vacation after a vacation?

We have been back from Bozeman since last Wednesday. Luckily, we decided at the last minute to fly. I am so thankful for this because we actually were able to enjoy the trip without having to recover from driving and then dread the drive back. I think at some point (like when little miss turns 2), we will have to start driving more places, but until then we will put all our savings into plane tickets.

Bozeman was wonderful. Everything seemed almost the same as when we left. We pretty much crammed in everything we enjoyed doing there in a week. We even got to catch up with some of the only friends we had while living there. I think we even convinced our friends Sabrina and Scott to jump on the parenthood bandwagon, ha. We didn't make it look so bad, right Sabrina?? It was a great mix of relaxing and adventuring (as much adventuring that's really possible with a baby.)

Probably one of the most exciting things that happened was Madison learning to walk the second day we were there. Oh, it was just the most wonderful thing to watch her finally grasp that skill. She pretty much walks everywhere now and totally wants to run. She also loves being able to drag items around the house while walking because it was fairly difficult to do that when she crawled. I guess she is a toddler now, since she can toddle?

In other news, I start graduate school classes this fall. I had an interview the day I got back from Bozeman, and I guess they liked me enough to admit me. I am going to try and take two classes a semester and see how I handle that. The degree will be in Counseling and I will hopefully have my LPC in like twenty years. The degree takes a while to complete and all the hours required to receive the license take another couple of years, but it will all be worth it. The plan is to work on the degree gradually while Madison is not in school and then when she goes to kindergarten (yikes!) I will be able to counsel. 

 We have had an eventful few weeks and now we are slowly recovering. Its always a bummer to come back from vacation and realize there was no magic cleaning fairy. All those chores are still waiting for you when you return from vacation, so I will be catching up on all my cleaning today. 

Here are some of the pictures we took while in Bozeman:

1. Walking! So thankful for this picture that Will captured. The look on her face is of pure delight. 

2. This is what missing a morning nap makes my baby look like. There were a couple days we were out and about during her nap times, but she hung on like a champ. 

3. Playing in a toy shop in downtown Bozeman. 

4. Forcing my baby to take a picture with me. 

5. Family picture on a hike. I have a picture of just me and Will on this mountain the first winter we were married, life changes quick. 

6. I guess Madison is officially allowed to stay in our family since she discovered her love for guacamole.