Easter with The Hills

Haley and Danny came to visit over Easter! We were so excited when she told us a couple of months ago that was when they wanted to come and it was a huge success. All of our friends back here tell us how lucky we are to have visitors all the time and I would have to agree. I think we might hold some kind of record for the number of visitors we have had in the short 10 months we have been here. So maybe not a record, but we have definitely been blessed with the presence of so many visitors!

Haley and Dan flew in on a red-eye so a nap was a must to begin the vacation if we wanted Haley coherent that first day. They slept for a few hours and then we headed out to explore Norwalk. We picked Brian up for his lunch break and naturally headed to Stew Leonard's for our first Norwalk hot spot. We had planned on going to a deli or something near by Brian's work and head to Stew's after, but Brian loves Stew's the most and I felt bad leaving him out. :) It really is such a unique place and we had a blast tasting all the samples and watching the mechanical animals and vegetables sing about being healthy. Thad still freaked when he saw the cow! I thought he was getting over it because for a while he would stay in the cart, have an iron grip on the basket and put his head down while we passed. Now he knows when we're about to turn the corner to see it and wants out of the basket and for one of us to hold him while he yells, "Bye, Cow! Bye!" It's a work in progress.
After Stew's we did a little window shopping and headed to a park down by the harbor. It would have been fun except I think the wind was blowing 100 MPH. Really. Thad fell over a couple times and the swans couldn't even fly forward. It was kinda funny, but we didn't think it was funny enough to hang around too long.
We didn't feel like cooking dinner so we headed to our favorite place to eat in Norwalk: Jordan's.

Jordan's is a Greek Pizzeria and it is delicious. Haley and I weren't too fond of the Greek pizza, but we loved our kitsa pella salads!

Friday, Haley and Dan headed to NYC! The train is so conveniently close to our house and it's only about an hour ride to Grand Central. They had a blast and went to a museum the day I didn't come because Haley knows that I do not appreciate or enjoy museums like The Met. After talking to Danny I would MAYBE go to check out the Egyptian wing, but that is it! I don't want to abandon my roots and be too cultured or anything. Just kidding. Anywho, they had a great time and made it back just in time for dying some Easter eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide.

Is that a cheesy smile or what?

Haley is so much fun and always wanting kids to have fun too. Thad was ornery part of the time (mostly because I wouldn't let him maul the eggs), but over all  he loved being with Haley and Dan!

Come hide these, Easter Bunny! I'll find every one of them! (and he did find all of them...in the fridge, all together, on Easter morning) 

After our egg dying fiesta, we were all going to head into the city the next day, but I was up REALLY sick all night. :( I had a flu bug and was throwing up all night and still didn't feel good in the late morning. We were all disappointed because we wanted to all go to the city together, but it wasn't in the cards and the Monsens chilled at home while the Hills headed in for a fun, rainy time in the city. 

Brian is such an awesome husband and took total care of me all day. He and Danny were so sweet to give me a blessing and then Brian stocked me up on crackers and Powerade. He was also sweet enough to take Thad out for the afternoon so I could rest. I couldn't ask for a better man! Luckily I felt better by the time Haley and Danny returned and we were able to have an enjoyable evening together.

EASTER

We started the morning out with some delicious crepes Brian made and ended up having tons of leftovers due to Danny's queesy-ness. He might have had the same thing as me, but he ate duck. In China town. We'll never know.

After breakfast we had a review on why Easter is celebrated:

I know Thad doesn't look too interested, but we tried. 

After the wonderful scripture story about our Savior giving his life for us, and reminding us of our testimonies that we will be able to live with Him again, we kinda switched gears...

And the search began!

Thad was very diligent...

And with a little help...

Was the first to find his basket! What a tricky Easter Bunny! Little did Daddy know, but his basket was right behind that black thing in the closet and it took him quite a while and an extra hint to find it!

Side Note: That Dinosaur book has become Thad's most favorite book and he knows 23 of the 26 dinosaurs by heart. Remember the dinos are named things like: coelophysis, janenschia, leptoceratops, etc. The kid loves dinosaurs!

As you can see I was pretty ticked because Brian, I mean the Easter Bunny, broke the rules and hid my basket outside. 

But as you can see, the anger subsided as Haley and I found our baskets before the boys and were both really excited!

The Hills with their Easter loot.

Daddy with some of his favorite treats.

Thanks, Easter Bunny!

Church was obviously the next thing on our agenda and we all dressed up for the occasion. 

We are blessed with such wonderful people in our lives. Look how beautiful they are!

The sun was a little bright, but Thad still said "CHEESE" as loud as he could!

After church we were lucky enough to Hanna with us for dinner while Tracy and Sophie were out of town. 

These are some of our favorite people in the whole world and spending a holiday with them was truly a blessing.

NEW YORK CITY

So after my sick episode on Saturday, we decided Thad and I would go into the city with Haley and Dan on Monday. They stayed the night in NYC, so Thad and I took the train in to meet them and it ended up being a perfect day!

First Stop:

The Brooklyn Bridge.

This is one of the first things I did in NYC and I always love doing it. 

This time was no exception.

Thad loved checking out the cars and, with Haley by his side, he got more and more brave and eventually stepped up right to the railing to check out the cars passing by underneath us.

We sure do love Haley and wish she could be back here with us all the time.

(I know she would argue it the other way, that we should be out West, but she knows she would love being by us;-)

After the bridge we headed up near Canal Street for some lunch and shopping. So this next picture will show just how awesome Danny is. He is an absolute gem and I am so grateful for his fun, easygoing personality that allowed Haley and I to spend some quality time together.

Honestly, the guy just took over! Thad needed to stretch his legs and Danny was more than willing to run up and down the street with him. He pushed the stroller everywhere and hauled it up and down the subway stairs. 

The cherry on top though, is the fact that he took Thad to Columbus Park for 1.5 hours while Haley and I hit up every shop on Canal Street! Who does that? It's not even his kid and he doesn't have any of his own either. Thad had such a good time with him. Dan is going to be such a great father...Haley is one lucky gal!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Danny!

Haley was so much fun to go shopping with because she is quite the bargainer! I'm going to practice her skills next time I go back, but it might take a while before I can strike the deals she got us! We got some really cute stuff and had an absolute blast together. It reminded me of middle school when we would ride the bus to the mall and spend all of our allowance on fun stuff. I  have seriously known this gal forever and I love her so much! We are always able to pick up right where we left off and I love that about her. 

Sadly, it was time to say goodbye after our shopping spree so we jumped on the subway and headed back to Grand Central for me to get on a train home and them to head to the airport.

Haley shed a few tears while saying goodbye, and although I didn't cry, it is definitely hard to say goodbye to family and friends when they come to visit. It reminds me that we're not in Utah near them, where they can see our beautiful boy grow up. 

I know we will miss out on a lot of things, but I hope Haley, Danny and all those that have visited us know how much it means to us when they make the sacrifice to come back here.
It means the world.

We love you so much!