I LOVE having Matt home with us.  It’s just plain awesome and fun and wonderful to be a family that has time to share together.  One of our favorite things to do as a family is to play in the woods together, and thankfully we found a perfect woods spot full of climbing trees, archways, hiding places, and beautiful plants… and not too far away from our house either.  I voted to go there every day while Matt is on leave, though that may be a touch unrealistic.

When Matt and I first met we shared a love of woods.  Our friendship developed over long walks, hikes, backpacking trips, and hours spent talking in the woods around Missoula, Montana.  We married under a giant old pine tree in the woods, and our children are named after trees (ash and cedar).  Although we have found less time since those college days to dwell in the woods, we still value being in nature and want to hold it as a priority in our family.  We hope to do those long hikes and backpacking trips again one day– with our children this time (and hopefully we’ll be back in some mountains by then too!).