Wednesday, December 21

More Festivities!



Every year my family makes a point to drive up to Lexington and see the Southern Lights. The Horse Park sets up this giant light show all around their grounds, and at the end they have Santa, a horse museum, train sets, kettle corn, and an exotic petting zoo! 




This is the "Three French Hens" segment of the Twelve Days of Christmas! So clever!

And the "Four Calling Birds"...

None of my photos came out from the petting zoo- I didn't want to use my flash and startle the zebras or mini-cows. They were super precious, though, I promise you that. Imagine a place where, for a dollar, you can feed a two foot tall kangaroo an ice cream cone filled with oats and pet their furry little ears at the same time. The true beauty of Christmas, folks. 


And today, Sadie and I took up another holiday tradition. Ever since I was a little girl, I would make up a special Christmas list of family members who I wanted to buy presents for. There was always a special "Rudi's List Time" segment of Christmas, and due to my young age and nickle-and-dime piggy bank budget, the gifts were always silly and from dollar stores. I remember one year in particular giving an aunt fake eyelashes, and an uncle an ugly figurine.

When Sadie was born we decided to keep the tradition alive, and I'm pleased to say that she's done a great job of keeping the gifts spontanious and hilarious. I can't tell you who was lucky enough to be on the list this year, or what silly things Sadie decided they "needed" for Christmas because I don't want to spoil any surprises, but I will do my best to show off her finds after we open presents. 





And another tradition? Sadie's got to pay for it all herself- she's gotta learn responsibility somehow!

Do you all have any unique Christmas traditions? We're always on the lookout for new ideas! 

love, rudi

Christmas Time!


Every day since coming home for Christmas break has been filled with some sort of Christmas activity. I've been baking cookies, wrapping presents, buying presents, decorating, making ornaments for the tree-- you name it! This year feels especially full of holiday spirit, but that might be because I've been given more responsibility for helping out this year. My mom just started working at the hospital with Labor & Delivery again (I'm so proud of her!) so I've been handed the hot-chocolate, present wrapping torch. Needless to say, this year's presents aren't going to be nearly as attractive as last year's. 








This is Sadie's special little tree- she gets to decorate it all by herself!


Hope you all are having a great time prepping for the holidays, too!!!

love, rudi

Friday, December 16

Open House with President Lynch


Last week the historic President's home was opened up for display! 
For those of you who aren't familiar with the situation, the President's home has been on campus since the beginning, but had recently fallen to ruin and extreme disrepair. The roof was caving in, the walls were rotten-- all sorts of bad stuff. President Dianne Lynch initiated the Home Again campaign to save the building, to preserve the integrity and history of the school and recreate the space to the beauty it once had. 

After lots of fundraising and hard work, significant changes have finally been made, and the house is almost completely livable again! 

Dianne (who, with her family, live in a small portion of the upstairs) decorated the house up in holiday cheer and invited campus to come have a look-see! The house was beautiful, the snacks delicious, and the experience heartwarming. It stirred up a lot of school pride to see that Stephen's is working hard to bring back the hospitable traditions that go along with the President's home. I hope the house is finished soon, so I can be a part of them before I graduate next year.

Also, the old-lady nerdy part of me appreciated how much the reconstruction focused on being historic and keeping the old charm of the building. I die for a good hard wood floor or an adorable nook-and-cranny. 














Plus, a big kudos to Dianne Lynch for owning Florence and the Machine in vinyl. 
Super hipster points, P-Lynch. Super.



love, rudi