And We’re There

Any minute now, I am expecting Chris home from his first day of working as the executive chef of a restaurant that is officially open to the public.  We haven’t seen much of him the last few days outside of a few minutes we can sneak in here and there…here and there typically being the kitchen

or the dining room.

But any time with dad is better than no time, so we aren’t going to complain about getting it at the restaurant.

 And since today was opening day, that means we are way more than halfway through the hard part.  Chris’ staff has long been hired, menus planned, and policies set.  Now he’s just oiling the gears and soon life should fall back into a rhythm that involves two parents instead of one — but that’s not the only reason we were excited for this day to come.  We (Nora especially) have found friends in “Miss Jordan”and her family, and we are genuinely excited for them and happy to be party of such a fabulous venture.

Saturday, the Fischers threw a huge celebratory party which was an amazing preview of all that is to come.Horses and all.

Nora spent the evening playing at a friend’s house, but little Zara Bea tagged along for the early part of the evening where she got to rub elbows with all sorts of important people from the Governor and high level military officers, to Pete Coors, Holly Williams and Annie Clements of Sugarland.  Oh, yes, and she might have drooled all over Liz Cheney, who just couldn’t resist Zara’s chubby little cheeks and head full of hair.  I couldn’t help but think all evening was that the best thing about breastfed babies is just how portable they are; we were in and out in two hours at the beginning, and Zara did great.

My dad and grandmother came up for the weekend to spend a little time with the girls and me, and get a chance to see the restaurant in action.  It was fun to have them here for the opening, and a nice break to have other entertainers around for Nora.  Thursday, we took a trip back into the mountains, which I’ve wanted to do but didn’t think I could manage on my own.

My goodness, do I think this scenery is spectacular.  If only we lived closer…I could stare at that view all day. 

We found the perfect spot for a picnic, climbing and hiking, and of course lots of pictures.

And not just pictures with me behind the lens!

The beauty of visitors is that I get a chance to step in front of the camera for a rare picture not taken by me.

(I can’t get over Zara’s little old man face in ^that^ picture.  It’s quite possibly the cutest serious look ever.)

I love, love this photo spot.  I think I may have found the perfect spot for our family pictures this summer (when things slow down for Chris at work.)  I can’t wait to get a giant canvas of all four of us with a mountain backdrop.  I better be careful, though, the more I visit places like this and spend time at Chris’ new restaurant, the more I start to like Wyoming.  I might become a cowgirl yet.