...Big Sky...

Just Married!

Here we are with Tyler and Chelsea.

Chillaxin' in the hammocks.

Richard has great biking skills.

My sweet ride.

In the middle of August we made a much anticipated trip up to Richard's old stomping grounds of Bozeman, MT. This is where he graduated from high school, and he absolutely loved living there. He's always told me stories about him and his buddies Tyler, Miles, the triplets, Alonzo, Chase, and his cousin Eric and the fun they would have...and the trouble they'd get in. He's been wanting to take me there since we met, and we finally got to go. His friend Alonzo got married, and we thought that was the perfect reason to make the trip.
We stayed with Susan and Walt Connell, Richard's aunt and uncle. We had big breakfasts every morning, and dessert was the bomb...literally. Our first day there I got the complete tour of Bozeman. Richard was so excited he couldn't even sleep, so he woke me up bright and early and we headed out. He took me on the driving tour of his old neighborhood, showed me his and his friends' houses, and the many other places they used to hang out at. He showed me his high school, and it was actually open so we got to walk through the halls. We drove down Main Street and past the baseball field where he played Bucks baseball. Rich is a wonderful tour guide! That night we met up with his friend Tyler and his wife Chelsea and some of their friends, and we did some tight-rope walking on slackline tied to trees. It was so much fun!
The next day we hung out with Susan and Walt. They took us to the Farmer's Market at the fairgrounds. I felt so inspired to attempt making some new crafts! And there was some jewelery made from recycled bottle glass that was so cool, but pretty pricey. We made our way downtown and walked up and down Main Street. There were so many cool shops and boutiques. The boys were such good sports while Susan and I dragged them into all the clothing, shoe and makeup stores we could find! We had lunch at an awesome Mexican restaurant, and then Walt took us on a drive up Hyalite Canyon. It was beautiful! We had some time to kill before the wedding reception that night, so Rich and I went for a bike ride on some really sweet bikes. There are trails all over the place up there--it was so much fun! When we got home, Susan busted out some camping hammocks for us to relax in. We just laid in the shade, and enjoyed the perfect weather. It was my favorite day of the whole weekend.
The reception was incredible. It was in a gorgeous backyard, with a big canopy, a dance floor, and lights hanging from all the trees. The food was scrumptous, and Alonzo and Ashley looked very happy. Richard was in some of the slideshow pictures, which he was pretty excited about. After the reception is when the party really started, though. We went with Tyler and Chelsea and some other friends to Bozeman Hot Springs! The boys were so funny--they made up so many games and were doing so many tricks. It was hilarious!
Sunday, we went to church and then took off to make the long drive home. It was about an 7 hour drive, but it seemed to fly by because we listened to the book Twilight on cd. Richard loves it, by the way!
We had so much fun, and it was by far one of our favorite parts of the summer. We didn't get to do or see everything we wanted to, though. But that just means we'll have to go back again soon. Thanks Susan, Walt, Tyler and Chelsea. We love you guys!