When in Rome...

This is my first blog post in over 3 months after consecutively writing a blog post every month for the past year. Needless to say, life has been busy! In short, since my last blog post, we came back to Saudi Arabia, started back to work, vacationed in Egypt and then in Italy, and now we are ever so excited for Molly Joan's first Christmas. We will be in San Diego this year for Christmas <3

I am going to keep the text short for this blog post, but check out some of our pictures that show what we have been stoked about over the past few months!

MJ's first school photo - thanks Aunt Ellie for the cute outfit!

8-month photo

9-month photo - thanks Sue Woods for the cute outfit!

Started eating solid foods and mostly likes it :)

Our first Italian dinner when we got to Italy

8-month photo with Mama

8-month photo with Daddy

Learning to walk in my walker - I'm finally crawling but not walking yet ;)

My first Halloween!

Trick-or-Treating in the back of our tricycle!

On our block

The Red Sea in Egypt at sunrise because we don't EVER get to sleep in!

Mama trying to keep MJ entertained during our Vatican Museums tour ;)

Playing in the Red Sea, Egypt

Camel rides on the beach!

Egyptian landscape

Playing in my stroller in Egypt

Getting ready for dinner in Egypt

Kiddie pool water slide in Egypt

Colosseum in Rome, Italy with Daddy

Colosseum in Rome, Italy with Mama

Saint Peter's Square inside Vatican City

Right outside Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Inside Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Florence, Italy - I LOVE this quote, it reads:
every step I have taken in my life has led me here, now

Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy

Florence, Italy

The Little Piglet in Florence, Italy - rubbing the nose guarantees a return trip!

Outside our villa in Tuscany

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

At the Pisa Cafe with the tower in the background

Decorating for Christmas

I put EVERYTHING in my mouth

Jumping for joy in Siena, Italy

Chianti, Italy

Tour bus in Rome with Mama

Tour bus in Rome with Daddy

We have had some AMAZING (and amazingly busy!) times during these past few months. But we miss all of our family and friends dearly, and we love you guys so much. For those of you that we will see over the holidays, we CANNOT wait! And for those of you who we won't see this holiday season, you will most definitely be with us in our thoughts. So much love for all of you <3

Stay stoked.

Sea Isle, Homecoming, and Christmas in San Diego

I have finally got around to writing July's blog post, and we are almost half way through August - better late than never, I guess! As I sit here back in Saudi Arabia and reflect upon what I was most stoked about during the month of July, I have to admit that it was truly the most amazing month spent with family and friends.

Molly & James' parents - 5 months

We rented a beach house in Sea Isle City, New Jersey for the month of July. It was less than a block from the beach and walking distance to all of the bars and restaurants. We spent Molly's first 4th of July on Sea Isle's beach watching the fireworks with our family.

Molly & Mom-mom

Molly & Keely at the pool

Molly & Pop-pop at the pool

Molly & Keely with Mom-mom & Pop-pop

Another highlight of this month was Keely's (my niece) 1st birthday party/Molly's homecoming party. My Mom and Amanda hosted the party at my parents' house, and the day could not have been more perfect! All of our family and friends were able to meet Molly and celebrate Keely's birthday together.

Molly & Great Nan
Molly Joan & Joan

Stapleton Family

We also had some out of town-ers visit us while we were in Sea Isle. First, James' brother, Thomas, and his family - Mary, Cade, and Cheyenne - came to visit us from New York for a long weekend. We were able to go to the beach, the Ocean City boardwalk, and one of our favorites, Mike's Seafood. Then, our cousins from San Diego, Jessica and Tommy, came to visit us for a few days. We were able to do a bunch of fun things in Sea Isle, as well as Philly :) We are so happy you guys were able to make it out!

The beach at sunset

Cousin love!

More cousin love at the beach <3

Playing in the pool at the beach

Molly & Mama at the beach

Molly & Dad at the beach

Ocean City lifeguard stand at the end of a long beach day :)

Beach babies - Molly & Luke <3

6 months!

All in all, it was our best summer yet with our awesome family and friends. Believe it or not, Molly is now over 6 months old and getting bigger by the second! We have already decided to make a trip to San Diego for Christmas this year, since we weren't able to get out over the summer...so we will definitely be in Cali over the holidays! As always, we love you and we miss you all so much.

Stay stoked.