Transitions

Over the past few years my blog has become more of a monthly family update rather than the weekly adventures of Nolan & Laura. I guess that's fine by me, life is full of changes and Laura and I have settled down into a routine of working, sleeping, spending time with Ermyk, and finding some free time whenever we can... Our adventures don't take us as far as they once did. Instead of leaving off at 5:00 a.m. from Missoula and driving all day to make it to Cheyenne or even Kearney by nightfall, we now leave around 9:30 drive for an hour, stop and play at a playground with Emryk, drive another 45 minutes and eat lunch and then if we are lucky a nap is in the works and we might get 2 full hours of driving before we have to stop again. A trip from Kearney to Cheyenne becomes a half-day adventure and we are exhausted by the time we make our destination.... No longer can I work a full day, meet up with Laura and take off on a 10 mile hike for the evening - I consider a 5 mile run to be a small accomplishment these days. Although, we do still dream up vacations with long drives to faraway places to see something we haven't seen before, and maybe one of these days we will actually go! A backpacking trip for a week into the remote wilderness tickles my fancy now and again as well...

It's the changes in life that make it interesting and fulfilling. I am probably one of the few people on this planet who can do the same thing day after day and be completely content with what I am doing. Heck, in middle school I ate pizza every day for lunch. Even today I still typically eat the same thing for lunch daily... Between cross country and track I enjoy track more because the track is always the same size. Although, there are changes I always look forward to.

The end of summer is nearing and that change is typically my favorite time of year. Hunting season, the fall sports of football, volleyball, and cross country, the changing leaves fall to the ground and the crops in the fields are harvested. The smell of crisp fall air on a cool afternoon is a smell that brings back memories long passed but still fresh in mind when recollected.

Soon, Laura and I will be transitioning from single child status into the role of multiple children parents - a role which I have more fear with two kids than I did with the birth of one. I'm excited to have two kids, yet I find myself wondering how things will change with two kids compared to one. All to quickly my little boy has grown from an infant into a toddler and soon to be a big brother. I wonder if I will have the patients with two kids, the energy with two kids, and the ability to breath with two kids! It's amazing how easy it was to become comfortable with Emryk's arrival - it wasn't really the life altering event I thought it would be - and maybe two kids won't be either...maybe I fear that the amount of sleep I HAVEN'T been getting lately will soon double with two kids..?

Okay, so maybe I don't really have that many worries or fears about what is about to happen. Although, I do find it interesting that I seem to have more apprehension with baby #2 than I did with the first baby.

Like I said, changes are what makes life interesting. The way my blog has been going lately, it will be the last day of September before I publish another post and by then the baby might have already arrived... I guess we will all soon know how interesting life is going to be and how our transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4 will change things once again - I'm looking forward to it!

Until again

-=Nolan=-

Here's some random photos from the month of August:
Storm front moving in on my way home from work
Courthouse & Jailhouse RockCurt Gowdy State Park - WyomingHiking at Curt Gowdy