Five!

Another belated birthday post was for our beloved cat, Coodie. He turned five on April 15. We are so very thankful for each one of those 5 years we have had with him as he is such a loving part of our family. He had a very difficult 2010 with his health which makes us even more happy to celebrate his birthday this year! Cheers to furry friends =^..^=

Late Birthday Post

I am a bit late in posting for Ryan's birthday that was a few weeks ago. I did make a fun video but have been unable to post it (grrr, Blogger) but we did take our yearly pilgrimage to a Red Sox game to celebrate so I do have those pictures to share.

Happy pregame Ryan.

Clay Buchholz - starting pitcher.

Some new giant TVs....I know they are called something else...jumbotrons? Anyway, BIG and pretty cool.

Gonzalez and Pedroia.

Terry Francona - he is the man.

Youk warming up and up to bat.

Big Papi...I had a hard time getting a good pic but he was very gracious. Considering the record was terrible at the time and most of the players seemed pretty focused - Big Papi always responded with a wave or a smile and a nod.

Happy Birthday Babe!

...and to finish it up... Wally doing a hip thrust! Yahoo! We had a great time once again in Beantown celebrating another fantastic year in Ryan's life. Cheers!

ilovermont

Ryan and I love to travel - on a plane or in a car, local or very far away. We have already filled you in on our trip up to northern NH and a few weeks after that we headed to VT with our best friends, Kate and Scott (aka "Scoop"). A few years ago we traveled to NYC for a long weekend with them as well and I can tell you, it is always a great time. We travel well together and always make some amazing memories. Vermont was no different. Kate found us a house to rent in West Wardsboro near Stratton Mountain and Mount Snow - a little ski lodge on a dirt road - and it was fantastic. We arrived on April Fools Day (Friday) driving through the snow to get there ... and it ended up snowing until late Saturday afternoon. It was lovely... a crackling fire, some good wine, fun games, a hot tub and good friends. It can't get much better than that!

Scoop lounging after unpacking. You can't see it, but the snow is lightly falling through the window.

Scoop showing off our bar.

Ryan looking up some local places for us to check out.

Ryan and Scoop watching the Sox game at The Last Chair.

Another view from The Last Chair.

The four of us in front of the fireplace. We are missing Emily and Dan who could not make it so we included them with our arms outstretched on either side....

In Manchester, VT hanging with a painting of an orange cat...of course we were missing our cats!

Ryan and Scoop in Manchester.

Look at those happy boys!

...and there was some dancing....

...and playing of Bananagrams...

Hey, what's up?

In front the fireplace...so warm and wonderful. I would want one if it weren't dry as a dog biscuit.

Kate and I snuggled in front of the fireplace.

These last two are my favorite photos of the weekend..... we love you guys!

Friends are the family you choose.

Weekend in the Mountains

After a loooong winter with way too much snow and way too much time inside, Ryan and I got away for our first of several weekends away that we have planned through early spring. We headed up north to Whitefield, NH with our friends Jed and Bonnie and stayed at the historic Mountain View Grand Hotel (below photo courtesy of Jed).

The hotel is over one hundred years old and was refurbished to the tune of $26 million in the early 2000's. They have also recently added a wind turbine (see below) and have become an eco-friendly hotel...right down to the recycled straws in the restaurant. Walking into the lobby feels like you are walking back in time.

This is a view from the tower atop the hotel and a view of only half of the massive building.

And another view of the mountains....

Ryan and Jed on our 5.5 mile snowshoe.

Bonnie and I chatting and snowshoeing. What an awesome workout....

...with an amazing view!

So, we really earned our pre dinner drinks and yummy dinner at the hotel restaurant.

After dinner, we enjoyed a bonfire and the super moon at the same time. Wow!

Bonnie and I patting Miss Belle.

Here we are proving to the guys that we are truly queens - not sure if they bought it, though! (photo courtesy of Jed)

We also visited the Mountain View Farm. Ryan got to pat a miniature donkey.

We saw some goats who were very affectionate.

A very fuzzy angora bunny.

Some more goats hanging out in the sun.

We had a such a great time up in "God's Country" - very relaxing and so much fun! More fun weekends to come....

Happy Birthday, Paw!

Today we celebrate my dad's birthday. 2011 will be a good year for my dad filled with good health (since a scary heart attack 11 months ago) and a retirement...finally! I was beginning to think he was pulling a Brett Favre....just in the retirement sense, of course. (Sheesh, in recent months, that has taken on a whole new meaning!)

So, let's do a trip down Memory Lane ....

My dad and I

Yes, friends...I got to ride in style while the rest of the family hiked up those mountains. I am sure the wooden throne I sat on was not too comfy for me but can you imagine what my dad's back felt like. Ouch!

The whole fam in the early 90's.

Ethan, Ryan, Aaron and my dad.

My dad and I on my wedding day. I am telling him to please not say anything to make me cry.

My mom, dad and I on a hike this past October in Boothbay Harbor.

Happy Birthday, Dad! We look forward to many more hikes with you and mom! Thanks for always being there for me.

The Red Shirt

We quite obviously love our cats but when our cats show us they love us, it just melts our hearts. Coodie has been with us for 4 and a half years so he has had plenty of opportunities. There was the time he was driving us crazy keeping us up at night so we shut the bedroom door and left him outside. We woke up in the morning to one pair of my socks and one pair of Ryan's socks. He had dragged them both from the basement where I had been doing laundry (2 floors down)... a peace offering perhaps? Then he started snoozing in the place that Ryan or I have sat/slept last instead of the several super comfy cat beds we have lying around the house. The other day I sat in this blue chair in our spare bedroom that I hadn't sat in for months. Later on, he was snuggled right up in it.

We have only had Guster for about 10 months now but he is a cuddle bug, very demonstrative and loves to sit on your lap or butt his head against you. But, the other day, he did something above and beyond his usual Gussie tendencies. I left for work before Ryan woke up. When he came down to the kitchen, he found the red shirt I had worn the day before (and thrown on TOP of the hamper instead of inside) in the middle of the kitchen floor. I came home at the end of the day to find Gussie laying on my shirt in the kitchen. I asked Ryan why my shirt was in the kitchen? He then told me he came downstairs in the morning to find my shirt in the middle of the kitchen...clearly dragged from the upstairs bedroom. He then proceeded to nap on it most of the day. It's such a simple thing but it just melted my heart.... Here is a photo for proof of what I came home to:

The New Year

I am not one for resolutions because I feel like they hang over my head waiting for me to break them ... probably because I always tend to "go for the gusto" and make them slightly unreachable. Regardless, I just don't feel like I want to change anything overnight just because the calendar changed. I just resolve that every day I try to be a better person in different ways. It is on my mind daily and not just a date on the calendar - I work on it little bits at a time.

What I do like about the new year is the fact that it is a new chapter. The year 2010 is now a neat little chapter in a big book of memories. And in that neat little chapter, I want to celebrate some highlights:

In early March, we made another trek out to Portland, OR to celebrate Todd's birthday. Ryan and I ended the week long getaway in one of our favorite places, Seattle.

In mid-March, we brought the newest addition to our family home: Guster. He has been so much fun to have around and a great buddy to his big brother, Coodie.

In April, we celebrated Ryan's birthday in front row seats at the Red Sox game. We were right next to the dug out and got to see all of the players right up close.

In May, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary.

In June, we visited Colorado. This was my first visit ever and Ryan's first time back since graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Since this time, Ryan's brother and his family have moved here and we are so excited to go back and visit!

In September, we took our yearly trip to Ogunquit after the crowds leave but while the weather is still beautiful.

In October, my parents took us to Boothbay Harbor for some hiking, good dinners and fresh sea air. We were also celebrating my dad's health and his recovery from his heart attack in March that we are so thankful for. What a comeback!

We are also thankful for Coodie's rebound after several setbacks with his health this year.

I am sure I am forgetting several fun and important events this year but I wanted to highlight what an amazing year 2010 was for us. Although we had some setbacks, everyone is bouncing back and thriving. Cheers to a happy, healthy 2011!