Sunny Bozeman

Loving it here! I'm sure the weather is unusual, but it's working for us.  Went to the mountain for a few hours today...47 and sunny, but the snow was still decent.  It actually felt like good spring skiing at home. Bozeman is definitely one of the coolest towns, so much to see and do.  It is taking us a little time getting used to what we want to get out of our days...striking a balance between epic adventure and everyday life.  It's only been a couple of days so I'm sure we'll get into our groove soon.  In the meantime, we'll continue to look up at the clock and say the same thing everyone else is saying..."I can't believe it's already 10:00."
Julie

BURRRR!!!!!

After a great day skiing at Bridger Bowl, we came home to have dinner. When we were done eating, we got ready to go in the hot tub. Since our hot tub is outside, my dad told me "I know it's cold, but try to bring the least you can because your bathing suit, everything else goes in the snow." After hearing that I was probably going to just wear my bathing suit out. When my dad took of the cover he jumped in, then Jack ran outside in the snow with just a bathing suit and hopped in. I was behind him wearing the same thing and so was Grant. About a minute passed and my mom joined everyone. Right when we got in our hot tub our feet started to get really hot, Jack said the best thing to do is keep them in. So, I did that and the hotness kind of went away. My dad told us a quick story about a time when he was with his friends and they were in a hot tub and decided to jump in a snow bank and then got back in the hot tub. After hearing that story, Grant got out of the hot tub and ran over in the snow, and laid on his stomach and through his face in the snow, when he got up there was snow all over his stomach and face. He ran back over to the hot tub, got in and splashed hot water in his face. We all laughed a bunch. I asked G "How cold did that feel?" He answered, "I actually didn't feel so much, the bad part is getting back in the hot tub." I was going to go after Jack and do what ever he did. He started up the ladder but then came down and decided to stay in. I climbed up the ladder, ran over in the snow and laid down on my stomach then I turned over on my back. I was about to throw my face into the snow but it was just to cold!! There was no time to look at my stomach or back I just had to get back in the hot tub. I sprinted back to the tub and hopped in. Grant asked "How did it feel?" "Great" I answered. We all laid in the hot tub for maybe 30 more minutes then we started back to the house. We each got a chocolate bar, brushed our teeth and jumped in bed. HANK

Welcome To The Zou!

Our first college campus stop was Vanderbilt. We stopped at Vandy while we were staying in Tennessee for Christmas. We got our own personal tour from our cousin, Brian, who is a pitcher on the Vanderbilt baseball team. Brian showed us the football stadium, which is in a complex that is next to the baseball field and basketball stadium. He then brought us on to the baseball field, which was amazing.  He gave us a look at the pitching lab that he works out in...very cool!  That night we went to a Vanderbilt basketball game and got to see the arena and sat in the student section. Vandy seems to have a great athletic program.  Our next college stop was on our way out to Montana. After driving for 7 hours, we decided to stop at a  hotel in Columbia, where the University of Missouri is. We stayed at a Hampton Inn on campus, it was a real college town. The campus was one big square and the town was built within it.  It had lots of great shops and restaurants. The next morning we stopped at a souvenir shop and went to check out the Mizzou football stadium "Welcome To The Zou".  University of Missouri is a "Tier 1" law program...and Ian Kinsler went to school there!
-Grant

Homerun!

Bozeman is awesome! Our house is fabulous.  It is on a tree-lined street, in a quaint neighborhood, a block off of Main St.  Main St. runs about 1 1/2 miles long, lined with bars, restaurants and stores. We couldn't have picked a better spot for our first month.  As I write, a guy just rode by our picture window on his mountain bike with two sets of skis strapped to his back...wish I could've acted quickly enough to snap a picture.  Plan on heading to Bridger Bowl today to take a few runs. Although the weather in town is supposed to be 50 and sunny today, the mountain got snow last night (reported from our optimistic, in-house meteorologist, who can sometimes have his own snow-fall interpretation:).
Julie

Trailers for sale or rent...

Just stopped for our final Starbucks (who should've sponsored our trip) and have 2 more hours before we land in Bozeman. It has been amazing travel. We have driven through 14 states - varying in weather from 45 mph winds and blizzard conditions, to bright sun and perfect skies. The views right now are stunning. Lots of laughter, great music, To Kill a Mockingbird on CD and very interesting smells have filled the car. Even the food has been great thanks to the Yelp App. The boys have been amazing and spirits are high. I'm feeling very blessed and incredibly present as I begin the New Year.
Julie