The Suitcase Chronicles

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For quite a long time now, my mom has had this old green suitcase stored in my old bedroom at my parent’s house. It doubles as a toy box and most kids that come to visit know where they can get anything from dinosaurs to wooden blocks. I’ve had it in the back of my head, probably since Maggie was a toddler, that I wanted to somehow use it as a photo prop. I’d also found a gorgeous white dress at a thrift store for $4 a number of months ago, again wanting to try to get some pictures of Maggie in it before I let her run wild in it.  

As I’ve already posted, one thing lead to another recently and we got to have a bit of fun with the camera, dress, and suitcase. On the way out the door, I grabbed my dad’s stuffed dog, Tigger. My grandma thinks tigger came from a church rummage sale when my dad was a little boy. When I was a kid, my dad always made Tigger and his old bear talk to us, but he’d have to translate what they said because they always whispered in his ear. Seemed old Tigger enjoyed getting brought outside for some pictures as well. 

I’ve got one more batch from this night to share….

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Free Range Chicken at the Market and Anniversary Love

Before I post an onslaught of photos from months ago, I want to acknowledge that today is our 6 year wedding anniversary. I’m never very good about writing about our marriage or controversial topics (not to say that our marriage is controversial, it isn’t) on our blog. Usually when I want to be mushy or opinionated, I tend to squash it down with a bunch of words or hidden meanings.  But our marriage, and our life together, deserves quick recognition. Barry and I met when we were 21 and got married seven years later. 13 years together. I’m proud of that, mostly proud that we’re still deeply in love and committed to continue to build on what we’ve already established. (SEE! I’m not good at this. Marriage is private and we like to keep it that way….but cheers to our anniversary and loving the one you’re with.)

hb_Because April seems to be the month that got away from us this year, I’m doing a quick drop of pictures from that month that I haven’t posted yet. As you can see, we were up in A-Town and met up with our A-Town playgroup for a playdate. This batch is only from the second half of the month, because I seem to have dropped off the face of Earth after the 15th. Looking at these pictures makes me appreciate our ability to go visit family and friends on a regular basis, I know not everybody has that and I tend to forget that a 1.5 hour drive really isn’t that big of a deal. 

As I type this, April seems like eons ago. This morning, the 16th of August, we got up and went to the Farmers Market. But before the girls and I had even rubbed the sleep from our eyes, Barry ran 12 miles. 12 freakin’ miles. We were up by the time he got back home, but certainly not far from a deep slumber.  He does that sort of  thing, running, and finds such joy in it. By 9 o’clock we were all showered (not Maggie, but Audrey who jumped into the shower with Barry) and out the door to the market. It was the first time that we let Audrey roam the market like a free range chicken, and she loved it. We made the mistake of letting Mags pick out some kettle corn….all Audrey wanted to do was pound the popcorn while strolling through the market. It was funny and we’re working on saying ‘yes’ to things that aren’t a big deal. It was the first time that I really felt like we had big kids with us. Both girls walking, both having opinions. (The opinon thing has been since birth for both, but you know…)

So, April seems forever ago. And someday today, the day we went to the Farmers Market and Audrey walked like a free range chicken while eating popcorn, will feel like a century ago. And I’ll be a mixture of happy and sad. Because thinking about the day that I got married, I was so happy and I couldn’t even fathom what our future would be….that’d it be full of free range chickens and coffee (because we didn’t start drinking coffee until last year). 

Without being too mushy, I, again, want to point to today’s day on the calendar and put a massive heart on it and smooch everything it stands for. 

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Pictures with Mags

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Last week I asked Maggie if she wanted to let me take some pictures of her so I could practice before taking some maternity shots for a friend. She surprised me by answering with an enthusiastic ‘yes!’ and so we headed out for an hour or so to play around. The previous week she’d attended drama camp with Cora and Chach and was more than pleased to act out some emotions and do some dramatic play. These aren’t even my favorites from what we got, but it is a demonstration of how drastic the light changed while we were out. It was also a fun way for Audrey to get some one-on-one time with my mom and dad and Maggie and I time to have a different type of play. 

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