i haven’t done a monthly recap since june [oops] and i have plans on updating you guys on allllll the stuff between summer and december at some point, but in the meantime, i don’t want to continue getting more behind, so i’m hitting december now and will hopefully be posting on january sometime in the near future! in december, priscilla and mike got engaged [!!!], we went to rob and ashley’s wedding, went to breckenridge to celebrate christmas with my dad’s side of the family, celebrated christmas with my family in denver, had a little christmas with just jamie and me, aaaand went to deadwood to celebrate christmas with jamie’s family over new years. WHEW! it was very busy, but also tons of fun. here are some photos of the other things that went on:
{we’ll start with more photos from mike and priscilla’s engagement! we went to henry’s majestic in dallas for a late lunch/early dinner [which dallas people call “brunch” on the weekends, haha] prior to setting up the proposal site. i had missed this place!}
{AND it was so nice [even in december] that we could actually sit out on the patio!}
{this was called “the dude abides”: rum, coffee liqueur, espresso ice cubes, milk. the perfect cocktail for afternoon brunch before a late night of festivities!}
{breakfast ramen: bacon, egg, hangover broth, greens, mushroom, handmade noodles.}
{and then it was time to decorate for the engagement! here was the area that we helped set up for the proposal.}
{all ready for mike and priscilla! this was right before we drove away down the street…}
{that one on the left was taken right after it happened. mike looks sooooo happy it’s over with! ;) and then the one on the right is when they first walked into the surprise party with all their family and friends there.}
{another one of them walking in}
{the ring!!!}
{my mom had this gorgeous cake made… it’s priscilla’s favorite, from henk’s black forest bakery in dallas [which is a really cool place btw], and mimi had these cookies made by one of my mom’s friends!}
{aren’t they cute?}
{the lovely mothers of the bride and groom to be! and i’m so happy to get to have a sister!}
{love them!}
{both families together!}
{my mom redecorated the guest room and i love it so i wanted to share! the bed was mimi’s when she was a kid.}
{that brown table normally isn’t there but she had to move it from the living room in order to put the christmas tree up.}
{i’m such a sucker for pops of color in a room!}
{this little boy vacillates from being a pistol to being a sweet cuddly angel boy. here is the angel side of him, haha.}
{i took a random monday off and was in my own little version of heaven sipping peppermint coffee in front of the christmas tree and a fire in the fireplace while planning out my day. it was glorious! and there on the right, the stockings were hung by the chimney with care… in hopes that some day i’ll get a mantle again so the stocking holders stay and no longer plastic hooks will be there…} ;)
{more christmas decorations!}
{a few pics that my parents sent me… shiner getting a massage after dinner and then on the couch cuddling his toys!}
{i love these particular starbucks cups! and a really horrible thing happened this month… two of my former employees passed away in a motorcycle accident. they were brothers, and their parents live in puerto rico. it was absolutely heartbreaking, as they were wonderful young men. we had so many hilarious stories about while they worked for us – they were a lot of fun. praying that God is with their family during this extremely difficult time.}
{noelle invited me to go to zoo lights with her and some of her friends, so we got a picture with santa!!}
{it was extremely cold this night, but it did get me into the christmas spirit!}
{and we did see a few animals! besides the otters and elephants, i got a kick out of the penguins and seals. they all had lot of personality on this evening!}
{we also watched this guy making ice sculptures, which was pretty neat.}
{a few that he had made}
{from a fun date to taki sushi that jamie and i went on! yellowtail jalapeño with pepper soy sauce. and cilantro! sooooo good.}
{yummy sushi rolls.}
{and for dessert – strawberry mochi ice cream!}
{shiner loves laying by the fire!}
{denver central market… i brought noelle dinner + a cupcake from here when she had to put down her beloved cat fluffy.} :(
{jamie’s mom karen, his sister hope, and i had a wonderful time shopping at some neat stores in downtown sioux falls on rob and ashley’s wedding weekend!}
{look how cute the twins are!}
{pizza night! yum.}
{i was so excited to see the cabin in the snow… these were some photos that jamie’s mom sent to us before we went. it really was a winter wonderland.}
{it was even a bit of a winter wonderland in denver over the holidays! that picture on the left is the courtyard at my apartment. and on the right… it’s a stuffed e. coli o157:h7 microbe! i gave one of these to my coworker kenny for christmas as well as to the lab we work with. they really got a kick out of them since we deal with e. coli o157:h7 testing every day. we’re nerds and we know it!! haha. if you’re a fellow science nerd and are interested in getting a stuffed version of a microbe that’s close to your heart, i got mine here. if you get the minis, they even come with a petri dish!}
{the christmas tree as it was building up some presents. and i finally finished a scrapbook that i made for jamie of our first year together! it was soooo thick – i’m pretty sure i captured every last moment from that year!} ;)
{flowers from my sweet boyfriend after a rough and exhausting week. he’s the best!}
{i’d say that everyone was pretty good this year!}
{another photo of jamie + his siblings growing up! he’s the cute little stud there on the right… he would have been three, almost four here. i can’t get over all these pictures!}
{scenes from wyoming on our way back from the cabin: some big-ass icicles and “a bucking good time.”} ;)
{i took jamie to osaka ramen so he could try ramen for the first time! it’s especially delicious when it’s cold outside.}
{shiner the little sharky! ha, i love him!}
and that’s just about all of my december! can’t believe we’re already almost in month #2 of 2018!