15th Wedding Anniversary

Nick and I have been married 15 years! It's been a great journey. We decided that 15 years is worth celebrating, so Nick took some time off work, and we arranged for a babysitter to come stay with the kids for 4 1/2 days. I left Nick in charge of the location and activities. I packed perfume, a curling iron, dressy clothes, and I even packed a pair of high heels. I envisioned walking hand in hand browsing gift shops and tourist attractions during the day, and enjoying nice formal dinners in the evening. I decided to throw in a pair of jeans, a few t-shirts, and some hiking boots "Just in Case!" Well the babysitter came over early in the afternoon on Wednesday, August 4th. Nick was just wrapping up the reservations and we were off. It was fun to be alone with Nick, I was excited for our adventure. Nick had chosen Buffalo, Wyoming as our vacation destination. After we got there, I noticed the town boasted of being the Sportsman's Dream. Our trip started off great, just the two of us together in his truck relaxing and enjoying our freedom. We stopped in Casper, Wyoming, where we went shopping and had a lovely dinner at Bottecelli's, a local fine Italian Restaurant.

Things were off to a nice start, and continued to go well when we arrived in Buffalo. We were delighted when we checked in to the brand new Hampton Inn. Everything was shiny and clean, I even took my shoes off in the room. We relaxed in the hot tub and unwound after a long day of driving. Thursday morning we slept in until 8:30, had a delicious complimentary breakfast and began our ascent to the Big Horn Mountains. The weather was a cool 65 degrees in the mountains, but it was a beautiful sunny day. We hiked a bit, ate a picnic lunch, Nick fished, we rode bikes, Nick fished some more, and we covered a lot of miles on windy dirt roads. We got back to Buffalo late that evening, had a fast food dinner, worked out a little in the hotel exercise room, went swimming and crashed. Friday morning we changed it up a little by driving to Sheridan, Wyoming. We went to the grocery store to get sandwich stuff, and we were off exploring a different side of the Big Horn Mountains. Nick fished, we rode bikes, and we also mountain climbed. We got back to town at 9:30 p.m., had fast food for dinner and went to bed. Saturday morning we were on our way to the grocery store for lunch supplies, when we noticed the crowds lining the streets and policemen blocking off Main Street. We deduced there must be a parade, so we parked the truck and joined the spectators. It was a very long parade, but pretty impressive for a small town. The parade was the start of their County Fair and Rodeo.

We got a late start, but we made our way back up the mountain for another day of fishing and biking. We actually made it back to town at 6:00p.m. and decided we deserved a wonderful dinner, we noticed a Steak House in town and it looked popular with the locals. We made reservations for 7:30, which gave us time to swim and sit in the hot tub before we got ready to go. We got to Winchester Steak House, which was packed to the point of flowing out the front door with Rednecks. I was sure that since we'd called and made reservations we wouldn't be waiting long. After 20 minutes in a stuffy lobby, we mutually agreed to settle for yet another night of fast food and left. Sunday morning we woke up at 6:00 a.m. to ride a mountain bike trail just out of town. It was a gorgeous ride, perfect weather, beautiful surroundings, and it wasn't all uphill and rocky(like the prior 3 rides!). I was having a fine time when Nick noticed I was missing a bolt on my rear tire. I ended up walking my bike back to the truck, but it was still a good time. We got back to the hotel, packed up and headed home. It was fun being with Nick. No matter what we're doing, I always enjoy his company. I was really missing the kids, so I was was happy to be home. I hope our next 15 years are just as good. I love you Nick!