I took advantage of my early rising today to come outside and update the blog. It is almost PAINFULLY beautiful out here at the ranch. There is a Western Meadow Lark singing to me from a fencepost, its song reminds me of my childhood in MT.  And its friend the hummingbird circles nearby too reminding me of the ranger talk we attended with friends in Estes last weekend.  (And that I STILL need to get a new hummingbird feeder!) But TOGETHER they remind me that today is all about the past and the present coming together to celebrate our future. Today is our big BON VOYAGE party! We are all so excited to show off our new digs and see our friends before we hit the road.  Yesterday we finished our room and the boys rooms, put some homey touches on the place and it really feels like home. Aiden is particularly fond of the new bunk curtain and the rule that you must know before he will answer. “Privacy please!” was his constant refrain yesterday!

      It’s easy on a morning like this, in a place like this to want to stay put. The horses are running, the sun is shining the birds are singing, it’s paradise. But as Molly reminds us, nothing is perfect, as she comes for some love and I can smell her breakfast snack of horse poop on her doggie breath.  Awesome. A friend recently said, “Change is always happening, you’re either running away from something or running toward it. I am so glad to be leaving the stage that feels like so much loss and begin the “running toward” stage. We love it here, love our family, our friends, our community. And it’s great to know they will be here when we return. There are more places to see, so lets get going!