Top 10 of 2010

Some highlights from this year...here's to an exciting 2011!

10. MBA Graduation

9. Red Sox Games in the summer

8. 4th of July on the Charles

 7.Rockport, MA and delicious salt water taffy

6.The Common

5. Parents & brother visit on Labor Day

4. Adding a sister to the fam!

3. Christmas Time in NYC

2. Cruise to Jamaica & the Bahamas

 1. Finding out about baby Carter!

Hope your 2010 was a great one!

Family Holiday Picture 2010

I'd like to make it a family tradition to take pictures each year at Christmas time.  We did it last year, which was our first Kellett family Christmas, so I figured I'd do my best to keep the streak alive.  We found a great photographer in Cambridge named Seth Wood and he took our pictures in one of my favorite spots in the Boston/Cambridge area right outside Harvard Square by the Charles River.  I was worried about looking huge and pregnant in the pictures as I have not fully embraced the bump, but I think we disguised it well.  Here's a couple to share:

Christmas Cheer

The Kelletts are huge fans of Christmas.  We love it so much, we even put up our awesome tree in the middle of November. 

The best part about this time of year is re-celebrating Christmas traditions.  One that is a Nelson family favorite is baking tons of cookies to bring to neighbors and friends.  While I never fully appreciated this tradition and all my mom's hard work growing up, I have found that baking is somewhat relaxing these days and I love to bring Christmas cheer to others in the form of delicious treats.  My favorite is the Monster Cookie- or, the "monstah" cookie as we've come to call it in Boston.   Yes it is delicous and yes you can only eat one or two because they have about a zillion calories in each one.  The base is peanut butter and oatmeal, so I try to pretend they're sort of healthy, but in reality they're not, so I only make them once or twice a year.

Along with the monster cookies we made some sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms (it turns out we're obsessed with peanut butter too.)

Beyond the Christmas tree, cookie making, and other holiday festivities, I also enjoy the gift giving (and receiving).  I can't wait to open this little guy that was recently spotted under the tree....

Merry Christmas all!  We hope you have a great holiday with your friends and family.  We'll be cruising in the Bahamas and thinking of you...

The Big News!

We found out on Friday that our baby is a boy!  We are really excited and looking forward to getting all of the baby necessities over the next few months.  I honestly was surprised because I had convinced myself it was a girl, but I'm really excited for a little boy.  We're thinking Carter Mark for the name.  Carter is a Nelson family name and Mark is a Kellett name.  I just can't believe we're almost halfway through the pregnancy.  I'm still in my normal clothes, but they are definitely getting tighter by the day.  I'm sure the baby bump will be tough to hide in the near future. 

College Football???

As many of you know, Chris loves his alma mater Cornell.  This love for a university is a bit extreme and he often does resemble Andy from the office, but I am told this type of behavior is pretty typical for Cornellians.  So today the Cornell football team was in town to play Harvard and we decided we would go.  As we headed to the game I asked him, "Are you sure we'll get in?  What if it's sold out?"  Little did I know IVY league football is nothing like football at BYU or anywhere else on the planet for that matter.  We walked in 10 minutes before the game started, got great seats on the 50 yard line a few rows back from the field, and we were so close, we could literally here the QB saying hike.  Wow.

The level of athleticism was impressive- if it had been a high school football game, but we had a great time and watched Harvard roll over the Big Red :(.  Fortunately for Chris, he can claim Harvard as well, so he was a winner no matter what. 

Fall has Arrived

When we moved to Boston, there were a lot of things I was really excited for.  A few of them were great professional sports, tons of good food, and seasons.  I never fully appreciated Fall and now that I am surrounded by it in the Northeast, I am loving it!  The change in temperature is making me worry just a bit about how cold winter will be, but I am enjoying the great fall colors everywhere.  To really get into the Fall spirit, we made a special trip to Bath & Body Works (in honor of Angela) to stock up on Fall scents.  Now the house is filled with delicious aromas of spiced pumpkin & caramel apple.  Honestly I think it's making me crave fall treats all day, but I love the smells and celebrating the season to the fullest!  Here's a little sample of the Fall colors in New England.

I know soon the reds, oranges, and yellows will be covered in white, but I am enjoying it for now!

Travel

Now that Julie is 13 weeks along with the pregnancy, we have begun to really think about all the traveling that we have been doing.  I have spent four days a week for about the past four months in New Jersey.  Julie has been to Ohio, all over Massachusetts and to New York several times.  The travel is good for our careers, but spending so little time together is starting to wear.  When we are both out of town the late night phone calls from one hotel room to another are not so fun. 

So what does all this mean?  for now, not much.  This is our season to travel and work.  In a few months, we'll see how the re-evaluation goes. It would be nice to get staffed on a project here in Boston.  And for Julie to figure out a way to stay in town a bit more.

Oh, Julie had her first sonogram today.  The baby looks well, like a baby.  It has a head and a body, legs and arms.  We find out in a month the gender.

Labor Day Weekend

It was an exciting weekend with Julie's parents coming in from California and her brother, Ian coming in from Utah.  We spent Saturday in Rockport, MA which is a favorite day trip for Julie and I.  We love the little seaside town and the saltwater taffy.  I like all the lobster options.  For those of you who have seen The Proposal with Sandra Bullock, the movie was filmed here.  It's a great spot to check out.

Sunday was a low key day so we took some time to visit the Boston Temple.  All the pics here are courtesy of Julie's dad.

Monday Ian went home after a great breakfast at Henrietta's Table in Harvard Square.  This left us alone with Debbie and Eric which meant time for shopping.  Off to the mall and Pottery Barn Kids.  Great stuff, good times, no purchases.  We need to wait 'till we know the gender of the baby.

Yeah, the baby.

Post #1

We decided to start a blog, so here it is!  We feel like we've lost touch with so many friends and we hope this blog will help us reconnect with so many of you.  It's been almost 4 months since we moved to Boston and so far things are going great.  We are both enjoying our new jobs and getting used to being a part of the professional world again. 

We'll post pics of our recent adventures soon!