I totally skipped Christmas…sorry faithful readers! 

Last weekend we went to Durango to go skiing- it was one of the best times we’ve had as a family!  It was especially wonderful  to see Jacob growing as a skier, and to see Caitlyn up on skis for the first time!  We look forward to many more times skiing as a family!

Caitlyn was so cute.  She thought she got to keep her skis- since Jacob has his own.  I told her they were rentals- like how we borrow books at the library.  It was cute.  Next year she gets Jacob’s skis and Jacob will get some new. He’s outgrown his first skis.

Wayne braved the slopes solo on Saturday, which was good, since he likes to ski scary stuff that I won’t touch!  Jacob was in ski school- aptly named “SnowMonsters”.  Caitlyn and I laid low- she was still recovering from an ear infection.  She and I were lazy around our suite all morning, met up with Wayne for lunch- and then headed into Durango for a little drive and of course, some shopping!  When we got back, we hit the so-called “heated” pool, although it still seemed pretty cold!  Wayne and I took turns between the hot tub (toasty) and the pool with the kids (not toasty).  The kids had fun!  We all crashed out early.

Sunday, we all decided to hit the slopes- Wayne decided to ski with me all day, which I loved- and he even thought I had improved since Christmas in California when we skiied at Big Bear.  Yahoo- I’m getting better!  Both kids went to ski school, and it was a special time, since it was Caitlyn’s first time on skis.  She was really excited, and I was really nervous for my baby!  She did great- and even went all the way down a beginner run with Wayne and I at the end of the day.  It was snowing hard, and she was so great! 

So, by the time we had to leave, snow was dumping on the mountain…Wayne and I wanted to stay one more night, but sadly we had to go back to work!

So, I’ve been a very bad blogger lately!   I have some pictures to post, and some stories to tell.  I will try and keep it short!

We had a wonderful visit with Wayne’s mom, Kathy, for Thanksgiving.  We showed her a lot of New Mexico while she was here.  Wayne and the kids took her to Santa Fe, and then all of us went on a roadtrip to Ruidoso and White Sands.  We celebrated Thanksgiving early with a delicious meal made by Kathy and Caitlyn.  Caitlyn was quite the helper, even making the green bean casserole all by herself!  She loves to be in the kitchen!

This past weekend, we celebrated Caitlyn’s birthday with a little party. The kids had fun, and Caitlyn loved playing with all of her friends.  We had princess plates, princess games, princess wrapping paper and pink lemonade!  Very Caitlyn, indeed!

Finally, today we have a snow day!  No school!  Hooray…the kids were bundled up early and playing outside.  Jacob hasn’t come in all morning, and Caitlyn goes out for 5 minutes, then back in, out, then back in.  Needless to say this involves a lot of “bundling up” and then “undbundling”.  I suppose when you are the birthday girl (today is actually her birthday), you can drive your mother crazy with such requests! 

We are anxiously awaiting Saturday, when we get to head out to California. It will be a much needed visit with my family.  My biggest prayer is that the roads are clear so we have a safe and easy trip.   

Enjoy the pictures! 

Earlier this month we took a day trip to Santa Fe.  It was such a beautiful day, and we got to visit several museums.  The first place we went to was the Palace of the Governors…which didn’t look so palacial, but I suppose for the time it was built in, it was quite large!   We also walked through one of the oldest neighborhoods in the United States, thought to be built in the 1200’s.

We also walked up Canyon Street, which is a long line of artist studios…some of which are exremely creative.  Caitlyn had wanted to see a giraffe earlier in the day(she thought we were going to the zoo) and we told her we didn’t think we would see one.  Well, imagine our suprise when we did see a life size giraffe in one artist’s yard!  So Caitlyn got to see her giraffe after all!

We ended our day by driving up in to the mountains, hoping to see the Aspens with their golden leaves before they fell for the winter. I think we were a couple of weeks too late, as they were all bare!  We still enjoyed the beautiful drive.

Here’s a link to Jacob’s cartooning club at school.  When you get there, click on “The Amazing Super Cool”…that’s Jacob’s codename (don’t ya love it?).  If you scroll down, there is also a cartoon by “The Amazing Super Cool’s dad”- aka Wayne!  It’s pretty cool!

http://7-bar.aps.edu/Cartoon/index.html

I had a crazy Halloween party day at work, so I came home- had a nice, hot shower and put on some pjs!  Wayne took the kids out trick-or-treating while I gave out candy until they got home.  It was a nice evening.  The kids filled up their buckets, came home and then proceeded to “sugar up” until mom and dad put the buckets up out of reach.  Jacob and Cailtyn were already making plans for next year’s costumes the following morning…it was cute.

My sweet Ariel princess and fierce, red-ninja…the cutest kids on the block, for sure!

The kids and I went to this great pumpkin patch today.  It’s at McCall’s farm in Moriarty, New Mexico (about 45 minutes from us).   We also took Jennifer, Blake and Emily…Blake is Jacob’s best bud- Jennifer is his mom and Emily is his sister. 

I have never been to such a pumpkin patch!  We were there for over four hours.  There was so much for the kids to do.  They rode the cow rides, had rubber ducky races, played in the pumpkin jump house, jumped on the pumpkin trampoline, watched pumpkin slingshots, petted and fed animals…the list goes on!  That was before the hayride out to the pumpkin fields.  The only thing we didn’t do was the giant 16 acre corn maze.  I suppose we’ll have to just wait until next year!  We were wiped out after all the playing.  

Enjoy the pictures!

So, yesterday was the Duke City Marathon, of which I signed up to do the 5k run portion.  Yes, I said “run”.  Can you believe it???  Here’s how it played out:

Yesterday morning Wayne got up at 6 and quickly woke me up…my alarm was supposed to go off at 5!  We needed to be downtown by 6:40ish…and it takes 30 minutes to get there!  We jumped up, got dressed, got the kids dressed and were out of the house in 11 minutes.  That’s impressive, if you ask me!

It was an absolutely beautiful morning, and I met up with some of my Better Together Mexico friends so we could at least start the race together.  It is very exciting up until the start!  Everybody is crowding around the starting line and a big countdown!  I turned on some good Christian rock and headed down the road.  The race was through Downtown, heading toward Old Town.  The entire race went really well, and I was hoping to complete it in under an hour.  Imagine my surprise when I made it in 39 minutes! 

So, today I am sore and achy- but in a good way.  I am so amazed by my body and what I am able to do!  This year has been such a year of “firsts” for me and I thank the Lord for each and every one.

Last Thursday Julie, Jason, Makenna, Madison, Mom and Dad all came out to the Querque to visit us!  It was really exciting because Dad and Jason had not been out our way yet.  The weather wasn’t the best for Balloon Fiesta, but we did make it to the Special Shapes event on Friday.  Words don’t express how much my heart needed to see them, and how much I enjoyed every moment…even going to Target with my sister is the most fun!  We even got to celebrate Madison’s first birthday on Sunday.  The entire weekend went by way too fast. 

So, we went to the State Fair a couple of weeks ago, and I’m finally posting some pics for my dear Auntie Kay and other faithful readers!

This is the first state fair I have been to!  We took the kids, along with Blake, one of Jacob’s best buds who just happens to be in my class this year.  Jacob had Blake sleepover (his first sleepover…oh he’s getting so old!) and when we got up the next morning, we headed off to the fair.

One of the big highlights was the pony rides, where Caitlyn rode around the little ring like a rodeo princess.  She waved to all the people walking by and was calling out “hi” to everybody who caught her eye.  It was precious!  Another highlight was the backyard circus, where the kids got to participate.  Jacob and Blake were a lion and tiger.  Caitlyn got to be a butterfly ballerina, perfect role for her!   We also saw a diving show with Pirates and a Mermaid.  It was pretty cool- although a little bit scary when the guy dove from way high up!   Jacob’s favorite part was the highest dive, and of course Caitlyn and Wayne both enjoyed the mermaid! 

Here are some pics from the fair, although the pics from the diving show are on my camera and I can’t figure out how to download them!  I’ll try and add them later.

So today at Seven Bar Elementary School here in the Querque, all the 2nd grade parents were invited to attend school with their kids.  As you know, I teach 2nd grade, so I couldn’t take off and go to another classroom- so Wayne took the morning off from work and came to school with Jacob.  It was so special to have both my “boys” here on campus with me.  I wish I had taken a picture of them both lined up before school, or sitting side by side in the computer lab doing cartooning during recess.  (I didn’t have the camera with me – darn- so it’s a special picture I suppose I get to keep inside my own heart and head.)  I will send out the link with Jacob’s spiderman cartoon and Wayne’s airplane cartoon once it’s posted online.  They are too cute! 

And yes, I survived having a bunch of parents in my classroom today.  I think they were surprised at all we do during our day.  Second grade has changed so much since we adults were in school!