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!

Kayaking the Rio Grande

Trip #1
The kids and I were so eager to get our kayaking on that the first chance we had to put into the Rio Grande we took it.  Our plan, to put in at Bernalillo and meet daddy for a picnic lunch at Almeda Blvd where we would load up and go home.  Our trip was LONG, 12 miles and 41/2 hours to be exact.  Living in Rio Rancho we have learned that within a 4 hour period the weather can change multiple times and it did.  We started off warm, happy and all kinds of excited to be on the water.  About and 1 hr into it Spencer tipped and his kayak took a solo trip down the Rio Grande.  I rescued Spencer and Matthew rescued his kayak.  As soon as we all met up again and everyone was back in their correct kayak we were one our way.  Now 3 of us are soaked the sun is going in and out of the clouds and we are all a bit unsure of the safety of our journey.  Now we are floating, paddling, floating, paddling...... wondering how much further as dad and I were thinking about 2 hours.  Now the sun is gone, rain clouds are present and there is a slight breeze that is freezing us to the bone.  At this point Kendal decided that she would rather be doing school and that we may be going in circles as she has seen the same trees over and over again.  After 3 1/2 hours everyone is done, some are crying, all complaining and we were eager to see people.  We finally saw a lady walking on the shore and decided regardless of where we were, we were going to get out of the water.  First chance we got we shored our kayaks and got out of the water just to find out that we were at our meeting spot.  A little late for lunch and with a dad that was a bit worried (we called a couple of times).

Trip #2

After some research and a drive to check it out we found a better landing spot that was only 4 miles and 1 1/2 hours on the river.  After My LB got home from work we all cramped into 4 kayaks and made the trip.  Daddy with Kendal, Mommy with Maggie and Spencer and Matthew flying solo.  Kendal was a bit cramped and all kinds of scared that her kayak was going to tip.  Matthew was in a kayak that was too small and flipped it once, no worries we were veterans at kayak rescues.  It was a perfect trip and the landing point was in our neighborhood so the truck swap was easy as pie.  We ended with dinner by the river, 50 cent cones at Burger King and great memories.

Trip #3
It was a boring summer day and mom got the bright idea to go kayaking.  Dad took the motorcycle left us with the car and truck and with some smart thinking and a short bike ride the car/truck swap would be easy peasy.  The hardest part was talking Kendal into kayaking again, I knew she would have a great time it was just a matter of helping her see it.  After loading the kayaks and making a quick stop at the dollar store for water soakers we were on to our third adventure.  The day was hot and luckily the water was refreshing because we got WET.  Every chance we had we put down our paddles and commenced the soaking.  At one point Kendal said to me, "I am having a fun time.  I don't know why I ever doubted you."  It took three tries but we finally got it down.  We are river kayakers!

In Loving Memory Of Toby

Sadly in May we lost our Toby dog, it was a sad time for all of us.  He went missing on a Friday afternoon and after searching and putting up signs we received the sad phone call from the Humane Society.  On Sunday afternoon we learned that when they found Toby he had been attacked by another dog and had to be put down.  The next few days were filled with tears, memories and a memorial for Toby.  Our hearts were sad and after 9 years of having Toby with us our home was experiencing an obvious void.  He will be missed!