Visiting the Monsens!

I got to go visit Shelley and her cute family back in Connecticut a few weeks ago and it was awesome. Dan is busy with work and school so I got to go on my own. I was weirdly nervous to fly by myself for some strange reason. I got really emotional leaving Dan and was just scared I would get sick or be really uncomfortable or not sleep on the red eye or something. I flew to Europe and lived there by myself for 6 months, but I had anxiety about flying to JFK alone! I will blame it on being pregnant.

I survived the flight and was so excited to get to CT and see these cute faces! We had a lazy morning and I took a nap then we went to Stew Leonards. Thad calls it the cow store and it is a really cool place just to walk around and check things out. It’s entertaining for the kids too! Thad is terrified of this animatronic cow so when I saw the guy dressed up as a cow (above), I thought he would freak. The cow kind of snuck up on him and he let out a squeal and said “Oh! You surprised me!” It was the awesomest and cutest thing ever. Turns out they loved the cow!

Holy cute kiddos. I would kidnap them if they lived closer but thank goodness I’m having one of my own! That is going to be Batman for Halloween and he looked great in his costume and wore it all day. Adorable.

The trip was a perfect mixture of chill and relaxing, mixed with a few busy and fun things. Shell and I mostly just talked our faces off about everything you can imagine. She is my bestest bestie and we can talk about anything. She is such an awesome mom and I had lots of questions about everything mom related. I totally trust her opinion and tried to get as much information from her as possible!

Thad loved playing games and we played lots of fun games on the computer and the Ipad. The below pic looks like I was asleep but I didn’t actually fall asleep! I was way sleepy but Thaddy pants kept me awake because we downloaded about 5 million free games and tried each one of them for 30 seconds before moving on to the next one. Loved it.

On Friday night and Saturday, Brian was amazing and watched the boys so we could have some girl time. Friday we all went to an awesome Venezuelan restaurant then Shell and I went to a movie. On Saturday, Shell and I drove into the city. We went to a session at the Manhattan temple and it was really cool! Shell is a pro driver and parked right by Times Square so I wouldn’t have to walk a ton. Love her.

We saw Bring it On on Broadway and it was really fun and entertaining! The tickets were cheap and we had decent seats for the first half and the second half we moved down to some unoccupied seats. We were only a few rows back from the stage and right in the middle! The show was kind of cheesey, but really funny and we both loved it. The people were so talented and we had a great time.

We had some yummy lunch before the show and wandered around the city a bit. Later, we took the subway to a dessert place I had seen on a food blog I read. We got some delicious desserts and they didn’t disappoint. Shelley got some sort of éclair with ice cream and I got a cookie ice cream sandwich. It was goooooooooood.

A blurry shot of us as we walked through Times Square on the way back to the car. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but it was tons of fun!

Sunday was relaxing and Thad helped me make yummy cookies! I think one of the cutest things I have ever seen or heard was when Thad kept re-enacting a scene from The Lorax. He loves the show and sometimes when he was playing by himself, he would stand on top of the laundry basket and say in his adorable little boy voice, “I’m Ted Wiggins, and I speak for the trees!!” I seriously almost died and I need to record him doing it because it was so precious.

I left on Monday night and during the day we went to main street in Norwalk. There is a cute little Dutch store and I wanted to get some Dutch treats.

We had lunch at Panera bread and Thad got a pumpkin cookie to match his pumpkin shirt.

We went to the beautiful park near their house and just enjoyed the weather while Thad played. It was a gorgeous fall day.

I had so much fun vising the Monsen’s and they mean so much to me. Shelley and I have been friends for about 14 years now! Wow…she is honestly my second sister and I adore her and her family. I’m so glad I got another opportunity to visit them and I will get to see them again at Thanksgiving! It was a great trip and I can’t wait to go back with Dan and our new babe next year sometime!