Thanks, Tonka

When she was younger, Sierra would head back to Nebraska every summer for a week or so to spend time with her grandparents and cousins. We generally would have huge piles of hand-me-downs for our niece, but this story is about the time we also had something in the pile that we knew our nephews…

A Conversation with My Past Self

Sierra is fourteen. Each year as she gets older, I feel like she just gets more and more fun to be around. I love seeing the person she is becoming. She has always been so independent and driven, and it is awesome to see her further develop down her own path. She still really just…

The Line

Josh and I were told this week that we aren’t feeding Sierra enough for as active as she is. We were told that she is just way too skinny. This was not coming from her doctor, or any of her coaches, or anyone that matters. It was from another parent. Dear World: Sierra has never…

Super Genes

Genetics are crazy. Lots of folks we know are having babies right now, and I love to see the pictures of their little nuggets. I like to see specific features that tie back to their parents. I look like Daddy Badger. I always have, and I always will. I look so much like my dad…

Of Mountaintops and Memories

To celebrate Sierra’s tenth birthday we decided to summit a peak, because…well because we’re just strange like that. We pulled out our maps, spread them wide across the entire living room floor, discussed the merits of this summit or that, and ultimately chose Fremont Peak. Fremont Peak is the third highest peak in the state of…

Mountain Personality

One of the best things about experiencing all of the glory that nature has to offer is how you can make it such a personal experience. Everyone, I mean everyone, has their thing; the specific aspect of nature that makes them just stop and stare. Even if you’re a city-dweller, even if you think you…

This is Us

Josh and I were married in Riomaggiore, Italy. We eloped. No one knew we were leaving; no one knew we were getting married. We dropped letters to our parents in the mail on our way to the airport, and the two of us spent nearly a month traveling across Italy. There were no destinations set…

The Beginning…

I recently was asked when I began to write. This is a difficult question without an easy answer. I have always been of the mindset that a photographer was born a photographer-that a photographer is someone who has taken photos their entire life, well before they ever even possessed a camera. To me, writing and…