Rent a Puppy!

Meet Bruce.

Let the judgments begin, but Salt Lake City has a company that allows you to "rent" a puppy that is up for adoption.  It took only a couple hours to realize how fun it would be to own one!  If only we didn't live in a tiny apartment or had a yard he could play in while we were at work.

We took Bruce to Liberty Park to play.

He was so much fun!  Despite our living circumstances, I still might adopt him if he still doesn't have a home in a month or so...don't tell Caitlin!

He liked tug-of-war and LOVED other dogs he met at the park!  He kept trying to play with this super old Poodle (one of the huge ones--not a tiny toy poodle), but the poodle was not having it.  Bruce kept jumping as high as he could to try to get up to the poodles face.

He also is obsessed with army crawling.  We would be walking to another section of the park, and Bruce would just plop down and start crawling wherever he wanted to go.

Crawl after that stick!

After about an hour of playing he was all tuckered out.  He slept for a good half hour!

I miss him already!

Big Sky Country

We drove home to Montana this August for the first time in over two years.  I can't believe it had been that long!  Driving through Big Sky (above) is my favorite.

Finally home again!

The field across the street from my house.

They have started putting in housing developments in small sections of it since I left--it will be so sad someday when the field doesn't exist anymore!

Our first full day in Bozeman, we rented a Forest Service cabin up in the Bridger Mountains for dinner and s'mores.

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day!

The next day we went to the Lewis & Clark Caverns (about 50 miles outside of Bozeman).

Off the freeway on the way to the caves is the Wheat Montana mill...

...and you can't miss an opportunity to enjoy a fresh Wheat Montana cinnamon roll!

After loading up on carbohydrates, we were ready to tackle the caves.

You start out by driving high up the mountain to the visitors' center.

Then you hike the rest of the way up to the cave entrance.

Caitlin and Mom

Lewis and Clark never actually discovered the cave, but they followed the Jefferson River (seen above) right by the base of the mountain on their way to the coast.

It was Caitlin's first real cave experience and my first time since 4th grade!

I can't imagine being on the team that carved hundreds of stairs into the rock.

This pool is extremely clear but has a green tinge because the original visitors (over 100 years ago) used to toss pennies in it.  The pennies have been removed but the green from the copper still lingers.

Paradise Room

I am sure there are much better pictures online than these.  It doesn't appear the iPhone camera was exactly calibrated for cave photos.

Our third day we walked across Pete's Hill, which overlooks Bozeman on the east side.

Bozeman

Looking the other direction from Pete's Hill is the field by my house.  (My house is on the far side of this field toward the right side of this picture.)

After Pete's Hill, we took a stroll down Main Street to check out the shops.

We stopped for lunch at Ted's Montana Grill for a buffalo burger.  Neither of us had ever tried one and it seemed like a Montana-y thing to do!

(Owned by Ted Turner--CNN founder--who owns tons of land in Montana with many, many buffalo.)

Buffalo and a chocolate shake!

We collect wood animals from places we visit, so this provided a perfect opportunity to get a wooden buffalo!

After lunch we visited Montana's version of a beach.  (No joke, it is actually called the "Bozeman Beach.")  The fact that it is empty on a beautiful day tells you everything you need to know about the water quality...  We often ran on the trail system around the pond in high school though.

Our last morning, before driving back to Utah, we went to Montana State University to sit in on one of my Dad's classes.

The Physics and Engineering Building

It was fun to watch!

(College is much more enjoyable when you know you don't have to take the test at the end.)

After four short days, the sunset of our vacation had come.  (This is somewhere in Idaho during our drive back to Utah, compliments of Caitlin while I was driving.)  Going back to work is the worst.

Sunrises

As fall approaches, the sunrises have been spectacular as I wait for the train each morning.

Here are just a few from the past weeks:

Best Two Years

We have been married for TWO YEARS!!!

I can't believe how quickly it has gone!  We have been so lucky: since getting engaged we have been to Yellowstone, Mexico, Southern California, Florida Keys, New York City (twice), Seattle, and Disney World!  It has been so much fun!

For our second anniversary, we drove ourselves just a couple blocks to The Cheesecake Factory and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner.  For dessert, we prematurely had a big slice of '30th Anniversary Chocolate Cheesecake.'  It was so good!

Don't worry about us working off all those calories though--we treated ourselves to the coolest anniversary gifts ever!  Adult-sized scooters with giant wheels!

It has been such a wonderful journey so far, and I know it will only get better!