Gordon's first time at Bridger Bowl. He insisted on snowboarding. He's having a hard time picking it up but he won't switch to skiing. We might wait until next year to take him again when I can spend the day on Snowflake while Mark & Ella explore the mountain.
Ella was tired of waiting for Gordon on the Snowflake hill.
I am so proud of this girl.
Break time for his little legs.
They stayed until the lifts closed.
Bozeman public library
Ella using her Great-Great-Grandmother Ella's brush and mirror. Ella has 2 G-G-Grandmothers named Ella.
Sledding in Bozmean - We might have just decided on a lot to build on in the neighborhood next to this hill. We interviewed many, many builders in the last 4 months. Most of the builders looked at us like we were crazy with our energy efficiency ideas and design style. No, I don't want granite counter tops & hardwood floors like every person in the Valley, it was hard for them to grasp this concept of not wanting what the typical American wants in their home and not many of them wanted to go out of their comfort zone to build the type of house we want.
The last builder we interviewed was our favorite but he is booked out until late 2017...but then he said the reason he is booked is because he is working with a team to get an energy efficient modern neighborhood off the ground. He said it's exactly the type of house we are describing. He asked if we would want to meet with the team to see if we would be interested in being their first house in this design. We met with them, love the design, love the energy efficiency concept, love the team, love that we wouldn't have to finance the build so there is no risk for us ; ) We are moving forward with this plan. We will know more in the next few weeks about timeline.
Next to this hill there is also 2 ponds, lots of walking trails, a skate park, one of the best kid's playgrounds in town called "The Dinosaur Park" - according to most kids it's their favorite playground in Bozeman. So...we wouldn't be living our dream in downtown but we'd at least be able to walk to some pretty cool things. It's 3.5 miles to work for Mark so he can still bike. Hopefully this plan continues to move forward.
I have to carry this poor kid out sleeping nearly every morning to take Ella to school.
Cottonwood Montessori ski day at Bridger Bowl
7" of fresh powder throughout the day
Ella off to her first ski lesson - by the end of the day she was racing her classmates down the hill.
After the storm
The Cottonwood kids didn't think 6.5 hours was enough so they hiked up snowflake to continue skiing after the lifts were shut off at 4.
The Bozeman elk herd in the usual spot on the way to Ella's school.
Mark had his first Workiva party. It was a cocktail party so I squeezed into a fancy dress at 31 weeks and met all of his co-workers. Mark liked to introduce me by saying, "this is my wife Amber but that's not my baby." #gestationalsurrogacy
I am so impressed by how Workiva treats their employees. They were voted the #4 best large business to work at in America in 2015, they beat Google which placed #7. Mark is definitely feeling appreciated. It's such a nice change from government jobs.
The party was at Rockin' TJ Ranch in Bozeman
41 pounds and counting - probably up to 50 pounds after this party! While everyone danced, I continued to shove my face.
Surrogacy update: The braxon hicks are getting pretty intense. I'm in a major nesting phase right now. Even though we won't be bringing a baby home I still have the desire to get organized. I've been researching the process of shipping my breastmilk to the baby who will be living in New York. I hope I can make it 6 - 12 months of shipping for this babe because it's quite the daunting process. They recommend overnighting weekly shipments in a styrofoam box filled with dry ice surrounded by a cardboard box. I'm going to play it by ear and see how long I can handle it. My biggest concern right now is; how will I pump every couple of hours and keep it cold while we are hiking and camping all over Montana this summer?
Notes from Ella on my 29th birthday. It's been quite a busy decade so far!
Dessert for nerds. After this display of fruit and chocolate was put on the glass table they put cakes in liquid nitrogen and smashed them on top of the fruit.
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