Happy Six Months to US!

Okay people, that's right! A whopping six months have gone by since our big day. Can you believe it? I most certainly can, and I LOVE it :) When I first went to find a picture (please note the SINGULAR--picture--rather than pictureS), I planned on finding just the right one. You know, the one that would make this blog entry classy, simple, and telling. And then this happened. . . 

Really. Would YOU have been able to pick just one? 

. . . . . . 

Don't answer that. 

The point is....six months have gone by--and I am still just loving this boy to death and back. Has the first sixth months been an adjustment period? Sure :) But, I mean--look at that face. There's no one else I'd rather be adjusting with.

Happy Six Months to US :) 

P.S. Shoutout to my amazing cousin Alicia Powell for the pictures. And to my parents, for paying for them ;)

Chalk Art Festival

A Pitchforth family tradition began a few years back, when my dad, in true "checkmark" fashion, discovered another checkmark for us to do: The ChalkArt Festival. Tons of artists come and compete with chalk art. Ideally, the displays consist of a lot of 3D looking, awesome art--something like this...

Naturally, they can't all be this good (as you can tell, by other pictures in the background). Yet--you still get a few gems! Some years are better than others (in any city).  But, after my padre let us know the dates for Salt Lake, we made a trip of it. Here are a few pictures. I don't think I was as impressed with the displays here as I have been in years past, but--heck. Hand me a piece of chalk, and you'll be lucky to get a hopscotch--so, who am I to talk? :) 

We went a little early to beat the crowds, so--excuse the artists for their unfinished work. 

And a picture of our tired faces that morning, to boot :)

I love checkmarks. Especially ones we can make traditions of.

The upside of working nights

The Mister and I have both gotten temporary jobs in the last little bit to keep us busy and saving some mulah while we wait for our security clearance to go through and real life to begin. The best part, however, is that we're both working nights--which means that sunshine, hikes, and bikerides can all still be ours during the day :) Last week, we hiked Donut Falls before we each had work that afternoon/evening. The water was really high, so we didn't get to go all the way up, but it was sure fun. SO glad I married an outdoorsy man who will hike with me :)

It wasn't a hard hike by any means, but, just as we were approaching the car, I saw a log I decided I want to walk on. Matthew looked at me, said "don't do ittttt," and continued on towards the car. Well, if you know me, that's usually a perceived code for "do it, I dare you! It'll be fun" (Not because people mean for it to be...just because I am defiant)... It also didn't help that he had just hopped on the same log. Which--let's face it--how am I supposed to take that? "I can balance on this log, but you can't" --is how I took it. Not rudely, just, innocently and matter-of-factly. 

So, yes. I got on the log.

As luck would have it, it rotated, bringing up its other side, complete with randomly placed branches that managed to scratch my leg all up. ha. Matthew shook his head in a, "yepp" kind of way (while not taking on an "I told you so" persona, thankfully :)

On principle, I didn't show Matthew the scratches until about three days later. But, yes. Let's see if it scars for another good scar story. Those are my favorite. 

Sure do love that husband of mine...whether or not he loves his defiant wife (with apparently subpar balancing abilities), is still up for debate ;)

Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he does. :) 

Barbara

To give you some background on the individuals involved in this story (particularly Matthew's Grandma, I will start with a picture and story)

As a side note: I promise, Grandma Barbara was much happier than she looks in this picture to be spending time with us. haha. She wasn't, however, thrilled at the idea of taking a picture. 

For those of you who aren't aware, we are currently renting one of their houses from them while we are in the in-between stages of job and real life. But, it's given us the chance to get to know them, which has been so fun.

My favorite experience with Barbara, I think, was at a bridal shower. You know those Pinterest, cutesy game ideas you find? Well, in this particular game, you are meant to write a date for the soon-to-be couple on a popsicle stick--and it's a "bag of ideas", if you will, for them to have later.

So, what do most people write? Oh, you know--roller skating, bike riding, movie night, hiking, bowling... the generics.

I look over at Barbara, who is sitting next to me. She looks at me with a half-grin, and says, "should I put "make babies"?"

Without waiting for a response, she chuckles, grabs a pen, and writes her mentioned date suggestion.

She is one of those hilarious people that doesn't make a big fuss about how hilarious she is, and it makes her all the funnier.

I. love. her.

Alright, so--onto story numbero dos... 

I thought it was just Matthew who called these here doo-hickeys you can put on the front of cars"bras"; in fact, I thought he did it as a joke.

I have come to find, much to my surprise, that this is just what everyone calls them. Ironic, but I won't go into it as to why here...

Anyways, funny story. We are pulling in from an outing with Grandma and Grandpa, when the following conversation took place.

Matthew: Hey, did you put the bra back on the car after you washed it?

Me: No

Barbara (nonchalantly, from the front seat): That's probably best. Everybody needs a little down time every now and then.

I'm sure am going to miss that woman when we move. 

Summer, I love you.

There are many things I love about summer. Mostly, it's all of it. These last two weeks have been almost completely free of wind, rain, and other lame weather conditions. Which means sunshine, sunshine, sunshine. 

SUNSHINE IS MY DRUG. :) 

After weeks of interviews, traveling, job offers, and busyness, things are starting to settle down. We've turned down a few job offers (which, let's face it, we knew we would....

A. Because my husband is such a smarty, and we HAD to get multiple offers...I mean, come on... :)

 and 

B. Because we had to take the one that felt right, rather than the first one that came along. 

Don't get me wrong, this job search has not been an easy ride. It was months of people not getting back to us, our fair share of unanswered emails/applications, and then a few weeks of the phone ringing off the hook with people wanting to hire my hubby. It's been a long, bumpy road. We are so grateful for a Heavenly Father who lets us know he is always looking out for us, despite setbacks along the way.

I won't say where we're going, because we haven't officially accepted yet, but, I will tell you that this job searching process has involved trips to Wyoming, Chicago, Houston, and New York. Some trips were with me, some without.

I, personally, prefer the trips where I'm with my mister, as opposed to those where I'm not. 

Anywho...back to my point...Summer is amazing. Work for us won't start for another three or four months, so we'll be hanging around here for the next few months in the meantime doing summery things. Frisbee, croquet, walks, bike rides, hikes, picnics, trips to the pool, laying on the grass in the sunshine...and, really, just enjoying life. 

Well, along with working. ***Which reminds me, if any of you know of companies or friends whose companies could use an engineering brain in the Provo area (since that's where we'd love to be) for the summer months, please let us know. Matthew has a temporary job for the summer, but we'd love to find one that's relevant to his field, oh--and a little more interesting, instead :) 

Oh yes...back to the point. Summer is my drug and I LOVE it. Ke$ha had it wrong, but...then again, "your love" does roll off the tongue a little easier. . . 

Spidey Senses

 

Last night, the mister and I went to see the new Spiderman movie. LOVED it, by the way. But, from the picture above...you can guess that my reason for loving it was a little different than most people, (or,  most boys, more specifically), who might have chosen a picture more like this... 

or this...

 

or THIS...

haha, yes. I am a girl. Mainly, because I chose this one instead: 

It's interesting, how movies help you reflect on life. Frankly, I'm a person typically opposed to too much movie watching, video game playing and other "brainless activities". I realize there are many arguments to refute that label, and I'm well aware it's an over-generalization, but--bear with me here. I married one of the biggest movie-lovers known to man. I went from having a collection of four movies (three of which Matthew gifted me while we were dating), to having over 300 in our joint collection after getting married. Matthew and I have spent countless hours of our newlywed lives snuggled up watching episodes of Modern Family and The Mentalist. And, you know what, I've loved it. 

Granted, we still go on bike rides, walks, play games, and do other things. But--I have truly loved watching together and laughing when we see things that remind us of our relationship, or just enjoying watching interactions between the characters we're watching. It's so fun to see character development and relate to the experiences we observe in their "lives".

In short, The Amazing Spiderman 2 had a similar effect. It made me think back on our relationship, smile as I saw things that reminded me of us, and just be grateful for my awesome husband. Cheesy as it may seem, there were many parts that prompted me to lean over and kiss that husband of mine on the cheek, or just squeeze his leg. 

Really, what I'm trying to say is....

The fight scenes were amazing. 

The special effects were top notch. 

The storyline was true to the comics and characters were SO true to form. 

haha...okay, maybe not that's what I'm going for....but I sure loved the movie :) 

I recommend it.

4 months and counting

I'm loving this boy today. Tomorrow will be four months of being married. Here are a few of my favorite things about marriage thus far...

1. Waking up to this boys face every morning.

2. Hearing the words, 'I love you' multiple times a day

3. Having my best friend around all the time

4. My running buddy is always nearby

5. The fact that my husband is Matthew Hutchinson

6. Evening walks

7. Late night series viewings

8. Making meals for two

9. Taking life one day at a time.

10. Knowing it's all going to work out, even if logistics aren't all figured out just yet.

Marriage is wonderful. 

But, mostly because I married this guy. Life is good people, life is sure good :)