Latest Project

So a few weeks ago a family in our ward moved out and they were getting rid of these chairs since they swivel and are unstable, etc and didn't want them anymore. So since they were free I thought I'd take a shot at taking out the swivel and painting them to match our Dining Room since we only have 4 chairs in our house and could use a few more. David, my bro helped me figure out how to removed the swivel piece and then bolt the bottom to the top and then I spray painted the chairs. I'm not done yet, but here is what I have so far! 

Hurricane Irene/ Earthquake

So I am sure many of you heard on the news about Hurricane Irene hitting the east coast. Well Dustin and I had made plans this past weekend to go stay at a Bed and Breakfast on the Chesapeake for our "Babymoon". Unfortunately due to the hurricane we were unable to go, so we packed our bags and decided to re-live a portion of our dating life of staying at my parents house during horrible weather. So we were able to play games and eat well (I made BBQ ribs) and spend time with family as the rain came down and the wind howled outside. We woke up Sunday morning to canceled church and were told to turn it into day of service to help clean up. The damage wasn't horrible, but we were extremely lucky. A tree fell in my parents backyard that barely missed another tree, a fence or the house. It fell in the perfect spot to cause the least amount of damage possible. So we spent the day cleaning up the church and all that fell down there and the backyard. The tree did hit our picnic table and another one of Grandma's tables. I wasn't allowed to join in the fun part of chopping and sawing and hauling, but was given the task of picking up all the small branches and sticks. I must admit that there was a lot of these around so it kept me busy. Here are pictures of our yard after the hurricane. 

A few days before we also had an Earthquake in the DC area/east coast. I was at work in the ER when I felt a vibration that felt like a helicopter landing on the heli pad outside the doors. But it was obvious that there was much more going on when the floor and the walls started shaking. We were undamaged but I must admit my first thought was "how do I best protect my baby?" Also lucky about no injuries, just a lot of anxiety.

Dustin had a similar experience and they evacuated his building while the checked to make sure it was stable for them to return. It has been interesting since I am still finding things that are a result of the earthquake. Like opening up my spices cabinet and things falling out, or in my closet or medicine cabinet, etc. You can tell things got a bit "shaken up" but we're grateful that with both "natural disasters" we were pretty unscathed! The Lord sure watches out for us!

Mom and Dad Come to Visit

We were truly blessed with a visit from Mom and Dad Hinton back in July. Dad came out for a conference for work so we could have some adventures with them too!! As you can see they fit right in and we're glad they felt so at home!

We went down to Monticello for a day which was a great trip! It was fun to walk around the gardens and see all that Jefferson did. It is a cool house!!

For our next trip we went up to Gettysburg which is fabulous since we were able to have our own Civil War expert with us on the trip. Driving up we kept asking dad "there was another plaque, who was that? Or what battle was that? What happened here?"

Dustin and his classic picture with a cannon.

The site of Little Round Top where the 21st Maine held their ground (correct me if I'm wrong)! We took the car tour where you drive while listening to a CD that explains the sites of the battle, etc. It was really well done and very good. We highly recommend it!

Then dad left mom with us for a few days while he went to the conference and we got to play together which was great also. She was very willing to play games and join in with us while we watched movies or played on our laptops.

We're glad for their visit! And it is the best way to get us out of the house and see the things that are around here. I'd never been to Gettysburg and Dustin had never been to Monticello so it worked our really great for us! So feel free to come visit, it gets us out!

Family Reunion

For the 4th of July weekend Dustin and I were excited to go to Utah to see Family! We sure miss everyone out in Utah and were very excited for the time to see family. We were grateful to spend time with some of my aunts, uncles and cousins and grandparents before heading down to St George. It is always to fun to see how big everyone is growing and to feel so loved!

Then we were able to spend time down in Pine Valley for the Hinton Family reunion which was also so much fun! We tried a new game this year called "Cracker Whacker" where you tie a saltine cracker to the back of your pants, make boundaries, give everyone a roll of paper or magazine and the last cracker standing wins! We also were able to do fun things and play games and just enjoy one another's company! And of course the rocket's we made and we had a contest and an amazing talent show. It amazing me all the talent our family has! And feel totally fine about boasting that Dustin and I are proud to be the talented ones in joking around and being silly. We did our own version of "Anything you can do I can do better" from "Annie get your gun" and of course it had to involve some spiderman in that! Our baby will truly be a superhero expert if anything!

We sure miss everyone, but are glad that we were able to visit. Aside from the flights to and from Utah, which we learned a lot about flying stand-by, what we should and shouldn't do next time if we ever fly stand-by again and that Lil'D does not like flying, or at least not at that time. I must admit that it doesn't make me excited to fly again, but I'm sure I'll get over that really really quickly the next time an adventure is proposed! We are truly blessed to have great fun and supportive and especially loving family who make such sacrifices for us! We love you all!

Best Baby Clothes Ever

So, I've seen quite a few baby clothes all of which I think are pretty cool.  But, I think my sister Melanie has found the two most amazing onesies ever made.  These articles of awesomeness may even be the source of all awesomeness! (That's a lot of awesome).  When daddy's watching Lil' D, you better believe he's putting these bad boys on him.