Wow that went fast...

Once upon a time (five years ago) in a land far far away (Irvine, Ca) a young redhead, fresh off her Australian adventures, decided to go out for a night on the town with her best friend, Nicole. Thinking that this was just a typical Friday night of drinks and dancing she didn't think much when a handsome young Marine struck up a conversation and made her laugh. Though she wasn't looking for love she could not deny that she and this marine got along 'like a house on fire' and gave him her phone number. The next morning he called and has called her everyday since...

Though we have replaced our dating anniversary with our wedding anniversary, 5 years is a fun milestone so I just couldn't resist posting a couple pictures. So in honor of 5 years of happiness (minus a couple deployments ::yuck:: )I would like to present Todd and Shannon: the early years...

Our first New Years 2003-2004

My cute Sergeant 2004- do we look any different?

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's day to my sweet husband, my fabulous Dad and my fabulous father-in-law. Today we honor you and everyone who has fought to keep our country safe. Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

My Hero in Iraq :)

My hero (my dad) in Vietnam.

I wish I had a picture of my father in law. :(

The Marine Corps Ball

If you have ever met a Marine, you will have probably noticed that they are incredibly organized, well-trained, respectful, honorable and above all loyal. They take incredible pride in what they do and will do everything in their power to protect each other and our country.

If you have ever had the privilege of going to a Marine Corps Ball you will have also noticed that Marines, when not protecting our country, can seriously party. I don’t know what it is but dress blues + other marines + music + drinks = pure Marine chaos. Enlisted or Officer it doesn't matter…they are all crazy. It is so much fun!

This year our ball was held at the Hyatt in Newport and the Coyers along with 20 of our closest friends decided to go in style and rent a limo. Our friends are so fun!

My favorite part about the ball is that I get to re-live all my favorite memories of getting ready for a big dance. Today I got up early, ran off to get my nails done, then off to the salon to get my hair done all the while gossiping to my stylist about how I landed the cutest date…ahh memories. We had a great night and in typical prom, excuse me, ball fashion we ended the night at the local IHOP….ahh memories.

Hi there!

In the limo on our way to the ball

The Ladies.

Master Guns and all the Navy OCS Drill Instructors. Seriously aren't the Marine blues the most handsome uniform?

The group!

Todd, PJ, Richard and Master Guns

Marty, Master Guns and JP

Gunny and Mrs. :)

Ooh-rah!

Happy Halloween!

It's Halloween! Muhahahaha! Tonight we had our annual pumpkin carving contest (I'm pretty sure I won, don't tell Todd) and we decorated our porch in hopes of attracting some trick or treaters! Last year we had a disappointing turn out (we had one) but we have seen some kids in our neighborhood so we have tons of candy ready to go! Hope everyone has a wonderful, safe and spooky night! ::cues the scary music::

Pumpkin carving contestant #1

Pumpkin carving contestant #2

Our masterpieces. Can you guess who did what?

Muhahahaha!

Honorable mention: We also would like to shout out to our fabulous sis-n-law, Sandra. Happy Birthday Sunshine! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Greetings from Vermont!

Since you can never celebrate your first year of being happily married enough, Todd and I decided it was time for a romantic weekend getaway. With the fall foliage in full effect we thought it would be nice to drive up to Stowe, Vermont for a little sightseeing and relaxation.

Stowe is a resort town in northern Vermont that is very popular in the winter for skiing as well as popular for its wineries, cheese, cider and the Ben and Jerry's ice cream factory. We stayed in a gorgeous boutique hotel called The Green Mountain Inn where we had a beautiful luxury room complete with a fireplace! It was fabulous. We spent the whole weekend eating ice cream, cheese and cider and just enjoying the scenery. I would definitely recommend this place and we can't wait to go back.

Heading out to breakfast

Todd outside our hotel

The rest of the hotel is behind me

Is 9:30am too early for ice cream?

Waiting in the gift shop for the tour to begin

Hands down the best part of the tour...the sample room

Today the sample was strawberry cheesecake...it was delish

Yum!

Because we can't take enough pictures of ourselves. ;)

hello, cheese factory...I was a big fan of this place.

Toddi testing out some apple cider

The front of our hotel...it had just started to rain

Picture of the fabulous fireplace in our room. Note the cameo of cute hubs foot. ;)

Chilling under a covered bridge

Heading home, so sad :( The trees were gorgeous though.

Shameless plug of Coyer coolness #1 - On Friday evening once we were checked in and settled, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner at the restaurant in our hotel. As we were being seated myself, who apparently has no awareness of her surroundings, gently brushed into a couple on their way out of the restaurant. Mumbling I'm sorry but never looking up, I didn't think much of it until we sat down. Immediately Todd said: 'Did you know we just walked by Tyra Banks?'

'Seriously?' I said and then noticed that the restaurant was packed with flushed teenage girls all looking like they had seen a ghost. Tyra and her basketball boyfriend (don't know his name) were totally dining in our hotel!

So there you have it folks....the Coyer's totally vacation with celebrities...::crosses arms and smiles smugly:: :)

We are a-maze-ing!

It is officially fall in New England and we have busted out our jackets to prove it! It is gorgeous here and there are so many fabulous 'fall' things to do. Today we decided to try our luck at the local corn maze and pumpkin patch.

Now I'm not going to lie, corn fields kind of creep me out. It think it stems back to a slumber party I attended back in 5th grade where we mistakenly watched a horror film involving killer children that hung out in corn fields...::shudders:: Luckily I have a strong husband that promised via pinky swear that he would protect me if any murderous children crossed our path. ::phew::. So off we went into the maze with our 25 cent map in hand hoping that this would not be the last time we saw civilization. Now, we had a few false starts but once we figured out the map it was smooth sailing. I also learned that my cute hubs is a navigational genius, which was awesome since I wasn't paying attention as I was keeping my eye out for creepy kids. His sense of direction is almost spooky. Once he figured out where we were, he had us in and out of that maze in less then 20 minutes, never making a wrong turn. ::phew:: We had so much fun!

For the corn maze enthusiasts I would recommend never watching "Children of the Corn" and always taking Todd with you on such activities. There is something very comforting about the Marine/Eagle Scout combo when you are lost in a corn field. Just knowing the fact he could whip up a signal fire in a pinch is very soothing. :)

In front of the maze

Going in... a little nervous
Human GPS

Photo Op

We were just a smidge lost

I'm following that guy

Hooray we found a clearing!

HOORAY we figured out the map!

Hooray we made it out!

The maze champions!

Happy Anniversary!

It is now official, Todd and I are an old married couple. Today is our 1 year anniversary! I can't believe how fast time has gone. It seems like yesterday I was stressing out over flower arrangements and color samples.

I'm really not sure what they mean by the first year of marriage being the hardest because this year has been AWESOME! We moved cross-country, started new jobs, got a promotion, bought a ton of furniture and the best part is we got to do it all together. I have the worlds cutest husband who makes me feel loved and special each and every day and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us. So to my sweet hubs...happy anniversary Sweetie...we rock! ::gives hubs a high-five::