Show Ponies

    Sunday afternoon we visited our friends, Kris and Lisa.  Turns out they live in a house that used to be Bella's vet clinic.  It is a beautiful place and they currently have six horses, two of them are giant black draft horses.  We didn't only get to go for a wagon ride but I also got to ride my first "Montana" horse.  I have lived here for ten years and I finally got on a horse.  It was tons of fun.  I am looking forward to doing this again (maybe we can get Andy on a horse next time).

     Lisa and Chris let me ride one of their horses.

    Harley is a super cute giant great dane (mini pony).  I am not sure she realizes how big she is.

    Andy bonding with Bell.

The "Root beer" rock

     We have been looking forward to doing this hike and praying that it would not rain.  We convinced Anna and Brian to go with us.  The hike started out well, but once we got on the trail towards the rock, we started to second guess our decision.  The trail turned into a uphill battle against gravity.  I almost fell backwards several times.  We were able to get to the top (stopping every 3 minutes).

Once on top we decided to have lunch and enjoy the amazing views.

    Andy brought up some root beer and to keep it cold he placed it on top of dry ice.  He handed out two bottles, one for me and one for Brian.  When Brian started opening his bottle, the root beer exploded and sprayed his face.  Because we did not know the name of the rock, Andy coined it "Root Beer Rock".

    Andy took this picture of us - we look so tiny.

Summer in Bozeman

In Bozeman, weather is not used to help determine time of the year.  Despite the lack of sunshine and overabundance of precipitation, Bozeman summer has officially started.  Last Friday we attended our first Art Walk.  Andy dislikes any types of large gatherings but I was able to talk him into going by mentioning the free alcohol.  By the end of the evening we had tried both red and white wines, beer and champagne and needless to say I was not looking forward to the next morning's hike.

                         Tarantino's Pizza break.

    Later we stopped by Ale Works for some beer, fries and pool.

    Anna and Brian - Our partners in crime.

Always Playing Ketchup

Last weekend was most amazing.  It was so beautifully sunny outside that I was surprised when I managed to convince Andy to venture underground with me and pay a visit to Lewis and Clark Caverns.  You see, I recently convinced myself that, like my father, I was also suffering from claustrophobia.  What better way to prove yourself wrong (thank God!) than climbing inside of a mountain.  So let's call it a quest...yes, just like Frodo and Sam's.  Only there was no ring, maybe a pesky little kid I wanted to push into the darkness.  I bet our guide would have been on my side...oh boy was that child annoying.

On a happier note, here are the pics.

                             
                             We stopped at a lookout                            

       Andy found this cute little guy at the Gift shop

       Waiting to start the hike up to the Cavern entrance

      The descent

       
                               Cutest Cowboy hat wearing caveman ever!

                               I think the pinkish color is because of the Iron oxide.

     *Side note:  Even though I look like I am 6 month pregnant in this picture, it is the only one I have of Andy and I together.  It's not my fault that I was leaning back and my shirt popped out.  Sorry, no cave babies today.

At the end of the day, tired and sunburned (not from our cave adventure) Andy was enjoying the sunset at our friend's house.

oh yeah, we also hiked a bunch the next day.