The Groves

The Groves

Sunday, July 31, 2016

Another Year, Another Anniversary

Yesterday Brady and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary. I know, no big deal. (Really though, it's not a big deal.)

I wouldn't say marriage has really gotten any harder or any easier (I mean, it was never really hard so I wouldn't even say it COULD get easier). We haven't really undergone any MAJOR changes, besides Brady's job at the lab ending due to budget cuts and him starting at CenturyLink. We haven't had to move. We haven't gotten any new pets. I guess we did get a new car (again, still getting around to posting about it!) but that wasn't super major either.

And we still have yet to watch our wedding video, hahahahahaha.

Of course, right as we started shooting the freaking clouds parted and left us in glaring sunlight, BUT at least the shadows aren't as harsh as they were before. Thanks to my mad tripod skills we're better framed than we were last year (even though I STILL keep meaning to upgrade us to an 8x10, haha... next year) and even with the sun the lighting is still less harsh than our first anniversary photo. Overall I'm pretty pleased with it, especially because my hair looks pretty fantastic and flowy. The important things in life, you know. Plus Brady looks a lot more stoked to be participating this time around.
As much as I love that we're in Kananaskis Country in this photo, there's a lot I don't like. The lighting is capital-t Terrible, Brady looks less than thrilled to be participating, and the photo isn't framed super well. I guess that's just what you get when you throw it together super fast on the side of the road during a pit stop, but I wish it had turned out better.
I didn't really intentionally choose this picture. But literally less than 10 minutes before we left on the road trip I realized that I hadn't gotten a picture printed for our anniversary picture, so I literally just grabbed a picture that featured our faces relatively prominently that I already had printed and in a frame and threw it in the car. Whatever works.

Stay tuned in 364 days for next year's installment of "Photo within a Photo: Anniversary Edition."

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Sadie's First Cabin Trip!

We finally had the opportunity to take the dog up to the cabin! For one reason or another it just hasn't worked out, but this time it finally did. We "had" to sleep in the bunkhouse, it was horrible... sleeping on the world's comfiest bed, escaping from crying babies (sorry Charlotte, I know you can't help it), and chilling with the dog all weekend. We got to the cabin around 1am Saturday morning after driving pretty much straight from work. Erik the Red (our new car! Which I will do a post on soon... once we can spiff him up a bit and take some cute photos haha) was a champ, even without cruise control.

Saturday we spent the day at the lake, sitting at the beach and going for boat rides. I may or may not have gotten a little overzealous in my sun exposure and gotten a little sunburned, but it's okay. It was worth it.

We got a little PFD for Sadie, because she's not a super confident swimmer, which is silly. She's an awesome swimmer and she LOVES the water, but when she gets to a certain depth her eyes get huge and she immediately turns around and heads straight to shore. She looked freaking adorable in that vest though. Brady and I paddled over to the beach in the canoe so that everyone else (including the allergic people) could ride in the boat. I really want a canoe, or kayaks, or something. It was super fun to paddle around!

(Oh, and disclaimer, like a real genius I forgot my camera battery on the charger at home UGH so all of these photos are either with my phone, or the Rebel-formerly-known-as-mine... haha. It's my mom's now, and using it this weekend really showed me how much better my 60D is. It's absolutely nothing against the Rebel, it's a great camera, but I'm already spoiled, ahahaha.)


It's a little tough to called this a "beach" when it's really just a shale-covered mountainside that's super steep in some places, but hey. I spend most of my time in a floatie on the lake anyway.
After Chris (my brother) & Co had to go back to the cabin with a sick Jason (poor dude), my mom relented and allowed the dog in the boat for a ride. SHE LOVED IT, duh. It was just like the car only more stuff to sniff!! We stopped at a bald eagle perched in a tree and took some photos, but mostly just enjoyed our boat ride.

SHE'S SO CUTE I CAN'T EVEN DEAL WITH IT.






After that, we paddled back to the other shore to head home for dinner and chillaxin'. We spent a lot of time outside that weekend because of the dog (she wasn't allowed in the cabin because of all of the people in our family with allergies :( ) and it was honestly really great.


Sunday started out really bright and sunny (it woke us up at 730am, but we went back to sleep HA) and ended up being pretty dark and cloudy and rained most of the day. I'm not even mad. I love when it rains at the cabin. There's just something so peaceful about the sound of the rain on the roof (even though it's a different sound since we re-did the roof), and being in the forest looking out across the lake as a storm rolls in. And the thunder is something else!! I love thunder, and it's magnificent at the cabin. When it booms in just the right spot it rolls all around the mountains surrounding the lake and it's just the dreamiest, most incredible sound in the world. AH! I LOVE THUNDER! 

Okay, anyway, I spent most of the day in the hot tub on the patio or curled up in a blanket also on the patio just watching the rain. I could do that all day for several days in a row, honestly. It's so relaxing. And the nice thing about the cabin is that you never really have to worry about missing out on something, because it will always be there. Brady always rolls his eyes at me, but getting a cabin of our own (preferably one that's a little closer than 4 hours away) is more important to me than getting a house. I'll admittedly concede that I'd be satisfied with purchasing a plot of land that we can take Jackie to and treat as a "temporary" cabin, but I really want to have SOMETHING before I turn 30. Being on this side of 25 definitely makes 30 feel so much closer than it did when I wrote my "30 Before 30" post, but I still want to make it happen.




After a little dinner we all packed up and rolled out. I cried (as usual), but we finally have our own gate key, so we can theoretically go whenever we want now. ;) hahahaha. As we drove out we saw a super thick and vivid rainbow (WHAT DOES IT MEAN?) over the lake. I of course stopped to take a photo, as did my mom (#twins) about 15 minutes behind us. Hahaha. The photos didn't do it any justice, honestly.


Don't ever go to Wyoming, guys. It's SUPER UGLY.
We're still trying to do for our wedding anniversary this year. Honestly not much can top the Kananaskis Trail (waahhh), and I'd love to go to Great Basin, but we can't take the dog and I work super late. So we'll see, I suppose. I'm sure you'll hear about whatever we decide soon!

Monday, July 4, 2016

America

Okay, we need to have some real talk here.

I know a lot of my friends think I 'hate' America because I talk a lot about moving to Canada and how frustrated I am with so many things in America.
But you know why I'm frustrated?

Because I know America is better than this.

We are better than a racist billionaire running for president, and we are WAY better than actually letting him win.

We are better than letting our veterans sleep on the streets, even after dutifully serving our country.

We are better than selling off our public lands to the highest bidder to frack, mine, drill, and log until it has nothing left to give.

My frustration with America stems from seeing this country that I love with a deep, proud, undying love, struggle and fail. I LOVE our country. And maybe that's why I'm so obsessed with the national parks. They represent so much of what is good and pure in this country, and they represent that once upon a time we had an idea so good it completely changed the world. I cling to those parks because they are, to me, one of the things that makes America truly great. People travel from all over the WORLD to see these special places.











So when I stop talking about ways America needs to change, that's when you know I have truly given up hope. But until then, I will keep fighting for the country I know we can be.

Happy Independence Day, America. I'll pretty much always love you, even if the nutjobs who live here elect Donald Trump.