Of course all the A-list celebrities turned out, but apparently the stylists weren't communicating very well because all the ladies wore the same dress.
(Clockwise from top left, Tammy and Chris, John and Julie, Erin and Sandor, Erin and Na, Scoop and Amara)
The games definitely made watching the Oscars more fun, and John ended up winning Oscar Bingo and picking the the most winners (15!), but he was kind enough to let the second-place Bingo winner Chris share in the winnings.
Our friend John turns 30 today, so his wife Julie invited us to celebrate on Sunday and "Party Like it's 1981." She got a room at the Fun Quest at Grand Sierra, where we had pizza and cake and everyone played Laser Tag (except the pregnant lady, who played skee ball.)
Julie prepares the candles
Happy Birthday!
Chris was disappointed in the lack of balloons. So he found some.
It was a fun night with friends, capped off with drinks in one of the casino's bars.
We've had a lot of snow here this week. Not as much as in Tahoe or Quincy, but a lot for Reno. On Friday morning, the schools had a snow day and the district held a snowman contest on Facebook, so I made a snowman at work to enter the contest for a client, with some help from a co-worker's son who was spending his snow day at the office.
I realized it had probably been 15 years at least since I'd made a snowman. And Friday night we had more snow, so I thought I should spend Saturday morning playing outside with Scoop and making our own snowman.
This is the yard undisturbed before Scoop and I got to it.
Scoop loves the snow. She ran all around in it, and we would throw her snowballs and she'd dig all through the snow looking for them. It was pretty funny.
Here is our creation (click on the picture if you want to see it bigger). She tried to knock it over a few times, and then mostly left it alone. Luckily the sun came out for most of the day yesterday, so it was felt warm while we were outside and the roads were pretty clear by the time we had to go anywhere. Even though we had fun, I am definitely ready for spring.
Back in the fall, I thought it would be fun to surprise Chris for Christmas with a trip somewhere just the two of us, since we haven't taken a trip together that didn't involve visiting someone since our first anniversary. The combination of $30 plane tickets, skiing (for Chris) and the Suns being in town led me to booking a few days in Salt Lake this week. Then we found out we're having a baby, and it may be a while since the two of us get away alone together, so I decided to call it our "Babymoon" (although Chris was on furlough last week, so you could also call it a "furcation" if you like!)
We arrived on Wednesday and spent some time walking around, having lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory (I worked at one in San Jose and was having a craving) and dinner at a local brewpub. The following day, we rented a car and went to Park City, where Chris went skiing and I enjoyed a massage. Later, we saw a movie and had dinner in the adorable downtown.
Park City was cold!
The next day, back in Salt Lake, we walked around Temple Square seeing historic sights, and checking out downtown. We had lunch in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, which had a view of the Temple.
Later that night, we went to the Suns vs. Jazz game. The first half was rough and didn't look good for the Suns, but they came back in the second half for the win!
In front of Energy Solutions Arena
It was a really fun trip and nice to get away for a few days and have some time alone, although we did miss our little Scoopers while we were gone. Oh, and I still had my camera from school for one last weekend so we made this little video so I could play with the imovie on my new laptop. Can you spot the special effects? I've never been able to use them for journalism videos so it's kind of exciting ;-)
Then comes Scoop, then comes a house, then comes a master's degree, and
THEN comes a baby in a baby carriage!
That's right, Team Gabel is expanding (some of us more than others) and Baby Gabel is due in July (scheduled to arrive during the three days that fall between my birthday and our anniversary)!
Of course, we are very excited! (And a little nervous, too.)
So, here is a rundown of the FAQ:
Q: How are you feeling?
A: Now that I'm further along, I'm feeling pretty good. The first trimester was rough, though, and I was thankful to be working part-time so I could come home and lay on the couch all afternoon.
Q: Are you going to find out if it's a boy or a girl?
A: Probably, if the baby cooperates during the ultrasound, which is about a month away.
Q: Are you having cravings?
A: Sometimes. More aversions than cravings, and usually if I want something, after I have it I don't want it anymore. This happened with egg salad in the very beginning. I also sent Chris to fetch me a tuna sandwich one day. Most days I have no idea what I want to eat.
Q: Are you showing?
A: Yes and no. I am bigger, but right now it's more "baby bloat" than "baby bump." I switched to maternity pants when we went to LA and I was able to shop at a decent maternity store. In the picture (taken this morning, at 16 weeks) I'm wearing a top and jeans from Gap Maternity - the first maternity clothes I bought, along with some black pants. My cousin Jen also loaned me a bag full of tops and dresses for the warmer months, which will be a big help! (It's hard spending money on clothes you know you'll only wear for a short time - especially when there are so many adorable baby things to buy!)
Q: Have you picked names?
A: No. We don't always agree on names, so it will take a while to land on something we're both happy with, I think. Even then, we're keeping it a secret until baby's debut.
In other miscellaneous pregnancy news, I started prenatal yoga last week where I learned "I'm steady, I'm natural and I'm strong." Actually, it was pretty great to be in a room full of other pregnant women and I think I'll really enjoy the class.
Welcome to our Oscar Party! I've been wanting to have one for several years, but for various reasons this was the first time we were able to do it. 
The games definitely made watching the Oscars more fun, and John ended up winning Oscar Bingo and picking the the most winners (15!), but he was kind enough to let the second-place Bingo winner Chris share in the winnings. 
