Jump for Joy!

Being that we are 'sort-of' on Spring Break this week I have tried to take the kids to do some fun stuff in the afternoons.  Yesterday was bowling  and Sadie's New Mexican Food.  Gamma and Pah joined us and Pah beat me by 2 points!  He still has it at 72!

Today we headed to the trampoline park.  Oh what fun - kids had gone once before, but not me.  Obviously, I had to jump!  Helped that we were the only ones there for the first 45 minutes:)  Seriously - get to one.  So much fun.  So many laughs - here are yours!

M- doing the Mario jump

E- doing the genie jump

This is me!  I can still do the splits in mid-air!

M- flipping like a ninja!

Find a park - it's super fun and tiring!  Heading for my afternoon caffeine fix now.

Expect the Unexpected

 This is the scene we woke up to on Saturday morning - about 5 inches of snow and still coming down!  Roads were closed and travel was not advised.  Sadly, we had to cancel our trip with E- to check out Thomas Aquinas College (TAC).  

She took it well and had some fun playing in the snow with Clara:)  It was a nice excuse to sit at home, watch movies, read books and bake cookies!

And by the following day... it looked like this!

Warm and sunny with no snow in sight!  Zoom in on that beer (compliments of my Dad) - It is called "Thunder Ann"!  

We have rescheduled the trip and maybe it's better as we'll have a little more time and hopefully warmer weather (even CA was going to be cool and rainy).

In other news, BIG NEWS.... M- was accepted via lottery into a STEM Innovation school for next year.  STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, and  Math.  

Photo by my Sister

He is jumping for joy:)  Very excited!  He'll get to do CAD (computer aided design), engineering, and explore biomedical sciences too.  We feel blessed that he got in as there were only 25 spots available (freshman class will be 75 total).  The school should be a perfect fit for him with many project-based assignments and team work.  Will definitely be a different year with him in school and E- taking some dual enrollment courses at the community college.  I foresee even more driving in my future!

And since this post is mostly about M- He also performed at the Entravision Health Fair (i.e. Spanish Health Fair) in ABQ a couple weekends ago.  He has been doing 4 hours of classes 2 days a week and assisting with the little kiddos as well.  I'll have to try to sneak a picture of him with the little ones - super cute! 

He's growing up!  14 in a couple months:)

Yay for Friendship!

My friend Darcy visited this past weekend!  How lucky I am to have good friendships in my life?  I have missed my Oregon girlfriends more than I can tell you, so when Darcy called to tell me she was coming and bringing her littlest I was ecstatic!  Ask the kids - I was pretty much jumping around with excitement the week before she arrived.  Oh what fun to sightsee, shop, eat New Mexican food, drink margaritas, enjoy the sun (we had nearly 70 degree weather!) and chat!  And to meet little Casey (born after we moved) was a treat!  What a joyful little guy - I love him!  Friends are awesome!  Thanks SO much Darcy - - - 'til next time!

Casey - ready to sightsee!

Enjoying some Nutbrown Ale from the local brewery - Kactus

Took the RoadRunner (really the Rail Runner - but I would have named it differently!) to Santa Fe

Picked up some New Mexican goodies at the Farmer's Market.  Darcy had to mail some stuff home she bought so many chiles:)

Had some pretty fantastic New Mexican food at Tomasita's - the sopapillas were as big as my head!

Heading back home .  Casey was wiped out - slept through lunch and the entire ride back.

Took a little hike here - can you believe this is New Mexico?!  In the Jemez mountains near Valles Caldera.

The perfect weather to hike, though a little icy and mucky.

Can't resist sharing these - how adorable is this guy?!  

And the margaritas - we might have had a few:)  

Cheers Darcy - I miss you already!

Ann

A Hike, A Hike... I went on a Hike!

Hubby and I headed out to the Cibola National Forest to hike today!  This is not something we typically find time to do so it was quite the treat!  Left the kids at home... M- tired out from camping over the weekend with scouts and E- recovering from a cold and mid-terms.  

We found a great trail - Tunnel Springs - just about 15 minutes from our house!  Snow and muck covered as it was, the weather was beautiful (mid 50's) and we saw not a soul on the trail!  But did spot some cougar tracks and a bald eagle!

So peaceful and relaxing... I am sure I am ready for the week ahead!

And, some homemade butterscotch pudding should help as well:)  Still love that Pioneer Woman!  This is an easy recipe... so yummy!

Happy last week of January! 

It's been 20 years!

Today my hubby and I celebrate our 20th anniversary!  That's a loooong time these days!  I know we both agree that we both feel super blessed and lucky and happy to have each other and look forward to 20+ more years together!  Here's just a partial list of what we've been through in 20 years:  long distance love while he did details, classes, FLETC (multiple times), 7 states (NC, SC, TN, NV, WA, OR, and NM), more than a few cars/trucks/RV's/trailers, babies, tweens, teens, more jobs than I can list, homeschool woes, pets (Frosty, Bo Cat, Sebastian, Emily, Jitter Bunny, Addy, Gifford, Jitterbug, Lego the Guinea Pig, and Clara) money woes, park housing, RV living, home ownership, home sales, call-outs, worry, fun, happiness, movie extras, travel, stress, laughter, friendship, enjoying friends and family, parenting, and love.  I love you hun!  Can't imagine my life without you:)  And for fun and laughs - just look how far we've come since dating at 18 and 19 years of age!

Still looking good together!  We got out for an awesome meal in Corrales over the weekend.  *Hope to get to a beach sometime this year to officially celebrate and relax!

Post Christmas Pictures!

The gang was all here for Christmas!  The food, fun, games, and festivities were a success.  Now all have returned to their homes (Brother and family to Nashville and Sister on her way to Idaho for a new job).  Those of us left in New Mexico are recovering, re-setting, cleaning, and trying to get some relaxing in before school starts up on Monday.  Here are many pics from the 10 day visit!

New Mexican food and margaritas at El Pinto with our Christmas scarves and ties!  E- is hidden in the back and Sis-in-Law sick this day:(  Thanks Dad!

Gingerbread Decorating.  D- really got into this.  We also played Christmas BINGO this night.

White Elephant gift exchange - there were some good ones including a Fez, "precious", Coco-Monkey, a chia gnome, and M-'s pink panda bottle holder.

Aunt Hill made 36 rolls of sushi!  M- helped a little:)

We resurrected the photo booth with some Christmas props and played some "minute-to-win-it" games:

Chinese Marshmallows

Wrap 'em Up (this is me, Mom, and Sis-in-Law)

D- wanted a turn too!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Christmas Nutstacker

Also had to have an "Ugly Christmas Sweater" contest!

The finalists

Dad Won!

The annual tradition of opening p-j's on Christmas Eve continued...

Dad got jingle pants!  Oh my!

Christmas Eve Mass 

The kids on Christmas morning

A little wine tasting (kids had sparkly juice tasting) on Christmas night.

Cheers to 2015!