Take a Left Turn at Albuquerque

On our recent trip to New Mexico (house hunting!), we took a stop in Old Albuquerque.  For a festive overview of Old Town, check out this site for tourists. Below are some pics from our trip.  Scottie stayed home with Shawn & Sarah (thanks, guys!), so our camera-time was focused on James.

At a layover in SLC, James playing with the potted plants in the airport.  Fun!

San Felipe de Neri Church on Old Town.

Reach for the sky!

Our good friend Janae hunkering down in our car during a rare Albuquerque snowstorm (which spoiled a great hike we had planned).  Janae has a history of counseling me when I’m considering a move to a new place (Boston and now Albuquerque).  Somehow, she always pulls through and I take the plunge.

Incentives

Economists believe that people will do anything if they have the right incentive.  We tapped into that power recently for our oldest son Scott.  For Christmas one of his friends got a new bike with training wheels.  She let him ride it a time or two and he was hooked.  He was so excited to get a bike with training wheels.  Since Christmas had just passed we didn’t feel justified in buying it outright.  Instead we decided he could earn his bike.  We made him a sticker chart and he had the opportunity every day to earn stickers for doing chores such as setting the table, clearing his dish, helping feed the chickens, etc.  After about a month Scottie had filled up his chart. 

Check out that beauty.  His name is Lightning McQueen the bike. 

Happy Birthday James!

James had his first birthday on March 11.  We celebrated by having the Schmidts over for a little impromptu party.  Here is a quick look at James:

Likes: Playing with his brother Scottie; Being tickled (he is super ticklish); Carrying things around (he is a chronic shoe stealer carrying them off away from the door); getting into mom’s cabinets; playing with spatulas; laughing; every kind of fruit; feeding himself with a spoon; trying out stairs, hills, etc.

Dislikes: being beat up by Scottie; having his nose wiped; being tired; sitting still.

Birthday highlights:

 

We love you James!!!

And the Verdict Is….

New Mexico.  We are moving to New Mexico.  I am not happy to be leaving the northwest but it does seem to be the right decision for our family.  Hyrum is taking a position at Sandia National Laboratories.  Do to my fragile feelings, follow your momma’s advice, “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”  All positive commentors please leave your thoughts on New Mexico.  :)