A Summary of Our Summer Adventures!

To say summer was a whirlwind would be an insane understatement. Of my 60 days of summer vacation (I'm not counting days I had to work off contract), we traveled we traveled 42! We figure we might as well while we're young and childless, right? :) So here's the synopsis:

Alaska: Family & Anniversary Cruise

We've already mentioned Alaska on our blog. But here are some of the highlights. 

We got to cruise with our awesome Fam!

We got to do and see lots of awesome stuff.

It was awesome.

Wisconsin: Mike & Krystal's Wedding

Congrats on a beautiful wedding & wishes for a beautiful marriage! :)

And we got to see bff COLE!

Mount Vernon, Illinois: Camping with the Hills
For dad's birthday we joined him for a camping trip! It was about time we got to check out that camper! It was a great (sweltering hot) weekend with the fam, and the pups had a blast! We CANT WAIT to be closer and be able to do this more often!!

Doug's got this camping thing down pat!

 Zion, IL: 4th of July with the Fam (Montgomery/Uhll)
Fun times with the fam! We spent the whole 4th of July week with the Montgomery-Uhll family. We went fishing, boating (we almost didn't make it out of that alive), and to the aquarium! It was SO GOOD to be able to hang with the niece and nephew!
 

Salmon Fishing Trip

The jury is still out on who gets to claim this catch.

Trip to the Shedd Aquarium

Cutest Kid. Ever.

Other cutest kid. EVER!

Wisconsin: Montgomery Family Reunion

For 4th of July, we got to spend MUCH NEEDED time with the Montgomery fam at the long-awaited reunion! We miss you all so much!!

Sassy pants - We belong together

Cousins!

Amaaaazing Grandma!!!

Grandma bestowing her sweetness and wisdom on life & love.

Warms my heart!

COUSINS!

Dallas: Time with Devin & Katie; And Premier RALLY
Every year we travel down to Dallas for a Premier rally. This year, Denise got to head down a few days early and spend time with the baby bro & sis. Unfortunately.. not sure what happened to the camera during that time...
But we're also really proud of our whole downline and so grateful Krystle & Diana got to join us for their first rally!
 

Sunset Beach: Conference & Relax Time

Florida: Disney World
We've been meaning forever to get down and see Nate. So this year we decided to head down for a weekend at Disney as his birthday gift! Brian had never been to the parks either, so it was extra special. It was much needed time with one of our FAVORITE nephews!!
 

Water Ride at Animal Kingdom

Entering Magic Kingdom!

On Safari at Animal Kingdom

Nephew Nate

The boys, rocking their sombreros in Mexico (Epcot)

Tryin out some tequila in Mexico. We liked the skull bottle it came in.

MAGICAL!

Kentucky: Hillingsworth Day.

Tommy Hollingsworth is one of Brian's best friends from college. He lives with his wife, Kristy, and FOUR kids on a farm in Ghent, Kentucky. We love visiting because their kids are AWESOME and because the farm is UBER relaxing!

Brian and I decided this year that we would declare Labor Day weekend to be Hillingsworth Day! Now and forever. Basically, Hillingsworth Day is an excuse to eat ice cream cake for breakfast and spoil our awesome niece & nephews. 

Brian on Rascal and Denise on Max. Our trail ride didn't last long.
Apparently we don't know how to take command of our horses.

Balloon Fight! 

Socker Boppers! Best idea we ever had.

L-R: Aiden (9), Zach (5), Bryce (5), Ryleigh (3) 

Awww... Family Love.

" Because it’s summer and the memories are just waiting to happen."

- Unknown

Time for Change

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” - Andy Worhol


Andy was right. Time doesn't always change things. We could stay in the same place we are indefinitely. But that's not the path we have chosen. Mr. & Mrs. Hill are hitting the road! 


There are so many changes coming, and we hope to keep you updated on all of them, but we thought we'd update you on where we are today and what the basic game plan is for tomorrow. Here are the highlights, in semi-chronological order:


Step 1: Dave Ramsey-fying.
If you have never heard of or learned from Dave Ramsey. You should. But let's back up... we would like to say that we are SO grateful and blessed to have the counsel of our parents, who have learned from their own lives and mistakes and have encouraged us to get our finances in order before doing anything else. Luckily, we were able to start off from the beginning on Dave Ramsey's baby step plan and are SO proud to be SUPER CLOSE to debt free! This is a huge accomplishment for us, and was one of our first steps before moving on with our life plan :) So far, we have paid off two student loans, and three cars and have ONE student loan left before we are DONE paying off anything debt/credit (with the exception of the house). WOO HOO!


Step 2: Entrepreneur-ing.
As you may or may not know, Brian has worked for Law Enforcement Publications for several years now. The company basically raises money for law enforcement agencies. Most of the departments use the money for important and highly respected programs like DARE; or for other valuable needs. He loves his job & what he does, and especially enjoys his management role in the company. He has a fabulous relationship with the current owner, whom we adore. 
Now this is the exciting part: Jamie, the current owner, is partnering with Brian to launch All American Calendars! AAC will be owned and run by yours truly - Mr. & Mrs. Brian K Hill! AAC will be located in the St. Louis area of Illinois!! Which leads to...


Step 3: Moving
We're moving home!!! Ok. Kinda home. Brian was raised in Owensboro, KY and Denise's parents are in the Chicago area, but we both have decided that St. Charles, MO will be home. This is a PERFECT location because most of Brian's family is in Belleville (about an hour away), DJ & Brittany & kids (Denise's brother & sis-in-law) will be within MINUTES, and Chicago is only a 4.5 hour train ride (as opposed to our current 12 hour drive). We plan to move, and officially launch the new company sometime next summer, 2013. 

L-R: Brian's Dad Larry, Uncle Darrell, & Us!

Step 4: BABIES!
Don't get too excited yet. We only have so much control over the baby situation. But, for those of you who ask regularly, yes... babies are on the not-so-distant horizon. As the business & move pan out a little more, and as a few more details fall into place, we hope to get closer to babies! We'll keep you informed on that front :)


And that's all for now! :)

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

-- Jeremiah 29:11

Happy One Year Anniversary!

So, we made it to a year! We can't believe it's our one year anniversary, but the calendar doesn't lie, so it's official! Happy 1 year anniversary! :) Time has flown by and this first year has definitely been fabulous. A lot of people have told us that the first year is the hardest. If that's the truth, this whole marriage thing should be CAKE.


This year really has been great. Denise was able to get a job in town, and it was her FAVORITE year teaching thus far! She (and her team) are responsible for teaching English to 140 Hispanic babies, ages K-5. Actually, they just got their scores back and totally ROCKED it this year! (Would you expect anything less?)

Denise's kindergarten (a.k.a FAVORITE) group

Brian has also been busy & excited at work. As you know, he currently works at Law Enforcement Publications. He has been there for several years now and loves his job & management position. He has a great relationship with the owner of the company, and is preparing to branch off and be an owner! More on that later...

Other than work, we stay busy. We have great friends in the area and do a LOT of traveling for family and friends. Still no babies, but we do spend a lot of time with our precious pups, Douglas & Bailey.

Us, Canoeing with the pups.

And that's a quick summary of us right now!

For our one year anniversary, we decided to hit a bucket list item and cruise to Alaska! We were joined by Mom & Curt, Grandma & Grandpa Satchell, and Uncle Dave & Aunt Cathy. The whole trip was AMAZING. Of course we enjoyed spending time with our family. Other than that, Denise's favorite parts were seeing the glaciers & mountains, and learning about the history & culture of Alaska. Brian couldn't narrow down his favorite aspects of the trip. He loved it all: the sites, the food, family fun, movies under the stars, the never-setting sun, our 25 mile bike ride through Anchorage, and our endless, yet unsuccessful quest to see a moose!

Brian was so proud of the "iceberg" he fished out of the water in Juneau, AK

Getting ready to leave from Vancouver, BC

He couldn't decide on just one dessert...

A break during our seaplane tour at Misty Fjord in Ketchikan, AK

At the visitor center in Juneau, AK

With our awesome servers for the week, Francisco & Johnny.

Bundle up for movies under the stars

Whittier, AK

Eating Reindeer in Anchorage, AK

Preparing for a 25-mile ride in Anchorage, AK

And that was our anniversary! Happy anniversary to us!! :)

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:14