Family – All Dolled Up

My apologies for missing Favorite Product Friday las week-I promise I will make up for it this coming Friday. But in my defense, I had an absolutely crazy few days. I spent the week in Montana for work, flew back to the SLC late Thursday evening, and then turned around and drove back to Montana (different part of the state) Friday morning to participate in a 130 mile road bike ride called RATPOD.

So I’m guessing at this point you are probably wondering, what the heck is RATPOD? RATPOD is an acronym that stands for Ride Around the Pioneers in One Day and is a charity road bike ride that supports Camp Mak-A-Dream:

“a medically supervised, cost-free Montana experience, in an intimate community setting for children, young adults and families affected by cancer. A week at camp offers these kids and young adults the chance to be “normal”, to conquer challenges, gain independence and self-esteem, make new friends and face their fears alongside others who understand what it’s like to have cancer.”

Pretty incredible, right?? My husband’s family has participated in and supported the event for the last several years, and I was finally able to join in the festivities last year completing my first RATPOD ride (in the past I have typically had work conflicts). So to have the chance to participate for a second time this year was a pretty special treat. Here are some highlights from our weekend…

Our attempt at a family photo on the drive down. Fail. Lol.

Angry skies in Dillon-perhaps a little foreshadowing of the winds to come…

Enjoying the street dance after the pre-ride spaghetti feed

Me and my mother-in-law. We sure had fun together!

Heading out at 6am…

One of my favorite spots on the ride…

Minus the 30-40mph winds, it was a pretty spectacular day.

Happy to be done and out of the wind.

Free Big Sky Beers for all riders! NICE!

And even better than free beer? Free ice cream!!! 🙂

Enjoying more live music and a festive dinner for riders.

And even though I was there to ride, I still had to add some fashion elements to the weekend! In fact, my mother-in-law asked me if I wanted some more stream lined glasses to ride in and I had to tell her that I had purposefully selected the biggest cycling glasses I could find at the bike shop. Guess I’m not the most typical cyclist, but I love it just the same. 😉

And of course, our favorite sign on the drive back to the SLC. Montana pride runs deep in my veins. Always.

Hands down, RATPOD is an amazing event and this year did not disappoint. How incredible that we were not only able to spend a weekend with family we don’t get to see nearly enough, but also support such an incredible cause that touches the lives of so many. And as an added bonus, it’s also a pretty rewarding athletic accomplishment and one of the highlights of our summer! In fact, I’m already looking forward to next year.

Back with regular outfit posts tomorrow.

I love Memorial Day weekend and look forward to it every year. It is always a time for reflection and gratitude to all of the brave men and women who have served and are serving this beautiful country I am blessed to call home. It is also a weekend that I get to spend with my family. Ever since J and I ventured off to the SLC, it has become a tradition for my parents to make the drive down from Montana to spend the long weekend with us. And since my brother and his wife moved back to the states from Australia last year, they have now become a part of the tradition as well. And of course this Memorial Day weekend did not disappoint. In fact, it might have been the best one yet-so much so that everyone decided to spend an extra day in the SLC to relish the beautiful weather and precious time together.

Me and my little brother

Mike and Justin heading out for a ride. Real men have chest hair, apparently. 😉

Sangria…yum!

My mom, Mike, Jess and me enjoying a beautiful evening on the deck

Mikey slinging pizza dough

The “kids”

First Corona of the year. Yup, it’s officially summer!

Pretty, pretty flowers.

It really doesn’t get much better than a long weekend with family and an added bonus day together, does it? So thank you mom, dad, Mike, Jess, Daisy, and Sydney for making the trip to the SLC. I don’t think I could pick a favorite part of the weekend, but I definitely feel really good about the time we had together. 😉 I already miss you each dearly and am so looking forward to August when we will all be together again!!