Moments 01 25 :: Week 01

During the holiday break, we joined the E3 at the 3rd Street Market Hall for dinner before playing some darts. 

We were supposed to play for an hour and kept on extending it. We were just having so much fun. By the way, yes, Cole is holding up his middle finger. He does that for basically every photo if you haven't noticed. 

Zoe and her family got a new dog! A chocolate lab named Frankie. She's adorable. I got to meet her at the Polar Bear Plunge and they are lucky I didn't steal her. 

We went on our first pheasant hunt of the year. This guy was so happy. It was a gorgeous 42 degree day. Maybe a little warm for Van, but perfect for me. 

Can you see the bald eagle? I still get so excited when I see them.

Kind of gross since it's dead, but it's hard to imagine a more beautiful bird. The colors on the male feathers are incredible. I

The hunting crew. Yes, my parents got to join us too! My mom and I just walked the field with Brian and my dad. We were pretty useless, but had a great time catching up.

The Lodge was still decorated for Christmas. Love the crazy wild tree they put up this year.

It's been fun spending time with this guy over the holiday break.

And great to see my parents before they head south to Florida for the winter. I don't blame them. It's freezing out today, and not supposed to be better for awhile. 

My favorite Italian nougat candies -- in pistachio. Couldn't resist getting them.

Polar Bear Plunge 2025

We did it! Again! We Polar Bear Plunged. This was my second time. I wish I could say it gets easier each year, but it was absolutely freezing, with water temperatures of 41 degrees. Thankfully, there is always a huge bonfire at the one we go to. Within a minute, you feel back to normal. And, a bunch of our friends are there which is a blast. The idea of jumping in this water is insane to me, but honestly, it's such a great way to kick off the new year. Fireball shots don't hurt of course, so if you want to do Dry January, the Polar Bear Plunge might not be the day to start that. Just saying. This crew also always builds structure to run through. We decided to stay closer to our towels so didn't make our way under it to do the plunge, but it sounds like this said structure is making it's way to our back yard tomorrow. Minus the snake. Should be interesting. Anyhow, this is definitely turning into a fun tradition. Happy New Year!

New Years Eve 24

Happy New Year! We rang in 2025 with Mel + Leif, eating fancy foods in casual clothing. It was so fun -- and really delicious. Martinis, oysters, cheese olives, caviar (a special treat from our guests), surf + turf, potato stacks, salad, and hot buttered rum pudding. 2024 was pretty good for the P4. There were milestones (Hudson graduated from college!), lots amazing moments with friends and family, travel (Florida, Porto, California, Oaxaca) and a major kitchen renovation that makes our house feel 100 times more comfortable. This year is going to be hard to beat, but I have high hopes 2025 will bring it. Here's to health, love, and happiness in the coming year.