Hello World

No one ever mentioned it… In the whole nine months it took to create this beautiful little human, not one person said, “You’re about to meet someone entirely new, and it’s not going to be your baby, it’s going to be you.”

Brian & I left the hospital a few days after Rost entered the world. We were both grateful to see my parents – both retired – waiting for us in our kitchen when we walked in from the garage. My mom is a retired pediatric nurse, so her presence was greatly appreciated because no amount of hours preparing for Rost’s arrival would come close to what we needed to get through our first week as a family of 3. We’ve survived week one thanks to the assistance of those who have traveled this path before us, so without further ado, please allow me to overflow your eyes with pictures of Rost from his first week on planet earth.

Date Night(s)

Life has been a little hectic and more than a little stressful lately. Despite all that, we’ve been trying to carve out a little time to forget about the world and just have a good time. Date nights have included a few random road trips, bowling for a cause, professional bull riding, winning big at the casino, a magic show, and even a cat show.
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Feel free to share your favorite date night ideas!

Petroglyphs

Not far from our home lies one of the most unique parks I’ve had the chance of visiting – Petroglyphs National Monument. Being only a twenty-minute drive from where I rest my head every night, this place was high on my priority list of places to visit soon after arriving in the Duke City. Today we had the chance to head out and explore a bit of the park. I’m more than excited to get to experience more of this place as time goes on.Petroglyphs - 1Petroglyphs - 4Petroglyphs - 5Petroglyphs - 6Petroglyphs - 8Petroglyphs - 9Petroglyphs - 11Petroglyphs - 13

On the Road Again

My plane landed back in Ohio three days early so I took the extra time to spend with family before we all packed up and headed to Washington, DC for a little family trip built around Brian’s graduation. It was a blitz trip in DC with my entire family before Brian & I packed up one last time and hit the road one final time.
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Gettysburg Gettaway

My momma had some days off she’d been planning to use on another trip that had been cancelled. Since I was available she asked if I would like to take a trip with her instead. Not a fan of long drives, but wanting to visit her cousins, she asked me to escort her a few hours east to some towns near Gettysburg, PA for the long weekend. We both got to spend time hanging out with family on Thursday.

Brian also had the weekend free so on FridayI dropped down to DC and picked him up after work. I had brought Kratos with me for the weekend so that he and Brian could see each other for the first time since he left for school. It was after midnight when we got back to my cousin’s house for the big reunion, so there isn’t a video to share (it’s hard to capture an all black dog after midnight. Especially one who’s practically vibrating from the excitement of seeing his papa)
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Saturday morning, after brunch with my mom at one of my favorite local shops, the three of us headed to Gettysburg for a self guided tour of the battlefield.
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Saturday night Brian & I took off for a little date night @ Hershey Stadium to see Imagine Dragons. It was an epic show. Grace VanderWaal was their opening act too!
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Before mom & I dropped Brian off on Sunday he had a little surprise in store for me too. Looks like it won’t take me [what feels like] 12 years to edit photos anymore!

DC

Technically we’re spending the next few months doing our own thing, but unlike deployments of past we actually get to talk (& Facetime) on a daily basis and on visit in person every once in a while. This weekend both Brian & I had free so we met up in Washington DC for a weekend of sight seeing with my cousins who live nearby.

Brian wasn’t free from work until later so I dropped Kratos off with my dad & headed out to suburbia Virginia where I spent the better part of the weekend catching up with my cousin & her family (including new husband Craig and baby Talia, who I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting yet since their arrival into our family – the kinds of things you miss when you live in Alaska). When he was able to meet up I skipped off to hang out with my main man, even stealing a few hours of alone time with him for a dinner and movie date.DC - 7DC - 9DC - 11DC - 12DC - 14DC - 17

Eastbound & Down

Our little family loaded up into two seperate cars we set our sights on the east coast. We took our time traveling across the country and did the trip in three days, taking time so show Brian some sights like Crazy Horse, Mount Rushmore, the Arch, & the Corn Palace. Traveling East - 1Traveling East - 2Traveling East - 4Traveling East - 7Traveling East - 9

Only a week after arriving here it was time for Brian & I to say goodbye to each other while we each complete this next leg of our journey apart from one another. See you soon babe.East Coast - 1East Coast - 2East Coast - 3East Coast - 10East Coast - 11East Coast - 13East Coast - 16East Coast - 19East Coast - 20East Coast - 21East Coast - 22East Coast - 23East Coast - 26Processed with VSCO with m5 presetProcessed with VSCO with f2 presetEast Coast - 29

Montana Memories

Load the car & write the note.
Grab your bag & grab your coat.
Tell the ones that need to know.
We are headed East.

The time has come to once again say my goodbyes to Montana. It’s always such a bittersweet moment when we part, but it’s time to step forward into the next adventure. We’ve yet again had some good times my old friend. I’m already looking forward to my next visit. Xoxo.Montana Memories - 4Montana Memories - 6Montana Memories - 8Montana Memories - 9Montana Memories - 11Montana Memories - 12Montana Memories - 14Montana Memories - 15Montana Memories - 16Montana Memories - 18Montana Memories - 19Montana Memories - 23Montana Memories - 24Montana Memories - 28Montana Memories - 29Montana Memories - 30Montana Memories - 31Processed with VSCO with fs1 presetMontana Memories - 33Montana Memories - 38Montana Memories - 39Montana Memories - 40Montana Memories - 41Montana Memories - 43Montana Memories - 45Montana Memories - 49Montana Memories - 50Montana Memories - 51

Becky & Nate

Becky is one of those friends who never seems to turn me down for an adventure, or in some cases a grand misadventure; which is precisely why I like her. She has many, many other charming qualities but the fact that she loves a good adventure as much as I do easily tops the list.

Not seeing her while I was in Montana was simply not an option so the first free weekend that we both had, I packed up the Jeep & headed south to her ranch just south of Missoula for some quality time between our two families. We’d both added some new members to our pack since last time we’d hung out and were excited for everyone – new and old – to enjoy each other’s company. As expected, the weekend didn’t disappoint.

Thanks for the great weekend Becky & Nate! We’re already looking forward to our next adventure with ya’ll. Weekend With Becky And Nate -1Weekend With Becky And Nate -2Weekend With Becky And Nate -3Weekend With Becky And Nate -4Weekend With Becky And Nate -5Weekend With Becky And Nate -6Weekend With Becky And Nate -7Weekend With Becky And Nate -8Weekend With Becky And Nate -9Weekend With Becky And Nate -10Weekend With Becky And Nate -11

Woodland Park

There is a park in my husband’s hometown that is FULL of ducks. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of – if you’re afraid of ducks that is. If you don’t believe me, just watch this:

 

Brian had taken me to this park once before.  We had a surplus of buns left over from the Super Bowl party we were at and wanted rid of the carbs so we set off for Woodland Park and the gaggle of geese and flock ducks.
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