We live in a lovely little town in Connecticut which is directly between New York and Boston - we often say it is the best of all worlds! It is the perfect 4 season state with snowy winters, hot humid summers (perfect for boating and beach fun), rainy springs with gorgeous colors of flowers and trees, and brisk falls (think snuggling by the fireplace and apple picking). Our house is just ten minutes from the beaches, and yet we are surrounded by woods, hiking trails, and all things mother nature. We have a spacious 5-bedroom home, in a neighborhood so filled with children that we have our own designated school bus for all of the kids! We are blessed to have a beautiful swimming pool, many flower and vegetable gardens, a greenhouse, and a fenced-in yard. We also love how diverse our neighborhood is as this is something we really value and this was important in deciding to put down roots here. We are also working on making our dreams of having a farm come true! We have some land which we would love to fill with goats, chickens and pigs. Don't fresh cheese and eggs sound delicious?! It has literally been a dream of ours for years, and with much hard work, it is just now beginning to come true. We are so excited! And don't worry, as much as we love bacon, we could never eat my pet pigs. They will join our other beloved family pets!

I think by now you know we love to travel! Finding time for our family to escape and experience a new part of the world is something we have been fortunate to do.
We usually try to go somewhere nice and warm for the kid's spring break but we like to try a new place each year. Yet we do have our favorite spots that we tend to go back to more than once - sometimes it is nice to just be a creature of habit! Tianne often has one or two conferences a year for work, and it is awesome to bring the whole family along. We have gotten to some amazing places such as Hawaii, Paris, and some equally great places closer by like Florida, all because of her work. We love walking around, taking in the sights, experiencing the culture and of course, trying new foods!
Born and raised skiing and snowboarding, we love our winter vacations. Rick and Tyler love their snowboards, and Tianne and Ella are the skiers in the family.
Summers are spent traveling the New England coastline on our boat, crabbing, swimming in our pool, and spending time at the beaches and lakes. Fun fact - Tianne has had her lobster license for 16 years, and the whole family, especially the kids love clamming so eating fresh lobster and clams is always a family favorite! We love going to Boston Red Sox games, traveling to Rhode Island or Massachusetts for great dinners, or running away to the quieter farmlands nearby. Cookouts during the lazy dog days of summer surrounded by friends and family is always fun!
Maine is a family favorite trip over the Fourth of July holiday that has been a tradition for many years, and is filled with plenty of fun, family and friends the whole week long!

Family is everything to us. Living in our home town, we are surrounded by lots of friends and family. Although our immediate family is rather small, our circle of friends that we have known for 40+ years are a big part of our family. From grandparents to aunts and uncles to friends and cousins, we usually have a full house for football games on Sundays, family dinners, holidays (as we love to host most of the family holidays), and really any reason we can find to simply be together, laughing, playing games, and just spending time together.
Our loved ones have been so supportive of our dream to grow our family through adoption. They are beyond excited to welcome a little one and shower them with love!

Truth be told, we probably go a little overboard for the holidays, but we hate to pass up a chance to bring some joy to our home! We love to entertain and are often the hosts for Memorial Day and Labor Day gatherings. For the Fourth of July, we along with family and friends, rent out a home on the beach in Maine for a week of fireworks, pool, beach, boogie boarding, amusement parks, arcades, surfing fun and just pure magic! Halloween in our neighborhood is amazing. There is tons of trick-or-treating and over-the-top Halloween decorations - even the local police officers join in by handing out light up bracelets and Halloween necklaces to all the kiddos. And yes, of course we all dress up, parents included! Rick is always a good sport, no matter how embarrassing a costume I choose! Let's just say, he has gone as Richard Simmons and a member of KISS! Thanksgiving is all about family. We all love to wake up early, get the biggest turkey we can find in the oven before the sun rises. Then it is all about tradition as we all pitch in working on bringing old family recipes to life, including Grandma's pink applesauce, homemade turkey gravy, and giblet stuffing. Nana's broccoli casserole is surprisingly amazing - the kids say it is like eating candy! Then we all sit down to watch the Thanksgiving Day Macy's parade, as we rest before the family dinner. By early afternoon, our family has arrived and we are settled in for dinner and quality time together. This is definitely a time for counting our blessings.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, we go to a beautiful Christmas tree farm with Santa Claus, hot cocoa, sleigh rides, and start getting excited for Christmas as we use that weekend to put up all of our Christmas decorations. The kids love this tradition, as they have their own Christmas trees in their bedrooms, as well as the winter wonderland that we set up in our front yard for all of our town to enjoy. It is easily a 3-day event, as we transform our house into Santa's Village for the holiday season. We love when so many neighbors drive by our home to share in our view from their cars. It makes the holiday magic for Ella and Tyler! Christmas morning, you will find our kiddos under the tree seeing what gifts have arrived for them. Our family joins us for lunch and a gift exchange which lasts well into the evening. The holiday is really a time of joy and also reflection for us - on all that we have, something we do not want to ever take for granted. Honestly, that one day every year is so magical, I believe in the magic of Christmas too! New Year's Eve is spent with family at our home away from home in Vermont. We usually go up there the day right after Christmas and stay until the first of January. Skiing and relaxing by the fire is just what we need after a month plus of festivities. It is always a special time to think back on the year and look forward to what lies ahead. We certainly can't wait to have your little one join us in our holiday magic!