Bia's second senior shoot

Since moving back to the US in July I've slept in my little sister Maria's room, and we've been spending lots of time together. She's a senior in high school this year and I did a summertime photoshoot with her and some of her friends in the summer. Last week we did a second senior photoshoot at a nature park just outside of town, capturing the chilly weather and fall colors.

She's a reader-writer-philosopher-thinker and she makes it look easy.

I've loved that Maria and I have hung out so much since I've been back, she both keeps me sane and keeps me in my place! This picture makes me smile because it's her in a nutshell.

Plus she's adorable.

She also recently got accepted to her dream college! Big smiles ensued!

I'm so happy I get to enjoy this last year of your life at home before you move on to great things Bia!

Springtime in Ifrane

While school was out last week, Othman and I made a short trip to Ifrane, a small town in the Moroccan mountains about four hours away. He had caught a nasty chest infection so in addition to needing a break from Casa and everyday life, we were in search of fresh, clean air.

And we got lots of it.

We followed paths, roads, and streams,

found wildlife,

(of course these were Othman's favorite.)

water,

trees full of character,

and signs of spring.

  

We visited Ifrane's famous lion at night,

and were impressed with the giant seal of Morocco on display.

It was a trip that made me wonder...

why hadn't we done this before?

Using our Christmas gifts!

Othman and I were very lucky last month to get some wonderful Christmas gifts, from other people and from each other, and we're so very thankful. Here's a blog post to highlight just a few of them.

A few days after Christmas we went outside for Othman to test out his new remote controlled car! Alyssa had so much fun, chasing it, being chased by it, driving it, and even being a part of the car's obstacle course! It was fun for everyone.

At work my H2O intake has dramatically increased thanks to this gift from Jess and Leny! I share an office with four other teachers—we make up the student support team of the elementary school—and this addition to our office has been very welcome.

When in France we received a big package from my family in the US for Christmas, and included for O were this tee-shirt from my mom (soon to make another appearance in another post) and a weekend bag from my big brother! Othman went on a 2-day business trip last week, and will be taking 2-3 day trips throughout the next few months for a new project at work, and this bag is absolutely perfect for them and super classy too.

Another welcome gift were these tea accessories (toast not included). Jessika got me some lovely loose-leaf Earl Grey and this super fun infuser and spoon which I've loved using!

But, in my opinion, the best present of the year had to be this one:

Othman's gift to me was a Fitbit Charge HR and I LOVE it. During the two weeks that I was healthy since I got it (yes you read that right; January hasn't been kind to me) I hit my 10,000 step mark 6 out of 7 days, and it even inspired me to join a gym with two friends, and we go three times a week now! (Well, not this past week, as I'm down with the flu, but I will be sticking to that when possible! Having two friends to make it social, and the fact that it's literally 50 steps from my house helps a lot, hehe.) 2016 is my year to get healthier, fitter, and start new good habits. What a good present to help me towards that!

Le matin de Noël en France

This is our second Christmas in France and it's proving just as lovely as the first. We're staying with Othman's cousin Jessika and her family. Her two daughters are now 7 and almost 5 and we've had so much fun with them this past week! Here's a report of our Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve saw this tray laid out for Santa... a croissant, chocolate milk, a bag of candy and carrots for the reindeer!

The next morning:

A first peek...

Maman had to work on Christmas morning so Santa left a note, thanking the girls for the snacks and telling them to be patient. (The cord blocking off the present area as seen above helped!) He also left out two well-chosen gifts to occupy their time.

But first, breakfast!

So, as a fire roared in the hearth...

we played with stickerbooks!

And very patiently tried to be patient!

And took silly photos with Papa and Othman.

Finally, mom arrived! So we showed her the gifts...

And then attacked the rest!

Clockwise: a Moroccan rug for the fam, dolls from the US, a GoPro in kid version, lots and lots of Frozen merchandise, and homemade pasta necklaces for mom!

Bonus: O's new toy!