Baby Shower

The main reason for our trip to Green Bay was to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Crosby! I really wanted to throw a baby shower for Molly and Mason and was so happy that it all worked out!

Seeing as how this was my first time to hostess a baby shower, I really wanted it to turn out well. I decided to make it a couples shower so Mason could be involved, and I thought it would make it more interesting. We had drinks and dessert and played a few games. I was really proud of the games I came up with because they seemed like fun ways to keep both men and women entertained.

For the first game, we blindfolded Mason and made him try to identify 4 different types of baby food. I tried to be nice, by picking reasonable flavors, but they were still pretty terrible tasting according to Mason. He was 3 of 4, the only one he missed was Mac and Cheese.

As a reward for playing along with the first game, the second game involved trying to drink an entire beer out of a baby bottle. Mason had to compete against his brother, Rees, and JJ. The bottle lasted about 30 seconds before the boys took the tops off and just chugged the beers. So funny to watch!

For decorations, I tried to figure out something that I could put together ahead of time that would pack easily. I came up with what is probably the most creative thing I have ever come up with. If you can't tell, I am quite proud of myself. I had some help from Carla coming up with the logistics and the execution.

I bought a bunch of onesies, bibs, socks, burp clothes, and sleepers in fun colors and then took clothes line and wooden clothes pins and hung everything up around the room. That way, the decorations doubled as part of the gift! Look how resourceful I am!!




The shower was a success if I do say so myself, and I can't wait to meet the little one soon!

Wisconsin

In the final days before training camp, we took a trip up to Wisconsin to visit the Crosbys and enjoy some much needed cooler weather. It was a great excuse to visit our friends and spend time with them before the baby is born.

We all went up to Door County with the dogs to explore for a day. Wine tasting at Stone's Throw Winery was a great way to start off our little road trip. Next, we took the dogs to Whitefish Dunes State Park and played in Lake Michigan for the rest of the afternoon. It was so much fun to watch the dogs play in the water.


Mason was able to set up a round of golf for the guys at Whistling Straits. The course was in amazing shape two weeks before the PGA Championship. I have never seen a course like it. Molly and I walked the front 9 with the guys and then headed off to explore the town of Kohler, home of The American Club and the Kohler Design Center. Both the resort and the design center were fantastic. If you are ever in Wisconsin, Kohler is worth a trip. After the boys finished the back 9, we went to lunch at a great restaurant, Field to Fork, in Sheboygan.



We had such a wonderful time exploring Wisconsin and spending time hanging out around the house with the Crosbys. We are just so excited for the new addition to the family to get here!

East Coast Adventures: Rockport, MA

The last part of our East Coast Adventure was Rockport, MA on Cape Ann. Its only about 40 minutes outside of Boston and it is absolutely beautiful. The water was so blue, and the town was super cute. We spent time at the beach (the water was a bit cold but felt great), kayaking, walking around Bearskin Neck and just enjoying this relaxing little beach town.




My favorite part of the trip was the ridiculous amounts of seafood we ate. Picking out our own lobster that was cought that morning for lunch at Roy Moore's Lobster Co. We also had great meals at the Gloucester House Restaurant and My Place by the Sea, where we got to watch the sunset light up the rocks and the water. We are really looking forward to going back, if for no other reason than the seafood :)

East Coast Adventures: Boston

Next, we took the train up to Boston. If you ever have the opportunity to take this train ride, please do (and sit on the side of the train nearest to the coast)! The scenery was amazing, especially for two kids from the southwest who have never seen this part of the country.

Ahhhhhhh Boston. One of my new favorite cities. There are so many things to love about it and so many reasons to come back. We stayed at a Courtyard in Copley Square for free (thanks to my Marriott points!) and loved the location. We were close to shopping and tons of restaurants on Newbury Street, one of the cutest streets in America. We spent every night wandering up and down the street exploring restaurants, people watching, and window shopping (ok, well it was just me doing the window shopping).

Because I had actually done my research for this trip, I booked us on a Duck Boat trip (the number 1 rated activity according to TripAdvisor) for the first night. We had a lot of fun, and saw all of the sites and in my opinion, it was better than the Philly tour.

Trinity Church from the Duck Boat
On the Charles River

The next day, JJ and I walked/drank our way through the Freedom Trail. It wasn't our fault that it was like 95 degrees outside and Boston has pubs on every corner, we were just taking advantage of our surroundings. I now have a much stronger appreciation for Sam Adams and his beer. One of the stops on the trail was the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in America, so we had to stop in for lunch (and a beer).

Union Oyster House. JJ barely fit...its like a booth for ants

Because food was a big part of the fun in Boston, and I can't remember exactly what order and on what days we ate at the restaurants, here is a list of the places we loved in Boston:

Legal Seafood- Even though its a chain, all the guide books said it was a must. The food was good and we had a great view of downtown.

Atlantic Fish Co- Fantastic food and atmosphere! A little pricey, but worth it. Make reservations! We somehow got lucky and even though there was a 2 hour wait, we were seated within 10 minutes.

Piattinni Wine Cafe- Super cute cafe! We only had tea after dinner, but the dessert case looked delicious.

L'Aroma Cafe- Great for breakfast and tea, we ate here both mornings.

East Coast Adventures: Philly

For part 2 of our trip we took the train up to Philly. Neither of us had ever taken the train before, so that was an adventure all in itself. I really enjoyed the ride and the scenery, and it was far less stressful than flying (and way cheaper!).

Like I have said before, the Jansen side of the family gigantic. They are in almost every major (and many minor) city in the country, so we stayed with Rick's cousin Kevin and his family across the river in New Jersey. We got to see where JJ's dad grew up and see what small town America looks like up north.

I will admit that I dropped the ball on researching what to do in Philadelphia. We were only there for a short time, so I didn't know how much time we would have to explore. Despite my lack of travel preparation (totally out of character), we ended up doing a Duck Boat tour. Duck Boats are vehicles that are combination cars and boats so you see all the landmarks downtown, and then you hop into the Delaware River to see the skyline from the water. It is a really cool concept and we really enjoyed seeing all the sites. Unfortunately, one of the boats had an accident the day after we did the tour and as far as I know, they are no longer operating. Timing is everything.

Independence Hall
All of the How I Met Your Mother fans understand why this picture was important

One of JJ's agents also lives in Philly, so we joined him, his wife and their two boys for a Phillies game. The fans were awesome and I had so much fun. Being a Diamondbacks fan, I had forgotten what a difference a full stadium makes. The game just felt way more exciting. And to top it all off, the Phillies were playing the Braves and JJ's friend Eric Hinske hit the game winning home run for Atlanta. So other than the devastated Phillies fans, it was an awesome night. We also got to enjoy Philly's famous stadium food, Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries and cheese steaks. Yum :)

Phillies game

East Coast Adventures: DC

July was an absolute whirlwind of travel all up and down the East Coast. We explored amazing cities, spent time with friends and family, went to baseball games, and finally took advantage of living on the East Coast.

First Stop, Washington, DC! There are thousands of reasons to visit DC, (like the White House, the Capitol, countless museums, historic sites, monuments...the list goes on and on) but my main reson for coming was to see Robin and meet her new boyfriend Dan. (Side note: Dan passed all my tests and has been officially welcomed into the circle of trust. And another bonus, now that I have met him I can comment on all of his facebook posts with feeling like a super creep!)

Back to our travels...we stayed downtown at the Renaissance, right by the Chinatown Metro stop (great location for seeing all the sights). Our first day was spent getting the official Robin and Dan tour of the city. We saw all the big stuff and then decided to cool off for a bit in the American History Museum. The coolest thing was saw was the original Star-Spangled banner. It was waaaay bigger than i thought it would be. That night we had a fabulous dinner at PS7 near our hotel.

We eventually got closer, but this was our first view of the Capitol

The Washington Monument

On the 4th of July we hopped on the metro and headed to the Nationals game. Both JJ and I love baseball (JJ much more than me, but I love going to the games), and one of our goals is to see a game in every major league stadium. We are currently at 4 of like 30? Baby steps...

Nationals Park, check!

So glad I was with Robin when she got to meet her favorite from the President's Race

After the game, we bought a picnic dinner and drinks and sat out on the Mall to watch the fireworks. I would post some pictures, but it was so hot and we were all sweaty and none of the pictures are remotely flattering. Despite the sweltering heat, it was an awesome experience to celebrate the 4th in our nation's capital.

Before we got on the train to Philadelphia the next day, we spent some time at the Air and Space Museum. It was pretty cool, but I don't think I appreciated it nearly as much as my dad or dad-in-law would have!

It was a great trip, but not enough time to experience it all. Robin and I are already planning on me coming out again to get beyond a lot of the typical touristy stuff and get to see all of the things she has discovered as a local. I hope she's ready for another visit :)

Happy Anniversary to Us!

On Saturday, JJ and I celebrated 1 year of wedded bliss (Get it? I love puns.). We decided to try out our version of a stay-cation. We got a puppy sitter for Barney and went to the Ballantyne Hotel, which is about 20 minutes away from our house.

Our room was on the 4th floor, overlooking the 18th hole

It was fabulous. We slept in late, ordered room service, and spent the majority of our time sitting by the pool drinking pina coladas. It was just like our honeymoon on the beaches of Jamaica...minus the beaches. But still enjoyable :)

Perfect way to spend the day when it is 97 degrees and HUMID!

JJ also had a little surprise for me and got us tickets to the Rascal Flatts concert at Verizon Amphitheatre. It was a bit warm out, but it cooled off as the sun went down. We had great seats and had so much fun. The first (and only) concert we went to together was Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift up in Green Bay with the Crosbys and the Nelsons, so it was fun to go to another one. They are so fun in concert and it is crazy how many amazing songs they have.

Chris Young

The newly engaged Kellie Pickler

Rascal Flatts

Neither of us can believe it had been a year since our wedding. I think the thing we miss the most is having everyone we love in the same place at the same time. We are truly blessed to have so many people loving and supporting us. Now we just need to come up with an excuse to plan another party weekend that gets everyone out to visit us...maybe a two year anniversary party???