Where is the time going?

Today is my super sweet 29th birthday! Yikes! Time just keeps marching along, doesn't it! Oh well besides the realization that I am officially in my 30th year, I had an awesome day! To celebrate Todd took me on the Newport Dinner Train. It was so much fun. On the train, they serve you a 3 course meal while you cruise along Narragansett Bay. It was perfect. I would love to take our families back when they come to visit.

I can't thank everyone enough for all the birthday wishes, I had a wonderful day and I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life.

Because we can't take enough pictures of ourselves

Hanging out on the train, this was so much fun.

Handsome hubs

Inside the dining car

cruising along, the USS Forrestal and USS Saratoga in the distance

Some birthday flowers and the naughty cat that wants to eat them. I could not get her off our table.

Time to play in the dirt

Last April, Todd and I lovingly put in gladioli bulbs in our garden and got pretty sad results. The whole process was pretty anti-climatic. Here's what happened. We planted bulbs in ground and watered said bulbs for months. One hot day in July bulbs popped up, bloomed and then bulbs died a day and a half later. Ta-da. It was a lot of work for very little pay off so this year we are going for instant gratification and buying plants at Home Depot. We also purchased a firepit last fall so we plan to set up a little seating area to enjoy a fire. Yes, we've been watching WAY too much HGTV.

Our Home Depot haul.

Gardin de Coyay before

Cute hubs putting together our fire pit

Gardin de Coyay after. Much better.

Anyone want to come over?

Our little seating area and yes Mom, we have a fire extinguisher. :)

We have a new furry friend!

Ever since we cat-sat lil Miss Lola last summer, Todd and I have wanted to get a pet. For those three weeks it was so fun to have a little critter waiting for us when we got home and we definitely missed her when Lola was returned back to her owners. Well last week we decided to mosey on down to our local shelter and bring home a critter of our very own. It took all of 5 minutes to pick her out of the other cute kitties, or more accurately for her to pick us. She immediately just jumped on Todd's lap, made herself at home and we knew this was the kitty for us. It is so much fun to have her wondering around and like Lola, Todd has increased his naps on the couch due to a very snuggly cat.

We would like to introduce the newest member of our cute little family, Sam or as Todd affectionately calls her, Thunder Cat.

Well hello there!

Ya I'm pretty cute


Doing a little napping

And some more napping

She has taken no time making herself at home. :)

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Having a reason to celebrate has never been lost on this crowd and since our dear friends Marty and Maribel are proud Mexicans, they invited us over for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. I have learned in the past if Maribel is cooking it is not wise to pass up on her food. She is an amazing cook. Poor things had to travel far and wide in New England to secure carne asada but their effort was not lost on the Coyers. Maribel made homemade refried beans, salsa and rice while Marty grilled up quesadillas, pollo asada and carne asada. We were in Mexican food heaven. We spent the whole day playing games out in their yard and eating as much as possible. They even had maracas and somberos for everyone and even a piñata for the kids. We have some awesome friends!

Look good Toddi!

Tequila. This was our addition to the party. When we were in Seattle we were gifted with a bottle of this really nice tequila from Todd's parents from a trip they took to Mexico. We thought it was a great excuse to break it out. Thank you so much Mom and Dad!

It was a big hit. Cheers!

Marty, PJ and Todd show off their maraca skills

Maribel, Estelle and Tiffeny

I'm going to be honest, Cinco de Mayo is now officially in my top 5 holidays. ::sips on her margarita::

Hanging with the Coyers

We made it! After a delay free flight we finally touched down in Washington. We were so happy to be there. I just love this place, it is so beautiful and we were fortunate to have barely any rain. Though the weekend went way too fast we had an amazing time. Brian and Sandra were wonderful hosts and we were so lucky to get to spend my fabulous mother in laws birthday with her. We went out to a wonderful birthday dinner and then the next day went off to the Tulip festival. I personally love tulips and it was so cool to see thousands and thousands of fields of them. Not to mention that Brian, Todd and Sandra had me in stitches the whole day. They are so much fun. Though it was hard to leave, we are planning quite a few trips back there shortly and I can't wait. I am so fortunate to marry into such an awesome family!

The Coyer women celebrating Barb's birthday.

Make a wish! Happy Birthday!

Me and my fabulous sis in law, Sandra. She pretty much rocks.


Tulips!

The beautiful and fabulous Barb hanging out in the tulips

Hey there.

Brian and Sandra

The adventures of Shan and Sandra. We were on a tulip mission at this point.

Barb and Kara

The Coyer boys. I think they got in trouble after this was taken for walking through the field. Oops.

Billions and billions of tulips!

Thank you so much again for having us. I can't wait til we live closer again. ::sighs::

Off to the Emerald City!

Tonight Todd and I are off to the mythical city of Seattle to see our family! Yay! Ok, so its not mythical, I've been there, heck Toddi grew up there, it exists. We apparently just didn't realize how difficult it was to get there in the winter months. Well, it is now officially Spring with means that this time we might have more luck but just in case any positive travel thoughts you can send our way would be most appreciated. :)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

The Quest for Perfection Continues....

Or at least my dentist's quest for my perfection continues. I am the first to admit that I am not perfect. I stub my toes many times a week on furniture, often times in the same places. If I am walking on an uneven sidewalk I will usually trip, even if I saw it coming and my sweet Todd sometimes calls me 'hurricane Shannon' as whatever room I enter, a mess is whats usually left in my wake. No, I am not perfect and I have accepted that.

Now I have been seeing my dentist going on 1 year and of the 4 or so appointments I have had with him the exact same conversation commences....

Dentist: (complete with telescopic glasses and a billion instruments in my mouth) "hmmmm...aha....hmmm..." then accusingly says "Are you happy with your teeth???"

Shan (complete with Dentist and a billion instruments in my mouth): "ah, I uess...r ew haffy wit ay eetf???"

::translation: I guess, are you happy with my teeth?::

Dentist: "You have beautiful healthy teeth and no cavities but I definitely see room for improvement."

Shan: "Ohay"

Dentist: "First, lets straighten up those bottom teeth a touch more, then whiten them all up a bit and then throw on a few veneers and I think you will be perfect just like a movie star."

Shan: "Ohay."

I was then immediately fitted for an invisalign retainer and whitening trays. So there you have it even my dentist agrees I have flaws. If he only knew the many years and thousands of dollars already invested in these teeth, sheesh. He better know what he's doing and when this is all done my teeth at the very very least...should be perfect.