buena vista part 2

I have such a special spot in my heart for this place y'all... over the last few days, I've been trying to dissect exactly why BV is so special to me and have decided that it is a combination of nostalgia, small things that I love (dipped cones at Kay's, the streams winding through grandpa's land, fruits of the forrest pie at Bongo Billy's coffee shop, picking raspberries from the more-massive-and-wonderful-than-you-can-imagine garden), the natural beauty and the accumulation of years of fantastic memories I've made here. And I think it makes it more special that Adam has loved this place since he was little and wrote me approximately five hundred letters postmarked BV when he was working at Frontier Ranch in college. I can't wait for Burke to love this place as well...

Anyhow, the rest of our week was just as glorious as the first half... relaxing and restful (which is hard to imagine considering that Adam was in the mountains backpacking and fly fishing and I had sole responsibility for Burke) and full of fabulous girl time with my sisters, sister-in-law, mama, and various friends and family that were in and out for parts of the week. Dad is hoping to make this guy backpacking-and-flyfishing trip an annual event- hopefully the girl-week-in-BV is its natural counterpart. :)

As promised- more pictures of the fabulousness...

favorite place

I always joke around that when Adam was thinking about dating me, he went back and forth until he found out that my dad grew up in Buena Vista and that my grandpa still lives there. Our shared affection for that little mountain town sealed the deal for him, I think.

And why wouldn't it? I may try to put this into words more coherently later, but for now, all I can say is that I love this place. Love it.

Our week has been full of girl time and Gold Rush Days and raspberry picking and little boutiques and walks and scenic drives and games and dipped cones at Kay's... glory, really. I'm sure the boys are having just as much fun fly fishing. Oh, and we're trying to take advantage of Jordi's phenomenal photography skills as much as possible. :)

More to come.

genius!

This just in- my hottie of a husband passed his Dental Boards Part 1! That's right, he's both gorgeous and brilliant. YAY! YAY! YAY!

the magic of the mountains

Just in for a few days between vacations... Lake City was as fabulous as ever. I forget how much I love being in the mountains, actually. Some old family friends offered their guest house as living quarters for us for the week (the cabin with the whole Gentry fam wasn't equipped for three couples and a baby), which was fantastic! Our week was full of fishing and great food and fantastic company. Burke even fell in the river and seems to have recovered just fine.

this was taken right after burke took a little tumble into the stream... he was so muddy that we had to dip him back in the river so that we could remove the layer of muddy filth from his head

burke's getup for the week (see that little hand reaching around)... we make a good hiking team

the nettleton's house and our guest quarters... we're so thankful that they had some space for us to stay!

this the only picture I have of our whole crew- Mark and Evette, Aaron and Leslie, us, and our friends the Cairns' and Smiths (I know, I know, my eyes are closed)

ice cream at the soda shop- glory!

love of my life...

I had a funny thought sometime after Burke was born... I realized that someday (not too far off if the rapid pace with which life seems to be passing continues) Burke will fall in love and marry someone and leave us. Just like I grew up and left my parents. And if we have any other kids, they'll just be ours to care for for a season as well.

But with me and Adam, that won't ever be the case. He is it for me, my forever someone. It's an immensely comforting thought to me, actually. I think it's the thing that lets me be my real self with him, that allows us the safety to try things that we might fail at, the thing that frees us up to plan our life together with grander goals than either of us would pursue alone...

Today is our seventh anniversary... I didn't know it would go this fast, or that it'd be this great, but I am so so so thankful that I married this man seven years ago!

And I can't post today without wishing Jordi a happy birthday! I'll have to put an entire post together later, but in the meantime, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE SISTER!

new trick

Guess who learned to remove his own diaper??? It's trouble around here, friends. Funny and fun... and trouble.

Oh yeah, and isn't the naked-save-for-a-hat a good look for Burke? Hahaha!

another reason to love summer...

... lots of time with family and friends... :)