May Your Days Be Merry and Bright

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Every year I love to get pictures taken for our Christmas cards and for frames in our house and my office. To some it may be weird, since we don't have any children. But why do you have to wait for children to have this kind of fun? Our good friend Julie Burton offered to exchange her photography skills for my help with her Christmas cards. I think I got the better end of the deal! So if anyone reading this is in need of a great photographer, please visit Julie's blog to see some of her amazing work (http://julieburtonphotography.blogspot.com/).

Sleeping on the Job

I was at work last week when my concentration was interrupted by someone snoring! I peeked my head out of my office and saw a co-worker sleeping on the job - literally! I was sad no one was around at the time to play a joke or laugh about it, so I snapped a pic with my phone to laugh about it later with Bret. I considered posting the pic with this blog (it is classic), but I haven't decided if that is a good idea yet!

It is common for this person to put their head down on their desk for a while when they are stressed out, making them look like we are back in the second grade and waiting to be excused for lunch time. However, this was the first time I've ever had confirmation that they have been sleeping.

While I don't sleep on the job literally, I thought about what I do in the figurative sense. While I spend some time with Bret on Instant Messenger, I don't necessarily think it detracts from my productivity. However, I'm definitely guilty of doing some online shopping at work. So, are you "sleeping on the job?" If so, what are you doing?

Birthday Boy

Well, Bret made it to his 30th birthday and lived to tell about it! Here is the birthday boy next to his "Golf" cake. He may be 30 years old, but he still has curiosity that would rival my two and four year old nephews. He kept picking off and eating the frosting grass from the back of the cake and poking in the dimples of the golf ball layer before everyone arrived for his birthday dinner. I know and love that he will forever be young at heart! I've been teasing him this whole month about getting old, but it is especially fun to give him a hard time right now because he is hobbling around on crutches from having his ACL repaired. Poor guy!

Grace's Birthday Tutu

Bret and I absolutely adore our niece, Grace Mead. She is the most beautiful little five year old, is really smart, and is incredibly entertaining. For her birthday this month, I decided to get my "craft on" and make her a birthday tutu. As I began to make it, experimenting as I went, the tutu gradually got bigger and bigger. By the time I finished, the tutu was a giant poof of pink and brown tulle. I figured that Grace, who follows the Stowell girl mold of being petite, would just drowned in it. But when we gave it to her on her birthday, she looked darling! Grace wore it while she opened her presents and had cake and ice-cream. When she finally stood up, the back of the tutu was folded up and made her look like a little turkey!

For anyone that wants to get their "craft on" and make a tutu, let me know and I can fill you in on some helpful tips that I've learned!

Run for the Boarder

To celebrate my brother Jason's return home from his mission in the Baltics, my family spent a week together in Mexico. The Stowell family ditched our usual vacation style - do everything possible - and we did as little as possible! We spent the whole week relaxing by the beach and pool, drinking pina coladas, and hanging out. I may be converted to this type of vacation style - me likey!

Italian Vacation

For my graduation, my parents gave me an amazing present. They offered to take Bret and I on a vacation of my choice. Since my parents and I had been to Italy together several years ago and absolutely loved it, I was dying to go back and share it with Bret. We spent two weeks exploring Rome, Sienna, Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Portofino, Milan, and Venice. We visited lots of art galleries and museums, spent time on the coast, went hiking, and ate a TON of pizza and pasta! Bret even gave us the Angels and Demons tour in Rome after he read the book on the flight over. It was non-stop laughs with my Dad and Bret driving our Passat station wagon on the Autostrada. We became even more histerical when my Dad came up with a new Italian name to go by everyday and then composed songs about our Italian adventures (usually the ones we wanted to forget). All in all, it was a trip to remember!

I've created a slide-show of our pictures. Hope you enjoy!

Glad to be a Grad

YAY! NO MORE HOMEWORK! NO MORE LATE NIGHTS! LOTS MORE FREE TIME!

These were my thoughts, over and over again, in April when I graduated with my Masters of Educational Psychology with a specialty in Professional Counseling from the University of Utah. I'm just going to take this opportunity to brag that I graduated with a 3.8 cumulative GPA. The program was 3 years of course work and an intense internship. My internship was at Sandy Counseling Center where I provided therapy for children and adults. I loved working with kids and really found my nitch in the counseling field. Right now I'm using my degree in a corporate setting, but hope to return to the clinical setting, part-time, very soon. This degree was a long and tough haul, but now it is finished I can say that I'm glad I did it and I'm proud of this accomplishment.

The First Ever Newton Blog

Welcome to the first ever Bret and Cherissa Newton blog! I must admit that I've been putting this off for a long time. But, after browsing through our friends' and family members' blogs this summer, I wanted in! Since our family got started in 2003, it has been a whirlwind of events. As life doesn't seem to get any less busy, this will be a great way for the Newton family to stay in touch and share our eventful lives with those we love.