I thought, maybe it would be a good idea to share some last year memories from our past world wind of fun. 2010 certainly changed our lives forever! The beginning months found us heavily involved in full time school and part-time work . Ben got a new promotion in the beginning of January which kept him very busy, as you can imagine. In February we headed to Stanley, ID with the Hessing family on their annual snowmobiling trip. Being almost 5 months pregnant I surely took it easy :) There we celebrated our second Valentine's day together ♥
Ben and I on the mountain
Maybe I should have kept my helmet on after all :)
Ben catching some air!
Love this man!!
Then on March 5th we rejoiced in finding out we were having a little baby BOY!! Ben and I went out to lunch to celebrate and imagined our lives together with our new little son :) It was a wonderful day to remember (and an easy one too because it's also my little brothers birthday!). Although almost everyone thought it would be a girl (even my mom who is almost never wrong) he most definitely is out sweet little boy!
In April we headed back east for a short, but sweet visit! We went shopping, golfing (mostly Ben, Dad and my brothers,) long boarding down some of the biggest hills in my town (Ben got a little out of control, to say the least), out to lunch and dinner at our favorite restaurants, took fun walks as a family (including a bear hunt), headed to NYC for a day trip, and enjoyed a great American tradition and headed to Boston for a night of fun at Fenway park-GOOO ReD sOx!!! It was a blast to be there together (Ben and I) for a week and then Ben left and I stayed for 2 more weeks!! My mom and I had a blast! Her and two close family friends threw us a beautiful baby shower, which was amazing!!
Family in front of the Naval Ship- USS Intrepid
(Left to right: sister Holly, brother Nate, Daddy, Ben)
Nathan and Mary sailing away...
Dad steering the ship with Hol
View from the front of the ship (across the Hudson River
*The New Jersey Skyline*
ohh silly Dad :)
Eating some New York City pizza- YuMMM!!!
♥ Beautiful Sistasss ♥
So here's the story: We were all sitting eating lunch when Ben says "Umm, I think you guys have some bears in your back yard!" We all jump up and run to the deck so we can get a closer look. There, walking around about 30 feet beyond our deck was one mama bear and her four cubs. They were all tagged except for one. We grabbed our camera's and started taking shots of these mischievous creatures :) Later Ben and I found out this is a weekly occurrence in my neighborhood. These bears thrive off the trash left outside and come around often causing no harm, but definitely ALOT of scare ;) Bears, Bears Everywhere!!
After our crazy busy semester and AmaZinG adventure to Connecticut, May finally brought a little downtime and some peace and quiet. We headed to cascade to the Hessing's cabin for a little fun for Memorial Day (our last visit with just the two of us). We enjoyed relaxing, going on some four wheeler rides and warm walks along the beach :)
My youngest brother and I right before the baby shower
June came fast as Ben was busy working full-time and still taking classes on campus and online, and I was desperately awaiting the arrival of our dear little boy. I spent most days organizing, cleaning, reorganizing and getting everything ready for the baby to come. We celebrated our Mom's birthdays (5th and 24th) and our only Nephew, sweet "cousin" Jacobs first birthday!!
Then came the biggest month of all...JULY!!! I felt like it had taken forever for this month to come, since the day I found out our due date was July 18th ( My Dad's birthday). My two courageous sisters and kind cousin drove across the country just to be with us when Bryson came :) and they sure got here just in time because our little one was a few days early! On July 15th at 7:14 we welcomed our first child, Bryson Benjamin. He has only brought great love, joy, and true happiness into our hearts since he's been born. Ben and I love him soo dearly and pray we will become the parents he deserves. He truly is our little angel. He is such a dream come true :) Zach, my cousin, stayed for the weekend and then headed off after everything winded down (it was soooo wonderful to have him there) and my sisters stayed for another 3 weeks!! I really couldn't have done it without them!! Ben's mom, dad and sister came to help- which was amazing and we sure shared some wonderful memories I will never forget!
Before I was even able to see him,
Bryson's family held, loved and comforted him
My cousin Zach holding little B-ry
♥ Tender moment with mommy ♥
Bryson's one very lucky boy to have soo much LoVE!!
In August, my Dad came out from CT and my Aunt & cousin came down from Coeur d'Alene for Bryson's baby blessing. This blessing is an opportunity where we can present our newborn baby before the church and the Lord and publicly thank Him for this treasured gift. It was an amazing experience and I am soo grateful for all those who came! We had a great time the weekend before the blessing up at the Hessings cabin. We went boating, dirt biking and spent lots of time on the beach with Grandma and Grandpa's :)
With the summer winding down and all the craziness slowly dispersing Ben and I were able to enjoy our little boy one on one! We spent most our time taking Bryson on walks, enjoying naps together and relaxing away the long summer afternoons, life was GOOD!! Then just to top it all off, in the beginning of September we got to back out to Connecticut for another visit! It was awesome to see Bryson interact with everyone on my side of the family. We truly enjoyed the visit! Later in the month we celebrated Ben's birthday down in Utah with his family.
October has been my very favorite month of the year since I can remember, and this one was definitely no different. I love watching all leaves change into beautiful bursts of reds, oranges, yellows and dark pinks- one of the things I really miss about CT is the amazing autumns (just not the same here). I love the crisp air, perfect for an afternoon jog, the clear blue skies and the anticipation of upcoming holidays with family & friends. This month was definitely fun filled. We first headed to Park City, Utah where we stayed in the beautiful Stein Erickson Lodge with our Uncle & Aunt and 3 cousins. We slept in, had amazing breakfasts in the hotel (on the deck overlooking the beautiful foliage), walked around on main street, shopped, went out to lunch & dinner, went in the relaxing hot tub, took a four wheeling trip up into the mountains, had a dessert party with lots of games and a movie and on Sunday enjoyed the most INCREDIBLE brunch buffet (literally everything you could imagine was available)! The weekend was amazing and we really enjoyed the time spent with our loving Eberly fam!!
Out on the balcony
My cousin Davis with Ben
Ohh sooo very Beautiful!! The dry ski slopes outside the lodge :)
My wonderful family on the ski lifts
(Left to right: Davis, Auntie Karen & Linds)
More amazing views of the mountain side
The Stein Erickson Lodge
All ready for the fun four wheeling trip
(Left to right: Ben, Davis behind him, cousin Lindsay)
ohh what a stud! I ♥ him
*Side note: pictures in Park City were all taken by my cousin Lindsay :)*
Next, we headed back to Rexburg for an early Halloween celebration with old friends. It was fun catching up on old times and spending the weekend together. My old roomies, Haley (and her hubby and sweet little Brooks) and Shauna (and her hubby) and I all got together and threw a fun, scary Halloween party! We had spooky cream soda (spooky because of the dry ice inside), warm apple cider, yummy caramel apples, colorful cupcakes, and an assortment of chips, dips & veggies. Yummm, nothing better!!
*GooD food + GoOd friends = A gOOd time!!*
♥ BFFE ♥
Our little family :)
My good friend from back home came with her date!
After a fun weekend we headed off to Boise to celebrate Halloween with the Hessing family. We first went to Aubree's (Ben's sister) school costume parade. Then we went to the ward (church) trunk or treat and had dinner with the family. A scary movie with popcorn finished off the fun day together. We enjoyed all the great festivities!
Bryson dressed up as a little giraffe the weekend before but for real Halloween he dressed up as a snugly teddy bear! So cozy and warm :)
