BFF's in Action!

I took this video a few weeks ago (there's waaaay more snow now) when Jake dropped Sundance over for a much needed play date.  Since then we had Sundance for a few days while the Barrow fam was out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday.  It was like 2 little kids at a slumber party. We would be in bed ready to sleep & the two mutts would still be playing.. They sure are crazy!

Playing Catch Up

First of all, I apologize for the lack of updates - both Joe and I have been super busy.  Joe has been working 2 jobs and school has been crazy as the end of the semester is near.  So here are some updates from the great state of Montana!!

El dia de los muertos (aka the Day of the Dead)

Missoula holds a big day of the dead celebration including a parade! We went down and checked it out & it surely didn't disappoint! They closed the main road downtown and people lined the streets to watch the skeletons come down the road. The parade ended at Caras park where the celebration continued with African dance performances and fire dancers! Missoula definitely has a quirky charm that I just can't get enough of!

Happy Birthday Tony!

Joe's dad, Tony, turned 69 a couple of weeks ago and we went out to Hamilton to celebrate with him.  Judi made an amazing dinner of ribs, beans, rice & salad and finished it off with a tasty chocolate cake!  It's nice being so close to Tony & Judi.  We'll also be celebrating Thanksgiving out there with them which will be a blast!

Ninja Suit Awesomeness!

Ninja suits are one-piece base layers guaranteed to keep you warm & toasty the whole day on the hill (and keep snow outta your bum).  Joe got me one for my birthday this year knowing how cold I get.  He wanted one really bad himself, so I decided to order one for him too.  It came into the shop the other day & I couldn't wait until his birthday to give it to him.  Needless to say he was beyond stoked to get his.  Now if it would just snow some more, so we could wear them riding that would be great!

  

Other Random Happenings

Like I mentioned before, Joe has 2 jobs now. Besides working at EOW, he got a job working at the YMCA climbing wall.  He monitors the wall, sets routes, & get little kids pumped on climbing!  It's super rad & I'm stoked for him that he gets to do it.

Speaking of jobs, I officially joined the EOW family this week!  I'm bringing more of the lady vibe to the shop & getting girls stoked on shred.  It's really fun working with everyone and I'm helping Danielle with a "girls on shred" event this spring.  It definitely makes my schedule even more crazy, but it's nice to have something else besides school to focus on. 

Sam & Sundance continue to be BFF's with lots of play dates.  These 2 love each other more than any other 2 dogs I know!  D & Jake have been bringing Sundance down to the house occasionally to play with Sam while they work at the shop. It's great for both the dogs and nice for us so we don't have to worry about getting them out for exercise for the day.  The Barrow family is going out of town part of next week, so we'll be watching Sundance for a couple of days.  It will be so fun having both the dogs around.  

Again, I apologize for the lack of updates - life is sure crazy right now up in Missoula!  Hope all is well for everyone & pray for snow!!

With love from the zoo,

Jess, Joe & Sam

Happy Halloween!

64 Tuna (Jake's kids' band) was playing at the Boys & Girls Club last night & it was costumes encouraged, so we had to come up with some last minute ideas as we had no initial plans to dress up & go out.  I couldn't have imagined out last minute costumes coming out any better.  I decided to go as a Polygamous wife (#3 to be exact) to play homage to my Utah roots.  Joe looked at every thrift store we went to & came up with nothing & ended up wearing Sam's costume...which in my mind couldn't have worked out better. 

On another note, we've had Sam for exactly 2 years today!! 

Love you little buddy!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Love,

Jess, Joe & Sam

EOWWF!

Edge of the World had its annual snowboard party on Saturday. Every year there is a theme and this year was WWF.  Everyone dressed up as wrestlers and 80's "butt rock" blared through the shop speakers.  Joe went as "The Shaman Slammer" and I was "The Bengal."  It was a super good time at the shop!

 Levi taming "the Bengal"

The Hurricane & Tsunami Mommy (aka Jake & Danielle)

On another note, winter is on it's way! The weather's been colder here and hopefully snow will be soon to follow.  Utah on the other hand, has been getting pounded with snow.  The above image is from Snowbird (taken on 10/26) and Brighton already has a 28" base and is set to open on the 11th of November... if not sooner.  I speak for both Joe & I when I say we're a little homesick.  PRAY FOR SNOW!

With love from Missoula,

Jess

Mom Comes to Missoula!

School has been crazy lately & it was so nice to come home on Wednesday night to my MOM!! She braved the stress of flying on a small plane (which she hates) to make her Missoula debut.  We did all sorts of fun stuff while she was here:

• Run 5 miles on the Kim Williams Trail
• Walk around Downtown and go in & out of all the shops
• Have Dinner at Joe's parents house (big step: parents meeting each other!)
• Hike the M
• Go to Target (twice)
• Do crafty things
• Eat at the HobNob (3 days in a row)
• Play with Sam
• Wander around campus
• Go to the Good Food Store!

I failed at taking pictures because we were having so much fun! Below are the only ones I got of her whole visit. :o(  Can't wait to have her here again! 

Mom & Sam hanging on the "M"

View from the top of the "M" trail

Mom's dirty side after she slipped hiking down the trail

 

Our mini art project - framing the remaining piece of my favorite painting

 Our Friday night project... building our new "open-air pantry"

 In front of the finished pantry

On a totally irrelevant note:  Kombucha's are BACK!! I couldn't be more excited!

 With love from Missoula,

Jess

PDX 2010!!

As most of you know Joe & I took a little road trip to Portland this past weekend to watch my mom run the Portland Marathon.  We took advantage of my 3-day/week class schedule & left Thursday morning for PDX. My good friend, Jason, is in his 3rd year of law school at Gonzaga, so we stopped in Spokane to have lunch with him and break up the drive. It was so nice to see him!

We have quite a few SLC friends who live in Portland now, so it was great to see them. We stayed with Sumer & Juliette this weekend and visited with Scott & Brittany as well. It was so nice to see everyone!

Joe & I went for a nice run in Forrest Park on Friday morning and did some wandering around downtown Portland.

Chloe - the old woman. One of the 2 great danes

Kingston... aka Sam's other BFF

Joe & I out in downtown

(All of us hanging out in the Pearl District downtown PDX)

Sum & Juliette had to leave on Saturday morning for a wedding in Arizona, so Joe & I went out to explore on our own for a bit.  We checked out the Saturday market and wandered through different shops.  We also tried to go to the infamous "VooDoo Doughnuts" doughnut shop, but unfortunately the line was around the block & we didn't feel like standing in the rain.

We met up with my mom and her running partner, Debbie, for dinner on Saturday.  Then we bid them farewell so they could get a good night's rest before the big race on Sunday.

Joe & I got up early on Sunday to get our spots along the course to cheer on mom & Debbie.  We made some super awesome "Team Bevo" (pronounced Bee-vo) t-shirts to show our support; unfortunately, it was raining like crazy so our awesome t-shirts were covered up by rain jackets.  We met up with my good SLC friends Matt & Adam (who now live in Portland) to cheer on the runners. We made our presence known complete with cowbells & air-horns.

Mom & her cheering section

Mom & Debbie looking fabulous post race

Joe & I had to head out shortly after the race to make the trek back to Missoula.  We took a pit stop along the way home at beautiful Multomah Falls.

Sam stayed with Jake & Danielle this weekend and got his fill of playtime with Sundance (Thanks guys!).  As soon as we got home Sam went immediately to his bed and fell asleep.  Needless to say, it was a great weekend had by all!

With Love from Missoula,

Jess

Hiking MT!

Joe, Sam & I went on a nice little hike on Saturday morning up nearby Pattee Creek Canyon. It wasn't anything strenuous, but it was nice to get outside and enjoy the scenery. 

That afternoon I had a counselor ed BBQ at a local park with all the students in the program and our professors. It was super fun and GORGEOUS weather. We ate some great food and played a ton of games - basketball, four-square, wiffle-ball, and kickball.  One of our foreign students, Umut, captured a few "action photos." It was a great afternoon & I feel really lucky to be in such an amazing program.

With love from Missoula!

Jess

Stand Up Paddle Boarding!

Joe and I borrowed a couple Stand Up Paddle Boards from our friends at Strongwater today (Thanks KB!) and took them out to Frenchtown Pond.  I've been wanting to try SUP for a while & was super stoked when the opportunity presented itself. 

Getting up onto it wasn't as hard as I thought, but getting the dang thing to go the direction I wanted it to was another story. The multi-talented Joe was fine right away zipping around the pond (and falling off), but it definitely took me a while to get the hang of. 

(Capturing a "near fall" moment)

We each only fell off once, which surprised me, but we are definitely still beginners!  I can't believe people run rivers on these things. I couldn't help but think today how much fun these would've been to have in NC.  The other benefit of SUP is that it's a phenomenal workout! You really use every muscle in your body - down to your feet.  I can't wait to take these out again sometime!

(YAY! I'm doing it!)

(Joe showin off)

On another positive note - WE HAVE A KITCHEN TABLE! I am so excited! I found it at this awesome little consignment store earlier in the week. It's the perfect size for the space. Only downside it only had 3 chairs, but it won't really make a difference until we have company.  It still needs some table decorations & what not, but it's so nice to finally have a complete kitchen!

With love from Missoula!

Jess