Thanksgiving and Michael's visit

This year Michael, Taylor and Page got to come visit for Thanksgiving.  I think it a year is much to long of a stretch to be apart from my favorite baby brother.  Ben always tells me I get more goofy around Michael and it's probably true- he makes me laugh and constantly smile.  It was so much fun having them and so much fun to meet baby Page for the first time.  Taylor is an amazing mother and Michael hasn't killed her yet (Just joking- he is great). 

Everyone came to Mom and Dad's house for Thanksgiving dinner and it was great.  We had a formal sit down dinner, which the kids were excited about.  Alice and Wyatt enthusiastically helped me set the table, fold the napkins and make name tags.  The food was, as usual, delicious and we quickly were filled to the brim.  Ben and I were in charge of the dessert and of course we had PIE!  The Newson's have a family tradition that at Thanksgiving there must be a pie per person.  Although we did not succeed in this venture we did end up having 9; which my family at first thought was crazy- until they lasted for breakfast- then I think my Dad decided he liked the tradition. 

 

 

 Thanksgiving night the ladies and Ben all went out for BLACK FRIDAY.  It is weird that black Friday has snuck it's way onto Thursday.  We went to a couple stores and, although they were a little crazy, enjoyed the hustle and bustle and the beginning of the commercial Christmas.  When we got home we found the men had not exactly got the kids to sleep- everyone was exhausted and ended up sleeping well. 

 That upcoming Sunday (Nov 25) we got together at Mat's house in Evergreen for Gwyn's Baby Blessing.  It was so much fun to be with family (and see the Wilson Family- they are awesome) for this special occasion.  Gwyn is getting older and starting to look like one of the Stones kids (instead of just an infant).  

It ended up being a great Thanksgiving week and being with family really reminded me of how much I am thankful for my family!!

Tea Party Baby Shower

Some of my friends volunteered to throw me a baby shower (Nov 17).  They themed the party a 'Tea Party' and it was soo cute. There was a 'small' brunch and tables set up as a pretty pink tea party.  It was so wonderful to see family, friends and ladies from the ward come to celebrate with us the arrival of our new baby girl.  I got some great things and really good advice; our house now has pink in it, which makes me even more excited!   

Thank you to everyone who helped and thanks to Kristin and Natalie for all their planning.


Another Update that I forgot to post about so I am just adding it to the end of this one:
Ben went to Disneyland!  Ben went on a business trip in Southern CA (Oct 30- Nov 4) and it just happened to be the week that Jeremy's Family, Tobin and Rachel were going to Disneyland.  So Ben finished work Friday and got to extend his trip and play in Disneyland Friday/Saturday with his family.  He had so much fun and was excited to see everyone!! 

Vampire Weekend 2012

Every year a group of our close friends rent a cabin up in the mountains over the Halloween Weekend (Oct 26-28) and have a...que lighting strike and scary laugh...Vampire Weekend!!  This year Ben and I were in charge of the location and logistics.  We ended up going to a big cabin up in Breckenridge, CO with 8 couples. 

  It is so much fun to hang out with friends and we have GREAT friends (funny, loud and a bit crazy)!!  We had game nights, movie nights, and a dance party with costumes.  In the cabin there was a pool table, a hot tub and a giant stuffed bear (not something to do, but something cool).  We went to walk around the Breckenridge Main Street, went on hikes and even made some Star Wars movies.  There was amazing food and LOTS of it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to all our amazing friends for coming up with us and for sharing the fun weekend with us!

Weekend in Estes Park

On a Friday at the beginning of October (yes, I am that far behind in my posts) Ben called me up and said, "We are going to go spend the night in Estes- pack the bags, I will be home soon." Yay!  We never go and do overnight trips so we were excited to take a 'mini-vacation.'  

Ben had gotten us a hotel via some internet deal so we headed to our hotel to check in.  My family did not stay in hotels growing up; I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I have stayed in one, in my life.  Ben, on the other hand, goes on business trips and apologized that it was not fancy.  WHAT? It had a bed I could jump on, I didn't have to hang my towel and there was a microwave in my bedroom- to me, that makes it fancy!  If it is not yet evident,  I was so excited!! 

First, we went swimming in the indoor pool- the bottom of the pool was bubbled up so you could stand on it in the deep end (but it kind of moved under your feet- so weird).  Then we went to our room, popped some popcorn, got some candy from a vending machine (another thing I did not do growing up- also 'so cool') and watched a movie (in bed).  Ben kept laughing at my childlike enthusiasm and how easily I was pleased.  It was really fun for me to stay in a hotel and in the morning- I didn't make the bed!!

The next day we went to the Estes Visitor Center to find a good hike.  It turns out that because of the snow, fires and restricted park access that there were not very many hikes to choose from. We ended up going on the Twin Owls Hike, which is on the north side of the Estes Park Lake;  I honestly had never hiked on this side of the lake ( we usually went in the park or down near Allen's park).  It was a really beautiful area, with lots of rocks and wonderful climbing places, the hike was pretty short but we found out quickly that we underestimated my pregnant hiking ability.  The beginning of the hike was pretty steep and I thought I was going to die, but almost a mile in it evened out to a gradual incline and I started breathing again.  It was cool to get up above the trees (or some of the trees- we weren't above timberline) and to be able to look at the snow and storms over the mountains to the south.  It was a little chilly with the rain but it ended up being a great hike.  

We then went and walked around Estes Park's Main Street; it is pretty much a tourist/visitors center walk but it is still kind of fun to walk around and see things.  We stopped and ate at a Chicago style diner (pizza and loaded hot dogs) and it was delicious. 

 

It was a wonderful weekend and so fun to get away from the stresses of life and be together.