How the Grinch Stole Chistmas

For Christmas Ben and My bosses (our bosses are married) gave us two tickets to go see "How the Grinch Stole Chistmas" on Broadway. We saw it Tuesday December 18 and it was great. We both agreed that the Who's were a little creepy at first (their bodies were weird shapes and they were so gittery) but it really brought the holiday spirit. The music was fun and lively and the set was amazing. It was a children's show, so it was short and to the point. It was very fun for us to go.
On the way home we went to John's Pizza. It was really good and a great way to end the night.

Statue of Liberty

The one last thing that I (Brea) really wanted to do before we left was go to the Statue of Liberty and on Saturday we got close. The actual tours cost money- so we took the Staten Island Ferry (FREE!) which goes right next to it. It was so great to be able to see this key image that represents our countries beliefs, freedoms and democracy. It was very special. It was also very cool to see the city from Staten Island- and to be able to see the buildings and skyline from a different angel (rather then from under it- ha). The boat drops off at Battery Park- which has such a great history and story (war monuments, ect).

Then on our way home we went to China town and Little Italy for more Christmas bargain shopping. It was a wonderful day and was so much fun to be out and about- but together. It was great.

Bryant Park at Christmas

We were going to go ice skating at Bryant Park (but it was kind of expensive- and cold) so we just walked around instead. The park was decorated very beautiful and there were many holiday booths and things set up for the holidays. It was fun to walk around and see all the interesting things being sold (life sized figurines made of junk, muppets, ect).

Rockefeller Center and Sax Fifth Avenue

This week we experienced Christmas in New York. We went to the Rockefeller Center to see the big Christmas tree. It was magical to see all the lights and it was a wonderful way to get us into the Christmas spirit. We also walked past the Radio City Music Hall (where the Rockets perform) and we walked up and down 5th Avenue (very high end stores). We had a chance to see the Sax Fifth Avenue music/light show and to go in and explore the famously expensive store. It was absurd how much everything cost ($995 scarf) and we both decided that we would never want to spend money in such frivolous ways- but it was interesting to see. We were able to shop at street vendors for Christmas gifts- and do some pretty good bargaining. It was very festive, cold and holiday-ish.

Farwell to CA

Saturday Night we went on a date to In-n-Out Burger and then went back to Dana Point to see the Christmas Boat Light Parade. It was kind of cold- so we didn’t stay to watch the parade but it was cool to see all the boats decorated for Christmas. It was a very relaxing and peaceful evening together.

Sunday we went to church and then just hung out with the family. We taught the older boys how to play poker with cheerios (a very useful skill) and played with the little ones. Then Monday we had to say our goodbyes- we also went to a Mommy-and-Me Christmas Party- and then we were on our way back to NY. The trip was a blast and it was great to see Ben and Andrea. We love them and miss them already.

Boomers and Basketball

Saturday we watched as ten 5 year olds tried to play basketball. It was the most entertaining thing I have seen in a long time. None of them really dribble the ball, occasionally they pass the ball and the quickest one on either team gets it, but all try and try to make the almost impossible feat of the basket. Actually one or two little boys were pretty good shots. Emma was a tyrant on defense, holder her arms ups and almost reaching 4 whole feet to obstruct her opponent’s visibility. After the game Mom (Andrea) and Emma went to their dance camp while the rest of us (the boys and brea) went to Boomers. Yes that’s right, I once again proved to all that I(Ben) am the go-cart champion of the world. That is, my world of course. We played mini-golf, go-carts, bumper boats with water guns attached to them, and topped it all off with many games of Laser-tag. It was great. Perfect fun for 2, 10, 12, 21, 24year olds and Marines the like (we dont want to call Ben D. old or anything...haha).

Dana Point

We went to Dana Point for a fun beach walk and found a really cool cave. Then we had a picnic at a very nice park and talked and talked, it was quite romantic and well, yes kisses were stolen.

Surprising California

Thursday we left work early and went to the airport. Our weekend destination: San Diego California. Of course, San Diego was not our final destination, Breanne’s Sister and Brother in law live in Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps base right next to San Clemente California. We called Ben (Andrea’s Husband) and told him to tell his wife that he had to work late. She of course bought it, because often Ben has to go out with the Marines and work late into the night. Andrea of course does not like it, but supports her husband. Ben picked us up from the airport and took us home. Andrea’s face was priceless. She was so happy, she jumped up and rushed over to Brea and gave her a big hug. We decided that it was not a good idea to wake the kids up and tell them that night, so we snuck off to bed and surprised them in the morning. It was great. They were speechless, especially Emma, who looked very confused as why her favorite aunt and uncle were in her kitchen while she was trying to eat breakfast.

DC Temple

After we visited the DC sites we went to the DC Temple. Jesse and Becky went to a session, while we watched the kids outside. We met our good friends Danny and Amy Gibson (who live in South Carolina) there, it was great to see them and be able to catch up. The DC Temple is so gorgeous and it was even more splendid in the fall. It was great to be able to go see it.

Site Seeing in Washington DC

Saturday (November 23) we went to DC, where we went to visit all the DC monuments and sites. This was Ben’s first time visiting these monuments and he really enjoyed seeing them all. It was a beautiful fall day and we enjoyed walking around and seeing the beautiful DC leaves. As we were at the Lincoln Memorial we saw two helicopters fly over and land at the white house- we decided they were bringing the presidents dog back from the groomer (ha ha). Later we were going to walk by the white house, but they had blocked out the road (because the helicopters were still there) and we weren’t able to go past until they left. It was cool and made us feel like we had just witnessed something famous...haha.

Baltimore Science Center

While in Maryland we went to the Baltimore Science Center (which is on the bay- and that was cool). This was really cool and was so interesting. They had a lot of hands-on science experiments and so much learning. It had things for children and then stuff that was interesting to the adult’s also- it was really fun.

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving (Nov 22) we decided to take the bus down to Cockeysville, Maryland (right outside Baltimore) and stay with Ben’s brother, Jesse and his family. We got to their house late Wednesday night (Nov 21) and were able to stay till Sunday evening. It was so wonderful to be with them and to be able to play with their kids and do many fun things with them.

Becky (and Jesse) prepared an amazing thanksgiving feast for us. And, to follow ‘Newson Tradition’ we had a pie for every adult there (four pies- WOW). The food was amazing and we ate a LOT!! Thanksgiving day we just played with the kids and lounged around- it was very relaxing and FULL of reasons to be thankful!!

Reasons to be Thankful: Amazing Blessings

Last week (Sunday November 18th), Brea got sick again. She was so sick that she didn’t go to work and her boss (a Physical Therapist) called one of his referring Doctors and got her an appointment. She was sick about a month ago, but because she has no active insurance, she would not go to the doctor, however she felt bad enough to chance a high priced doctors visit. Tuesday she got herself out of bed and started for the Dr office (which was in Manhattan- 1+ hour away). When she got there he took her in and did the regular check up and decided that she had a sinus infection. The Dr gave her some prescription samples (enough for two weeks) and then as she was going to the front to pay he told her that she was pro-bono and there would be no charge. We are so happy and feel so humbled and grateful for this amazing blessing we have received. We are so grateful to this doctor, to Brea’s boss and to everyone who prays for us. This was a huge blessing to us and was well worth it (Brea started getting better quickly and was her normal self again by Friday). We are so grateful and thankful for this blessing!