You're Invited - Annual Blommer 4th of July Backpacking Trip

The 4th of July is fast approaching, and for those of you who know the Blommers well, you know this means we're gearing up for our annual 4th of July trip! You also know that EVERYONE is invited on this trip. That's right! This is the one trip of the year that my crazy, mountaineer of a husband is willing to make easy enough that others will enjoy it (except that one year where we went over 40 miles in 4 days in the Wind Rivers and two of us cried, yes us meaning me, I was one of the two).

Because we have a kid, and we haven't exactly figured out how to backpack with the kid yet, we're making this one of the easiest trips ever! We're heading up to the Uintas near Mt. Baldy to Wall Lake, which Mike tells me is only a one mile hike in. Due to the short hike, Dave has promised to carry in a dutch oven, so we will be eating well, and I can't wait. I also received a four man tent for Mother's Day that Mike has graciously offered to carry in on all our family backpack trips now that we have a baby. Between the dutch oven and the massive tent, I'll practically feel like I'm staying in a four star hotel (but without bathrooms)!!

Anyway, I meant what I said about everyone being invited. If you're reading this right now you're invited, so if you're interested please email me and let me know, and I'll send you the details. If you're not sure about coming, here are a million pictures to show you what a blast we've had on past trips!

A Precursor to My New Blog Series

I've decided to start a new series on my blog entitled "Why My Husband is Cooler Than Your Husband" because I happen to be married to one of the most "interesting" men I've ever met (by interesting I mean weird....but,...well,... in a good way). There will be an unknown number of installments in this series, and it may or may not be updated regularly, but you can believe me when I say it will DEFINITELY be worth tuning in to. You can also believe me when I say this is not your run of the mill, tag-you're it, lovey dovey, 10 things I love about my husband, kind of series. It's WAY cooler than that.

I have to give a bit of a precursor to the series before I introduce Installment #1. Mike is really into photography, and he's into lighting and flash and getting it right to make a spectacular picture. He has an entire lighting set up with remote flashes and shiny reflectors and light umbrellas (I'm sure those all have technical terms, but who really cares, right?!). In order to perfect his art he practices quite often. At this point you might think to yourself "hmmm I wonder how he practices without models?" Well, it's easy, he shoots pictures of himself in our basement using either his remote control or the camera timer. Now you're probably picturing a nice studio type picture with a blue velvet background, right? No. Wrong. He shoots some pretty funny/weird/creepy/borderline serial killerish shots. Some of these you'll see, and some you won't. I've given him full, editorial control of this series, so we'll see what he lets through to the general public. Most installments will be based on one or more of these "Self Portraits."

Installment #1 is coming soon...