Scottie’s Early Birthday Party

Since we are going to be in Seattle next week, we decided to have an early birthday party for Scottie.  After the nearly 80 degree weather all last week we decided to have it outside but were surprised this week with amazingly powerful thunderstorms and rain, and then yesterday was the coldest day we have had this fall.  All the kids were bundled up though and had an amazing time. 

9 little boys made it to the party.  So we had 11 little boys (counting James) running around eating pizza, and raising a ruckus, and a couple little sister siblings.  Luckily the moms stayed around too.

We had a ghost pinata which left the kids with way too many treats.  With the padded bat, they were unsuccessful beating the life out of the poor ghost so eventually after the pinata fell from its rope a few times we switched tactics.

James had a blast eating way too many treats.  I think he is on treat probation.

They all had a blast and went home with chocolate faces from these little owl babies I made.

Happy fourth birthday Scottie!  We love you!

My Birthday

This year was a great one for celebrating birthdays.  Hyrum had the Friday off beforehand so we headed an hour north to the Jemez mountains to camp.  Unfortunately my camera was out of juice so I only got a few pictures but it really was quite spectacular.  I didn’t expect it to be so pretty.  It looked sort of like Twin Lakes, for those of you who are in the know there (ie my family) or say, Northern Idaho, but with interesting rock formations.  We had a ton of fun but didn’t get a lot of sleep.  Scottie kept saying how much fun he was having, it was really cute.  We roasted dogs and smores, slept in a tent, and went fishing, wading, and hiking the next day, what could be better?  Also, did I mention that it was the 15th and 16th of October and the weather was amazing and was only cold in the middle of the night and first thing in the morning.  We all stayed relatively warm in our tent though. 

w

We all had a nap on the drive home except poor Hyrum. 

Saturday night Hyrum took me out to dinner, which was delicious, but we were so tired we came home at 8:15 so our baby sitter didn’t have to stay up too late that Saturday.  Sunday, my real birthday, Hyrum made me breakfast, then Scottie, James, and Hyrum made dinner and a cake after church. 

Here they are working their magic.

After dinner we went to the park.  Notice the shorts, it was 78 degrees at 4pm when we went there.  For all of you Seattlites, I miss you and Washington terribly, but 78 degrees on October 17th?  I could get used to that.  We had a blast pushing the boys down a little hill in their dump trucks.  They loved it, and we thought it was hilarious, so all in all, it was a good day. 

Scottie takes a ride down the hill.

James’ turn.

What we do of a Sunday Afternoon

I love living near the mountains. We are literally minutes to nice little hikes where we can get up and do some "rock climbing" with the boys. They love it. It is what we do most Sunday afternoons lately.

Scottie showing his cool rocks. He finds plenty of cool things most times and my pockets are laden until I start "accidentally" dropping some of them.

James demonstrating his climbing prowess on this impressive foot high rock. Also in the back is the chola cactus. We have all come home with several "pokeys" in our hands, feet, and yes once in our tongues (Hyrum was eating the inside of a prickly pear fruit and missed a few spikes).

We do get to climb some big rocks too and the view is great. Come and visit us. We miss you.

Expert

We enlisted John, the sprinkler, moisture sensor expert to come help us with our new backyard over labor day. He was such a good sport. He worked tirelessly on Saturday from sun-up to much beyond sun-down, with us as his less than skillful "crew." He also patiently played with his adoring fan, Scott, all day Sunday. What a guy.

Putting in our new system.

In front of the mission church in Old Town on Sunday afternoon.

We also took a ride on the tram on Sunday.

We enjoyed hiking up on top. Thanks for coming out John. We had a great time!

Lake Cochita

We missed going to the lake so much that we drove 45 minutes with some friends here to a little, slightly murky reservoir. It was a lot of fun. It did the trick though I was wishing for it to be a little closer to home.

Digging in the sand with James.

Scottie and James soaking.

More house photos

Here are some more pics of our house. These were taken before our movers came so it is empty. The funny part is that our movers have come and gone and it is still pretty empty. All in good time I guess.

My favorite part of our new house.

The view from our family room looking into the kitchen.

Family Room.

Living room and Dining room. The ceilings are about 1 1/2 stories when you first walk in. The picture doesn't show it but right to the right there when you walk in there is a huge empty wall that I have no idea what to do with. You can't put a little picture on it and call it good. Suggestions?

The Tram

If you come and visit us in Albuquerque we will take you to do this. We went on a tram ride last week and it was amazing. It is the worlds largest tramway spanning 2.5 miles. It was so fun. I was amazed at how beautiful the mountains here were up close. They were much more rugged than I had imagined. At one point on the ride the driver told us we were 1000-2000 (I can't remember how far exactly) feet above the ground and that it would take us 7.5 seconds to fall to the ground should that happen.

James and Hyrum enjoying the ride.

The other tram coming down from the mountain to meet us.

Scottie and Hyrum up on top.

There is a ski resort up on top that we will have to go to sometime. The kicker is the tram is only 10 minutes drive from our new house.

Temporary Housing

We have been our home for a week now, but for the first two weeks in Albuquerque we stayed in some posh temporary housing. Our favorite part was the pool. We literally went there every day except Sunday. Scottie has gotten to be a really good swimmer. He can float on his belly with his face down in the water, and swim underwater, and swim across the deep end without a life jacket on.

Scottie modeling the pool for us. The best part of the pool was a wading area on the side that is only a foot deep so James could walk around or sit in deck chairs while Scottie and I swam.

James jumping into the pool.

Sunday Afternoon at the Rio Grande

Two Sundays ago we drove down to check out the Rio Grande and had a fun time.

My three handsome men in a tree.

It was super shallow, warm, and muddy but we had a fun time wading.

We saw lots of bugs, some bunnies, and our favorite, a big toad.

Home Sweet Home

It's official! We closed on this beauty on Friday. Tomorrow our movers come. Welcome to the wonderful and slightly daunting world of home ownership. We are excited.

From the front.

From the rear... yes the back yard needs a little work