'Tis the season...

Football season!

Our favorite time of the year.

For the first time all summer we didn't have plans on a weekend.

We were thinking that it might be a great weekend to check out the State Fair.

But...

my amazing friend Tuna offered me free tickets to the first preseason home game.

Vikings vs. Cowboys

Row 11

Now that is a good friend!

I took my little guy



to his very first game!

(he is still clinging to that bucket of peanuts)

He had a fun time:

Doing a little pregame bouncing in the giant football,

making new friends,

 (and being silly with them)

checking out cheerleaders,

(they kept all of the boys around us very entertained)

but I think that learning how to do the wave was his favorite part!

(it went around at least 10 times)

Here he is telling a Dallas fan what's up.

Ever since that game I hear "GO VIKINGS" around my house frequently.

It's a pretty welcomed phrase.

We had such a great time!

I love my little football fan!



Under the Big Sky (pt. 2)

This trip to Montana was a special one for us.

We always go back, at least once a year, but we usually end up going back during the winter to spend Christmas with Blair's family.

Don't get me wrong - Christmas in Montana is amazing!

But I love summer time in Montana the most.

We decided to drive this time (even though I hate that drive) because Blair wanted to bring some some things back.  I must admit it was kind of nice to be uninhibited while packing.  So, we loaded up and left after work on a Friday and spent the night in Bismarck.  We woke up early in the morning and got back on the road.

We made it to Billings just in time for Mary's 50th Birthday Party.

Where there was plenty of good food, great friends, and lots of laughs!

We spent the next couple of days in Billings, hanging out with family, friends,

and

training on the rims for our back packing trip (see previous post).

Which ended up being almost as fun as the trip itself.  I must say, Blair and I make pretty good running partners!  He definitely likes to test my limits - like almost killing me by forcing me to free climb - But that's another story.

I'm not sure why, but I had never been on the rims before.  Its' beautiful up there!



I think I could live in Billings -
in that cute house with the red roof.  Ha!

On our last night in Billings we had a double date with Blair's brother Scott and his wife Brittany.

Sushi and Daniel Tosh...

go together so well.

I have never laughed so hard!

In the morning we were up early and off to Big Sky for our back packing adventure.

After that we were on to Bozeman.

Where we had an amazing breakfast at the Nova Cafe,

then a little shopping downtown before...

...a float on the Madison river...

and an evening drive up Hyalite Canyon.

(where we stopped at Hyalite Lake, hiked Palisade Falls, and watched sunset on the river)

We followed all of that up with a delicious dinner at Ted's!

(the strawberry shortcake there is to die for - I basically lived on it while I was pregnant with Blaise)

Somehow we still found some time to connect with some old friends,

and it was so good to catch up!

Dear Montana,

Thank you for giving us the best vacation we have ever had.

This family loves you.  Even Billings (yes, I said it).

See you again soon!

**In case your wondering - Blaise did go with us to Montana, but when Blair's mom is around he likes to be with her as much as possible.  Those two have a very close relationship and when they are together they pretty much forget about everyone else and do their own thing.  It's so nice that they have a relationship like that, but it's very hard on Blaise when we come home and he doesn't have as much contact with her.

He really loves his "Mary Grandma"!



Under the Big Sky

I don't even know how to begin...

There are no words that can truly describe the beauty of Montana.

I'll give it a try, but I think the pictures will do most of the talking

(even though they do the real thing absolutely no justice).

When Blair and I first started dating (while living in Bozeman, MT) we would grab a six pack after work, jump in his truck and head up Gallatin Canyon and hike a rocky trail to find the perfect spot to sit and watch the kayaks and whitewater rafting tours make their way down the "mad mile" of the Gallatin river.  On our way to our intended trail head we were feeling a bit nostalgic and decided we had to make a pit stop.

 I'm so glad that we did.

So many memories from the beginning of our relationship came rushing back.

We spent the most of the day and night sharing memories of some of our first and favorite moments together.

After our trip down memory lane it was time to get serious.

We rented a couple of packs, a tent, and sleeping bags at REI so we could spend a night on the mountain.

We decided that Lava Lake was our destination.  Blair had been there once before and has always told me stories from his trip how beautiful it was.  Its a gorgeous trail, but can get kind of intense (especially with a 30+ lb pack attached to you).

We were more then ready to strap on our packs and get on the trail (we had been training for it all week).

We took a few breaks just to enjoy the scenery.

Just when we were starting to wonder if we could go any farther we stumbled upon this...

Lava Lake.

Pretty amazing isn't it?

We were so tired from the hike in we decided to put off setting up camp and just enjoy the remaining hours of sunlight on the beach or in the cool mountain lake water, taking in the view.

When we noticed the sun was starting to set we decided it was time to set up camp, but were having a hard time even considering leaving the beach.

So we decided not to, and pitched the tent and lit a fire right where we were.

Not the worst place to call home for a night, right?

The best part - we were completely alone out there. 

Just me, Blair and nature.

We spent the rest of the evening on the trails and beach collecting wood for our camp fire.

I'm not going to lie.  I'm glad we had this...

We didn't see any bears (just fresh paw prints).

Which I was going to take a picture of until I noticed the cub tracks near by while I was taking out my camera.  We decided it would probably just be best to put some distance between us and those tracks.

I'm sure you have all heard the saying "don't mess with mama bear".

So we ended up just listening to the sound of sunset on the mountain in the cool evening air.

It was one of the best days/nights that we have ever had together.

I hope we have many more just like it.