Whoa family!

Let me just premise this post with: If you read this blog often then you know how cool we think our families are so if you are just plain sick of hearing it then you might want to skip the next few posts cuz they're going to be a doozy.

With that said....OUR.FAMILY.IS.AWESOME.

This week we had the whole Tranbarger family in town for my cousin Kate and her lovely new husband Joshua's fabulous wedding. It was so much fun. My folks, sis and bro-in-law all came in on Thursday and we crammed as much as we could in til we had to leave for Kate's wedding in Harvard, MA. Katie and Joshua's wedding was beautiful and we had such a good time. I loved being able to see all my cousins (who have all turned into supermodels) and my aunts and uncles...again...my family rocks. I forgot how much I miss them!

So Friday before the wedding we decided that we needed to show Erin and Adam as much of Newport as possible. So off to the Cliff walk we went. We were so lucky, it had thundered and rained heavily (which I think my dad loved watching) the night before but we woke up and it was clear, no humidiy...the perfect day!

Cute Dad outside our home

Getting ready to do some walking!

Eastons Beach at the beginning of the Cliff walk

Erin in front of the Aster's Beechwood mansion. I think she looks like she should live there, my sis is so high class :)

Our favorite squirrel made an appearance for the fam. Todd was thrilled.

Katie and Joshua's wedding was so much fun. My cousin Kate was the epitomy of bridal beauty. She looked absolutely stunning and her new hubs looked dashing in his tux.

Kate walking down the aisle with my Aunt Janet and Uncle Gary

Exchanging Vows

The Tranbarger/Goldfarbs/Coyers

Whoa redhair! The happy couple and all the cousins. All my cousins tower over me, and I'm 5'7!...sheesh always the runt :( I'm not gonna lie though, how goodlooking are my sis and cousins? Seriously!

In front of the beautiful sunset at the reception

We never miss a photo op

Cheeky Billy!

One of the best parts of the wedding, besides watching them get married of course, was the photobooth. Once all us cousins caught wind that there was one we monopolized it for hours. Unfortunately my cute hubs had to leave a bit early as he had to work at 4am the next morning, so he didn't get to partake :(. It was so much fun. There are probably many many photostrips circulating of us probably making the same poses over and over again. We're vain, what can I say!

Love that photobooth!

The day after the wedding we all went to Kate and Joshua's house for brunch and then off to show Erin and Adam Boston. Unfortunately we only had a couple hours and didn't get to walk around much but I think they loved it. We will definitely make more time next time they come visit!

At the infamous Bunker Hill...well infamous to me, Adam climbed it no problem...show off!

After Boston we ran home as we were hosting a BBQ for the family at our house. My sweet Todd had the whole house set up and ready by the time we got there. My mom of course looked so cute in her apron and whipped up her famous guacamole and got everything ready. I was so happy that my whole family came and was able to see our home!

The 'kids' table in our backyard

Hubs and Adam bbqing, they really know what they are doing, the meat was so good!

Checking out pictures in our living room


The next day, Sunday, we all went to the Officer's Club on base for brunch. It was a gorgeous day!

This isn't even all of us! This crowd gets bigger! When the rest of my cousins get married and we all start having babies, we are going to have to rent out a reception hall at holidays to fit us! How cute is my grandma?

After brunch, we decided to walk around downtown Newport. We ended up convincing my Dad (or at least my mom did) that a harbor cruise would be a great way to end the weekend. When we signed up for the 4:30 cruise we were the only ones on it, by the time we left only 2 more people signed up so we basically had our own chartered boat. It was awesome and I think my Dad loved it too. Todd and I will definitely be doing that again. Thanks Dad!

On the boat

Dad driving the boat, he looks pretty at home doing this...perhaps a sail boat purchase might be next?

Just call him 'Captain'

Unfortunately the next day everyone went home :(. After visits like this, I definitely get homesick. The days just went too fast but it was a great weekend. In typical Tranbarger fashion, we ate, drank, sightsee'd and laughed like it was going out of style. Next time everyone has to stay for at least a week! I wish we all weren't so far away. ::sighs:: Come back soon!!!

I fought the law...and the law won...maybe...

So a few weeks ago, I wrote about the lamest traffic violation ticket ever. Since then I have had a lot to think about it...should I pay the ticket and let my insurance go up? Fight and hope that the judge sees that this silly little ticket is merely a blemish on my otherwise sparkling driving record and let it slide? Oh decisions. So I decided to consult my attorney ::waves at Dad:: who promptly advised me that ignorance to the law is no defense and as a law-abiding American I should educate myself to the varying traffic laws in every state ::frowns at Dad::. So then I turned to my co-workers, who do not hold law degrees but have lived in these crazy states for quite sometime, thus being a valuable resource. Their answer was a bit more complimentary to what I was looking for. They said that often times courts will throw out minor infractions to first-time offenders and that I will probably never receive a court date ::ding ding ding!::. So I contested it, mailed off my ticket and hoped for the best. Six weeks passed...nothing. Well today the mail came and I have been issued a court date! UGH!!! Apparently this Rhode Islander (by way of California) needs to be brought to justice! So September 29th is my day in court...bleh.

After receiving my court date, I realized I had not called my insurance company to confirm that my insurance would in fact go up, being in different states and all. So off I went and called my local insurance representative. I explained my story which got the typical reaction..."Seriously, you got a ticket for that?!?" and once she had stopped laughing, looked it up and my insurance will indeed be knocked 2 points. Bleh.

So here is my dilemma....Do I take half a vacation day, drive the 3 hours round-trip to the courthouse and pray that the 'not nice' highway patrol man fails to appear or just pay the darn thing and suffer through the fact that I am no longer a perfect driver?

Head-scratcher.

I should probably just take my attorney's advice ::waves at Dad again:: as he's pretty smart and usually right and I should know better. Ugh, I hate being a traffic criminal :( ::hangs head in shame::

Time for another race!

Today Todd participated in the 1st Annual Newport Station Sprint Triathlon! This race was held right here on the Naval base and included 1/3 mile swim, 16 mile bike and 3.5 mile run. Of course in typical Toddi fashion, he rocked it, finishing in 1 hour and 33 minutes and coming in 10th in his age group. He really enjoyed this race, especially since he runs around the base so much anyways, he knew the course pretty well.

Hanging out before.

Checking out the swim course

Lookin' good!

Rain, Rain, go away!

Dear rain,

Let me first start out that we really enjoy your services. Everything here is very lush and green and we really appreciate it. The thing is, you've been around these last two weekends and you see, we've got some things planned this coming week. So if you can just take a break, that would be awesome. Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

The Coyers

Yikes!

Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh!!

6 Days and a 'wake up' until our 'two weeks of family' begins! YAY! We are so excited, we are not sure what to do with ourselves. Next Thursday the entire Tranbarger Clan: parents, Goldfarbs, aunts, uncles, cousins, fabulous grandma...the whole she-bang, will be making their way over to our neck of the woods for my cousin Katie's fabulous wedding (YAY!) and a quick visit to Newport (YAY!). We can't wait! Then on the following Tuesday Todd's fabulous bro and our fabulous sis-in-law, Brian and Sandra come for a whole week! YAY! Yes, I'm just a tad excited. We have been preparing for this for so long (which explains all the furniture purchases), we can't believe its FINALLY here! We can't wait to show everyone this beautiful place. Now if time could just hurry along...::checks watch:: :)

Welcome to our home!

And so it begins...

For years my dad has been tormenting my mom by bringing home books by the box full from various swap meets and yard sales, all of the military/history persuasion. Being the elegant woman that she is, she has accepted this quirk and has found a place for each and every book all the while maintaining an organized and immaculate house...she is really a fantastic woman.


Well someone ::glares at hubs:: let it slip that he also likes military/history books.


And so it starts...today we received a box. It was full of Marine/WWII books. It was from my parents. It came with a guarantee that more were coming. Hooray.


On the flip-side, my Todd is just tickled pink with his new books. He spent at least 2 hours riffling through them with great care and consideration before proudly categorizing them on our bookshelf. Not only have they been mentioned to buddies at numerous social events but I believe there are full days soon dedicated to reading them. Hooray.


Anyhoo thanks mom and dad for the books! :) I appreciate you starting this habit more than you know. ::sighs::

California Dreamin'....

We love Rhode Island. Its beautiful and we couldn't be having more fun here but there is something that this place just doesn't have (besides our families) that really makes us homesick. Mexican Food. Correction....good Mexican food. Don't get me wrong, they try but I think we are just too darn far from the border for New Englanders to grasp true Mexican cuisine. Coming from California, this is a tragedy. The closest thing we have to Mexican food here is Titos or excuse me, Titos Authentic Mexican Cantina, as their sign reads. Todd and I were so excited to try it but once we took a look at the menu it became obvious that 'Tito' had probably never visited our neighbor to the south much less tasted their cuisine. On their menu, Tito's offers such 'authentic' Mexican delicacies as: fried chicken, buffalo wings, cheeseburger burritos, enchiladas made with ricotta cheese and chimichangas with chicken, peas, carrots and gravy, which we assumed was a Mexican version of a chicken pot pie. Sadly for Tito tacking on the word 'taco' or 'enchilada' to their dishes does not authentic Mexican food make. Don't get me wrong their food was tasty and I am a bit of a snob but it was just not like home.

So to my folks and all the 'Super Mex' crowd ::waves:: heading out tonight to enjoy your weekly Mexican food fix, there are two people on the east coast that would really like to join you. :)

Time to open a Newport location :)