5 Reasons Why We're So Happy

1. 

We're finally "stable," meaning we'll be living in one place for at least 4 months!

2.

We finally met our adorable new niece, Caitlin & Isaac's baby Laila! We love her so much!

And we got to see this little toddler again who has grown so much! She is a GOOF!

3.

We love being able to hang out with Braden & Janae so much!

We're close to our siblings again!

4.

We're loving the Provo music scene.

And the art scene.

And all the fun stuff here in Provo!

5. We made this video in which I look pretty unintelligent.

--H&T--

Cutest Sleeper Ever?

So, sometimes Holly falls fast asleep with her legs sticking up in the air. My wife is too cute!

 

Holly Has Been Thinking...

That she really likes living in the country.  I mean, can you blame her??

The sky is blue,

The grass is green,

And the corn is tall.

Oh, and then there's Mac (short for Macintosh).  He's old and he gets scared when it rains.  And he loves good food--just like me.

Last week, a crop-duster flew RIGHT OVER OUR ROOF more than a few times.

We ate breakfast outside and just watched.

Travis & I have been blessed beyond measure since we've been together--especially this summer.

We've been close to our families and have gotten to visit and make fun memories.

We had a huge adventure living in Chicago.

We.

Soaked.

That.

City.

Dry.

We've met lots of people, widened some perspectives, and focused others.

There have been loving family, friends, and strangers helping us at every turn.

We're a couple of incredibly blessed kids.

I mean, look at those clouds.  Pixar couldn't have made any more perfect--those are a reminder from a sweet Father in Heaven that He is here, He loves His children, and hopes we all progress and find true, eternal happiness! Don't forget that :)

Love you all!

--H&T--

Nauvoo, IL

Last weekend we drove to the other side of the state for a Hancock Family Reunion in Nauvoo!  It was fun for me to meet more of the Hancocks and we had a great time!  Travis and I got there before everyone else, so we explored Nauvoo and had a little lunch date at Grandpa Joe's:

The weather was beautiful the whole weekend!

Love it.

Before the pageant, we played at the country fair!

Stilts!

Janae & I are just a couple o' regular log sawers!

I <3 Nauvoo!

Sack Races...

...I think I won..? :)

Pictures of Hancocks making weird faces:

Travis had a lot of fun playing games with his younger cousins in the lodge at our campsite.  Sunday night, Grandma Hancock gave an incredible fireside on family history.  She had so many wonderful stories to share about the Hancocks--she worked so hard putting it all together.  She is amazing!  The Hancock family has a great legacy and I'm so happy I get to be a part of it!

On Monday we took a wagon ride, a carriage ride, explored Nauvoo a bit more, and visited the temple--it's a beautiful place and it reminded me of when I was there 4 years ago with my Creek Family!

Since they have so many more missionaries available now, the YPMs have really stepped it up!  They now do little vignettes around the town--they are so neat!  It's like you're really back in Nauvoo's glory days watching kids run around and play, listening to missionaries share their stories, and watching the youth interact.  And as expected, we ran into a bajillion people that know Travis (okay, more like 5, but still! He's a popular guy)!

"Are you sure this wagon is sanitary? It looks questionable to me!" --Travis

Presto the Best-o!

Learning an "easy" dance with the Nauvoo Brass Band on Main Street.  Poor Travis, his wife will never be able to dance as well as he can!

We've got a pretty great family, huh? :)

Now that Travis has finished his internship with Weber Shandwick, we're taking it easy in a gorgeous part of the state called Oswego.  Our life is so different now than it was two weeks ago, but we LOVE it!  Travis has started his internship with Bookoo and he fits right in!  He really loves that place and from what I've seen, I'm also a fan!  They had a community picnic last week and I got to go meet all the people he works with--they are so neat!!

We're living with a really nice couple in our ward and their little dog (Travis & I are realizing that we have no idea how to help take care of the dog since neither of our families are into pets, hahah).  I spend my days running little errands, working on our button website (hancockbuttons.com now exists! But is very much under construction), babysitting the Fishers' grandchildren, watching my hair grow out, journaling, watching the grass grow, jogging, liking pins of yummy foods I wish I could afford to make on pinterest, playing tennis with Travis, and watching things on Netflix...you know, spending my time doing things I'll never have time to do again! (Here's to hoping I NEVER have this much free time ever again! hahah)

We are Provo bound in 5 weeks!

The time that our life was crazy.

So in between moving out of our apartment and starting Trav's new internship with Oswego, this was our life:

• Pack a bag to live out of for 2 weeks.
• Pack everything else, move out of apartment, drive to Yorkville, IL.
• Meet the family who is letting us crash in their house for 7 weeks, spend the night.
• Leave at 5:30am to get back to the city in time for Travis to get to work.
• Oh wait...at 5:45am, pull over to the side of the highway while car dies and blows smoke everywhere.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• At 6:00 am, call tow truck.
• 6:15am: "What are you guys doing in IL? This state sucks." --IL State Police Officer
• At 7:40am, call to make sure the tow truck is on its way.
• 8:30: call again for tow truck.  Find out the tow truck was almost there about an hour ago, but just decided to turn around instead of come help us.
• 9:00am: tow truck arrives.

  

  "What are you guys doing in IL? This state sucks." --Tow Truck Driver

• Settle in while the mechanic looks at our car.  In a few minutes he comes in to share the bad news: Charles is down for the count.
• Rent a car for the next two weeks.
• Drive into Chicago and check in at the Chicago Getaway Hostel.
• By this time, Travis is not going to make it into work.
• Wait in line at Comcast for an hour, just to give them back all of their stuff.
• Spend a few days in this room:
  
• With this creepy gal on the wall:
  
• Laugh together and love each other the whole time :)

• Drive to Ohio, then Pennsylvania for 4th of July vacation (it rocked!)
• Go caving, white water rafting, and have an awesome time.
• Steal Janae's car from her for the summer (Mom & Dad Hancock were so helpful in letting us buy that from them.  Such a great blessing!)
• Drive to Indiana where Holly stays, and Travis drives on to Chicago to spend another week at the hostel.

  

  Caitlin's job.
  Sorry, Alyssa.

  
  

  

  Lipstick fight at the mall

  
  

  

  Who knew Greenwood Park mall had a summer concert series??

  

  Free food & cute costumes. Win/Win!

  
  

  

  Found my new motto for life at Chick-Fil-A.

• Meet at Hertz to return the rental car, begin our life in Yorkville/Oswego!

Hunter & Alyssa Visit Chicago

We started at the beach Monday morning.  It wasn't sunny, but it was fun!  We skipped rocks, splashed, waded, and finally got all the way in the COLD water!  Alyssa is a fearless little daredevil--she was the first to go all the way in.  Hunter & I couldn't let our little sis outdo us, so we both followed!

Sand Art!

Hunter missed football practice & weightlifting, so we thought we'd give him a workout by having him carry the milk home :)

We also went to the Lily Pond (where Hunter may or may not have gotten poison ivy) and the zoo.  It is so much fun having Hunter & Ki around--they make everything exciting!

Later Monday night we went to Molly's for cupcakes!  Yummmm :)  I love this place!

And we shared some wings at BWW to watch the end of the Stanley Cup Finals.  Travis was so excited when the Hawks won!  This also means the Millars owe us dinner...yesss! :)

Yesterday we took the train downtown, and rode a bus on our way home--Alyssa's first time (that she remembers) on public transit!  Thanks to his trips to San Fran visiting the Hightowers, Hunter was a veteran.

And even though it was a rainy day, we all had a blast downtown.  We saw the bean, walked the Mile, had lunch with Travis, and explored the Brain Store and the Lego Store.

Dad drove up today to join the fun! He brought us lunch and then we went to the beach.  He waded in the water right along with us, skipped rocks, and took pictures and videos to document the day :) It was great to have him here!

 Big thanks to Mom and Dad for letting us steal their kids for a few days--definitely a highlight of my summer here in Chicago!  We were sad to see you leave, but we'll see you again soon! We love you!

--Travis & Holly

It's All Travis' Fault

...that we're having so much fun! Seriously, I have to give a big shout out to this boy.  He makes sure we have something big planned almost every day, and I have LOTS of evidence to prove it. This is gonna be a long one, folks. Take it easy.

Since I last posted, Travis and I:

• Went to the Beach down the street--BEAUTIFUL! We passed a Lily Pond on the way and thought of Lily! Miss you, cutes!

• Went to an Art Festival Downtown

We contributed to this lovely piece

• Went to the Field Museum!

Chicago loves their Blackhawks! (And so de we!  Millars, your Bruins are going down!)

Travis really loved this museum.  He got emotional during the exhibit that explained the extinctions of different animals and plants :(

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  Irish...Somethingorother. One of Trav's favorites in the "Mass Extinction Exhibit"

  
  
  

  

  SUE!

• Explored Shedd Aquarium!

• Shedd was fun, but Trav & I agreed it's a tad overrated.  You just can't beat SeaWorld (or the Indy Zoo's Underwater Dolphin Dome)!

  
  

  

  It started POURING on our way home.  This tunnel filled up with refugees and we all partied for a good half hour or so.  We were sitting on a pedestal and got stranded by a freak flood!

  
  
  
  
  

  

  This is me in a sea of legs.

  
  

  

  
  

• Saw Chicago from 103 floors up!

SkyDeck of the Willis (formerly Sears) Tower!

I'm sorry to report that Travis fell off of the top of the building.  I didn't have time to help him because I was snapping this picture of the event.

• Ate Deep Dish at Girodano's...it truly was delicious.

Travis LOVED it!

• Saw some Monets and Van Goghs at the Art Institute of Chicago

Trav loved this exhibit of miniature rooms

• Stopped by the Blues Fest in Millenium Park

• Walked the Streets of Chinatown

It's fun to be with Travis as he relives Mission Moments :)

• Visited the Blues Fest at Grant Park

Buckingham Fountain at Grant Park

• Learned about the universe at the Century-Old Adler Planetarium

This thing is 100 years old and was used to teach naval officers about navigation during WWII

Travis fell asleep...

...while I was trying to teach him about the planets.

We found this sweet beach next to the Planetarium--definitely going back!

• Stayed at the Museum of Science & Industry until it closed.  This was my favorite--I could have spent days in there, reading, learning, and playing.  There was an exhibit about babies and I thought of Caitlin and Laura!

Newborns in the chick hatchery!

This museum was so cool! They had so much, we didn't even get to see it all before it closed.

• Saw Camels and Polar bears at the Lincoln Park Zoo! 

Camels: The new addition to Travis' Favorite Animals List!

This cute little meerkat dug a whole, sat in it, and watched as all the other meerkats ran around and fought, etc.  We watched him for a loooong time!

• Attended a Rather Foggy White SOX Game!

Welcome to Cellular Field!

It started off as a beautiful night!

Then the  fog began rolling in...

White Sox scored 2 runs in some pretty thick fog!

When the field turned so completely white that we couldn't see over the rails, they delayed the game.  We headed home, but the Sox went on to beat the Bluejays!

We have had so much fun, and it's not over yet! We have about 3 more weeks here in Chicago and still have lots planned! Thanks for a great summer, Travis :)