Girls Weekend

The girls and I had a weekend all to ourselves.  The first night found us out to dinner and shopping the mall.  Shopping the mall for my girls is Claires and Bath and Body Works.  With our new accessories and smelling like 100 bucks we decided to go the Temple for a picnic the following day. We love to see the Temple, it is the perfect place to visit on girls weekend.

This is me TOTALLY ruining Maggie's selfie.

No worries, all was well. She got a good one and she is such a beautiful girl.

And the boys were doing their camping thing.

May 2014

Soda Dam

The day after we got the news that Toby died we decided that we needed to get out of the house.  Our hearts and minds were sad and we needed a pick me up.  We decided to take a drive through Jemez and go to Soda Dam (a natural mineral deposit from hot springs).  The drive was so beautiful, it was the first time us non-scouters had been to Jemez.   We drove through the rock bridge!

  The dam was quite the site to see.  It was taller than I expected and it was fun to find little hot pools all around.  Of course we all had to climb to the top and explore the other side.  We had a great time exploring, splashing and spending time together.  We didn't forget Toby but we found a reprieve from our grief.

May 2014

Tent Rock

This was our first homeschool outing with other homeschool families here in the Albuquerque area.  Tent rock is such a beautiful place, which is good because it is a heck of a hike.  Matthew went ahead with some kids his age while we trucked along at our own pace. When we got to the lookout I just about died thinking he was up there with three other teenage boys doing teenage boy things. You could see all around for miles and it was straight down...down... down.

Our favorite part was walking through the rocks. It was so fantastic, I have never experienced anything like it before.  God has so many fantastic treasures waiting to be explored.

                                                                               March 2014

Two Wheels

Kendal is on two wheels now! This makes it much easier to go on family bike rides and we live in the perfect neighborhood for a ride. One thing I love about my kids is that they are never afraid (or easily persuaded) to get back up on the horse after they fall.  Nice work kiddo!

                                                                   March 2014

A Visit From Grandma

We have never lived far from family so our visits with family were always wonderful but never very long.  Having grandma come to New Mexico and stay with us for four days was a treat.  If you think, "Are we there yet," is annoying you haven't heard, "When will she be here?" over and over again by a 6 year old eager to see her grandma.  Lola is a very loving grandma and the kids love and adore her.  

Maggie and Spencer got to spend one on one birthday trips with her and had a fantastic time.  Being all together is fun but one on one time really bonds relationships.  She also spent quality time baking with the kids and accompanying Matthew on his dog walking job.  

Our together time was well spent on the Sandia Peak Tram Way, world's longest aerial tramway. We traveled 2.7 miles up to an end point of 10,378 feet and had an 11,000 square-mile panoramic view.  And also at our favorite place the Bosque/Rio Grande.  We really enjoyed having grandma visit and can't wait until she comes again.

Rio Grande

Birthday Dreams Do Come True

For Maggie's 10th birthday we sent her to Horse Camp!  If you know Maggie you know that this was a huge deal, she has loved horses for as long as I can remember.  The first day I dropped her off I was all kinds of excited and happy for her.  Maggie not only loved horses she took her love to the next level by learning as much as she could about them and how to care, ride and even identify breeds. When her teacher asked me if she had been around horses and where she learned to ride I was so excited to see that all of her studying had paid off.  We didn't own a horse or really know anyone that did but we did have library cards and a computer and the girl knew what she wanted.  Maggie you are so amazing!

On the third day of horse camp Maggie took off half the day to get 5 stitches in her forehead after an unfortunate accident leading a horse that lead her into the side of a garbage can.  She was a super trooper and went back to camp for an hour.  The following day was family day and we got to see all she had learned and watch our little girl live her dream.

Friends and Family Rides

Maggie with Spencer and her friend Rocquela and Kendal with one of Maggie's fellow campers.

Our Old Lady named Baby

About four days after Toby died we decided to make a trip to the Humane Society for two reasons.  First to show them a picture of Toby and make sure it was truly him and second to thank the ladies that spent his last few earthly hours with him.  It was a hard trip for all of us.  When we got there we met Bonnie, showed her the picture and thanked her for being there for our Toby dog.  She is a no nonsense woman (I liked her) and quickly without hesitations asked if she could introduce us to Baby.  Not sure if we were ready yet we decided that looking would be OK.  Baby was the oldest dog there at 12 years old and she was also the quietest.  Bonnie told us that with the storm that weekend and having so many new dogs they were going to need to make room and Baby would unfortunately because of her age and how long she had been there be one of the first to be euthanized.   I was so skeptical of bringing a new dog home especially an old one, however I could see how saving a dog and filling a void in our home could ease some of our hurt, and it did.  Baby has been a great dog and despite her often stops on walks and awful old lady gas her age barely shows (especially when she gets into the garbage and unrolls the toilet paper).  In honor of Toby we saved a great dog!