a little of this and a little of that

We have been so busy lately just trying to squeeze the last bits of summer out before Chris starts back at work next week. We have done lots of fun things, but I haven't had a lot of time to write about them yet. Here are some brief photo highlights:

went to a nature center and then took a leisurely hike 8-5-09

Chris hanging out with the girls 8-4-09

celebrated our 8th anniversary 8-4-09

went to the zoo 8-3-09

Hal treated Claire to all of her toys
8-1-09

Chris had to replace our sink faucet because it broke while I was in the middle of dishes! 7-31-09

Clairey 7-29-09

stayed away for a weekend in Denver 7/25-7/27

took pictures of Hallie outside the Denver temple 7-25-09

we had a purple day
on 7-24-09

I desperately need to write about the following things:

• Hallie's trip to the temple and our conversation
• Our heavenly/hellacious weekend getaway to Denver
• Our anniversary
• Visiting with Chris' brother's family (Dan, Jessica, and Danny stayed with us for a fun couple days)
• End of summer sickness-- we've had the healthiest summer and then the sick bug struck our house!

Until I can get my act together on the writing bit, please enjoy photos of some of our end-of-summer exploits.

Eight Years Later

eight years ago today I was a bride. eight years ago I lived out my childhood dreams, dressed in my white princess dress. eight years ago we both cried as we made promises to each other and to God. eight years ago I felt like a movie star when hundreds of family and friends cheered for us as we premiered as man and wife.

eight years later and I am a wife. eight years later, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a black blouse. eight years later we laughed and reminisced about thoughts we had on our wedding day and memories of our courtship. eight years later and I feel better than any celebrity because I have a real love story with an inspiring leading man.

eight years later and we are changing diapers, singing lullabies, serving Popsicles, and making sandwiches but it was just a great as cutting the cake. eight years ago we had a wedding photographer take hundreds of pictures of us in our gown and tux. eight years later our brother took a picture with our snap-and-shoot Canon as we held our toddler who wouldn't smile and our infant who wouldn't stop spitting up-- but this photo is as treasured as any in our wedding album.

eight years later i can say i cherished life as michelle skaggs, but i am breathlessly in love with life as michelle hinkson. i truly loved being his bride, but oh how i love being his wife. i loved being his newlywed, but i am so thankful i get to be the mother of his children.

who knew our wedding day could compete with an ordinary day-- eight years later?

three months

Look at our baby . . . three months old already! We love our little calm Claire. She is starting to make fun sounds, she is batting at her toys, and loves to play with her hands. She is a drooler . . . and no one can spit up or have a blow-out diaper like she can. Just look at the joy in her eyes and the chub in her cheeks. What's not to like?

photoshop fun

Lately

More summer fun from our household . . .





sprinkler time!

The Airplane Restaurant

patriotic sugar cookiessitting on Charlotte at "Charlotte's Web Park"

serenebefore our "mommy/hallie date" to the park

Chris is such a great photographer

Updated Interior

I am in heaven decorating our home! I know I already shared shots of our family room, but those were just to give you an idea of what it looks like. Now we are actually doing more decorating. I don't know that I have a particular style of decorating. Though, I will admit that I have always tried to copy Pottery Barn catalogs. Of course, I go for Pottery the Barn look, but scoop up my stuff at Target and HomeGoods. My color scheme is red, khaki, and cream (with some green accents). I have both a golden-color oak for the armoire and "window seat" and a dark mohagony colored desk. I have used bamboo blinds, wickers baskets, wood balls, and a leather trunk to add texture.


I started out with a lot more on top of this armoire-- but I had to cut back. I want the look to be clean, not cluttered.

There is a great striped pillow that is hiding behind the florals that really was the inspiration for this room. We bought these pillows for our bedroom when we were first married. They are a classic Waverly prints that I fell in love with. FUN FACT: In one of my fav movies, You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan's character has a sofa covered with the same large Waverly print.

I have been hunting for that leather trunk for about a month. I wanted something beautiful to hold the girls' dress-up clothes in. Plus, the trunk plays an important role because it balances out the dark color of our desk and it adds texture.

The "window seat" is actually my old coffee table. I wanted extra seating and a good spot to store the girls' toys. Hallie hides larger toys behind the wicker baskets and smaller toys are organized in the individual baskets. I love that she has easy access to her toys and clothes but it still looks sharp, clean, and aesthetically pleasing.

I was "hemming and hawing" for some time on this wall. Chris and I both wanted a display that had a good "weight" to it. It just needed more substance than one big frame. I thought I wanted a shelf and I told Chris I would love an "H." We found a gold one at Hobby Lobby and Chris painted it for me. Then, we just set out a bunch of our black frames and accessories and created the collection on the floor before eventually hanging it. We love how it turned out!

Here is where I want YOUR suggestions. What should we do with the pictures in these frames? We may keep some of them but we wanted fresh pictures since we have displayed the same ones for awhile. Plus, we recently added Claire to the mix so she deserves some representation. Should we do all black and white? All sepia-toned? Should they just be close-ups of faces? Or a theme for each collage frame? HELP! Please add your suggestions in the comments and then we can vote for the best if necessary.

THE BIG REVEAL!

Here are some exterior shots of our first home! Chris has been hard at working getting our grass green. When we moved in it was a lovely shade of tan. Enjoy! And let us know what you think (unless you hate it-- then keep it to yourself)!

Road Trip!

Chris and I decided last-minute to take a road trip to see my grandparents in Vernal, UT for the holiday weekend. (I love being spontaneous!) I was nervous with how our two little girls would do with a seven-hour drive. One two and a half year old and one two and a half month old could add up to two crying parents. Much to our happiness, they were angels! And the drive was incredible. We live in one of the most incredibly beautiful states in the nation! As I was on the road I realized just how "summer" a road trip is to me. I am so glad we had a little one to make our summer complete. In fact, our travels went so well we are even considering one more road trip before the summer is over. Here are some of our photos taken from my view in the passenger seat.

hallie loving claire at a stop along the way