Opening Day!!!

It's been a long time dream of mine and Brandon's to groom a family of snowboarders. I will admit, with Tori and Brighton who hate wearing snow clothes, are weirdly picky about how their shoes fit, and cannot tolerate being wet even a little, I didn't think the day would come that we would go let alone actually have a ton of fun, but with opening day upon us, and a ski resort just over an hour away, we figured it was time to see if these two would fit the buck ; ) We enticed them with promises of riding a magic carpet, and it worked. 

Brighton had to wear his goggles at all times on the way up. 

Freezing but excited!!

After getting the kids their rentals, we took them on one test run supporting all their weight the whole way down the bunny hill. It was painful, so Brandon concluded that we were just going to let them go for it on their own.

Tori giggled, snowboarded, giggled more, got bored at how slow we were, went ahead,  would crash, eat snow, and giggle more. I was so impressed! I really didn't expect them to like being strapped to a board, so imagine my excitement when they both acted like they had done this several times before. My heart burst about 20 different times.  

Brighton didn't like his girl gloves, but forgot all about them each time he crashed and would say, "That was awesome!"  

Sometimes I struggle being their mom...it's a thankless job. So, I needed a day like today to admire their adventurous, playful, and determined spirits that I sometimes forget in the midst of tantrums.  

Brighton didn't want to give his snowboard back at the end of the day. And I couldn't blame him. 

These things are adorable. I need like twenty more of them with twenty more babies to put in them...or like one. 

So Red Lodge, Montana is my favorite of favorites. It's the most charming resort town nestled in a little valley at the base of the mountain. Aesthetically and geographically, it is everything I want in a town we settle in someday. I cannot say enough. If you haven't been you should, if you don't think it's worth it, you're wrong.

The Bighorn Crags - Round 2

A few years back, Brandon and I did a 20 mile (+/-) backpacking trip to the Bighorn Crags, nestled deep in the Frank Church Wilderness. To my utter dismay, I lost almost every single one of the photos from that trip and due to inclement weather, we weren't able to visit some of the destinations we had planned. Needless to say, we knew we would be going back for more when the opportunity presented itself. Enter summer 2014, and the chance to go with 3 of my favorite guys!

I call this one "One of the guys." Loving my lesbo boots! 

It was so great to be able to do it with both my bros! Jacob went with us last time, but this was Ben's first time in. And actually our first backpacking trip together. 

Rock trail

View from our first campsite next to Harbor lake. It was 7 miles in on our first day. We were exhausted, but…can't beat this view. 

The next day we wanted to hike to a lake we missed last time, Ship Island Lake. To save some walking, we decided to hike up the ridge of Harbor Lake instead of following the designated trail.  

A man between two lakes. It was a great view. 

The other side was a little less enchanting, having to climb down a shale cliff.  It's the areas you can see where the ridge makes a "U." It was pretty scary. I only cried the whole way down out of both fear and pain in my knees. But I did it! It was funny in retrospect. 

We wouldn't make it all the way to Ship Island, as a crazy lightning and hale storm blew in. We did get a view of it.  

Me hiding under a tree from the hale. 

It looked like it had snowed and the trail had turned into a muddy stream.

We stuck to the trail on the way back, and it was a pretty, but very long hike home.

The next day we hiked out to Cathedral Rock to camp along the ridge. We found a leveled out spot between to crags just above the trail. 

And the rock had a man's profile.

This was one of my favorite pics of the trip. We saw a lot of variation in terrain on this trip, but this area was my favorite with the sand, boulders and green. 

This was the view from our actual campsite, overlooking the Cathedral Rock on the left there. It was pretty cool. We got all our drinking water from a dirty patch of snow that we boiled and purified. Neat to live off the land. 

The weather wasn't on our side though, when an alarmingly close lightning storm blew in we had to evacuate our high post on the ridge to find lower ground. Ben and I built a lean-to next to a boulder to keep the rain off while we waited out the storm. While sitting we heard some cracking out in the trees and the boys had to get armed for potentially dangerous wildlife (the area is known for wolf packs). It was literally one of my worst fears realized. But we were fine and eventually made a very dark and spooky hike back to our tents.

Where we play shadow games on the boulders. 

My 1st Birthday….in my 30's

Having birthdays in New York are the best. I don't know that I would have felt so great about turning 30 and then 31 had I not had so many distractions. My sweet ladies, Julie Pearson, Amy Clayton and Kristi-Lynn Gibson surprised with some birthday goodies during a visit outside of the city. 

Julie, connoisseur of all things cute and festive. 

My bday lunch

We got to explore Westchester

Beautiful all around 

A rare Mommy's only photo.

The night of my birthday, I was treated to a s'more cake made by the handsome man himself.

 Following a yummy dinner and dessert, Brandon surprised me with tickets to the Lincoln Center to see the Paul Taylor Company. I was so excited.

I've been to the Lincoln Center plenty of times but never treated to a show. It was the most perfect way to spend my last birthday in New York. 

8th Anniversary

So, if we're being honest, which I try to be, I would say New York has been the hardest time in mine and Brandon's relationship. We've always had the privilege of being very involved in one another's lives, but here it literally feels like we live two totally separate lives where we occasionally cross paths for a night of catching up on our favorite TV shows. It's been a bit rough finding time to even see each other, let alone find time for romance. But Brandon really out did himself to find the romance this anniversary. We got majorly dolled up for what has to be our first and last meal over $100. Brandon found a place…THE PLACE, have you, personalized with all the right Jennie touches, complete with a rustic cabin vibe, a fireplace, bistro lights, and the best food ever (oh and it was called The Place). The lighting was very minimal so the already iPhone quality of my photos was taken down a bit. 

He cleans up so gooooood!

Scallops

My salmon cooked medium rare.  

My steak and potatoes man. But seriously, these mashed potatoes….UNREAL!

His "Seriously, get whatever you want, while I cry over the bill" face ; ) 

Then he gave me a personal tour of Grand Central Station, where we visited the kissing room, the whispering wall, and the terminal where Brandon showed me a small piece of the ceiling color before it was painted it's current turquoise. The previous brown color was a result of all the cigarette smoke. He also told me that the zodiac painted on the ceiling was actually painted backwards to emulate God's vantage point.

Whispering wall

 And our walk back to catch the bus next to the UN building. It was a lovely night.

I've been so lucky to be a part of Brandon's many successes which has taken me on so many adventures. I'm so grateful for his thoughtfulness amidst his demanding schedule. He always takes the time to make me feel special.