THE QUEEN OF QUIRK

NM '10: red river

We  decided to take a day trip to Red River, about 30 minutes from Angel Fire. They have a huge Harley rally every year over Memorial Day weekend, but normally it's pretty quiet.

I love the ski valleys during the summer. The lifts are always my favorite part. It's always nice to see the ski towns all green and purdy, too.

That's Colin and Lara and Mia behind me, 2 chairs back.

 

This is Norah with her chocolate goatee and her insanely chapped lips.
 

At the top of the lift, Colin and I had a bit of a misunderstanding. I didn't know we were getting off so I stayed on only to turn around and see him giving me the "What in the world are you doing?" look. Oops.

So, these are his photos from the top of the mountain. :)


 

The ride back down was just as lazy and relaxing as the ride up. However, I didn't realize my feet had fallen asleep so when I hopped down I almost landed on my face. It would have been totally funny if it had happened to someone else. ;)
 

After the lift, we went and got lunch at a malt shop (yes, I love saying that) and walked around Red River for a couple of hours.

Then we took the girls on a little nature hike. 

Colin found a cave and when Mia, Lara and he went in, Norah lost it.

This is her, breaking down because she doesn't want her daddy and sisters to be eaten by bears.

 

After the hike we met up with my dad at Texas Reds, our favorite little steakhouse for some yummy grub. It had been a long day so we headed home and called it a night pretty early. :)

NM '10: valle vidal

Getting back to the vacation posts...

My parents took us camping about 3 hours from where they live. It's called the Valle Vidal and we had such a nice couple of days there, relaxing and hanging out.

Happy to be out of the car, the kids "help" unpack and set up camp.

 

See? All suited up and ready to get going. They've got their own set of priorities.
 

We decided to take the kids to the pond to teach them how to fish. My dad took the kids on the mule by way of the loop road  and Colin, my mom and me followed on foot via the path. We thought we were supposed to go right at the fork, but we were misinformed.

 

We were supposed to go left. But we didn't know that so we walked about a mile and then decided that surely we had gone the wrong way and then we turned around.

My mom and me lagging behind.

 

Ohh look! Pretty mushroom growing out of an even prettier cow patty.
 

When we finally showed up at the pond (over an hour and a half later) my dad had already been fishing with the kiddos for quite a while. 

Think Mia's caught anything yet?

 

This is probably my most favorite photo from the trip.
 

Norah loving every minute of being in charge of her own pole.
 

The girlies with my dad.
 

The girlies with Colin.
 

Lara very pleased with herself at her expert casting. She caught on really quickly.
 

The Doots hanging out with my mom.
 

Love this shot of Oma.
 

The Doots hamming it up, of course.
 

After no luck at the fishing hole, we headed back to camp. Over the fire the adults enjoyed some icy cold beers while the kiddos drank something more to their tastes. We dined on salmon and roasted potatoes. Yum.
 

After 2 nights, though, it was time to say goodbye.

 

Norah and Mia helping PawPaw raise the trailer jack.
 

Bandit, ready to go. After 2 nights of sleeping with us in the tent and being away from his beloved master, he'd had enough. We loved having him with us, though, in case any bears were to have shown up.
 

Mia and Norah trying to pull the stakes out of the tent.
 

Colin having to go over and help, of course.
 

Loading up the mule.
 

Apparently we do not travel light.
 

Saying goodbye to the Valle Vidal.
 

Snapping some shots along the road on the way out of the canyon. I was getting pretty good at doing this through the window and windshield.

 

Ok, this one we stopped the truck for. ;)


So grateful we got to do this. My parents really outdid themselves in showing us a good time. Thanks so much, Mom & Dad!

NM '10: hot air balloon

Have you ever seen a hot air balloon ride from start to finish?

While we were at my parents' house there was a hot air balloon festival going on and we expressed our interest to my dad. Of course, being in a small town, my dad just happened to know a guy who had his own balloon and hooked us up with a great deal on a ride.

We took a gander at the balloon festival, but not too many balloons showed up this year. So we were even more grateful to actually get to go up in one. We were hoping the girls would get a ride, too, but they were too little. They were very disappointed and made sure to pout whenever we brought it up. ;)

The morning of we woke not-so-bright but very early and got ready to go. We had to wait an hour, though, for this fog to burn off a bit.

 

Once it did, we headed into the Taos canyon to prepare for take-off. Our guide, John, told my dad he was going to get a crash course in ballooning. Thank goodness he's a fast learner. ;)

The boys pulling the basket and balloon out of the truck. Funny they never asked me to lift a finger...

After the balloon was unrolled from its bag, Colin had the fun job of holding the mouth of the balloon open while the fan filled it up with air.  

After a few minutes I went over to help him. It's amazing how quickly your arms start to hurt doing this. Or maybe it was just my arms. I'm sure Colin was fine.
 

Since he was fine, I took it upon myself to continue documenting the process. We were fascinated by every aspect of it.
 

My dad looks so tiny holding this big balloon. I believe his job was to keep it on the ground as long as possible until it was time to let it rise.

 

And when it did, it really pulled my dad along. He was running across this field. See how far he's leaned back? Nuts, I tell ya.
 

The balloon just about ready to go. Better hurry if I wanna make my flight! :)
 

Once we hurdled ourselves into the teeny basket we waved goodbye to my parents and the girls, whoo were now going to chase us through the canyon. The girlies were really excited about the balloon spotting.
 

View of the spot we just left.
 

My love of the balloon shadows begins.
 

Coming over the mountain into Angel Fire Valley where we would eventually land.
 

John, talking us lower and lower.
 

At first he didn't tell us what we were doing and I tried to quiet the voices in my head. But I have to say my heart was pumping just a wee bit.

 

I didn't realize just how much control he has over the balloon. A lot of it is up to chance (and the wind) but he was really in command of it as he maneuvered us around the hill top.
 

He was trying to get a pine cone for us, but there didn't seem to be any when we were down in the treetops (that sounds funny, huh?) so we settled for some pine needles instead. :)

 

Flying over my parents' house and heading towards the airport.
 

I just loved the aerial views around the town. I could have stayed up there and snapped photos all day long.

 

The airport as we headed in.



 

After we landed, John got out of the basket and told us to stay in. He used our weight to keep the balloon on the ground while he moved the basket around a bit to get it in the right position. Once my dad had dragged the balloon to the ground we were allowed to get out. But not before we were on our backs while the basket was turned over. I wish we'd gotten a photo of that. Colin and I were laughing so hard.


After they packed everything up, we headed back to my parents' house for a champagne toast and we were rewarded with a certificate and badges while being regaled with the story of the first hot air balloon flight. I felt just like a kid again.

In the Angel Fire/Taos area and interested in a flight? You can contact John at his website here.

Thanks for coming along for the ride! :)

NM '10: the mule

One day, a couple of weeks ago I called my dad. I could tell he was on his cell phone so I asked him what he was up to. He said he was buying a mule. The only mule I've ever known of was the pack mule variety. You know, the kind that has four legs and schleps your stuff up a rocky hillside for you.

Apparently there is another kind of mule. And if you asked my girls what their top 3 favorites things from this trip were, this would make all 3 lists.

They considered it their own personal roller coaster. My dad took them all over the place, bouncing and bumping along. Helmets are required for this sucker. (These shots were taken while it wasn't in motion.)

So happy my dad got this thing. It is dirty and dusty as all get-out when you're riding around, but it's so much fun.

NM '10: horse riding

We took over 600 photos over the last 2 weeks so I'm splitting it all up into separate posts. Hopefully this will help me to not get discouraged right in the middle of it! :)

After almost 30 hours of traveling we arrived at my parents house in New Mexico at 1 in the morning. After hugs and very quick hellos we hit the sack to try and get onto US time as soon as possible.

In the morning we felt terrible but we were excited to get our vacation started. Nothing like a lazy morning of horse riding to do the trick.

 

 

I love where my parents live. When I was in high school I hated it. I thought it was too small and I was too eager to see the rest of the world to appreciate the beauty that was right in front of me. I'm so happy, though, that my girls can appreciate it and enjoy it.
 

Norah was eager to ride to say the least. She had to be entertained with a Daddy Ride while she waited for her sisters to finish. I think it's hilarious how she always tries to choke Colin anytime she's on his shoulders. She never learns. ;)
 

Finally it's Norah's turn.


 

She wasn't really feelin' it, being up there by herself and insisted that she ride with me. I swear, if this child could live on my face, she would.

 

It was the perfect start to our trip. :)

Love that my dad has horses now. The girls just can't get enough of it.

we're back :)

But jetlag is giving us a good run so we've been super unproductive the past couple of days. Today we're starting to feel like "normal" again but it's been a pretty hard adjustment. I'll be back tomorrow with updates and photos from our trip. I hope everyone has had a lovely 2 weeks! School starts in 4 days! eek! So glad I got everything done before we left. :)

back...sorta

Well, I've been back a week now and I'm still playing catch up. I can't stand that feeling, but as soon as I'm away from the computer it's very hard for me to get back into the groove of things. I always wonder why that is. Maybe I just don't want that vacation feeling to end. :)

I had such a good time with my family, though. After I get over my initial apprehension about meeting new people I always have a blast. I got to meet my new sister-in-law who is an absolute doll. She makes me laugh and she and my brother are so in love. I am so happy for them. I got to see my parents, too, but we were all so busy that we didn't really get a chance to really be with each other. I did get to hug on them though, and that's all I needed.

I wish I had photos but I completely forgot to bring a camera with me. I know!! What kind of scrapbooker am I!??! So, I'm waiting for my brother to send me some of the wedding photos. :)

I'm also working on some stuff to sell. I've been invited to sell at a completely amazing store that I adore and is owned by one of my scrap idols. So excited. Can't wait to spill the beans on that one. :)

So, right now, I have my head ducked down trying to get as much work done and product designed as possible. Til next time, I leave you with this.

 

 

recap: frankfurt west end

During our incredibly long settling in period here in Germany, we rented a furnished apartment for 7 weeks in Frankfurt West End. It was lovely, in a beautiful building and was in an incredible location near Grueneberg Park, Palmengarten, the Korean Garden and The Old Opera House. We love Frankfurt and It was nice to be able to go downtown so easily and get to know the city really well. I feel really comfortable there now and can't wait to get back there every other weekend or so. We're not apartment people, though, so we felt a bit out of place. We like to stay up late, we're loud and we love having a garden. And even though the apartment was very nice, we were ready to move into our house. :) I thought I'd snap some photos of it, though, so we could remember the place we lived in the shortest. :)

This apartment also gave me new found love for white walls and sparse surroundings. After living here and then getting all our massive amounts of junk and stuff, it made me want to pare down our belongings and take greater care about what we bring into this house. I can't wait to really get decorating and get this house looking the way it really want it to. I know it will take time, but it's an undertaking I am very excited about.

dream vacation

Haven't you ever wanted to visit someplace so bad you could taste it? Can you picture yourself there, amidst the locals, savoring every moment that comes your way? I absolutely love dreaming about new places to go. A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to get to visit Santorini, my favorite of the Greek isles. Although it was a short trip, I had such a wonderful time and am aching to go back.

I was inspired so much by the experience that I created a fun little kit for everyone! The lava of the volcano, the blue of the Aegean sea and the grey color of the black sand beaches are enough to make anyone fall in love with this beautiful island.

Do you have a dream vacation? If so, I want to know about it! Scrap a page about a place you'd love to visit (or even move to!) and leave me a link here in the comments. Every layout will get you a chance to win my new Caldera kit for free!

layout credits: caldera kit, totally framed vol. 1, glim glam, a day in the life, heart swirls

The contest ends on Friday and the winners will be announced on Saturday!

And don't forget to sign up for my newsletter! You never know what kind of goodies I may have for you!

punting on the cam

You just can't live in England and not go punting. Well, if you're living here as an expat and are a die hard traveler hellbent on doing everything, well.. then you can't live in England without punting.

There's something about the English and their water. It's all so very romantic.

So, Colin took the day off and we went to Cambridge (such a gorgeous city by the way) to hang out and just be with each other.

We have the luxury of having all 3 girlies in school for 2 days a week, so that means my first true "days off" in many, many years. The fact that my man took a day off just to spend time with me means a lot to me. :)

So, we drove to Cambridge which is about 45 minutes from us. As soon as we got into the pedestrian zone, we were greeted by guys on the street trying to sell us punt tours. Funny, that even though this was our one goal for the day, we still stood there and deliberated about it...like we really even had to think! ha! Just keeping the sales people on their toes, I guess!
This was the guide in the punt in front of us.

Our guide is a local and he talked nonstop about Cambridge and the history of the colleges. It was a really neat experience. We would have paid double, though, to have a punt all to ourselves. :)

This is our guide. Glad I wasn't sitting right in front of him as the poor girl who was was sprayed the entire time with water.

My favorite part was going under all of the bridges. It was really sunny but the temperature difference was drastic for just a few seconds under those bridges. Heavenly respite.

I also saw a baby bat clinging to the underside of this bridge. So sweet. :)

Heading down the river.
This is the chapel at Kings' College. We've been in and I have to say it really is gorgeous. The woodwork is phenomenal and the art is absolutely breathtaking.

This is the "Mathematical Bridge" at Queens' College. It was first built in the mid 18th century. Next to it is the oldest building on the Cam. (around 1460)

You can't see it here, but some of the windows have been bricked up. Our guide told us that a window tax had been imposed on the good people of England and to avoid it, many buildings had their windows permanently sealed up. Kinda sad...

Me and the hubs. :)

Below is St John's College. So beautiful hidden there among the trees. Our guide talked all about the rivalry between St John's and Trinity college. There was only allowance for 1 clock tower on the river and at the time these 2 colleges were both building clock towers. So the race was on. The first to finish got to put their clock up. Supposedly, Trinity college cheated by constructing the last bit of the tower out of wood instead of stone. So they won. And now the clock at Trinity College rings twice on the hour. Once to tell the time and twice to remind St' John's College that they lost. :)

All the punts lined up, ready for service.

After our tour, we headed into town to try and find somewhere to eat. Just across from Kings' College, there is the Cambridge Chophouse. The menu looked interesting so we decided to check it out. We were pleasantly surprised although Colin tried jellied eel...I don't think he'll be making that mistake again. I was a bit tamer in my choice and had trout. I'm no fool.

Just out the window from where we were sitting, there was this amazing clock.

We overheard our waiter explaining it to the couple next to us. The cricket actually moves and his creepy little legs actually pull the big disc around and around. See all the little slits? Behind them there are blue lights that light round and round the clock and either pulse or stop for a split second on the place they're supposed to be at. So you have to look at 3 different rings of light to figure out the hour, minute and second. The clock also stops randomly and will then speed up to catch up to the proper time. It's encased in bulletproof glass and cost 1 million pounds. Pretty crazy. But it really is beautiful to watch.

After lunch we took a stroll through the farmer's market that was going on and I bought some fresh cherries for Colin since they're one of his favorites. I got a fresh apple and ginger juice that had a bit too much ginger in it. I could barely drink it! :)

Before we headed back to the car, we strolled through the garden at King's College. It was so pretty and bright and cheerful.



I have no idea what this flowering tree was, but it smelled absolutely heavenly. We were walking through a tiny little courtyard and we were just hit full-on by the smell of it. Yum.

I was half tempted to move the sprinkler...hahahaha

This was one of the gates to the garden. I love that it's black metal, but so very modern compared to the rest of the metalwork throughout the colleges. We especially liked the glass disc in the center of the door. We will definitely have something like this in our dream house.

Preferably right in the front door so we can greet our visitors like this.

We're suckers for a good shrunken head.

Thanks for coming along with us! :)
I hope you are having a wonderful day!