Love for Bobby...and biking...and visiting family

I love that Bobby could take my old, painfully slow, and outdated laptop and return it to me with a fresh new operating system and a new lease on life. 

I love that Bobby is a competent, caring, and diligent father who will take his kids swimming and picnicking and hiking through the wilds of eastern Urbana while their mom is halfway across the continent riding her bike 150 miles in 4 days. Not only that, but he babied my baby plants just right, too. I think I squealed with delight when I saw how big everything had grown.

I love that Bobby and I can go for a run together and end up talking about all sorts of things. 

I love that Bobby keeps me on an even keel, even when I drop my cell phone at Grand Tetons National Park, destroying it, and start panicking that I won't be able to get on the plane home the next day or communicate with him or ANYONE ever again. It took a few hours to remember how I navigated the world before getting a cell phone...

I got back Saturday night from a week-long driving and biking adventure with my friend Rachel. We rode 50 miles each in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. That means Rachel's completed rides in 25 states!! I'm still at 17, but that feels pretty significant. I'll catch up sometime.

This was a Benadictine Monastery/Abbey at the end of our 50-mile ride in North Dakota. They have a website and everything. 

Selfie in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

South Dakota again. I love this spangly, geometric stone that made up a lot of the cliff faces. We were in a state park, so I didn't feel good about bringing any of it home for James.

Iridescent close up. I didn't bring home any rock, but I did find an especially large and dry cow patty (from private cattle ranging on state park land) that I brought home. I figured the little boys and I could play pioneers at our next camp out and use this "chip" for wood. 

The last day of my trip, I got to spend time with my sister Heidi and her family in Salt Lake City. Heidi and I visited the downtown Farmer's Market where we ate cherries, fresh peas, and a rockin' tasty strawberry rhubarb mini pie. Next, we visited Best Buy where they set me up with a replacement phone. Then, we brunched at a really, really good fried chicken place. Seriously, the best fried chicken I've ever had. And finally, a tour of Gilgal Gardens. I lived in SLC for 5 years and never took the time to visit this kooky place. The sculptures are interesting (Joseph Smith's face on a sphinx body?!) and the garden itself is lovely. Very well planned and managed. Here I am standing next to my nephew Atticus. He's an old soul, and honest and genuine. A lot like the best parts of both of his parents.