Gender Neutral Baby Shower

My mom certainly out did herself with this one!  She's been crafting, planning, constructing, wrapping, shopping since the day Kerry & Jeff told us they were expecting!  (See Kerry's Bridal Shower and Wedding Invitation Suite).   

Kerry & Jeff aren't finding out the baby's gender, so my mom and I wanted to stick to a very neutral theme -- we decided on burlap with greys, whites and creams as accents.  We had a blast shopping for gender neutral baby clothes and accessories to string around the room.  My mom made all the decorative hanging balls from coffee filters!  She's so talented.  She also handmade all the utensil holders out of burlap, and wrapped wood 'baby' letters in yarn for decoration on the window sill.  She came up with the really cute idea of wrapping boxes of diapers in brown paper and stacking them to resemble baby blocks - so cute!  .. not to mention the chocolate dipped pretzels and oreos, burlap 'baby' banners, diaper cakes, flowers and wreaths, wood signs, and champagne favors!  

I'm proud to say I get my creative side from my mom.  Not that my Dad isn't creative... he decided to spell out the word 'baby' with all the champagne favors -- nice work dad!  But in the words of rapper Will.I.Am....  "I got it from my mama..."

Thanks to everyone for coming and helping out!  It was a great time.  Kerry, Jeff and Baby M are so lucky!

Cousins Weekend: Mount Major and Lake Winnipesaukee‎

At the Summit of Mount Major, looking North, towards Lake Winnipesaukee and Diamond Island

At the Summit of Mount Major, looking South East, towards Alton Bay

Half-way to the Summit of Mount Major, looking North East, towards Wolfeboro

Rattlesnake Island beyond

(via Facebook)

We decided to start a new family tradition: cousins weekend.  Since we're all so busy, it's our excuse for us all to get together, catch up and have fun, hopefully once or twice a year.  For the kickoff to the tradition, Natalie so graciously offered to host us all at her place in the Lakes Region.  (and by all of us I mean there are a lot!  Understandably, only a small portion of the ladies could attend).  The weekend started with a hike of near-by Mount Major.  We almost canceled the hike due to rainy/overcast conditions on our drive over to the base, but we decided to chance it.  Luckily, as we approached the summit, the sun came out in the distance - which made for some cool photos.   I highly recommend hiking Mount Major, it was a moderate 2 hour hike with spectacular views of Lake Winnipesauke.  I can only imagine on a clearer day the views are even more vast and amazing!  

The night then continued back at Natalie's for a delicious barbecued dinner, accompanied by drinks and lots of laughter.  It was a great night, and the perfect way to start our new family tradition.

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The next morning, I took a trip down memory lane and embarked on a mini self guided tour of the Lake Winnipesaukee to visit some places I used to go to as a child.... (remember my first post on the Lake and this instagram from last summer?)

The Shores of Lake Winnipesaukee at Paugus Bay

the Docks at Weirs Beach

Thanks for reading!  I'm off to Iceland tomorrow so be sure to follow me my journey via Instagram!

xo

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