At Peace

Hey fam!

Last update was several months ago, so here’s a quick summary:

• In May, we drove back to MN to see family for the first time since our move out West. While we were there, we were ecstatic to find out we were expecting again! Cue anxiety (ha, ha).

  

• June brought with it absolutely GORGEOUS scenery and ranch life. Foals, calves, perfect weather, green for the first time! We spent time in the mountains getting fences ready to move the cattle up there for the summer. Rex and most of the boys entered the cow-riding event at the local rodeo, what a blast! My prize for video-taping was my beet red sunburn. A few boys went home to their families this month, which brought us new boys in their stead. Looking back, I’m so grateful, but let’s just say this: Thirteen is Not. My. Favorite. Age 😉

  

  Rex’s Cow Ride video

• July… Independence Day! Couldn’t help but reminisce about our trip to Boston, which feels like a lifetime ago. We took the day off to spend the 4th on our own, and had the best ever buffalo steak at the Chop house in town. We almost made it to the rodeo, but poor planning on my part meant that they were sold clean out of tickets well before we showed up. Oh well! There’ll be others. My beautiful cousin Michlyn and her fiance Derek were married on the 28th, which meant a second visit to MN and so many hugs! It was an honor to be a part of Michlyn’s wedding party, and boy was I glad to fit a baby bump in the dress I’d picked out before moving. The wedding was such a wonderful day and I’m so happy for Michlyn and Derek’s life together!

  

  

• August brought with it a heat wave of 100+ temps, and the sweetest visit from my grandma Brenda and grandpa Dave. We drove up into the Beartooth Mountains and went through the pass; and what do you know, it was snowing up there! It ended up being a longer drive than we thought, but we made it 🙂 Grandma and grandpa came with me to my prenatal the next morning, and were so pleased to see baby P moving around and getting so big. It was such a sweet moment to share!

  

• September came with the knowledge that summer is over and winter is on the way (somehow this is always met with urgency, isn’t it?). Rex and the guys put in some looong days to get the garage ready for a roof, while the craze of hunting season began as well.

  

• I’ve always been partial to October, which I used to think was because of my birthday. This year my reasons changed: I was grateful for the peace that came with it. The weather cooled down to perfect jeans-and-sweatshirt-weather, colors started to turn on the trees, and finally we could see the mountains clearly again (all summer long they’d been hidden in a smokey haze from the wildfires in California). I went to a birth retreat hosted by my midwife with several other local women, and connected with another Catholic couple expecting their first baby just a month before us. I finally felt like I had some roots and wasn’t just a stranger in a strange land. Familiarity brought with it an end to the search for grounding. Here is where is my family is: Rex, baby P, our boys. I’m blessed to say we are (albeit slowly) building a foundation, which at one time I thought would never happen. Rex is excited to celebrate his 21st with our priest and good friends next week as well!

  

I had the most wonderful massage today from a massage therapist in town (well worth the 50 minute drive, I assure you!). She was able to do what 3 chiropractic adjustments had not- release the tension in my pelvic and hip muscles so I can walk/bend/squat/get dressed without pain. I am so grateful to have the opportunity, and highly recommend it for others (pregnant or not)!

My sisters Bethany, Evie and brother Bryce are driving out mid-November to stay with us for a few days. We don’t have much room so it might be a very cozy slumber party in the living room, but I don’t think any of us care; we are so excited! I can’t wait to take them up to the mountains where the river runs and the air smells pure, to show them around town and just to show them how we live and work here on the ranch.

Rex’s truck finally rusted through to the point where it’s deemed unworthy to drive on the road, so after weeks of research and test-driving trucks in the area (when I say in the area, I mean within the 200 mile radius we ended up driving) we found one and bought it! It was such a relief to have during our first blizzard a few weeks ago when I was slipping around on the ice: just kick it into 4WD and suddenly I’m Queen of the Road again (ha, ha).

We are planning to fly into MN on December 12th and leave the 16th. Rex’s aunt Melissa has most generously offered to host us a small baby shower for family while we are there, so mark your calendars for December 15th and we will have the invites out in not too long. We are planning to fly again in the spring, and hope to have a larger get-together at that time WITH baby so we can introduce everyone! (I’m so excited).

I love to write letters and get them; if you do too, our address is 428 Road 1AF, Powell WY 82435.

With love, Annamarie and Rex