A Dangerous Combination

What happens when you give a pregnant woman a free subscription to Amazon Prime (free 2 day shipping on anything)?

Yes, yours truly ordered 12 bags of Chipotle Cheese Rice & Bean Chips from Amazon.  I'm embarrassed to admit how excited I got when the package arrived.  In my defense, these chips are truly delicious!  I first tried them when visiting my parents this summer.  Unfortunately, the chips are not available ANYWHERE in the metro NY area.  Thank goodness for Amazon!

Summer Happenings: August

Slowly but surely, I'm determined to catch up on my blog posts!

In late July/early August, John's family vacationed in my hometown in the Northwest. The weather was a little cooler than usual, but we had a lot of fun relaxing, playing games, and taking small day trips.

When I first met John's family, I noticed that they are excellent photographers (somehow, that didn't rub off on John!).  They are so good at making sure to take a family picture each time the family is together.  I've really enjoyed looking at their family photos over the years... seeing the family grow and change.

Last summer, I was a new addition into the family photo.  This summer, our sweet niece Grace joined the ranks.

The Girls.  Soon to increase by one more!

The Boys.

Baby Grace was the main attraction on this vacation.

She handled all the attention very well.  She had grandma, grandpa, three uncles, and four aunts at her beck and call.  Grace could be the sweetest baby ever!

As John and I expect our baby's arrival, it was a lot of fun for us to spend time with Grace and think about the future.

The cool weather didn't keep us from swimming.  My parents (for the first time ever) turned on the heat in their pool.  When I was a kid, we had to bear the cold pool year round!  

One day, we took a day hike to Rattlesnake Ledge.

John was able to check his email at the top.

Obligatory hand on belly photo.  I was about 24 weeks here.

Summer Happenings: July

Our summer in New York has just flown by.  For the past three days it has been raining and cloudy (still fairly warm), and I know that fall is just around the corner.

Over the 4th of July weekend, my parents came out for a visit.  We had a blast just hanging out in the city with them. 

John and my dad share a love of treats.

John always gives me bites, which is nice.

Perhaps the most exciting event of our 4th of July weekend was our 20 week ultrasound.  At the 20 week ultrasound you are able to find out your baby's gender, if you want.  At first John and I were uncertain if we wanted to find out the gender...

But we decided to find out!

For nearly 30 minutes the ultrasound technician poked and prodded my tummy, trying to get a good view of our little baby, who was being rather uncooperative.

Afterwards, we called Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Russ to tell them the exciting news... "It's a GIRL!"

Rhode Island Getaway

Two weekends ago John and I were blessed to be able to take a mini road trip to Newport, Rhode Island. We left NYC on Saturday morning and arrived in Newport around 4pm, after a leisurely drive.

We stayed at the Marshall Slocum Inn, a beautiful bed and breakfast in the heart of one of Newport's historical neighborhoods. 

Our room at the Inn was decorated beautifully.

It had a cute sitting area.

At first, John was concerned by what he thought were the "bathroom facilities."  

I think he thought I'd signed up for a weekend of true colonial living.  The real facilities were just fine.

After getting settled at the Inn, we wandered around Newport until dinner.  We had dinner at a really fun seafood restaurant.  We shared the best clam chowder I'd ever had, clam cakes, and a salmon burger.  Yum!

Halfway through dinner we realized that John had made a grievous mistake in his apparel for the day.

A complete stranger approached us and commented on how brave John was...  We were confused.  Then, we realized that Rhode Island is Boston  Red Sox territory.  John had spent the entire afternoon and evening wearing his Yankees t-shirt.  Oops!  I had no idea East Coasters took baseball so seriously.

The next morning, we enjoyed a home cooked breakfast on the patio of our B&B.

It was sunny and quiet.  It was such a pleasure to enjoy our juice and coffee outside!

Then, we ate yummy, fluffy French toast.

After breakfast, we packed up and toured town.  

We saw "Breakers," a massive seaside mansion built by Cornelius Vanderbilt.

We walked along the ocean.

And watched the surfers.

This poor guy lost his board on the rocks.

Then, we headed back home.  John was an excellent driver.

This is a bridge we passed on the way home.  The picture doesn't fully capture it, but it felt like we were driving directly into the clouds!

Dinner with Adrienne

John and I have really enjoyed having my sister, Adrienne, live in New York.  When Adrienne and I lived together in Seattle, Adrienne would ALWAYS cook for me.  While I thoroughly enjoyed mooching off of her generosity, I think Adrienne worried I would never excel in the domestic arts..  

Now that we're both living in New York, a curious role reversal has occurred.  I cook 7 days a week, and Adrienne, being a busy MBA student, hardly cooks at all.

What's great about this situation is that John and I can lure Adrienne to make the 45 minute trip down to our apartment to share dinner together.  

Adrienne came over for dinner last Monday and brought her camera with her.

Here are some of her photos.

I made pan-seared chicken with cheese tortellini and peas accompanied by a spinach salad.

What a great sister!

John thoroughly enjoyed his brownie.  Adrienne took this photo to taunt our dad.  He LOVES brownies.  Don't you wish you had one of those right now, Dad?

John and I are looking forward to welcoming another sister to NYC in mid August!  It's going to be great fun.  We reflect often on how blessed we are to have family near us, despite the fact that we are both living so far from where we grew up.

Our Vacation- Belated Post!

In mid May John and I took a cruise vacation to Bermuda and the Bahamas. The cruise conveniently departed from New Jersey! We took a cab out to Jersey, hopped on our boat, and sailed away to paradise. It was great to not have to mess with airport traffic.

This was our home for 9 days.

The ship was massive, boasting multiple swimming pools, a put put golf course, rock climbing wall, basketball court, and even an ice skating rink.

After arriving on board, John and I enjoyed a nice cup of tea in the ship's "sidewalk cafe."

This became one of our favorite ways to spend our early evenings on the boat.

Both of us thoroughly enjoyed breakfast each morning. There was no shortage of juice, fresh fruit, yogurt, and (John's favorite) pancakes.

After two relaxing days at sea, we arrived in Bermuda.

Our first day in Bermuda, we explored King's Wharf, the port where our ship docked.

We didn't stay ashore too long, but headed back to the ship to enjoy some peace and quiet. All of the other passengers had left the boat to explore, so we practically had the place to ourselves.

One of the best parts about our cruise was the self-serve soft-serve machine. John and I enjoyed getting a little ice cream treat in the afternoons. I particularly enjoyed watching the wide-eyed little kids who piled their cones a little too high.

Our second day in Bermuda, we ventured out to a local beach.
After a 40 minute, incredibly frightening bus ride, we arrived at this beautiful beach.
It was simply stunning.
After an afternoon of sun, we headed back to the boat.

Over the next few days, we enjoyed a wide variety of activities on the boat.

We went ice skating.
John studied for the CFA. I watched and tried not to distract him.

We played ping pong. I must say, we were a fairly even match. However, the game was made much more difficult due to the strong winds.

Two days after our departure from Bermuda, we arrived in the Bahamas. We spent an entire day at Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.

Atlantis is an incredibly large resort. Perhaps you have seen this nearly vertical water slide advertised on TV.

John rode down the slide TWICE! It was terrifying to watch. I secretly wanted to try, but I didn't think the baby would appreciate it very much.

John and I spent the entire day relaxing and riding (very tame) water slides. Our favorite ride was a lazy river ride where you sit in inner tubes. The entire river took more than 40 minutes to go through. The river had different sections where you had to navigate rapids, small waterfalls, and even tidal waves! The lazy river even had a conveyor belt that transported you (while sitting in your tub) up 10 stories to water slides.

One of our favorite things in Atlantis was the Shark Tank. It's hard to see in the photo below, but there are tubes that run through the shark tank. There are two water slides that take you through the shark tank (protected, of course, by a very thick layer of plastic).

After an exhausting day of playing in the sun, John treated us to some candy treats.
Here's a photo of our tiny cabin. After living in a NY apartment, the cabin didn't really seem all that small.