Month Of Weddings

I can't believe the month of weddings has come and gone. It was crazy, and I give the Thompson family a big salute for getting through 2 weddings in one month, and not killing anyone in the process. Haha. So last night was Jodi and Chad's wedding, and I got a few pictures from it that I thought I'd share. I don't know why but my camera takes super blurry pictures sometimes, so that sucks..but here are the pics I got. It was a beautiful reception and everyone looked super amazing. 

Jodi and Chad's 1st Dance

Daddy-Daughter Dance And All The Brothers Danced With Their Sisters

Justin and Emily Dancing

Deven :)

Sara Dancing with Maddox Haha

Shanna Dancing with Maddox

Jodi and Chad

They are such a cute couple, and I'm so glad that I am lucky enough to have been there. Thanks Chad and Jodi! Love you both!

Sweet Country Comfort

This week, Jarred, who was Nick's room-mate in Haiti came to visit for a few days. It was great to finally get to meet him, since we've only emailed back and forth. His girlfriend Bree and I have emailed a lot too, and I absolutely adore both of them. They are incredible people, and I'm glad that I have had the opportunity to get to know them. On Jarred's last night here, we decided that we should go up to a campground and have a little cook-out. I'm glad we decided to do it, because we all had a great time. Hopefully Jarred and Bree will come visit sometime soon!!

After we got to the campground and got the fire started and ate some dinner Nick and Sean thought it would be a really good idea to see if they could both fit on a stump that was a ways out in the stream. The stream isn't super deep or anything, but it was running super fast and it was crazy cold, therefore still making it not the greatest idea ever...but they did it!

After that, we went back to the fire area and hung out and talked. I got to see Jarred's pictures from his trip across the Western United States. He got to travel a lot, and his pictures were great. It was fun getting to know him and hearing all of his stories. 

Here's some pictures we took throughout the night.

Andi Jo, Sean, and Whitnie (Nick's cousins)

Andi and Whit- Andi was totally enthralled by the fire, and that water bottle!!

Nick and I- This is what happens when you forget that your zoom is on!! Boo...

Jarred and Nick watching Sean chop the wood for the fire- I love Jarred's face in this picture, because as you can tell by the look, Sean was not chopping the wood like a normal person--he was trying to hold it at the same time. Haha.

So, we decided to make Peach Cobbler in the dutch-oven, but forgot to take up coals. So after we had eaten, we let the fire die down to just hot coals and then put the dutch-oven into the fire area. After about 15 minutes without a fire, everyone was freezing, so we decided it was time to start a fire and at the same time get the cobbler to finish cooking...this is what ended up happening:

We ended up all getting warm and the cobbler cooked, but it didn't quite cook all the way through. It was good and moist though...and this is what it looked like after we pulled it out of the fire:

It tasted great. 

After we ate some cobbler, we heard some noise, and since there have been quite a few Grizzly Bears seen in that area, Whit had a little bit of a freak out, which we all laughed about (including Whit) and the night ended. We all got packed up and left. 

So glad that I could spend time with all of the people there. They are fantastic. I love them all to death. :)

-Nick, Me, and Jarred-

What Handsome Guys

Thanks For The Memories

Picture Perfect

This is just a random "side note post"!! A friend of mine, Bree, started posting pictures in a really cool format on facebook, and then finally gave up her secret- this awesome iPhone app. It is so amazing!! I'm obsessed with pictures, and this makes it super easy to combine pictures and do borders. I've been playing with the app non-stop since I got it. It's called Diptic for those of you who want to try it out...check out the cool collages I've done so far!!

"Making Memories That Will Last A Lifetime"

"Adding A Little Sunshine To My Day"

"Love You Like A Love Song"

"A View From The Top"

"These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things"

View From The Top

It has been an absolutely crazy month so far, and there's much more to come. I am a little on edge lately, so I asked Nick if he wanted to do a "Date Day" and just spend the day together relaxing and doing fun things. I was thinking eat, movie, possible massages, you know...relaxing day....Nick had a different idea. He decided that he wanted to go to Jackson Hole and ride the "scenic chairlift" up Snow King Ski Hill.

This is the chair lift you go on for a scenic ride

I guess at this point I should explain that I love roller coasters, I love adventure, but I hate heights where I'm not "secured in" (like a roller coaster, I normally have something to put my feet on, or a bar that comes over my shoulders, connecting me to the structure...) and when I'm in an uncomfortable situation where I am nervous, I laugh uncontrollably, like an idiot. 

So, we get there and start going up, and I was totally scared, but after about 5 minutes (it's a 20 minute ride one way) I was ok. We finally made it to the top where we exited and walked around to see the gorgeous views of Jackson Hole.

 

It was a great view, and there are trails at the top of the mountain you can walk around on, but we had other plans, so we decided to head back down. When we got back on the chair lift to go down, the wind started to blow quite a bit, and the chair we were on was swinging annoyingly while we were dangling crazy high above the ground. I was not a fan of the ride back down in any way, shape or form. Nick didn't enjoy that part either. When we were still near the very top, they had to stop the chair lift to let some people get on and because our chair was already kind of swinging it made it ten times worse. I thought for a moment that I was going to die, which is when the laughing started. Nick just kept saying "Shhhh. Keep it to yourself. You're making it worse. Stop." It was a super scary ride down, but we made it alive.

The second picture here ^^ is almost half way back down the mountain.

Next we went on the Alpine Slide, which I didn't take any pictures of, but don't worry...I googled some. It was fun. It's a slide that starts about half way up the mountain. You take a chair lift to a platform and get on a "sled" which is basically a plastic long sled with this stick thing in the middle that you push forward to go and pull back to brake, and you go down the hill...

 

It was a great day overall, and I'm glad we got to go do two things I'd never done before, even though they scared the crap out of me. So thanks Nick for the good suggestions. :) 

Stay Classy!

Gone Country

Today was one of the best Sunday's I have had in a while. It made me reminisce as well as create new memories. When I was younger (a lot younger) my family went with my Grandma and Grandpa Stewart to a place called "Virginia City, Montana". Virginia City is an old ghost town that is the place where robbers and outlaws would go to hide out. It's also an old gold mining town. There are a bunch of the actual old homes and shops and city buildings still standing that you can go through, as well as new expansion. About 3 miles out of Virginia City is a place called "Nevada City, Montana", which is basically an extension of Virginia City. During this blog I'm going to share both old memories that really hit hard today as well as new memories and fun things we did today!

We left our house early this morning and went over to get my Grandma Stewart and headed out on our trip. 

Mom and Michael In The Car On The Way To Grandma's House

After we picked Grandma up, we headed out, but had to stop at a gas station to get some snacks and drinks.

By the time we got to the gas station, my air head brother needed a re-fill...

:) 

My Dad Found The Hat Section, And Ended Up Buying Two!

This Was Supposed To Be A Cowboy Riding A Horse, But Ended Up Looking Totally Inappropriate And Making Everyone Laugh..Hard.

I Kissed A Frog- Thinking It Would Turn In To Prince Charming

After we left the store we drove a while and stopped around lunch time to get something to eat. After we were done eating, we continued our trek to Virginia City. On the way, Michael opened up his Hot Tamales and pulled one out that looked like this...

It Was An Incredibly Inappropriate First Part Of The Trip

Just A Random Stop For A Picture On The Way To Virginia City

Once we got in to Virginia City, the first place we went was a place called "Boot Hill". 

Here are some pictures of the graves of the outlaws. They were all hung on the same day.

It's kind of weird that their graves overlook the city I thought...but oh well, I didn't start the town, I just went and visited. 

And here is the grave site of the Daltons:

Next we drove to Nevada City where we went to the museum.

This building brought back so many memories. This is where we went with my Grandma and Grandpa when I was younger. I have pictures with them inside this building. One of my Grandpa's favorite things to do was to listen to all of the musical instruments go at the same time. See, they have organs and pianos and trumpet things that you put money into and they play by themselves. It brought back the memory of Grandpa so strong that I got tears in my eyes. It was great. I love you Grandpa and miss you a lot. I wish you could have been with us today, but I know you were there in spirit.

The First Organ When You Walk In

The Horoscope Machine- With My Horoscope Sign Scroll

This Is My Grandma and I In Front Of The Main Organ. The Sleigh In Front Of It Is Where I Have A Picture With My Grandma and Grandpa The First Time I Went, But They Don't Let You Sit There Anymore.

The Organ

The Sleighs That I Sat In With My Grandma And Grandpa

This Piano Is The One My Grandpa Put A Quarter In And It Started Playing And He Told Me That It Was The Ghosts From The Ghost Town That Were Playing It.

Today I Put A Quarter In And Had It Play--The Tears Were Definitely Close To The Surface

After we walked out of the museum area we went into the original buildings part of town. They were doing a re-enactment of a hanging of one of the old outlaws. They stood around, then put together a plan to go into the house the outlaw was hiding in, and grabbed him, and hung him. It wasn't good acting at all, but it was fun. lol.

After that show was over, we got to just walk around the town and see what they did and some of the buildings that they had.

A Sweet Swing In The Middle Of The Town

^ Grandma And Dad Sitting Outside The School ^

Next was the barn where they kept all of the stage coaches and wagon wheels and I guess just some random old stuff. 

^ Michael And I's Attempt At Fake Guns/Hostage Situation In The Barn??^

Michael Wanted A Picture Of Us "Walking Into Our House" Hahaha

We found an old bar in the middle of town where you could stop and get some good ol' Sasparilla (Root Beer) and play a nice game of "Grand Hazard" 

I of course found the Fire Station (Engine Co. No. 1) and needed my picture taken in front of it, because anyone who knows me knows that I love anything emergency services. 

More Pictures From Just Walking Around:

^ A Two Story Outhouse--Does NOT Seem Like A Good Idea ^

Grandma wasn't feeling like walking around in the 90 degree weather while we took random pictures, so her and my dad went inside the museum and sat and listened to the organ play. They found a machine that you pay 5 cents and you crank a wheel thing and it plays a mini movie thing. It was so fun. I watched it first, then mom, then Grandma watched it. I cranked the wheel thing and watched her reactions to the movie and it was so cute because she laughed and laughed. It was a black and white movie where a woman came out of an apartment in her "nightgown" and got something then went back inside, and two guys keep trying to peek into her apartment, so she goes above them and dumps water on their head. It was like a flip book. Super cool.

After a long day of hanging out there, we left and headed back into Virginia City. We went to a place called "Cousin's Candy Shop". Basically, it's the one place that you can not miss when you go to this part of Montana.

After we stepped out of the Candy Shop we saw the old Fire Truck tour people, so of course you know I had to follow them and take my picture with an old fire truck. The guy who was doing the tours wasn't so great, and he didn't want me to get up on the fire truck (he didn't say that but it was obvious) so I just had to take one standing in front of it. (BOOOO!!)

As we were driving back home we drove past the Museum that they have in Virginia City. I remembered going in there, and I am not going to lie...I don't really remember a lot from the museum, except that there was a club foot from a human in a jar with formaldehyde??? I know...weird...but maybe it makes sense when you remember more than just that!!

And of course I also had to get a picture of the Fire Station

Finally we were back on the road and headed home. It was a long day, but an awesome day. I loved re-living memories from my childhood as well as making new ones. It is definitely a place that's fun to visit regardless of your age. It's out in the middle of nowhere Montana, and I may have slept for most of the ride, but it was totally worth it! 

^Thanks To Our Chaperon/Tour Guide- My Dad!^

And The Good Company-My Grandma, My Mom, and My Brother Michael

Stay Classy!