Shannon's Space

Chacon Boys

2011-12-18T10:26:00.003-05:00

Well Christina... you wanted some good pictures for Christmas cards... what do you think of these...

Getting into the holiday spirit

2011-12-15T18:00:00.001-05:00

The end of the world... or not...

2011-12-15T17:59:00.000-05:00

Just playing

2011-12-15T17:53:00.002-05:00

just playing around with some fun photography apps on my phone :)

I'm missin' me some Ferris Acres!

2011-11-15T18:04:00.000-05:00

There is this dairy farm a couple miles from our house that makes the BEST ice cream around! It is so yummy and SO hard for me to drive past it every day on my way home from work and not stop. I'm not going to lie... the last week it was open I probably went 2 or 3 times... it's that good! Plus I knew I wouldn't be getting any more until next April so I took advantage of it! YUMMM-O!

October happenings

2011-10-18T18:08:00.000-04:00

All sorts of fun stuff going on... 10 year anniversary at work, apple picking, birthday celebrations, pumpkins, LOVE this time of year!

Put down your camera or the pumpkin gets it!

2011-10-17T14:47:00.002-04:00

No YOU rock junior!

2011-10-17T14:40:00.003-04:00

I know junior can't talk yet but he was totally thinking... YOU rock Shannon :) LOVE LOVE LOVE this family! They are such a joy to work with. Thought this was a cute shot of the three of them! More to come later...

Vampires suck...

2011-10-14T18:00:00.001-04:00

Saw this and giggled :) Yes I am a total teenie bobber and I am PSYCHED for Breaking Dawn to come out next month!!!

I heart my hubs!

2011-10-14T17:26:00.000-04:00

Hey buddy, nice to meet you!

2011-10-05T17:47:00.000-04:00

This is not the greatest picture BUT it is a very meaningful picture! This is a photo of my new baby nephew being held by his Nana for the first time. Not only is he being held by Nana but he is HOLDING MY HAND!!! This was about 30 seconds after we got out of the car to meet Mr. Bentley! He has had his me wrapped around his little finger ever since!

Just another day at the office

2011-09-14T18:01:00.000-04:00

Hurricane... what hurricane

2011-09-01T17:59:00.000-04:00

Hurricane Irene

2011-08-29T17:37:00.004-04:00

I don't know about you but I don't like seeing options for evacuation routes when I go to check the weather!

All of the grocery stores were like ghost towns the day before Irene hit. We asked people at Target if they had any water left and they told us they were out of water but "Capri Sun is the new water", who knew.

We bought our supplies and hunkered down for the night. We did what anyone would do during a hurricane... ate junk food and played monopoly!

We were VERY LUCKY! We didn't get much damage at all around me. 85% of my town was without power but we never lost ours! 95% of the town where I work was without power... but of course my office is lucky enough to have a generator! It did take me a few tries to get to work and I did have to drive under a few downed trees and power lines but I made it.

I sure hope our gas stations and grocery stores get power back soon. It's hard to shop for dinner when you can only buy non perishable items. Its also hard to buy gas when they only accept cash...

Ribbit

2011-08-27T17:54:00.001-04:00

Some people have been saying that the end of the world is coming. We had an earthquake this week and now a hurricane is on its way. I said once I saw the locust I would consider that it might actually be the end of the world. We don't have locust but this guy did hop across my LIVING ROOM floor this morning!?!? Hmm...

Weekend in RI

2011-08-21T17:29:00.000-04:00

WELCOME Bentley!

2011-08-17T16:59:00.000-04:00

My nephew Bentley was born today and I could not be more excited! I am so proud of my brother, he is such a great daddy already! From what I hear baby and mama are doing well. I can't wait to meet my most favorite nephew!!! Auntie Sha Sha loves you more than you know Bentely!!!

It's official... I'M AN AUNT!!!

2011-08-17T15:27:00.001-04:00

Sleeping Giant State Park

2011-08-14T17:07:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Logan & Jackson

2011-08-07T17:13:00.001-04:00

Michael and I had to go to a birthday party for out cool neighbor friends. We bought them some pretty sweet presents and had to try them out before we handed them over. I think they looked pretty good on us... but they look better on the boys :) Happy Birthday Jackson & Logan!

Instagram LOVE!

2011-08-06T17:22:00.000-04:00

I just became a cool kid and finally got an iphone.
I am in LOVE with the instagram app!

Dallas

2011-08-01T17:32:00.001-04:00

Visited my Loren in Dallas this past weekend. It was SO great seeing her! I really wish we lived closer but it makes the visits we do have much more fun :) We had a blast as always! I love visiting my girl Loren but will be sure to NEVER got back in the peak summer months! 109 degrees is a little hot for me... just a little! LUMUHUKU Loren!

My sisters made me do it!

2011-07-28T17:19:00.000-04:00

Yes I realize it says "top TEEN picks" and its been a couple years since I was a teen... but my sisters told me I had to read these books. I've got to admit... I'm hooked! I read the first one and it was great. I bought it in the airport on my way to Dallas and finished it while on the plane! I'm excited to read the next two in the series and hope they hold up as well as the first one.

I heart this weather!

2011-07-14T17:11:00.000-04:00

Junior

2011-06-19T15:14:00.004-04:00

Kelly & Spencer tie the knot

2011-06-19T14:50:00.005-04:00

ARUBA!!!

2011-06-19T14:38:00.005-04:00

Oh what I wouldn't give to be back there right now!!! :)

Aruba

2011-05-15T00:08:00.002-04:00

Oh what I wouldn't give to be back there right now!!!

Beaumont Wedding

2011-03-12T11:01:00.002-05:00

ARUBA OR BUST!!!

2011-02-22T14:26:00.003-05:00

Just booked our flight to Aruba!!! AHHHHHHHHHH :) I'm so psyched and had no one to tell so I figured I would tell the world lol. WAHOOOOOOOOO!!! I can't wait! :) What a well deserved vacation after putting up with this horrific winter! :) :) :)

Kinley Vail

2011-01-25T07:33:00.006-05:00

An Open Letter to Pumpkin Flavored Seasonal Treats

2010-12-30T10:50:00.001-05:00

Dear Pumpkin-Flavored Seasonal Treats,

So you're back. You just come waltzing into town like nothing has happened, like nothing has changed. Don't look at me like that. You're the one who left for a year with no explanation, no warning. No note. And I'm just supposed to be okay with that?

Well, I'm not. A lot has changed in the last year. I've moved on. I tried going vegan, did you know that? Of course you didn't. You know why? Because you never bothered to call and check in. I had a fling with peppermint in December, but that didn't last long. I never really got over you.

Do you know what it was like for me after you disappeared? I was a wreck. I couldn't get out of bed; there was nothing to look forward to. I started visiting the places we spent time together, on the off chance you might be there. But no matter where I went, the fact was that you were gone. Worst of all, it seems that I was the only one who noticed. Signs advertising your presence remained up. Commercials encouraging me to consume you in mass quantities flooded my television and haunted my dreams. You were everywhere and nowhere, all at the same time.

If I had realized how temporary your presence in my life would be, I would have done things differently. I would have cherished the time we spent together more. I would have taken more pictures. I would have told you I loved you each and every single day. If only I knew it was all going to end, I would have planned ahead. I would have stocked up. If only.

But like I said, things are different now. I've changed. I'm strong now. I'm not the same girl who needed you, yearned for you and cried when you weren't around. I am an independent, self sufficient woman, who refuses to be tied down. Especially to something that can't handle hanging around for more than a three month period of time. So screw you, you commitment phobic piece of crap.

You've got a lot of nerve coming back here. How dare you look me in the eye? Do you think I'm dumb? Do you think I don't realize that since you've come back, you've flirted with every person you pass on the street, tempting them with your elusive charms and intoxicating scent? You jerk. You big jerk. I trusted you. I thought we had something special. And now you've gone and thrown it all away. Again. God, I'm stupid. I'm so stupid. I hate you. I really, really do.

Wait. I'm sorry. Maybe I'm being too hard on you. I don't know. I've put so much into this relationship already. Maybe it's better to just try again. A blank slate, so to speak. It's still early in the season. We still have time; we can still make it work. What do you say? How about a drink? For old time's sake? But please, whatever you do. Don't ever leave me again.

I love you

Johnny Appleseed Day!

2010-12-26T17:47:00.003-05:00

Johnny Appleseed Day was boat loads of fun! The newly ENGAGED Kelly & Spencer, Elyse & Bill and me (the fifth wheel) all met up at Blue Jay Orchards for a day of fun. Kelly & Spencer were so cute together and it was the first time we had seen them as an engaged couple which was fun. We bought some cider donuts and some apple cider for later then did some hard core apple picking! It was a good time had by all. After picking me, Elyse & Bill came back to my house to meet up with Michael. We made some delicious spiced apple cider, and a banging apple crumble crisp! They were both quite yummy. We finished the night out with some rock band and called it a day! :)

Nico 2.0

2010-12-26T17:18:00.006-05:00

Halloween 2010

2010-12-26T17:01:00.002-05:00

Nico

2010-10-27T21:54:00.008-04:00

The Ambrose Family

2010-10-14T22:29:00.001-04:00

Betty's Maternity Pictures

2010-10-08T23:42:00.001-04:00

Summer Times

2010-10-08T23:17:00.005-04:00

Providence

2010-08-14T23:34:00.000-04:00

Florida 2010

2010-08-07T19:18:00.000-04:00

I'm a "toaster" and I want the world to know.

2010-08-05T12:44:00.007-04:00

My husband's last name is Troester. Years ago some genious kid decided that Troester sounds kind of like Toaster... and it kind of stuck. It veries from time to time, Toaster, Toastie, Toasted Cheese, etc. Now that we are married I guess I'm officially a toaster too... WOO HOO! So while searching around on etsy yesterday I came across this little gem.

Now I know most people would look at this and think... why the heck would someone buy a necklace with a toaster on it... well after waiting almost 10 years to become an official "Toaster" I am psyched and want the world to know. So yes, I bought this necklace! I think it set me back a whopping $4.00 but I really thought it was worth it!

I may or may not have also bought these adorable earrings.

I KNOW I KNOW I got a little toaster crazy but COME ON... how cute are they!!!

Koji's at Buttonwood

2010-07-20T22:06:00.010-04:00

So I have been bff's with the Koji's for quite some time now. Last year Jenn called me on my birthday and said something to the extent of... "Hey Shannon, ya know how you wanted me to be 9 months pregnant at your wedding... well it looks like you're going to get your wish!" I screamed, and almost crashed my car (similar to the day she called me and told me she was engaged!) Anyways the second she told me she was preggers I told her I was going to take maternity pictures of her and I could not wait.
The day came and it just happened to coincide with the sunflowers being in bloom at Buttonwood. We went out in the sweltering heat and got some great pictures. Well Mason made his early arrival (about 3 weeks before my wedding) and we have been loving him to pieces ever since.
I was PSYCHED when Jenn called me and said she wanted me to get some family pictures at Buttonwood again this year! So Michael and I went up, shot in the sweltering heat, and were rewarded with dinner AND coffe mocha cruch ICE CREAM... heavenly! These are just a few of the pictures we got this year... enjoy!

(and yes I know the "watermark" is all messed up but I can't quite figure it out right now so I'll have to fix that later. Just wanted Jenny to see her little Mason asap!)
Oh and to give credit where credit is due I had my AMAZING 2nd shooter with me. He got some great shots, a few of which are up on my blog. Introducing the wonderfully talented... Michael Troester to the blog!!! The last sunflower shot is his and I LOVE it! He will be surpassing me in skill in no time :)

Sunset drive

2010-06-28T22:13:00.001-04:00

Kelly & Spencer

2010-06-23T08:06:00.004-04:00

Little Mr. Logan

2010-06-22T07:50:00.006-04:00

6 week old Matthew

2010-06-14T19:53:00.010-04:00

Sarah Catherine

2010-06-12T16:44:00.003-04:00

Happy 25th Birthday Kristen

2010-05-30T10:12:00.001-04:00

Mothers Day 2010

2010-05-09T10:41:00.000-04:00

MW Wedding

2010-04-29T20:53:00.004-04:00

Last weekend I got to help shoot a wedding with the UBER talented Melissa Wilson. I had a blast and couldn't have thanked her enough for letting me tag along. I've gotta say the kids were the best all day! They were such hams!!!

Weekend with Alyssa

2010-04-29T20:47:00.002-04:00

A few weeks back Miss Alyssa had the pleasure of staying over night at our house for the weekend. We all hung out on Friday at the neighbors. They made us an amazing dinner, and Alyssa got to play with the kids and CHICO, the coolest dog in town! Saturday Michael had to work so we had a GAO (girls afternoon out duh!). We went to the mall, bought some sweet hats, headbands, and video games. Then we went to Target and bought some boring grown up stuff for my house (an AWESOME rug that was normally $98 and I got it on super clearance for $24! And some chairs for the yard) Then we stopped at this park by my house on the way home and took some fun pictures. It was a great weekend with Alyssa!

Easter with the in-laws

2010-04-29T20:27:00.002-04:00

So for Easter this year we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant in Newtown. Once we were done eating we all came outside where I begged the fam to let me snap a picture of them on this joyous holiday occasion. Well Alyssa refused to get in the picture, Kristen was making "THE face", my FATHER IN LAW decided to fake pick his nose... this is my new family...

DISCLAIMER: Kristen if you happen to see this picture you can NOT get mad at me for putting it online... you knew it was bound to happen eventually! I mean come on, you made the face AT MY WEDDING while standing in front of EVERYONE in the CHURCH!

Happy 21st Nicky!

2010-04-25T21:04:00.000-04:00

This past week was Nicky's birthday so we celebrated it over the weekend. In holding with the tradition that you get to decide what Sheryl makes for dinner Nicky picked HANDS DOWN the most AMAZING dinner yet! Nicky chose to have breakfast for dinner and it was PHENOMENAL! Sheryl made scrambled eggs with mushrooms, peppers, and cheese. She made three kinds of toast, homemade home fries with bacon and onions... better than anything I've ever had at a restaurant! Kristen was in charge of the bacon and it came out PERFECTLY! Then Sheryl made the worlds greatest crepes! With homemade whipped cream (a la Shannon), raspberries, strawberries, black berries and bananas! MOST AMAZING MEAL EVER!!! I'm so asking for that for my birthday dinner next year! Then we had strawberry cheesecake for dessert... YUM-O!

Rear view mirror

2010-04-22T13:08:00.001-04:00

Okay it wasn't technically my rear view mirror but my husband is downstairs listening to Pearl Jam's RVM so it seemed fitting :) This is a random shot I took a couple months back that I thought was kind of neat.

Koji Girls and Daffodils

2010-04-11T11:35:00.006-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I met up with the Koji clan at Hubbard Park in Meriden, CT. It was a wee bit windy... and a wee bit chilly... to say the least. But the girls toughed it out for a few shots. I guess they have a Daffodil Festival at this park each year around now so we timed the shoot perfectly... good job Donna! Donna, Jim, Milana & Catilina... thanks for an awesome afternoon! Can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2010-03-29T20:33:00.000-04:00

The day before my birthday I got together with my girls in New Haven. We were celebrating both my birthday and my bff Elyse's birthday b/c OBV all the cool kids were born in March! We went shopping, ate ice cream, got Megan's hair cut, it was quite the exciting day.
Then on Sunday, my actual birthday, Michael took me, my mom, and Elyse out to breakfast at this YUMMY place called Kings right here by my house (Dangerous!). It was SO GOOD!!! Then the four of us went and saw Sherlock Holmes at Edmond Town Hall. It is a $2 movie house here, LOVE it!
That night Michael and I went to the in-laws where Sheryl agreed to make me anything I wanted for my birthday dinner. So I had... drum roll please... HOT DOGS and MACARONI AND CHEESE! Yep you heard right, hot dogs and macaroni and cheese! It was DELISH!

Erinn & Regan

2010-03-13T12:20:00.005-05:00

Williams sneak peak...

2010-03-09T07:33:00.000-05:00

Sylvie & Tom

2010-02-15T10:35:00.008-05:00

Yesterday Melissa Wilson was awesome enough to let me tag along with her on an engagement shoot. The couple was awesome to work with! First of all it was hard to take a bad picture of them looking as good as they did! Tom is a volunteer fireman so we got to take some shots at the firehouse which was awesome! And to top it all off Tom bought all of us ladies chocolate covered strawberries and hot cocoa for Valentines Day! It was an awesome shoot and I can't wait to go back out and shoot with Melissa again. Sylvie & Tom... good luck with the rest of your wedding planning. Thanks for an awesome day!

I have funny friends

2010-02-08T16:25:00.004-05:00

I receive all sorts of entertaining emails from my friends. I even have an email folder just for such things! They help me get through the week! I was trying to think of some fun things to put on my blog and thought this could work. So every once in a while, when I’ve saved up enough good emails I’ll post a few. Here are a few from last week. I may be the only person that gets a kick out of this... but its my blog so that's okay lol.

"Oh man, I don’t know if I can sing in front of anyone else!!!!! I get embarrassed… Although I probably shouldn’t, since I’m Mr. 100% Actually that’s my new nick name…you know 50 cent? Well I’m 100 cent!! (percent)" - Maximus*
(In reference to getting a score of 100 while singing on Rock Band)

"ALERT ALERT – I am going to walk to the cafeteria to get coffee. I will be back in 5 minutes. I will respond to any additional e-mails at that time. Please do not self-destruct yourselves." - Evelyn*

"In other news I just caved and had a dark chocolate truffle. Kick you in the teeth fantastic!" - Martha*

*All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Reminder

2010-01-29T12:52:00.003-05:00

This is the email I just sent my husband:

"Hey babe. You told me to send you an email today reminding you to do something. But I can't remember what you wanted me to remind you to do! Here's hoping you remember what you told me to remind you about because I don't!"

It just made me laugh out loud... doesn't take much I guess :)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The morning of...

2010-01-21T20:43:00.009-05:00

I had an idea in my mind of what my wedding day would be like since before I even got engaged. I always knew I would get married in the fall. I knew it would be a gorgeous day! I envisioned the wedding party all getting together before the wedding for some fun portraits outside. Maybe a big field somewhere or a vineyard perhaps. Where ever we went it would be gorgeous out and we would take tons of fun pictures outside without a care in the world. I was nervous of course leading up to the big day. I had worries every now and again that something would be forgotten or something would go wrong but I always just told myself it would all work out perfectly, it had to... it was my wedding day. I did not once envision rain on my wedding day... not once. I also never envisioned the power going out in the church, or my cake collapsing... but those are just a few of the things that helped make our day special. Had someone told me that three months ago I would have told them they were crazy. How could any of that be good??? But somehow for us it all worked out. I'm not gonna lie... I'm still mad it rained on my wedding day... but all things considered I think the day went pretty well.

(all photo credit: Jacob Bergmeier of NoDo Photography)
(except the shot of the rain boots: Wolf Hansen) :)

The day before...

2010-01-21T19:51:00.007-05:00

I spent the day before my wedding relaxing with my girls. We went and had our eyebrows done which might sound silly to some of you but obviously you have never been to Daniel. He is like an eyebrow GOD! It was great! Then we went for mani's and pedi's. I was treated like a princess, it was quite nice, I could totally have gotten used to that! :)

Then we were off to the church for the rehearsal which went well. Then off to Michael's parents for the best rehearsal dinner ever... at least that's what I hear. The nervous bride I was, I took maybe two bites off of my moms plate and that was it :)

Once we were done with the rehearsal dinner we should have gone home put on our pj's and just relaxed, went to bed early for ample beauty sleep and called it a night. Well that is what I suggest you do the night before you wedding. DO NOT decide you are going to make all of the bouquets the night before your wedding... that is a bad idea. UNLESS of course you have some of the most awesome bridesmaids in the world there to do it all for you! We got back to Elyse's parents house and spent the better half of the night trying to get my flowers to open up. It was quite the task and at about 3am I finally told them all I was sorry but I had to go to bed if I was going to look at all rested on my wedding day. So they stayed up and made all 7 bouquets! They rocked!!!

2010

2010-01-16T15:45:00.008-05:00

HELLO! I realize I have been away from the blog for... a LONG time. I'm going to make more of an effort to get back into blogging. So today I will start getting you caught up on the past couple months. Today I will leave you with some pre wedding goodness :)

These are a few more pictures from my Bridal Shower. I had SO MUCH FUN! It's not often that you are filled with a room full of women that are there to love and support you! It was an amazing day! I had most of my best friends there... even Jenny ready to pop and all. There was AMAZING food! You would have thought we were at a 5 star restaurant. We played all sorts of fun games too. It was just an all around awesome afternoon!

Then from the shower we went to my new house to drop off all of my presents, and let me tell you... there were TONS! We honestly have not unpacked a single thing from our old kitchen, were just using all of our new goodies! Anyways once we were done at my house the girls decided to blind fold me! They secretly drove me out to this cute hotel in RI right by the beach to spend the night. It was a ton of fun!

Did I really get married last weekend?

2009-11-02T08:56:00.003-05:00

It doesn't feel real yet. I mean I saw some pictures from my wedding, so I guess it actually happened... but it sure doesn't feel real yet! I wonder when it will...

Anyways we just got back from our honeymoon and it was UN-FREAKING-BELIEVABLE! I was looking at some of the pictures and had a hard time believing I was actually there. The beaches on most of the islands were crazy beautiful! Looked like something you would find on a postcard not in real life! It was so much fun! We flew to San Juan Puerto Rico and left from there. We hit... St. Thomas, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, and then back to San Juan. It was awesome!!! The weather was great (big switch from our wedding day where it rained and poured on us all day long!).
In St. Thomas we went to Magen's Bay which was beautiful! I had never seen a beach like that! Soft white sand, clear blue water, oh it was great! We just laid on the beach and drank fruity drinks all day... it was the life!
Barbados we went to the beach too which was hands down our favorite beach out of the whole trip. It was big and beautiful and just unreal! The people kept trying to get us to go scuba diving and buy jewelry and drugs off of them but once we got used to that it was fine :)
Dominica is the only island we went to where we were nervous to get off the ship. You could tell just from looking at the port that it was not the... most safe looking place we had ever been. We decided to get off and if we were scared we could just turn around and run back to the ship :) It was pretty sketchy! There were a few times we would turn to walk down a street and turn right around because it was too scary lol! But we did end up finding a bar right by the dock and had some chicken fajita type things that were to die for! All in all were glad we got off to explore but have no desire to go back to Dominica.
St. Lucia was beautiful! While there we went kayaking to Pigeon Island. It was actually a lot of fun and not quite as hard or scary as I had thought it would be. Once we got to the island we went for a 15 minute hike to the top of a mountain and the views were amazing! I know I keep saying everything was AMAZING but it totally was! After our hike we got to go snorkeling which was also pretty cool. Something I said I would never do because the water freaks me out but it was pretty great!
While on Antigua we went horseback riding. That was... interesting! My horses name was Bright Lights and Michael's was Contriban. We had both never riden a horse before so it was a new experience for both of us. You could tell as soon as Michael got on his horse he wanted to scream like a little girl hahaha but he held it together and did great. My horse was a little fisty and kept trying to bite the horse in front of it. He ran a few times which was actually pretty cool. We got to ride them all along this trail overlooking the ocean, then they actually let us ride along the beach for a while. At the end they said if we wanted we could ride the horses into the water so like an idiot I said yes. It was the scariest thing of my life! The water freaks me out as it is, and riding one into the ocean... not a good idea. We had no saddle on and the horse was wet and slippery... something I will surely NEVER do again but I'm glad I can say I tried (unlike my sissy husband :) haha.
St. Kitts was our last stop and we decided to do the zip line thing. We were both very nervous but once you started it was not very scary at all. It was actually just really cool. It was like you were flying over the rain forest and it opened up at some points so you could see the ocean! I would do that again in a heartbeat!
All in all our honeymoon was AMAZING! We couldn't have asked for a better trip, better weather, better entertainment, it was all around the best honeymoon EVER!!!
I was only able to upload a few pictures so here are some to hold you over :)

My Bridal Shower

2009-09-27T22:51:00.003-04:00

This is a picture of my bridal party! Minus my good friend Miss Loren but she lives in Texas so I guessss I'll let it go this once. I had a great weekend with all my friends and family. My girls threw me the most awesome bridal shower EVER! It was great! The food was AMAZING!!! That was mostly compliments of Miss Tina Sue who was in fact Loren's stand in :) We had all sorts of deliciousness... blueberry french toast, breakfast casserole, quiche, mac & cheese... and that was just the first course! Wolf even jumped in and made something amazing! We had cake, donuts, pumpkin rolls... it was AMAZING! So when I can't fit into my wedding dress in less than a month you will know why!
After the shower I was blindfolded and locked in the back of a car for TWO AND A HALF HOURS!!! Shame on my friends! But it was totally worth it because we ended up in Rhode Island right by the beach! We had some more great food! A few drinks... just a few! Then did a little shopping!
All in all it was a pretty stellar weekend and I am so lucky and blessed to have such amazing friends and family!!!
THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! Now the countdown officially begins till the big day... less than a month! EEEKKKKKKKKK! :)

Mason James Koji

2009-07-26T23:34:00.005-04:00

Weekend of the 4th

2009-07-22T22:41:00.009-04:00

Uncle Bill & Sheryl both have July birthdays so we started the weekend with a celebratory dinner with the Troesters.

And finished with some celebratory fireworks!!!

Rated T for Teen

2009-07-05T23:36:00.004-04:00

I was over Michael's parents house this weekend. There are three cute little boys that live next door and one of them had his 10th birthday today! Very exciting indeed. Well we were over talking to the boys about Daniel's birthday. Connor, one of his younger brothers, was telling us about all of the cool presents he got. He said that he got a really awesome video game that he really wanted. Then he came over and whispered... "It's rated T for Teen and Daniel is only 10" HAHAHA! I wanted to die!

This is a picture of me with Connor and Daniel last year :)

Our first home

2009-06-24T22:45:00.004-04:00

So Michael and I have been looking for a house for the past 6 months. We looked online for a while to get our feet wet and started looking at homes in person in April. Now that I am writing it, it does not seem like we have been looking for that long. But when I tell you it was time for us to find a freaking house... oh man was it time! We have gone house hunting every weekend and a few week nights too. We had found a house we thought we loved, made an offer, and the sellers would not come down in price so we walked. We found another house we thought was perfect but it had a swampy yard... GRRR! It seemed like we were never going to find a house. We were so aggravated that we were going to take the rest of the month off from looking and wait until after the 4th of July holiday to start the search again. We had seen a house online and decided we would go out looking one last time before our hiatus. Well we FELL IN LOVE with the house and ended up making an offer that night!!! We did a bit of negotiating but found out today that the sellers... ACCEPTED OUR OFFER!!! WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Obviously we have to do all of the inspections and all that other lame grown up stuff you have to do before you buy a house lol but we hope to have a closing date in mid August. We are SOOOOO excited!!!

We are family...

2009-06-24T21:02:00.005-04:00

Okay my last Zander post... probably... maybe...

2009-06-18T21:52:00.009-04:00

Girls just wanna have fun

2009-06-17T22:30:00.009-04:00

FYI- My boyfriend took the two pictures with me in them (he made me type this!) He's my 2nd shooter in the making

More Zander Love!!!

2009-06-17T21:40:00.010-04:00

Mr & Mrs Zander!!!

2009-06-16T22:16:00.006-04:00

Rob & Megan's Wedding - A few details

2009-06-11T23:58:00.004-04:00

Rob & Megan's Wedding

2009-06-11T23:52:00.002-04:00

Capossela Camping

2009-06-10T19:09:00.002-04:00

My first wedding... sort of

2009-06-07T23:11:00.018-04:00

So yesterday I went to my first wedding as a photographer. Well technically I was shadowing the photographers, but either way... it was AWESOME! I was working with Jake and Megan who are two of the most talented photographers I have ever met! They are both great teachers and just a blast to be around. While they were shooting the main event I was busy shooting them. Here are a few of the shots I got.

Thanks again for letting me tag along guys. I had a great time! Hopefully this was the first of many more weddings to come!!!

BBQ

2009-05-28T23:36:00.003-04:00

CONGRATS MISS SARA!

2009-05-24T00:21:00.015-04:00

My BFF Sara is graduating from WCSU tomorrow (well officially I guess its today). This is a little post just to let her know I love her and how proud I am of her. YOU DID IT SARA!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!

Lake Compounce part 2

2009-05-17T22:26:00.002-04:00

Lake Compounce

2009-05-17T22:21:00.001-04:00

Fisheye Flowers

2009-05-11T22:44:00.004-04:00

A friend of mine from work let me borrow her sweet fisheye lens! Here are just a few quick pictures I took at the park on my lunch break!

Citi Field

2009-05-11T22:06:00.010-04:00

Last week my dad came to visit from Colorado. While he was here visiting we hit up a Met's game at Citi Field. It was my first time at the new stadium and it was AWESOME! These are just a few pictures I took while at the game. In case you were wondering the Met's won 7-5 :)

Megan's Bachelorette Party

2009-05-05T00:00:00.004-04:00

This is Megan and her girls on the way to her bachelorette party! All I have to say is... KARMA!!! Oh okay... you won't be bringing that with you then... LOL!

Megan's Bridal Shower

2009-05-04T23:40:00.003-04:00

Just a quick collage from Miss Megan's bridal shower last weekend.

Jacob Bergmeier raw and uncut

2009-05-04T00:00:00.011-04:00

Engagement pictures part 2

2009-05-03T22:59:00.009-04:00

Photography by the one and only Mr. Jacob Bergmeier of NoDo Photography!!!

6 MONTHS!!!

2009-04-24T20:55:00.004-04:00

Exactly six months from today I will be getting married!!! It is kind of CRAZY!!! I feel like we have been engaged FOREVER and thought our wedding would never actually get here but now its only 6 MONTHS AWAY!!! I am so excited and just want it to be here already! We have most of the big things all set and ready to go... all we need is a DJ and our cake and I think were pretty much set. I am SO EXCITED!!! Let's see... exactly 6 months from now we will be about an hour or two from the end of our reception! That is nuts! I'm sure these next 6 months will just fly by! I CANT WAIT!!! :)

(Photo by Jake Bergmeier of NoDo Photography)

Spring... is that you???

2009-04-09T23:30:00.004-04:00

Lets see... last Sunday Michael and I were walking around the park and it was 60 degrees outside... yesterday it was snowing on and off throughout the day... today it was a little windy but gorgeous... Mother Nature... WHAT IS GOING ON???

Are you afraid of the dark?

2009-04-09T22:43:00.009-04:00

My neighbors definitely thought I was crazy standing out in the driveway taking pictures of... nothing... while running back and forth in front of my camera. One lady yelled from her balcony and asked if I was okay lol... and two other neighbors came out to make sure I was alright... mentally and physically!!! Hahaha!

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

2009-04-03T00:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday Baby! We are both officially closer to 30 than 20 now... eeek! I love you so much and hope you have an amazing day!!! MTM&C!!!

PS. This is my 100th blog post... yipeee!

9 Years!

2009-04-01T00:02:00.000-04:00

Michael and I started dating on April 1st 2000! We were both Junior's in high school and had no idea what we were getting into! We have been through a lot these past 9 years! There have been ups and downs but I wouldn't change a single thing! I know that everything happens for a reason. That is why we are still together 9 years later. Here's to the next 9 years baby... I LOVE YOU!!! Happy Anniversary! MTM&C!!!

March 28th

2009-03-28T00:02:00.001-04:00

Goodbye 25... 26, here I come!!!

Jenn got knocked up!

2009-03-26T22:02:00.008-04:00

So I got the news yesterday that we have a baby Koji in the making! I could not be more excited about two of my bestest friends getting preggers! I met Miss Jennifer my first year living in the dorms at WCSU, she was my favorite roomie that year! Shortly after meeting my Jenny I met her handsome boy toy Davi-day! We became best buds and I honestly would not have made it through that year without them! Jenny graduated that year and David left me shortly there after but we remained BFF's. I was a bridesmaid in their wedding in September of 2007 and Jenny is going to be a bridesmaid in my wedding this October. We have been through a lot together! Now onto the next big chapter in our lives... MAKIN' BABIES!!! Jenn and Dave told me they were going to start trying to have a baby early this year. Jenn was concerned because she didnt want to be supper preggo for my wedding. I told her that the fatter she is the skinnier I am going to look so I hoped she would be 9 months pregnant for my wedding... well my wish has officially come true! My wedding is going to be October 24th and baby Koji's ETA is October 30th!!! I am so freaking happy for the two of them. They are going to make the most amazing parents ever! That little baby Koji is one lucky turtle!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELYSE

2009-03-23T00:00:00.001-04:00

Miss Elyse Hansen is my BFF! We became friends in the fall of 2004 in Chemistry class at WCSU. We joined the same sorority, took the same classes, and lived in the same dorm room. We were friends in college and have continued to be friends ever since. She pretty much rocks my socks off! I thought I would put together a few collages of my BFF Elyse in all her splendor! She really is the coolest girl around and I am lucky to have such a great friend! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELYSE!!!

Happy St. Patricks Day

2009-03-17T11:00:00.002-04:00

So... funny story. My name is Shannon Kelly sounds pretty Irish right. I also have pale skin and blue eyes... again sounds pretty Irish right. Well I am in fact not even 1% Irish, at least not that I know, but everyone always asks me if I am.
When I was waitressing I used to get so sick of people asking me if I was Irish, and not believing me when I said I was not, that finally I just started telling people I was. "Oh with a name like Shannon Kelly you must be Irish" "Yep, thats right, 100%" hahaha. It was quite entertaining... to me at least, its the small things lol!
So that is my little St. Patricks story. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Shannon is MIA

2009-03-11T09:46:00.004-04:00

I realize I have been slacking hard core with my blog lately. Here is the thing. I like posting pictures with my blog and I have not taken any good ones lately. I realize that is no reason to neglect my blog so this is me giving my blog a little love. Since I don't have any new pictures to post I will come up with something exciting to talk about.
Oh I know... I joined a new gym. Yes me and my BFF Elyse joined a new gym. We decided we want to look gorgeous for all these weddings we have coming up so we thought this was the best way to do it. Well when you join our gym you get a free personal training session, so we took them up on their offer and went. Let me tell you... I have never been in so much pain IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! Now I am not completely new to working out. My fiance is a health nut so I usually work out with him but NEVER like this! My trainer had me start with walking lunges (just saying the word sends shivers down my spine!). I HATE walking lunges! Megan used to make us do them in college, Michael has tried to get me to do them since, and I HATE THEM!!! My nice little trainer man made me do FOUR sets of them! That may not seem like a lot to you cute little fit girls out there but let me tell you for me... it was a LOT! My body was giving up at the end. I would go down in lunge position and try to come back up but my legs were just having none of it. They literally would not come back up when I told them to, they were like HECK NO SISTER, WE ARE DONE! It was hysterical to see me try to walk for the next 2 days. I was in so much pain, it really was quite sad! Michael got mad at me for something one night so when I went upstairs to go to bed (which by the way it probably took me about 23 minutes to get up our one flight of stairs) he decided he was going to take all of my bathroom supplies; my hair dryer, brush, makeup, etc, and methodically place these items about 5 feet apart all over the living room floor. Normally this would have been annoying and childish but I would have just went, picked them all up and been done with it. Well I was in so much pain I could barely move, let alone SQUAT down to pick up my belongings. Lets just say I barely made it to work that morning, and Michael barely escaped with his life! You will all be happy to know I have since recovered from my personal training session :) And shockingly I have continued to go to the gym almost every day since. My short term goal is to loose 10lbs by May 2nd... just in time for my 2nd set of engagement pictures with the uber talented Jacob Bergmeier of NODO Phogography! I will keep ya'll posted with my progress :) (since I know you are all hanging on the edge of your seats waiting to find out what happens!:)

Now just for fun because I simply cannot make a post without a picture... this is where I wish I were right now! Instead of here in crappy old Connecticut!