Grandma and Grandpa are coming!

Grandma and Grandpa Skaggs are coming and we are so excited about it! My parents fly in on Wednesday and leave on Monday. That means we have five days of Colorado fun! When my parents come we watch lots of movies. I definitely want them to see Dan in Real Life and August Rush. Any other suggestions for fun movies? We also tool around this gorgeous city. We will likely go to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo as well as Helen Hunt Falls. We also will likely see model homes since my mom is a model home fiend! Here we are last year when my parents came to visit. We are at Palmer Park, The Broadmoor Hotel, and you guessed it-- a model home. Look at how little and cuddly Hallie is!

Hallie, how old are you?

Balloon baby

What Hallie did on Saturday . . . (note the chocolate cookie crumbs on her face)

Night, Night Puppy

Hallie is starting to have conversations with me. Today as we were hanging out she turned over to me and said seriously "No puppy. Puppy night-night now." Her stuffed puppy is her sleeping companion and stays in her crib during the day. I thought it was so cute to see how her little mind works. I wouldn't have thought that she thinks about her puppy throughout the day. To tell you the truth I didn't know he meant that much to her.

Karaoke Star

More pics from Mark and Karen's visit

Here are some more pictures from Mark and Karen's visit to Colorado. We had so much fun with their sweet family. Here's a fun fact: I have known Karen since I was born; we have been close friends since we were little girls. We used to daydream that she would marry my brother and have kids that would be my children's cousins. It was so natural when she became my sister. Unfortunately I took a photo of them by aiming straight into the sun-- but they still look cute. Can you spy Joseph's carseat in the bottom right? Here is the first nephew and grandson-- King Joe. I call him "baby Matt Damon" because he is really handsome. I know it is cheesy but I am a crazy aunt and I have that liberty. I like this photo of our family with Amanda because it looks like Chris and I have two kids instead of one. We are both starting to like that idea.

Cheez-its

The other night Chris called out to me "I'm just going to have some Cheez-its." Hallie inhaled excitedly and exclaimed "Jesus!!" and pointed up to this picture while smiling brightly.

When Chris left this morning he kissed us both, said "I love you" then told me "See ya!" After he left, Hallie stood at the closed door and said "See you Daddy! See you!" And then said "Daddy all gone. All gone Daddy!" for two minutes straight.

Easter Morning

I have yet to post pictures of our lovely Easter. Here is Hallie with her typical morning "Einstein" hair enjoying her basket. Hallie was graced with eggs filled with Craisins and Goldfish crackers. She also received a small storybook and a wand. As a family we received the "He is Risen" cartoon about the first Easter. It was first produced by The Living Scriptures company. We found this version at Target; it was marketed as The Passion of Christ. It was the same movie and just as good as I remembered it as a child. It helped our family to remember the true celebration in Easter-- Jesus Christ.

My Job

This is really funny. I guess I never really talk about my job on here. I have worked from home since Hallie was four-months-old. I work 25 hours a week for my company which is based out of Boston. That means five hours a day I am on the phone answering our inbound calls and doing member satisfaction surveys. I do this while Hallie naps and when Chris is home in the evening to take care of Hal. I got the job because I was recruited-- I used to work with other people in this company before college. They finally brought me out to meet the rest of my co-workers in Boston because Hallie was old enough that I felt comfortable leaving her. Plus, I had an awesome mother-in-law who took time out from her life to watch Hallie for three days straight. What a devoted Grandma she is. Going on this trip reminded me of what a great job I have and how lucky I am. I have a dream job. I feel extremely blessed and taken care of.

Tourist

Before I left for Boston, I wasn't exactly sure where my building was located. It wasn't until I was there that I realized it was right in the middle of the Boston Freedom Trail. Click on a link to learn more about the spot.

Old State House

Old Corner Bookstore

Massachusetts State House and part of Boston Common

Paul Revere Burial Marker at Old Granary Burial Ground

Old City Hall

Long Wharf

Quincy Marketplace and Faneuil Hall

Harvard

City Views

My company is located on the 32nd floor of a financial district office building so between it and my 14th floor hotel room I was afforded some incredible views.

hotel view:



















views from work:

Hotel

My company put me up at the Liberty Hotel. It is undoubtedly the nicest place I have ever stayed. A cool fact about the Liberty is that it used to be the Charles Street Jail. The designers have still kept hints of a jail theme throughout the modern hotel. My picture of the lobby turned out terribly blurry so I unfortunately can't share it. It was, however, breathtaking. As you come up the escalator you see straight up into the tower a good seven stories above you.

Back from Boston

I am back from my business trip to Boston. It is such a beautiful city. I loved the time there-- except my last day which was marred by a miserable stomach flu. I've thought about it and I think I can confidently say that yesterday was the worst day of my life. I was in a haze of cold sweats, shivers, and nausea all day. I had to check out of my hotel room at 1pm but didn't have to leave for the airport until 3. So I was alone with the flu and luggage in a large city. Thankfully, my sweet friend Jill Richards lent me her room where I slept on her extra bed for two hours until I wandered down to get a cab to the airport. Whenever I had to speak to anyone at the airport it felt like an out-of-body experience. My voice was so weak I sounded like a shy eight-year-old girl. Unfortunately my flight from Boston to Denver was plagued by a strong headwind that left us in the air for much longer than anticipated. It also supplied extra turbulance. The full flight was so stuffy and my neighbor just wanted to chat endlessly. Couldn't he see I wanted to die? Towards the end of the flight, I was literally doing faint moans. It seemed like we were NEVER going to land. Once in Denver my next gate was at the other side of a huge terminal (probably a third of a mile away) so I had to stagger at a snail's pace to get there. When I reached Colorado Springs, I was sooo happy to see Chris. As we were walking to the car I was in tears. I think Chris thought it was because I felt so bad but it was really because I felt so happy to finally be with him. I slept straight through the night and am feeling much better today. I am still dealing with cold sweats and nausea. Oh joy! My mom and Chris were so sweet to listen to me bawling over the phone about how sick and sad I was. I know they both ached to be there and they both felt helpless.

This picture is of my work building in Boston.