagan with a few marshmallows for breakfast:) Couldn't resist this morning light one day, so I had her strike a few poses. 

The day before I returned to work, we spent some time in Woodbridge with Grandma & Papa! Reagan enjoyed learning how to roll out the play-doh properly - thanks Papa - while Savannah and Grandma made each other laugh. These girls are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents! On the drive back home, the sky was so beautiful I had to stop and take a few shots... Obviously this one has some serious edits, but I've been playing around with my Christmas gift:)

We live in such a cool area...1.5 miles from George Washington's house and about the same from the Grist Mill. We're also surrounded by water. I find water to have a rejuvenating quality to it. When I was living in California, I always felt the even the longest, my trying of days, could be forgotten with a glimpse of the ocean.  In Mt. Vernon, we may not have the ocean, but we have the Potomac and lots of other creeks nearby. It's calming. And full of nature. I stopped here and took a few shots while Savannah napped in the van. Then we went to Gary Michael & Terry's house for French onion soup! Savannah is such a happy baby! And Fallyn is such a pretty dog:)

Jessica's last day with us was a good one because she booked a late afternoon flight, so we got to hang out even longer! On our way to the airport, I sat in the back and snapped a few shots of my two favorite girls. Reagan was absolutely exhausted and barely woke up even to get out of the car. Luckily, Jessica was willing to carry her:) We stopped in Old Town for some pizza and beer before she left. It was such a wonderful visit! Now we begin the countdown until she moves here (hint, hint Jess!).  On our way back to the house, Jason pulled over so I could grab this shot...LOVE the colors!

On our way home from Uncle JP's house, it started snowing. We didn't get too excited because last year, the snow fall was hardly worth mentioning. However, as we slept, the snow continued to fall! As soon as we finished breakfast, Jessica and Reagan donned their snow attire and headed out to play! After a little bit, Jessica's jeans proved to be awful snow pants, so we switched. I have seen the following series of photos a few times online and wanted to replicate them. I had Jessica be my photographer:) 

In late November, Uncle JP emailed and asked if we could come visit while Jess was in town. They live in Columbia, MD, and we don't see them often enough, so we were happy to have the invite! On January 2nd, we finally made it up to their house. Auntie couldn't get enough of the girls...they were so sweet with her! And Uncle JP couldn't get enough of Jason. Despite Jess mentioning about a dozen times that she is a Marine too, Uncle relied solely on Jason for all military-related questions:) We visited for a couple hours and then enjoyed a delicious lunch. Their home is absolutely gorgeous by the way! Check out Savannah's face! What were you telling her, Jessica?! Such a sweet, unscripted moment in thine. Just a few of the delicious dishes they served us!