After completing the final leg of our Eurotrip, Sarah and I only had a few weeks to chill out before our next adventure: Baby Shower #1. Sarah's parents wanted to host an event out in Boston and I'd never been there, so naturally I was down for another trip. Pretty much all of my knowledge of Boston was based upon Good Will Hunting, so I was expecting it to be super trashy and full of pretentious d-bags that like apples, but it was surprisingly nice.
Sarah and I arrived a few hours ahead of her parents, so we roamed around the city and survived the rabid squirrels in Boston Common. Once they arrived, Sarah's dad gave us a guided tour of the city before we found some lunch, which I scarfed down whilst Sarah battled nausea. The next day, we headed to our baby shower at the Monponsett Inn, which was about an hour and half outside of the city. The venue was definitely more upscale than we usually find ourselves, as Sarah's family went all out to make it look spectacular. The venue also regularly hosts weddings, a fact that was not kept well hidden from us. However, I kept firm in my convictions that we should have at least one child before marriage.
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| Sarah gets pregnant and feels nauseous all the time. I eat cake and drink beer. Seems pretty fair to me. |
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| Big props to Sarah's mom and godmother for putting all these things together! |
Sarah's parents definitely pulled out all the stops on the baby shower with a buffet lunch and open bar. Being a man, I didn't really know what happened at a baby shower, I was hoping it just meant I had to drink for the both of us, so I was shocked to find out I had to help Sarah open gifts. Luckily we got a lot of help from her younger cousins, so they were able to take the heat off of me. I settled into the role of lifting the gifts above my head so people in the back of the room could see them. I'm not going to say I was the most important person up there, but I totally crushed it. I don't think I've ever seen so many gifts in my life and to be honest I was kind of just like.... What are we going to do with all of this stuff? But then the baby comes and you realize how much crap they need to survive.
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| The kids were definitely the stars of the show |
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| Candice was in charge of writing down what gifts we received. Luckily we were able to decipher that chew toys were pacifiers. |
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| Sarah's Godmother literally got us an entire wardrobe on a clothes line |
After getting back from Boston, we prepared for baby shower number two with our friends and family in Kansas City. My sister Leslee wanted to take the lead since I'm her favorite brother (And considering I've blogged about pooping in the ocean, I feel like that says more about the other five than it does me). We had also been in the midst of doing some house projects, which included finishing our basement and getting carpet, so luckily that was completed the week before the shower!
We decided to get some good old fashioned Kansas City BBQ for the event, so my sisters coordinated getting mains from Oklahoma Joes and sides from Jack Stack. We forced everyone to participate in games like guessing which melted candy bar was filling a dirty diaper and chugging beer out baby bottles. We also played the game where you cut a string guestimating the size of the pregnant lady's stomach and somehow I got Sarah's exactly. Clearly I'm Asian. Once again, our friends were way too generous! Paulie even gave a donation towards starting up a college fund for Emmy. He must think she won't be corrupted by Josh into becoming a professional vagabond.
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| Sometimes you just need some beers in your basement with your friends |
After we wrapped up the baby shower season, Sarah and I decided to have one last trip alone before the baby came. Sarah has an unwarranted obsession with Christmas Markets, so I decided to take her to Branson, which is considered to be one of the top five Christmas destinations in the country. For those of you who have never heard of Branson, it's kind of like the Las Vegas of the midwest, where there are shows and attractions everywhere. There is even randomly a replica of the Titanic, which Sarah and I visited!
However, the main draw of our trip was the Old Time Christmas event at Silver Dollar City, which features millions of lights, multiple live shows, and a parade. It's also a theme park with roller coaster rides, but since it was freezing outside, that didn't sound too appealing. On the plus side, since it was cold enough that some rides had to be closed, we were able to get our tickets for $25 off! And that is the benefit of buying stuff in person instead of in advance online. After having our fill of the Christmas Market, we decided to check out one of the drive through Christmas light paths. So for $20, we were able to see the worst Christmas decorations anyone has ever assembled.
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| Nothing beats a warm seat after standing outside in the queue when it's below freezing! |
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| There are over 6 million Christmas Lights at Silver Dollar City |
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| Who needs a real tree when you can cover a giant metal cone with thousands of lights? |
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| A traditional Christmas Ostrich |
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| This is the most stoned looking Santa I've ever seen |
Just before the baby came, we were also surprised with a third baby shower from my co-workers! We kept it classy by chugging apple juice out of sippy cups, during which I almost choked to death, and had to blind taste test baby food. Plus, everyone had to admire my former modeling photos on a projector. I'm not sure what we ever did to deserve three baby showers, but we are definitely grateful to have such caring family and friends.
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| I kissed my money goodbye when I started dating Sarah, now I've just accepted the free fall |
Our next great adventure was the arrival of Emelia, but that's a story for another blog....
Random GoPros
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| Cus every night I lie in bed, the brightest colors fill my head. A million dreams are keeping me awake. I think of what the world could be, a vision of the one I see. A million dreams is all it's gonna take. A million dreams for the world we're gonna make. |
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| However big, however small. Just let me be part of it all. Share your dreams with me. You may be right, you may be wrong, but say that you'll bring me along to the world you see. To the world I close my eyes to see... |
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| If another animal wanted to capture us, apparently all they would need is a brightly covered cage. Moths to a flame. |
Sarah and Sean's Sensational Stockpile of Snappy Snaps
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| If you wanna be alone, then come with me :) |
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| Saluting the sailor that got her pregnant....Or shielding her eyes from the regret of a life stuck with me. Your pick. |
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| Look at that pregnancy glow! |
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| Silver Dolla City! |
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| I was going to try and lose 30 pounds so I could tell our daughter about the time Sarah weighed more than me...but I love Doritos too much |
