{New Mexico Trip // Day 4 // My birthday and a snowmobiling adventure}

 Day four of our trip {January 18th} was my birthday! We had a fun adventure planned for the day and couldn't wait! We tried to sleep in as much as we could so that it would be closer to time for our adventure, but that didn't work for me. I woke up naturally around 7 am every day of the trip. I did hang out in bed for a while, though! 

We just hung out at the cabin for the first part of the day. We cooked breakfast, opened birthday gifts, and then got all of our snow gear ready! It was finally time for...

S N O W M O B I L I N G!!!!!!

{New Mexico Trip // Day 3 // More Taos}

 On day three, the rest of or group wanted to go check out Taos. On the way there we went through Eagle Next and then to Angelfire to show the Moores the RV Resort that we stayed at a couple of summers ago! It was one of the nicest RV Resorts we have ever been to! 

{New Mexico Trip // Day 2 // Exploring Red River and Taos}

 I am pretty sure I could get used to waking up in a log cabin!! Every day feels like a vacation and who doesn't want to feel like they are on vacation every day of their lives? I made a note to "buy a log cabin in the mountains" in my phone! Goals, for sure!!

{New Mexico Trip // Day 1 // Getting to our Cabin}

 Back in November or early December Nate's mom started texting him asking if we'd be interested in a cabin/mountain trip for my birthday in January! Nate didn't even have to ask me. He knows that if the question is mountains that my answer will always be a YES!! So then the search for a cabin began! She found one that fit our family and the time frame that we needed. It was so cute and dreamy! Seeing pictures of the cabin surrounded by snow made my heart so happy! However, when we got there we had to switch cabins!! More on that later...

{Currently // February 2021}

 So, a few days ago I shared our New Mexico post by numbers and then I ghosted this space! Again. I guess I was a little too confident in getting blogging done on top of catching up on work, all the house stuff, and a new semester of school! Hopefully, I can get it done soon because I have tons to share about the trip! But in the meantime, it's time for the Currently link-up with Anne in Residence. This month we are sharing what we are currently loving, reading, remembering, sharing, and wishlisting.

{New Mexico trip // by the Numbers}

We just got back from a dreamy vacation in Red River, New Mexico! Nate's parents planned a trip for my birthday and it was the best time!! I love to recap a trip by numbers, so that's what this post is dedicated to. I think it's such a fun way to look back on a trip! Maybe I'm just a numbers person?!

{A Texas snow day // 2020}

 IT SNOWED!!!! It freakin' snowed in Texas. Sure, we knew there was a chance, but when you live in the Lonestar State that chance is more like a  'haha fat chance' type of thing. Texas is a really big tease if you didn't know. We woke up to a light drizzle but saw the temps were going to drop and that drizzle would turn to snow. Still, it was an "I'll believe it when I see it" kind of morning! Not too much later, Keri texted me and said that they were getting snow at their house only about 25 minutes away! This is when I started getting excited! A bit after that, Keri texted me again and said she was getting snow in town. Her work is only about 8-10 minutes from my house. This is the point where I started checking out the door every five minutes! I'm sure my behavior echoed that of a child on Christmas morning! There is just something so magical about a snowfall (especially in Texas) and I pray that is never lost on me. Finally, a very light snowfall started. Nate and I had a couple of errands we needed to run and decided to do it early just in case the roads got bad. Again, we live in Texas and all we know is ice. We took the Jeep and I asked Nate if we could get some pictures of it in the snow before we got home. Of course, he is amazing and obliged! We drove down to our private lake to capture some photos. 

{Nathan's Birthday // 2020}

 Nathan's birthday is just five very short days after Christmas. Usually, we are out of town either camping or up in the mountains playing in the snow. However, this year, we are heading to the mountains a few weeks later than normal. Nathan actually worked a full day of OT on his birthday. His company gets Christmas shut-down for a couple weeks around Christmas, but they are invited to work if wanted/needed. Nate was invited to work some of the shut-down. Triple time? Yes, please! 

{Christmas at the Stowells // 2020}

 I've made it to our last and final Christmas post {I think! ha}. The Saturday after Christmas we celebrated with my family at my parent's house. We did a "pajamas and pancakes" theme and it was amazing!! We not only had pancakes, but we also had every other breakfast item that you could think of. Pajamas and breakfast foods just happen to be two of my favorite things!

{Currently // January 2021}

 Time for my favorite link-up!! Currently with Anne in Residence! This month we are sharing what we are currently beginning, feeling, organizing, resolving, and wondering.

{Christmas at The Halls // 2020}

 After we finished opening gifts at our house, we went around the corner to Nate's parent's house. It is a tradition to spend Christmas Day/evening at their house. It is usually us, Nate's parents, Nate's middle brother and his family, his younger brother and his wife, Nate's Grandmother, and Nate's Aunt. We were so grateful that NeNaw (Nate's Grandmother) was able to join us this year. There was a recent Covid positive resident at her assisted living and they had been on strict lockdown. Because of that, we weren't sure if she would be able to join us. We are so thankful they let her come! Just to be safe, we all wore our masks the entire time she was with us (unless eating). It is so special to be able to spend Christmas Day with her. What a gift!! 

{Christmas morning at home // 2020}

 The first few hours of Christmas Day are always spent at home! Just me and my boys!! We usually try to sleep in as long as Mason will let us, but this year we were up and at it at 8 am. And not by Mason's choice, but mine! I was already awake and ready for him to see his gifts. I just couldn't help it. Plus, I knew that we had to be at the Halls around 10ish so I wanted him to have plenty of time at home to actually see and open everything. 

{Christmas Eve // Santa Waffles // Stockings // Church}

 This Christmas Eve was probably one of my favorites yet! All three of us were home and made the sweetest of memories together. And, we were able to stay home in our pajamas for most of the day. That's a good day if you ask me! 

{The Christmas Star // Dec 21st, 2020}

 What a blessing it was to be able to see the Christmas Star this year! I kept reading about it on Facebook and knew that I couldn't miss it!! I didn't get that great of pictures because I was so busy just soaking it in! 

{Maggie the Magnolia}

 For Christmas this year, Nate's brother and wife bought us a Magnolia tree! How sweet, right? It was such a thoughtful gift and we love it. I have been wanting more trees around our home and this was absolutely perfect. All of the trees on our property are all at the very back of our land. Anyhow, when Mason saw our tree he said, "Can we name her Maggie the Magnolia?" So, meet Maggie...

{A taste of Christmas // Christmas cookies}

 Mason's elves brought him a Gingerbread cookie decorating kit on the morning of 12/20/2020. Nathan worked overtime that day but got home early. So we decorated the cookies together as a family. We had the sweetest little time! 

{Coffee and Community // A Christmas-y Saturday}

 A few Saturdays ago my sister in love invited Mason and me to coffee at a new shop in town! My mother in love and brother in love also joined us. Nate wasn't able to come because he was working overtime. We went to Vita Coffee House, which is owned by a friend from high school! It was so delicious and decorated so perfectly. I loved the Boho farmhouse-ish vibe of the place. 

{A JEEPin' good Christmas // 2020}

 Silly as it might be, putting these antlers and Rudolph's nose on the Jeep makes my heart so incredibly happy! I love to see the reaction of little kids when they notice it. It's the best! And it just looks so dang cute!!! 

{Annual ladies baking party // 2020}

 We had our annual ladies' baking party on December 13th. This is a night where all of the ladies (well, a lot of them) on my mom's side of the family come together for a Christmasy night! We eat, we bake lots of amazing treats, we play games, we exchange gifts, and we have a blast! Circumstances almost kept us from having this party this year, but we were able to work it out! I'm so glad that we did. It never disappoints. Actually, it's one of my favorite Christmas traditions!! 

{Christmas with my Coworkers // 2020}

 On Friday, December 11th I met my coworkers in Arlington to celebrate Christmas. We ate at Cane Rosso and had some delicious pizza. Then we walked right down the road to Board and Brush. This was our second year in a row to do Board and Brush. In previous years we have taken cooking classes and did Painting with a Twist. We always try to plan some kind of activity and I love it. 

{Elf Magic // 2020}

 Our Elves {Max & Millie and their pet, Cubby} made their 2020 Christmas season appearance on December 1st. They brought Mason all the things needed for a North Pole style breakfast and brought him a Funko Harry Potter Pop Advent calendar! Mason was so excited to see his favorites!!

{Tis the Season // 2020}

 Hands down, the Christmas season is my absolute favorite!! With that being said, this post serves no purpose other than to publish some of the photos I took over the season! I love the coziness of the Christmas decorations and the twinkle lights. And, enjoying a nice cup of coffee by the glow of the Christmas tree is my absolute favorite. 

{Nathan's new truck!!}

 We finally broke down and bought Nate a new truck. He's been needing one for quite a while, but we wanted to take our time and do our research on what we truly wanted. We knew that we needed something that would be able to tow our Jeeps, was a diesel, was roomy and comfortable for travelling. We finally settled on the 2020 Ram 2500. 

{All aboard the Polar Express // 2020}

 If you've been around this blog for a while then you know that the Polar Express is an annual tradition in our family! We love making a weekend out of it and camping and doing all things Christmas. Like I said in the Grinch post, it was a little different this year but we still made the most of it. 

{Merry GRINCHmas // 2020}

 I'm sure it goes without saying {this is 2020 afterall}, but our trip to visit the Grinch's Lair looked a little different this year. We had to purchase tickets in advance as they were only letting so many people in at a time. We had 11 in our group so we were basically in there by ourselves. They checked our temperatures at the door and everyone had to wear masks. Also, the Grinch stayed stationary this year instead of running around the lair. Even with this, we had a great time visiting our favorite Grinch's Lair. 

{Nashville Nights and Memphis Mornings}

My Grandparents live only a couple of hours from Nashville so Nate, Mason, and I made the trek over for an evening! I've been to Nashville many times, but Nate and Mase had never been. I'm so glad we made the drive over because we had the most amazing time!! 

{Tennessee - Reelfoot Lake, Trimble TN, and the Lights at Discovery Park of America}

 On one of our days in Tennessee, we spent time exploring the area. Visiting Reelfoot lake was always a staple for us when in the area, so we had to introduce the newest members of our family to it. They have a nature center, a boardwalk, a gift shop, etc. We used to love coming here as kids! 

(Thanksgiving 2020 // Part 2 // Tennessee}

 Part two of our Thanksgiving was spent in Tennessee visiting my dad's side of the family! My Grandparents (dad's parents) live in a tiny town in the northwestern corner of Tennessee. It's a little over a 9-hour drive for us, but certainly not a bad drive. When my siblings and I were younger we used to go a couple times a year to visit, but now that we all have families of our own it's harder to get up there that often. Before last week, it had been 5 years since we've been to TN. That's way too long if you ask me! 

{Thanksgiving 2020 // Part 1}

 Let me preface this by saying our Thanksgiving this year was just amazing!!! We got to spend time with both my mom's side and my dad's side of the family. It's been YEARS since that has happened. The core of my mom's side of the family is here local, but my dad's side is pretty spread out across the globe! While we were missing several, we did enjoy the time we got to spend with those that were able to make it! We just missed Thanksgiving with the Hall side. We missed them terribly! It's so hard to be with everyone during the holidays. 

Our first Thanksgiving was spent with my mom's side of the family on Sunday, November 22nd. We all gathered at my aunt's house for a fabulous feast and amazing fellowship! My dad gathered everyone for a family photo...

{Currently // December 2020}

 It's that time...time for the Currently link-up with Anne in Residence. I've failed at keeping up with the blog once again, but tis' is life at the moment! This month we are sharing what we are currently baking, decorating, gifting, hoping, sending. 

{Currently // November 2020 edition}

 Joining in with Anne in Residence for her "Currently" series. Today we are sharing what we are currently appreciating, ordering, perfecting, planning, and wearing.

{PUMPKIN PATCHIN'}

For the last three years, Mason and I have visited this cute little pumpkin patch in Midlothian, TX. It's put on by a church there in town. We found it because it's right next door to Nathan's Grandmother's assisted living facility. We love supporting the church! And, they always have the cutest little photo ops around the patch. Plus, it's a sweet little tradition shared by just Mason and me. 

{Homeschool // 2020}

 Long before Covid hit, we had decided to homeschool Mason for the 2020/2021 school year. It's something we have talked about and prayed about for years and we felt that it was a good time to do so. To be honest, Mason was being held back in his current district. He knew the content and thus was getting very bored in class. Because he was bored, he would start talking and land himself in trouble every day (or so it seemed). Also, there were some changes happening in his district for the next school year, and that helped make our decision even that much easier! 

{Annual Hocus Pocus Movie Night // 2020}

 Back on October 15th, we had our annual Hocus Pocus movie night! We decided to do it on a Thursday evening because we were going out of town the next day. I love this little tradition of ours something fierce! And Mason loves it maybe even more than me. 

{Falling for Fall // Fall 2020 Bucketlist}

The temps here in Texas have been glorious and it's actually starting to really feel like fall. I couldn't love it more if I tried. Fall is my most favorite time of the year and I get so happy and so giddy. I am obsessed with fall weather, fall clothes, fall scents, fall foods, fall festivities, fall traditions, topless rides in the Jeep, fall crafting, etc. September 22nd may have been the actual first day of fall, but my heart was in fall mode after school started (Sept 8). Here's a look at our Fall 2020 Bucketlist. 

{Del Rio, TX // August 2020}

Still playing catch-up here. Back on the weekend of August 7th, we went to visit some of our best friends down in Del Rio, TX. I took off on Friday and Nate was off, so we left super early that morning. We wanted to get there as early as possible to have as much time as we could with them. 

{Jeep Meet at Bluebonnet BBQ // August 2020}

 Back on August 5th we attended a Jeep meet with our local Jeep club. We went to a local BBQ place that just turned over new members. They also have a new menu and did some upgrades to the place. It was neat to see all the new details of Bluebonnet. 

{Jeeps at the Lake // August 1st}

Back on August 1st one of our favorite Jeep groups had a weekend at the lake. We weren't able to camp with the group, so we just went out for one evening. 

{QUARANTINE HOME PROJECT #8 // Wreath Refresh}

I like to switch up my wreaths with the season (or when they start looking ratchet! ha). It was well past time to update this one. I wanted it to be more spring/summery. I think I nailed just that!

{Currently // Sept 2020}

 Hey y'all! It's been 47 days since I last visited this space! I have so much to catch up on. I thought I would come back with the "Currently" post I missed this month. I'll include a little life update below. 

{Halloween & Fall haul from Target // 2020}

 What did we do before the Target dollar spot (or Amazon)? I always find the cutest pieces there. I think I missed the best time to go for fall & Halloween things this year, but still managed to snag a few adorable things. 

{COLORADO // DAY 3 // OPHIR PASS}

 On our way home from Moab we decided to drive Ophir Pass! We were getting back into Colorado at Sunset and got to watch the sunset over the mountains. It was pure magic!! 

{VACATION // DAY 3 // MOAB, UTAH}

 On day three of our Colorado trip, we found ourselves driving 3 hours to Moab, Utah! We couldn't fathom the thought of being that close to Moab and not spending at least 1 day there! For you non-Jeepers out there, this is off-roading heaven!! So many awesome trails. The adrenaline rush on the way there was just about enough to send me over the edge! I couldn't believe we were actually going to Moab after so many years of talking and dreaming about it! 

{COLORADO // DAY 2 // IMOGENE PASS}

 After we walked around Telluride for a bit, we headed to Imogene Pass. This trailhead begins in Telluride and ends in Ouray, CO. It was really neat getting to this trailhead...it's literally right behind a neighborhood in Telluride. As you're climbing up the trail you can see the whole town of Telluride below and if you look across you can see the switchbacks on Black Bear Pass. It was crazy to see a different perspective on the trail we just conquered!! 

{COLORADO // DAY 2 // BLACK BEAR PASS & TELLURIDE}

 On day 2 of our Colorado trip, we woke up bright and early to hit up Black Bear Pass and Imogene Pass. We wanted to be able to conquer both of those trails in one day, so an early morning it was. It was fine by me though, we got to see the sunrise over the mountains! It was such a beautiful drive to the trailhead.

{Colorado // Day 1 // Exploring Silverton, CO}

We began our drive to Colorado on Monday evening (August 17th). We drove a little over 4 hours and then got a hotel for the evening. We wanted to get a jump on the drive so that we had more time to spend in Colorado!! We drove the rest of the way on Tuesday, August 18th, and got into Durango around 3:30 pm.

{Colorado trip // August 2020}

 Much like most of our trips, we decided last minute to head to Colorado for a week. I had already taken off work for a Jeep event (that we later decided we didn't want to go to), Nate had some time off, and Mason's new homeschool start date got pushed back, so we decided we wanted to take a trip somewhere. I mentioned Colorado, of course. I have been wanting to go back to CO for the longest time. Nate mentioned asking some of our friends if they wanted to go and the rest is pretty much history! It really was just a matter of perfect timing for all of us!
 

 

{CURRENTLY // AUGUST 2020}

I have really put this blog on the back burner lately! Summer is so busy for us and I can't keep up with all the things! I have so much catching up to do, but in the meantime here's what I am currently choosing, consuming, enjoying, ordering, and remembering.

{CHASING SUNSETS // Summer nights at the lake // 2020}

Chasing sunsets is one of my favorite everyday adventures. God is so gracious to give us these beautiful skies and I am so thankful for these little treasures. Every time I see one I am reminded of just how much our Heavenly Father loves us! And how mighty He is.