happy 30th ashley

Today is Ashley's 30th birthday, not her 29th, not her 31st... her 30th.  As such it is completely monumental for so many reasons.

I was reading census data the other day (gripping, I know) and it was reiterated to me that Ashley is likely going to live longer than me. Maybe even much longer than me.  Women just live longer than men.  With that information, I was reminded of how hard I need to work to be worthy of this wonderful woman, so that when I die she doesn't replace me with some money-bags and burn all our pictures.

Just kidding. Ashley would never do that.  Ashley is loyal, loving, fun and adventurous.  30 is the new 20.  She is a fantastic woman and I'm so glad that she is my wife.  Every day I laugh with her.  That is one of her greatest gifts to me.  Now if I can only find one of those fireman calendars... then that will be my greatest gift to her.

Happy Birthday Ashley, may you have 50, 60 more of these (with me, not Mr. Money Bags).  Also, here's a note from George:

summer's end... fall is upon us

As much as it pains me to admit it - summer appears to be winding down.  I will be the first to admit, I was very skeptical of this so called "summer" that Bozeman/Montana was supposed to have. After a soul-decimating Spring, I had convinced myself that all of these Bozemanites had deluded themselves into thinking that the summer up here was so lovely, that it made the rest of the year worth it.  I was sure of this... but alas... summer eventually did come and it was glorious.  We got to do so much, and next summer holds even more adventure in store as Ashley won't be pregnant, so we can do all sorts of things that we were a little less apt to do with a babe in the belly.

Ed is here and is a great addition to our family.  We enjoyed a visit from Ashley's parents to help with the transition, and were the benefactors of many lovely gifts and cards.  Thank you everyone!

Here's George doing his Harry Potter impersonation up at Hyalite reservoir.  Had a great time "fishing" with cheetohs and hiking with baby brother.

Ed's getting more alert, and is on an "ounce a day" weight gain plan. We are supplementing breast milk with muscle milk and gold standard whey.  He has consistently gained an ounce a day for three weeks running. Ed's gonna be a beefcake so help me...

Here is the little man after his first bath.  Opening his eyes and looking around "shifty eyed" like he's suspicious of everyone around him. Rightfully so Ed.. rightfully so...

Coupla suckers...

Story time... note Ed's attention.  Loves snuggling with his very gentle yet enthusiastic brother. 

A couple of weekends ago we went to a cabin down Idaho-way, near Ashton.  We had a view of the Tetons, and there was ample room for lounging and the kids to get into all kinds of outdoor adventures.  I love living here - and I love that George (and Ed soon enough) get to spend so much time outside. Ed was a big hit with the kiddos.  As you can see he was certainly not starved for attention.

We rotated cooking meals, and when we started to get pekish, we'd simply send George up and inquire as to how much longer we had to wait for our meals to be served to us, so as to avoid looking like a bunch of low class clowns. Kidding of course. It was so much fun to be around good friends and especially for George to be with his best friend Abram and his crush Ruby.

I love this shot because it completely captures George's post-Orange Julius drunkeness, if he were an adult he'd be singing old military songs and would reek of scotch.

A short hike from the cabin was a lovely little lake that we had all to ourselves except for when the Lord of the Flies children came up on their convoy of 4 wheelers. I swear the supervising child was no older than 9 and there were like 30 of them.  Kind of creep.  Here George and Abram practice safety skills before boarding the canoes.

George and I on our way down to the lake.

Mom and the boys enjoy a few chuckles as we wait our turn for the canoes.

Ashley and the boys on our very sea worthy vessel.  We liked it so much I think we are definitely considering a canoe purchase for next summer.  NOW are you interested in coming up to visit?

By the end of the trip, George was exhausted. Minutes from leaving he got very philosophical, pondering the world from the perspective of a dog, Tao - or "Towel" as George calls him.

The trip was a perfect capstone to our summer... We've still got a few weeks of good weather, and we're going to make the most of it.  Hope you all had a great Labor Day and summer in general.

cliff edward pulsipher

Friday, August 12 was an exciting day to say the least.  We were making our final preparations for our second child.  Ashley's c-section was scheduled for Monday, August 15 so we figured that we had one last weekend to cross all the t's and dot all the lower case j's.  Ashley wanted to do something special for George - so they went to the Bozeman Beach. It's basically a local pond/cesspool that doubles as a leisure spot for Bozemanites in the summer time.  While at the beach with George, Ashley started to get contractions and feel a little ill.  She decided to head home, assuming the contractions would pass.

By the time she got home, it was about noon and she gave me and her sister Serena a call.  As luck would have it - I had gone in to work early that day, looking to get a jump start on the weekend and head up with George to the ward campout.  I got home about 12:30, and Ashley was starting to have some seriously regular contractions.  Every four minutes.  One minute long.  She called Labor & Delivery and they told her to come in. I was sure that the contractions would subside, and that we'd go home in an hour or two.  With our little guy being breach, I figured he wouldn't be putting much pressure on Ashley and so we had plenty of time.

When we got to the hospital, they gave Ashley a quick exam and told her that she was dilated to a six, and that if he were head down it'd likely be an 8.  This little guy was coming today!  They quickly made preparations, and told us that Ashley would be having a c-section.  By now it was about 1:30 pm.  In about an hour, our second child would be born.

They whisked Ashley away - and I got dolled up in a blue man outfit.  Ashley was as cool as a cucumber and all of the staff remarked at how calm she was.  When I walked in to the operating room, or (OR as people in the know call it, thank you Grey's Anatomy), Ashley was on the table and ready to go. I sat down next to Ashley with a partition between us and where all the excitement was happening.  After about ten minutes, one of the doctor's tapped me on the shoulder and I stood up to see the doctors pulling our little man out of the incision.  By the time I was looking, everything had come out except his head.  With a few tugs, he was out, looking tiny, and a charming pink/grey color. It took him a few seconds to start crying and those were obviously the longest seconds of our life.

After the operation, I escorted our little guy to the nursery where they checked him and patted his back a little until he could get all the junk out of his lungs.  Ashley was getting adjusted to her room and being cared for by the nurses.  The staff at the hospital were absolutely spectacular, and I would recommend anyone having a baby to do it up in Bozeman, without hesitation.

Our little man was born at 2:35 pm, weighing in at a bantam 7.1 lbs and 21 inches.  We named him Cliff Edward Pulsipher, after his maternal grandfather.  We are planning on calling him Ed/Eddie but it's all still up in the air.

Here are the action shots of our little guy's journey to earth.

Ed - getting worked on by the nursery staff.

We compared Ed's hair to George's as a newborn and its totally identical.

Ed's sharpee-esque feet. So soft and fun to touch.

Little guy face on.  Ready to brave the cruel world.

Here he is, snoozing away in his nursery bed/cart.  The nursery had an elaborate wrist/ankle band checking system that ensured we weren't getting a switched baby.  It is kind of horrifying to think about how this system evolved, and why it was necessary.

So far George is being a great older brother.  He loves holding Ed and loves to put his hand "soft" on Ed's face. 

Ashley and her two boys.  What a beautiful mom/woman.

George showing his softer side.

Me and the boys in the hospital bed. Our stay was pretty comfy, though a little tight at times.

The look on George's face says it all.  Actually, I think he was equally excited about the fresh round of ritz crackers we just gave him.  Tough to tell.

Me & Ed.

More Ed feet.  They truly are a site to behold.  I think they are tiny, Ashley thinks they are big for a man of Ed's size.

Compare/Contrast.  George nestled into Ed's hospital bed.  Can't believe that George was every a tiny baby now.

Catching up on some z's with Ed.  He's already shown quite an affinity for napping on one's chest.  Hard to beat that feeling.

Here is Ed in his Going Home outfit.  Looking like a dapper fellow.

Close up.

The Pulsipher family, now a family of four on our exit of the hospital. It was a nice stay, but we were ready to leave.

Packing the kiddos in the CRV. Suddenly feeling a little cramped in there.

Ed at home in his swing.

You may have seen some of these already on Facebook, but hopefully you enjoyed the repetition. Ed is doing a good job of packing on the ounces (at at rate of 1 oz. a day) and keeping us all company with plenty of snuggles to go around.

If you play your cards right, you can get here in time to enjoy some quality Ed snuggles for yourself.

can't get away from the summertime blues...

Well, you can if you come to Montana!  Our repeated pleas for you to come up and visit us has largely fallen on deaf ears, so that's it! No more invites!


Ok ok... I give in. Of course you are welcome any time.  We are madly trying to get ready for baby #2, but in the mean time have been having one heck of a summer.

We've been eating outside a lot. The evenings are spectacular and made even easier by our CRV-insta picnic tables.  Our neighbors have a CRV so they pop theirs out and its a regular block party.  Lots of fun.

We've been telling George that unless he steps his game up, he'll never get into an Ivy league school.  Late night cram sessions are a common occurrence in this household.

The irony is not lost on me - George and I reading a book titled "Just Me and My Mom."  Nice book and all... but the mom is dressed like a victorian vampire and it makes you wonder what era these creatures live in.

Another night, another craving for Ashley.  She usually eats about three of these "pregnant" size rice crispy treats a night.  j/k.

George is a great example of safety.  He insists on wearing his helmet, every chance he can get.

Those idiots at the marketing department at Gap (sorry Blythe!) really blew it when they didn't snatch George up to be their next model.  Look at this freaking kid for pete's sake.  Tell me you don't want to buy that outfit... and our child!

George continues to be a source of joy in our lives. We feel very lucky to have him and so excited for his little brother to come next week.  Stay tuned for that announcement.

We hope you are all having a wonderful summer.

quick trip up to fairy lake

Saturday we went for a quick day trip up to Fairy Lake about an hour northwest of Bozeman.  We had heard it was pretty spectacular but we honestly couldn't have imagined what we encountered.  Unfortunately, that sentiment is a double edged sword.

George was very excited to go on a hike. He was so excited, he started fabricating "sightings" to ensure us he was excited about the trip up. I think he "saw" three owls (I haven't the heart to break the whole "nocturnal" thing to him), airplanes (C'mon George, do you think we were born yesterday), and horses (flat out lie).  George was really feeling the good vibes and wanted to ensure that we all had a good trip up, I think it was a little role reversal personally. George pacifying the parents with faux-sightings! So cute.

The drive was pretty smooth, but the last 7 miles are over a pretty bumpy, steep at times, dirt road.  I was thankful we were in a 4wd with a little bit of clearance.  There were a few climes where we were in first gear, cranking it up the hill.  Pretty intense. On our way out we pitied some folks on their way in, in... older looking sedans.  Tough road ahead.

Once we got to the parking lot we saw a sign that said "Fairy Lake, .5 miles."  We couldn't see the lake from where we were, so we honestly had no idea what to expect. Within a few minutes... this is what we saw:

It was absolutely breathtaking.  We made our way down to the Lake... and honestly couldn't commit to a place to set up camp without walking around the entire lake (it's pretty small, probably took us about a half an hour).

George walked the entire time, and couldn't resist popping in a few times to test out the water. It was chilly, but honestly I've felt colder water. It wasn't too bad. It was very warm day, and even at 7,000 ft I would guess that it was still in the mid 70's up there.

There weren't too many people around, and I was wishing that it was even a little more private so we could be as loud as we want without fear of looking stupid or scaring people who were fishing from the banks.  We even saw a couple floating in the middle on innertubes.  Pretty sweet.  To escape the heat we finally found a good place to take a dip.  Ashley went in first... and with little cajoling took the entire plunge.  Completely submerged.  This is no small feat as the water was very chilly.  As I've said a million times, Ashley loves adventures.

 

After Ashley went in, I took a plunge myself. It felt so good. Honestly we could've stayed until nightfall... if it weren't for one important thing I've neglected from this tale. If  you don't want the story spoiled... just stop reading now and imagine this heavenly place all to yourself.

 

Ok, for those of you that want the real scoop on Fairy Lake - here's the deal... It's gorgeous, I swear there has been no photoshop-funny business going on to enhance blues and greens. The water is as clear as advertised!

But there are flies out there.  Serious. Flies.  Huge, mammoth, man-eating flies.  By some miracle they weren't too interested in George's deliciously smooth skin, but they loved my ashy-pale bicyclists legs, and Ashley's too.  The flies honestly prohibited a prolonged enjoyment of this place. I don't know if simple bug spray would work on these guys, or what the deal was. But honestly, towards the end I was about to have a nervous breakdown.  Ashley can corroborate this part of the story.  I was about one more fly bite away from having a Dr. Leo Marvin breakdown.

So... we might go back next summer, armed with fly swatters and bug spray.  I'll probably need about that much time to cool down.  Other than that, it was a very fun adventure and absolutely gorgeous.

camping/rafting

Last weekend we went for an excellent adventure with our friends the Christensens.  We combined a night of camping with a full day on the Gallatin River.

I don't mean to rub it in... but the summer up here really has been glorious.  We are getting to do all of the things we dreamed about doing.  The weather has been phenomenal and the long days make for absolutely spectacular weekends/sunsets.

We headed down towards Yellowstone and camped in Gallatin National forest.  Free camping right by the Taylor Fork River.  Spectacular.

Here are some pictures and light commentary.

Scott and Ashley enjoying the scenery.  The river was flowing a little quick so we had to be on alert with the little ones running around, but the setting was just so perfect.  Once you settle on the fact that car camping is the only way you'll be camping for the next foreseeable future, there are just so many great places that you can go.

Here's another view of the campground as we got set up with the Christensens.  We miss our friends in LA dearly and nothing can replace them, but we've also been blessed with great friends here in Bozeman.

Ashley and our skipper, Scott - ponder the best way to attack the Gallatin River the next morning.

George - sometimes has issues with other kids his age.  Frenemies is the best way to describe it. Not with Abram.  George loves Abram... he thinks he is hilarious.  Here is a picture that Celia took of the two little guys yucking it up.

In addition to the the busy river next to our campsite, there was also a very calm streamlet right next to us as well.  The kiddos loved playing in it. I think some people might be reticent to take their kids camping.  If you give up on the notion of getting an "awesome" night's sleep, camping with kids can be a lot of fun.  We have been camping with George since he was about 5 months old.

Here we are all gathering around... singing a few lines of "Michael rode the boat ashore."

The Christensen's treated us to some home made, deep dish, brick-oven, coleman-warmed personal pan pizzas.  We made flapjacks for breakfast topped off with Ashley's delicious buttermilk syrup.  Camping in style!

Celia & Scott are great camping companions.  Family camping can be so fun if you go with people who totally know what they are doing... not that we are imbeciles, but after a few anecdotes about grizzly bears Ashley was definitely considering moving the tent a little closer to their tent.

We scoured for wood to burn, and Ashley was amazed at my camouflage techniques.  Can you spot me?

A lovely fire was topped with smores in the Rocky Mountains.

 

Family picture.  Pulsiphers, 2011.  Still waiting on a winning name for baby #2.   From some angles Ashley is deceptively pregnant.

Picture of our campsite in the morning.  Much to our relief, there were no grizzly sitings.  I tend to be a worrier about these kinds of things, but if you follow all of the rules (keeping a clean camp, storing all smelly things inside the car) you really are doing about as much as you can. Scott brought a can of bear spray, but after a few stories about its misuse I wasn't sure which I was more alarmed by, the potential for a bear encounter or the likelihood that the bear spray would end up being used on myself, somehow.

The Pulsipher family all together on their first rafting expedition.  We had previously braved the Madison river on inner tubes, but this time we were on the Gallatin river in an actual, sea-worthy vessel.  Scott is a very skilled raftsman and I tried to do my best to impress the group with my mastery of nautical terms via Whale Wars.

George enjoyed rafting so much, that he wore himself right out.  Towards the end of the trip we had another Montana highlight, our first moose sighting.  It was so cool.

I was very proud of Ashley pulling all of this adventure off while 8 months pregnant.  We may have discovered another secret to car-camping.  The inflatable mattress.  It makes a significant difference in your comfort level. I used to... scoff at the notion.  But really, if you aren't "light backpacking" and hiking/biking into your campsite, you might as well go all out.  Portable satellite dishes, inflatable swimming pools, coco lattes, foot spas, and every other comfort you can squeeze into your car - all fair game I say ; ).