The Dolly DeLong: Adventures with Ty on our Babymoon (August 26th-September 15th, 2018) (Part 1:Bozeman, Montana)

As I wind down and try to finish ALL.THE.THINGS. before my son arrives in late November (or whenever he wants to come really) I am trying to catch up on all my photography related blog posts + my personal blog posts as well. Today’s post is dedicated to my lovely hometown: BOZEMAN, MONTANA (where Ty and I started our magical BabyMoon).
For many of you who may not know, I was born and raised in Bozeman from 1984-2003 (2003 is when I graduated from Bozeman High School and went to Harding University and I ended up living in the South since 2003). The Big Sky Country has always had a special place in my heart for the following reasons:
1) It’s naturally so beautiful and scenic…I mean come on Big Sky Country is the name of the state
2) The People are incredible (when my mom moved from India to Montana-there was a community of believers who helped her raise me since she didn’t have a clue on how to raise a newborn baby-this group of people have helped shaped me in some amazing ways and I was very excited about introducing Ty to these very amazing people)
3) I just love Bozeman with all of my heart (the town, the size of the city, the fact that it is surrounded by mountains, the fact that it has all four seasons, just everything about it is incredible to me)
4) Even the food (and coffee) is better in Bozeman (and Ty 110% agrees with me about that statement!)
Here were some of the things we did while in Bozeman (I know that I am the more extroverted one in the relationship, so I know I pushed my introverted husband maybe a little too much on our first leg of the trip because I wanted to do all the things in Bozeman. Thankfully, he went along with my excitement and was a good sport about everything! Thank you Ty Bear!)

• Explored Downtown Bozeman
• Drove around the city and showed Ty some areas of town where I lived and where I went to school
• Drank ALOT of coffee at Local Coffee Shops in Bozeman (we did not experience any bad cups of coffee….and another reason why Bozeman is perfect)
• I had saved up for a Maternity Session in Gallatin County (the county where I was born and raised in, where Bozeman is located) and we worked with Kristen Rose Photography  and she helped capture some amazing maternity photos for us (here is the blog post on our maternity session) (it also includes our time at The Pickle Barrel!)
• I took Ty to my favorite Museum: The Museum of the Rockies (I really think he enjoyed it)!
• We went hiking on one of my favorite trailheads “The College M” which overlooks the city of Bozeman (it was a hard hike for me since I’m pregnant, and it was super slow…but the views were worth it!)
• We went to the Lewis & Clark Caverns (which are about 1.5 hours away from Bozeman) and we met up with my childhood bestie, Nicoll, and her family of 5, to explore the caverns (oh yes, did I mention that my childhood bestie ALSO was in Montana the same time I was in Bozeman? Perfection!)
• Visited MANY friends and caught up with many amazing precious souls!

The biggest highlight in Bozeman was getting to introduce Ty to alot of church friends/family who helped raise me. I honestly thought my heart was going to explode I was so happy (because I was able to introduce my husband to alot of the people I love and admire). It grieves my heart that I live in the south mostly because I miss the northwest and I miss experiencing all the seasons of the year (and the Tennessee humidity alone makes me want to die on the inside every year), and there are some people in Montana I wish I could see on a weekly basis because I crave good genuine relationships with good people. I know that I could have moved back to Bozeman after graduating from college, but then I would not have met my husband (Ty) and we would not have such a rich and amazing life together in Nashville. I know I should always count my blessings and be happy where I am in life at the moment (which I strive to do on a daily basis), but I’m human people, and I find myself longing to live in the North almost every day. I also know that I tend to romanticize things in my mind, and I know that I tend to put Bozeman (and anything Montana related) on such a high pedestal in my mind. Although it was super refreshing to be in my home state for several days with my sweet husband (and son in my belly), I was reminded constantly that I have such an abundant life here in Nashville with Ty. Maybe one day God will call us to Montana (or another beautiful state with great seasons + weather), but until then I will enjoy my time in Nashville and thank God where He has placed me! Now is not forever. 
Anyway, I share all that just to say, I am deeply in love with Montana, and Bozeman was a perfect starting point for our adventurous babymoon. It was SO GOOD to introduce Ty to the city I had grown up in, and it was even more amazing that he loved it as well! I cannot wait to share other parts of our babymoon with you all in the days to come, but here are several of my favorite photos from our trip to Bozeman! (All of these photos were taken on our Camera Phones….sorry about the quality!)