Ariana's Bridal Shower

Ariana & Bryan are getting married!! Saturday, I hosted a bridal shower for her. We were so lucky that the weather held out and had a lovely time celebrating her upcoming marriage. The official date is July 19th- it's coming up soon! Ariana recieved lots of great gifts for her new home. She was so cute opening up all her gifts! :-) Congratulations Ari. . .we love you!

Eric & Nancy come to visit from Australia!

Last weekend, Eric and Nancy Burton came to visit us. They had a tour planned to Boston, NYC, Washington D.C. and Eastern Canada, so they came a few days early to spend time with us! We had a wonderful time together. . .we hadn't seen Eric and Nancy since our wedding and it was so nice to spend time together. We only had a few days together, so we kept it pretty low-key. Phil and I showed Eric and Nancy around our town and went up to the Hublin Tower on Talcott mountain. Sunday afternoon we took them back to Boston to embark on their tour. We hope they are having a nice time touring the U.S.!

Puppy Photo Shoot

New camera! I recently got a Canon Rebel XTi and am having so much fun with it! I have developed an interest in photography through my co-worker, Eileen. She is a fabulous photographer and her creativity has really inspired me. With this new camera I can take much better pictures than a typical point-and-shoot and it is so fun playing with the settings! So. . .Saturday morning Phil and I did a little photo shoot with Moose & Maui to try out the camera. Here are a few of my favorites.

Row... Row... Row Your Boat

Well, I have decided to join a crew team again. For those of you who don't know, I rowed for a couple of years in Boston while at college. I loved my time on the Lesley University crew team and have always had a desire to row again when I had the time. Rowing crew is a love/hate relationship. . . it is crazy hard, but very very addictive! The Farmington Valley Rowing Association (FVRA) has a boathouse right down the road from me. They FVRA is a community rowing association. Rowers come from quite a few different towns in this area and form teams of all sizes and levels.

So. . .I recieved a call last week asking me if I would like to join a womens team. I will most likely be rowing a quad (4 people). As of right now, we are planning on rowing three days a week at 5:30 a.m. on the Farmington River. Should be fun!!! I am a morning person, so it shouldn't be too hard to get up! Hopefully, we are starting tomorrow morning, so will keep you posted as to how it goes! Here are a few pics from the rowing days in college. . . .

This quote inspired me to get back into the sport-

"Not everybody wins, and certainly not everybody wins all the time. But once you get into your boat and push off, tie into your shoes and bootstretchers, then lean on the oars, you have indeed won far more than those who have never tried."

One of the Lesley Boats at a race in CT

The launch point at a college regatta

Most of the Lesley Crew Team 2004- I wish I was in this pic, but I took it! :-)

Me in my rowing days (with roommate/teammate, Chrissy) 2004.

Memorial Day

It sure was nice to have the day off Monday! We spent memorial day at Glen's house. He had a bunch of friends over for a BBQ/hike/volleyball day. We had a great time and all got lost in the woods while hiking to a nearby lake! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. Here are a few pics. . .once again, the pups had a blast. Moose and Maui were so tired by the end of the day they could barely walk straight :-) !

Lianna & Joni

Shane & Joni
Moose was determined to dive in after the rocks Phil was throwing!
Handsome Moosie!
Volleyball w/kids and dogs!
James, Michelle and Moose playing ball
Glens House
The horse stables at Glen's house
Moose loves Aunt Joni!

Mother's Day

Taia & German just moved into a condo in Essex last weekend. So. . .we all went down to the CT shoreline for mother's day to see their new place We enjoyed the afternoon together and had a great seafood dinner! As usual, the pups played like crazy. Taia's pug, Lola and Mom's pug, Rico always have fun with cousins Moose & Maui. What a nice way to spend a Sunday. . .I think Mom enjoyed her day!

Taia set a beautiful table
The living room
Kitchen
Mom & Rico!
Beautiful plates
Taia's condo is in a historical house, it once was a church.
Taia & German's Essex home
The fire station next door
German shelling the lobsters
Lobsters!!

Two Jacks and Two Labs!

Friday evening we went down to Shane and Joni's for the night. The pups had a blast! They have a yellow lab named Daisy and a retriever/lab mix named Harley. Thankfully, the dogs get along great - especially Daisy and Moose. It is quite comical to watch the dogs play, there is quite a size difference! It was nice to get away for the night. . .we always have so much fun with Shane & Joni - there's sure to be lots of laughs!

Moose played hard! He slept for hours when we got home.

In the Garden. . .on a Rainy Day

A few weekends ago, we pulled out the ugly pine bushes that lined the front of our place. I have always wanted to plant blue hydrangea there because the color would look so beautiful in front of the grey/blue siding on the house. So, Friday I ventured out in the cold and rain to find hydrangea and other shrubs that would look nice in the bed. There is an amazing garden place right over the Connecticut border in Massachusetts that has everything under the sun. I ended up picking out a holly for the end of the bed, three blue hydrangea and a BP rhododendron bush for the corner next to the front door. Today, Phil and I sorted through the soil and pulled out all the roots and rocks we could. The puppies had an absolute blast. . .Maui was trying to dig to China in all the loose dirt,and Moose was determined to fetch every rock that was thrown off into the woods. Silly pups. . .they went right in the sink for a bath when we were all done!

Dig Dig Dig!!

"How can I pick up that rock?"

Before

Hopefully the hydrangea will be that blue!