"How did you end up here?"

Big changes for the Mills family this year! There are fewer of us who actually go by "Mills," but there are more of us nonetheless! This year we gained 2 new members. I introduced the first in my last post - Elouise Jean Goding. (In case you missed the cuteness :) ) The second is Matthew Beauregard - the brave soul who actually joined this crazy clan by choice (haha!) With so many girls already, I'm thrilled to welcome a new brother! He's outgoing and thoughtful and he is perfect for my sister. It is quite obvious how much he adores her. I love how in love they are :)They're wedding was a perfect reflection of them. Romance, glamor, country music, and baseball!    These bridesmaids were so much fun to collaborate with! 3 of Julie's dearest friends, her new sister-in-law, and our sisters did an excellent job of tying details together and making sure Julie looked and felt her best. It was such an honor helping th...

I’m pleased to say that my 10 day trip really felt like 10 days. They went by too quickly (as always) and I feel like I need more (as always), but it was so eventful!   The main attraction by far was little Miss Elouise Jean Goding who entered the world on August 16 th at 1:18 am, 10 hours before my flight landed in Phoenix. I had just arrived in Las Vegas beforehand for a 4 hour layover when I heard the news. Once again, I have technology to thank for allowing me to be somewhat present for precious family moments. I sat at the gate with my laptop as Mom Skyped me in on her iPad to witness Brynley meeting her baby sister for the first time. I got to see the biggest bright-eyed grin light up her face as she climbed up on the bed next to her momma and eagerly reached for her new sibling. I heard her giggles of excitement, her perfect pronunciation of Ellie’s full name, and her innocent request to her parents: “Can I have another one?” She was oh so gentle as she stroked her “...

What a delightful summer it has been so far! It been quite as warm as last summer, and I'd say there's more rain this time. But still, it's joyous! Hiking, biking, BBQs, no jackets, no snow/ice, and relatively no night time! An especially fun time was my friend Sara visiting! She wins for traveling the farthest distance to get here from Cologne, Germany! 5 days flew by super quickly, but we had plenty of adventures! Trolley tour of the city, camping at Eklutna Lake (cold and rainy but awesome), celebrating Summer Solstice, Down-town market, carnival rides, Alaska Botanical Gardens, my company softball game, sight-seeing, walking/hiking trails, and of course lots of great food! So proud of our tent :) The Spin Doctors concert for Summer Solstice...and Zach's creepy photo bomb    Our new friend "Liela Nurple" who we won playing balloon darts at the carnival after screaming our heads off on a swingy-flippy ride (at least I did lol) ...

I’m currently traveling home to Phoenix (fiancé-less, sadly) to start this whirlwind process of planning a wedding! Everything up to this point has been research and narrowing in on ideas since, obviously, we live 4000 miles away from our wedding destination. I have one week to find a venue and a dress. Thankfully I have a mother and 3 sisters who have been willing and eager to be hands-on helpers by visiting sites ahead of time and scheduling appointments for me. The pressure is on, but I’m up for the challenge!   In the meantime, staying focused on the end result of marrying my best friend is my main goal. As it’s been almost a year to the day that I moved to Anchorage and we just reached our 3 year mark of being in each others’ lives, I find it fitting to tell our full story. I love reminiscing about the details of our journey thus far. In case you don’t know me by now, I tend to drag stories out way longer than necessary, so bear with me through my longwinded-ness. ...

An unexpected twist made mine and Cory's Illinois trip my favorite vacation of all time. And now it's time for me to be girly and gushy. We left Anchorage for Cory's hometown of Roscoe, IL on our 2nd anniversary of getting back together. We had decided not to exchange gifts and just celebrate by spending a day in Chicago during the week. I had taken a trip there with my family back in 2011 when Cory and I had just started talking, so I couldn't wait spend a day in one of my favorite cities with him. My sisters and me in June 2011 in the same spot Cory and I would stand almost 3 years later. We spent Easter weekend with his families and friends (most of who I met for the first time). I instantly felt welcomed as part of the family and loved getting to know everyone who Cory grew up with and cares so much about. I was hoping some of them would be able to join us in Chigago, but Cory was pretty adamant about having the day to ourselves. Go figure. We st...