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"No more monkeys on the bed"

2011-01-24T15:42:00.001-08:00

Skiing

2011-01-24T15:12:00.000-08:00

at the magic carpet at Sipapu. It was a nice day to be outside and despite a lack of overall snowfall there was plenty for the kid hill. Luke and Logan did a great job and loved riding the carpet and skiing down. Luke loved following his friend and Logan liked to head to the left which happened to be a good way to stop... We followed the day on the slopes with lunch and cocoa in the lodge.

Logan headed down

Ridin' the carpet

Here comes Logan again

Here they are in action

Duckies

2011-01-21T12:12:00.000-08:00

Luke and Logan were very excited to get some U of O duck paraphernalia from Grammy!

Lukey is also wearing a medal that he won for second prize at school for running races. It is of the NM state flag...

Thank you!!

Farming around

2011-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

Luke and Logan have been regular farmers thanks to a new set that Santa brought. They have a house and barn all set up as well as the farm machinery...

Deep in the heart of Texas

2010-12-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

We all had a new and different Christmas this year - on the beach! It was a neat adventure and we had a lot of fun. Santa Claus brought the presents to the hotel and delivered them on a luggage cart. We saw lots of jellyfish on the beach and even a dead dolphin. We also went to an indoor waterpark called the Schlitterban. It was pretty cold but a great experience (Fred's first big waterslide!)

In Houston we were able to go to shopping, Costco, a neat park with paddleboats where we saw lots of different birds and turtles and trains, the children's museum, and many other exciting activities. Fred and I also got to go horseback riding at the ranch and it was amazing. Fred and I also got to have a great dinner and see Tron at the 3d IMAX which was super fun too. I need to be better about taking pictures but I did get some great ones from our time at Christmas. We can't wait to go again!

And some videos from Fred's new flip video recorder...

Almost there...

2010-11-04T17:37:00.001-07:00

Fall Happenings

2010-10-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

This fall Luke started soccer. He has had a lot of fun at practices and a little less fun at games. It was neat for us to be able to watch him out there kicking and dribbling the ball. His team was called Lightning and Luke would run like lightning all around the field during the game. He was a little hesitant about the ball but he always stayed right there with his teammates and the action. Luke says that his favorite part of playing was all the people that he was able to play with.

Fred went out elk hunting this year and managed to hit one on opening day. His hunting buddy also shot this same elk so we know it was good and dead. There was a lot of butchering happening in Oct complete with summer sausage smoking to complete the elk meat packaging.

It was also Luke's 5th birthday on the 17th. He got to have 2 different parties. The first was a party on his bday with some of his friends. He wanted a diesel train party with a Hot Wheels cake. There was not a lot of diesel train party paraphernalia so we mixed it with some other Hot Wheels themes like a car pinata. The second party happened when Grammy, Grandpa, and Leyla came to celebrate. He had some fancy birthday cookies and had a lot of fun with the special visitors.

To round out Oct was of course Halloween (Luke was Thomas the Train and Logan was a Dragon). We got a LOT of candy and should be stocked until at least Easter ;). The Taos Balloons were the same weekend and they were as pretty as ever.

Bed is complete

2010-10-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

To follow-up this post here is a picture of the completed bed...

Hawaii 2010

2010-09-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

We went to the Big Island, Kona-side this year. It was just Mom, me, Luke and Logan. It was very beautiful there and we were definitely becoming accustomed to island living. It was really good for all of us to have special time with Mom/Grammy too.

We visited lots of beaches...Old Kona Airport which was nice with tide pools, Hapuna beach which is one of the white sand beaches often shown in tropical paradise cameos, some small sheltered beaches right on Ali'i Dr, and others. It was absolutely a wish come true to be near the ocean. Logan and Luke were apprehensive of the waves and all the water but as the time went by they became more confident. Some of their favorite games were running from the waves and sitting in the shallow area and letting the water come and go. They loved watching the boogie boarders and surfers. There was a pool at our condo as well and they were like little fish with their swimmies on..

The food was excellent overall. A particular favorite eating spot while we were there was a place that served breakfast in the AM and was called Java on the Rocks and then in the evening served dinner and became Huggos on the Rocks. Luke, in particular, was fascinated with the name change. Several mornings Luke, Logan, and Grammy went here and saw dolphins and turtles. We had some amazing dinners and my favorite was actually at the Huggos restaurant. Some fish, Ono maybe, prepared with an Asian sauce and mushrooms mmmm mmmm!

We visited the volcano national park, the site of Kilauea. This was pretty amazing. We were not able to actually see lava this time due to the hiking distance required but Luke and Logan became Junior Rangers and we saw lava tubes, steam vents, and the noxious fumes rising from the top of the volcano. We have a reason to go back to see the actual lava when the kiddos are older. There were even some tributes made in the form of leis to the Hawaiian goddess Pele.

We also discovered an amazing playground complete with a train, boat, whale and castle for exploring. We rode the trolley and Luke and Logan played monkey boys. We also went to a Luau. It was my first and I have to report that the food is not exciting... the shows were really neat until we got rained out. Luke LOVED the dancing. His whole body still starts to hula at the hint of a good beat. On top of all that my Mom and I were able to get in some good tennis and a pedicure :) The trip ended with an unexpected accident which brought us to Oahu where we saw Waikiki beach and Diamondhead. Oahu is definitely on the list of places to explore in the future.

PS David, the spider shot it for you!

Kid's Fun Run

2010-09-06T12:21:00.000-07:00

For family night one evening we got together with our friends at Fred Baca Park so all the kids could have some fun running their hearts out (and the grown-ups could eat pizza :). We did some little dashes and also some relay races. They got their prize bags at the end. They all seemed to have a great time and this could definitely be a repeat activity.

School Days

2010-08-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

Luke and Logan started school today. It is the first time they are going to a school program...ever...since they were born...sniff. Luke goes every weekday from 8:30 to 11:30 and Logan goes two days for the same time. They were so excited last night they had trouble settling down. They even got an encouraging call from Mickey Mouse as well as some Skype encouragement from Grams and Grandpa. At the drop-off they did wonderfully. Logan hugged me for a minute then off he went playing. I hung around in Luke's room for about 5 minutes then he told me he was ready for me to go. So I went...at pick up, they had their projects and stories and Lukey checked to make sure he got to go back tomorrow...one sleep...good. Luke got pizza for breakfast which I thought was interesting and that is pretty much the first day.

Beastly!

2010-08-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

Beets that is - - the farmer's market is in full swing and man, is it a good year. There is an abundance of everything...tomatoes the size of one's head, greens, summer squash, and wonderful beets, 4.5 pounds in one bunch!!! Thank you rain :)

Another group of beasts to note are our new chickens (new since June but who's counting). We got four Black Brahma hens. They are very friendly and one might even call them pushy and obnoxious. They will beg food off of an innocent person trying to eat outside. As the photo below shows, they also take a look in the house for goodies (although they have never actually come in thankfully) . They do a good job of giving us great eggs for all their personality it has been great fun having them.

New stools

2010-08-17T11:24:00.000-07:00

For Grammy: so you can see the new addition...we got them at Target

Mini vans are cool

2010-08-17T10:14:00.001-07:00

Hunger Games

2010-08-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Another great young adult series that I am excited about...count it down with me!

Mountain biking

2010-08-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be a fun activity to buy a lift pass at Angel Fire and ride down. It was a lot of fun but what I did not realize was that this was actually a sport unto itself called downhill with special equipment. Needless to say, it was a little scary. Here we are after we did a full day of biking

Where a kid can be a kid

2010-07-31T11:18:00.000-07:00

Logan is now 3! He is getting to be such a big boy and doing a lot of things himself. He is a very happy guy and is really into trains right now. He also loves fishing and can cast and cast without getting tired. His favorite color is blue. For his special day, we went to ABQ and went to Chuck E Cheese. They loved the pizza, games and prizes!

Summit

2010-07-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

Before our friends left we wanted to make the hike up to the summit of Wheeler peak which happens to be the tallest mountain in NM coming in at 13,161. It was beautiful, although quite the climb as we chose the short hike (aka straight up the side). We were able to see a sheep family as we reached the summit and before a loud group of hikers scared everything else away...

Sportsman's Warehouse

2010-07-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Fred has been lucky enough to get a scope for Father's Day, a shotgun for his birthday, and a rifle. He is all set for killing things...

Here are the kids at the warehouse

The long road home

2010-07-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

On the way home from our ranch trip we stopped for some adventures in Moab, UT at Arches National Park

Climbing

Delicate Arch in the background

One of the window arches

It was hot!

Utah (Version II)

2010-07-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, we were lucky enough to be able to go to Utah a second time with some different friends. They have a ranch about 45 minutes from Provo that has been in their family for generations. It was a really neat place and they had a lot of 4th of July festivities.

We were able to stay in what they call the little cabin which was a great, quiet spot to stay

There was a swimming hole equipped with a canoe that the kids spent a LOT of time in

We went to the Oakley Rodeo which was the kids first

Christmas card?

One of the festivities for the fourth was a kid's doughnut eating contest and Luke did a good job. He was interested to find out that one doesn't even use their hands in such events. Logan was happy to have a doughnut and not competitive at this point

There was root beer for the adults

Face painting and a water balloon toss

Here is a smashing shot of Luke in a visor he made together with Grammy

My favorite part was getting to go horseback riding the kids favorite was probably the four wheeler rides

It was a truly fantastic time!

Soccer camp

2010-06-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

Luke went to soccer camp this year. It was a week long camp and he did great and had a lot of fun. They played lots of games getting used to the ball and Luke picked it up really well.

More camping

2010-06-17T10:17:00.000-07:00

This time in Pagosa Spings. The camp was absolutely beautiful with trees and a lake right in the mountains. We, of course, had a chance to soak as well.

Breakfasting

It rained a bit so kids got dirty

Ahhhh Pagosa Srings

Luke took this shot

Utah (Version I)

2010-06-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to Ogden, Utah, this summer thanks to a generous offer from one of our friend and her parents to stay with them. We all had so much fun exploring and the kids really enjoyed being around their friends for so much time. Here are some of the highlights from our experiences

Here are Luke and his frined with their "flying" scooters. They designed and constructed the wings and jet packs and carefully applied them to the scooters what you see is the result in action

We also went bowling

And fishing at a trout farm where the kids were given a stick with a hook and allowed to just hook the fish out of the water. Luke and Logan both had fun but Logan was especially enthralled with the experience and just kept pulling them out of the water a little maniacally :D

Here we are on the train to SLC

And in temple square

We also went to Lagoon, an amusement park, and got to ride the rides and play in the water, etc, etc

The end!

A show

2010-06-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Starring Luke, Logan, and Leyla

Bandolier Camp Trip

2010-05-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is the first camp trip of the year and we were going to watch our insane friends run the Los Alamos Half-Marathon. This race was intense-sounding going up a mountain and really not offering any sort of relief from elevation gain. I was extrememely impressed with all involved. The camping was great too and we had a lot of fun.

Some Bandolier shots

And the race...

Starting shots

All done!!

A couple randoms

2010-04-30T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hanging out

Luke has gotten really good at riding his bike with training wheels. Here he is showing off the look

Camel rides

2010-04-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Leyla, Logan and I rode the camel at the zoo. We had tried to do this last year but we were not quite ready for it. This year we were ready and had a great walk around the "desert"

Barbershop again

2010-04-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

Logan and Luke are old pros at the barbershop now and Logan seems to find it to be a very relaxing experience. He completely gives over to the pampering of the shears

Half-Marathon

2010-04-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

Mission accomplished! My friend and I entered and ran the Ranchos De Albuquerque half marathon. It was far...we"ll see if this feat will be replicated in the future but for now here is the proof in pictures

Before the race, I am always so nervous and spending quality time with the porta potties

This is about 3 miles in when we looped back past the starting area. Only 10.1 to go...

We had to go through a lot of mud to start off and ran down and ran down a canal road to finish but for the most part the race stayed on the main roads past some beautiful houses. It was a nice route to take and the weather was overcast and cool so it could not have been more perfect for running. Here we are at the finish line

And finally here is the after shot....so thankful for my running partner and being done!

PS Our awesome homemade shirts say 'Run, eat, sleep, repeat' on the front and the back says 'If you can reads this we are still warming up' we got lots of comments from our fellow marathoners ;-)

Ski bums

2010-04-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

This winter my Mom and I got some really great skiing together. We got a sunday pass to Angel Fire resort and the Taos card so we were able to hit the slopes quite a bit and really improved our moguls skills. Here we are at AF

Best cooker

2010-03-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

Logan has been awarded the title of best cooker in the whole world by Grandpa. He has been faithfully wearing his medal of honor since last Saturday. Here is a video of the proud winner

Grandma Ola's memorial trip

2010-03-22T10:01:00.001-07:00

We travelled back to OR to attend the memorial services for Fred's Grandma Ola. All of Fred's family was there.

A shot of the Leisher grandparents and their brood...

Kids playing/gardening

Newport obligatory bridge pic

Playing on the beach - we came back with a lot of shells. Logan and Ethan were having their picture taken and no one saw the wave that came and knocked them over giving them a quick swim in the cold Pacific

We also stopped in Eddyville to visit Fred's great-grandma and grandpa's grave sites

Fannie M Bristlin

Fredrick G Bristlin

One for the record books

2010-03-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

Our schedules have been all messed up since our travels and the time change...at least, that is my excuse for this

Check out this post for the time that Luke zonked-out

Miscellaneous

2010-03-08T14:51:00.001-08:00

because every so often you just need a post called this

The first one is Logan sporting his ladybug hat. We made it together at storytime and he wore it for hours.

The second one is also Logan sporting something, in this case, it is his new shark bathrobe. Luke got a pirate one and Leyla got flamingos but I have not captured them as of yet

The next one is a picture of the bunkbeds that Fred made for Luke and Logan

The boys doing some reading

That's the update for now

Gallavanting

2010-02-27T15:04:00.000-08:00

Fred's that is...

He went to FL for a little boy trip here are some of the pics he took

a plane

the moon

Ft Lauderdale night scape

Valentine's love

2010-02-14T13:52:00.000-08:00

Cupid's Chase 5k

2010-02-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I am in process of training for a half-marathon. I don't know what I was thinking but I am committed at this point and part of it was running a 5k practice race. So, despite a stomach bug, we headed to ABQ for a race. Here is the story in pics as taken by Fred.

Before

Warm-up

Off I go

Finished

It ended up being over 5k by about .7 miles but I was gld I did it. It looks like maybe I won it being the only one in the picture and all, but, alas, I did not win. We left right after I came in; we had a busy day ahead...because of this, Lukey asked me, "Why did you come in last Mommy?" I explained to him that although it looked like I was last (he had been watching all the people who came in before me) I was not and there were LOTS of people behind Mommy. My little cheerleaders are the best part of the finish. Stay tuned, hopefully, for the goal race in April.

A new horsey

2010-01-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

The boys have discovered the joys of the Daddy horsey (oop wrong way sorry)

Lounging around on 'horse'back

With winter comes snow and...

2010-01-15T13:13:00.000-08:00

SKIING!

Lukey's first time hitting the slopes (Grammy style) Ah, we can see the family ski trips already. He did amazing and was very into his lesson from Grams

Hands on knees, butt down, and got it!

On a side note, Mom and I have been having an amazing ski year with a weekly trip to the slopes and sometimes more. The snow has been great and the company better! I even got out with some friends a couple times and managed to get 2 photos (better then nothing right?)

Serious

Not so...

Happy Tenth!

2009-12-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

Fred and I have been together for a decade and we celebrated by going back to Sunriver resort where we had our honeymoon. It was a very quick weekend trip but we managed to eat at all our favorite spots...Super Burrito, Pilot Butte Drive-in, Baja Fresh, etc.

We had to then work a bit of it off with a quick trip to the top of the butte which produced the following photos

PS I also got a really amazing diamond and emerald ring from my favorite store Pave! Thanks Fred!

Christmas round-up

2009-12-25T14:10:00.000-08:00

We'll start this post off with a wonderful rendition of 'Jingle Bells"

Luke posing with the tree

Our beautiful, homemade ornament wreaths; Luke and I made ours together and Logan and Daddy collaborated on the other one

Birds

Christmas day was wonderfully relaxing and lots of fun.

Back by popular demand

2009-12-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

from a select few at least...

The only way to get back at it is to just get at it so here are some pics from December. Monique and Leyla and us went to the ABQ botanical garden light show. It was amazing how many different designs and cool things they did with the lights.

One of the favorites

Rowr

Cutie cute

NM montage

Fantastic photos were brought to us by Monique's fabulous phone :)

The 3 musketeers

2009-11-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

need I say more

The family photo

2009-11-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

It is a quest...Fred and I are pros and the children will get there eventually. Here is my favorite. Thanks David!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T12:56:00.000-07:00

and happy one year blogging anniversary! After the pumpkin patch, we had a pumpikin carving night and here is the result

This year for Halloween we went to the Zoo Boo in ABQ. There were a lot of people there and there was a lot to see and do. The candy booths were set up throughout the zoo and it was great fun to see the animals, the costumes, and get lots of candy (which Lukey faithfully munched all day). Luke was a zebra this year and his costume was amazing thanks to Grammy and Grandpa hand-painting the stripes. Logan was Yoda and at one point, I felt like Luke Skywalker training on Dagobah with my little Jedi master riding on my back. Leyly-loo was Spider-girl/tiger, Grammy was a baby jaguar and Grandpa dressed as a cowboy. We finished off Halloween with a festive ;) Costco trip and Olive Garden.

Arrival...

lounging zebra

smiling kids

Luke with a fellow zebra

Leyla golfing

Yoda getting a ride from "Daddy" Skywalker (not Darth Vader)

The end

Boys' first haircuts

2009-10-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Somehow we have had trauma surrounding haircuts in this family and as a result the boys were looking kind of shaggy so we took them to get their first official barbershop cuts (the shop even had the spinning barbershop pole). They both did amazing. There was no screaming, crying or moving; they held still and got very handsome new do's.

Boys in the chairs

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to McCall's Pumpkin Patch in Moriarty, NM. It was our first trip to go pick pumpkins and we did not know what to expect. There was so much to do there and we had a great day.

First up, the kids rode in these cute cow cars and rang the bells.

The kids!

Playing on the tractor...

Bunnies

Lukey liked to look at his "body" in these things

The corn maze was created in the shape of hot air balloons...not that you could tell from within the maze but it was pretty elaborate.

Scarecrows

A couple things that I did not get pictures of were the pedal carts, the huge jumping pillow, the tunnel slides, and all the animals. It was quite the fun place. We took the hay ride out to the pumpkins and chose our victims.

Then we had hot dogs and hamburgers and headed home in the dark.

Annual fish hatchery visit

2009-10-22T09:31:00.001-07:00

Looking back, it seems that we visit the Red River fish hatchery at about this time every year. Well, it is such a very fun place. The worker man gave us a huge coffee can full of fish feed and we had a great time gorging the fish with all the food. We also had a picnic on the bridge over the river and threw rocks in the fish pond. Great day!

ABQ International Balloon Fest 09

2009-10-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Me and my little Bobo arriving at the festival

It was like a big fair with all the greasy fixings and some balloons on the side.

Nemo was the kid favorite

The kiddos actually went in the bouncy house. It was their first time and they all had a blast.

It ended up being too windy for a balloon glow but they started inflating and it was a pretty amazing site to see.

This is what they ended up doing instead of the glow, a torch burn. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Happy boy on the way home

Friday night drive

2009-10-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

We went on a drive around the Antonito/Chama loop at the idea of our friends and saw lots of amazing scenery, wildlife (antelope and elk) and leaves. Nothing was more exciting for the kids, though, then the train, which we happened to catch just as it was coming up the hill. Luke kept asking where we were going and we were telling him that we were just driving, which was not a very satisfying answer to him, but after the train he was very content that the drive had a purpose and we had accomplished it :)

Cuddles

2009-10-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Luke was loving on his brother during story time before bed and we captured the moment in pictures

Birthday boy

2009-10-17T09:33:00.000-07:00

Luke is four! He asked for a froggy theme and we had a very fun day. Grammy and Grandpa decorated a room at the youth and family center to look like a froggy jungle. There was a lily pad musical pad game and frog toss and fun swimming. Luke and everyone else had such a great time! I did not get very many pictures because I was enjoying all the festivities...but here are a few.

Pancakes for breakfast

and the frog toss

Some things I don't want to forget about my Lukey at this age:

-he likes to make little animal noises (sometimes loudly) all the time

-he snores loudly and I know because he loves to sleep with us, cuddling right next to me

-he is generous and loving with everyone...he willingly shares things that are special to him

-he enjoys putting his things in containers, any and all containers he can get his hands on are very quickly filled with goodies
-

Canyon de Chelly

2009-09-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on a family camping trip to Canyon De Chelly which is a National Park in the heart of the Navajo Nation. The scenery was fantastic and the kiddos had a lot of fun camping with s'mores, dirt, and mud. We also saw the oldest continuously operating trading post on the Dine lands as well a one in Gallup. It was pretty cool to see how old everything was and that they were both operating in essentially the same way as they had been for over a hundred years...

David at the Navajo fortress rock

]

Lukey and Leyla

the cliffs made me nervous

another shot of fortress rock...they actually climbed it and shot intruders

ruins

"the place where two fell off" the story is that the women, children, and old men were hiding on this ledge when Spanish troops were invading and a woman called out and gave the position away. The soldiers massacred the people up there and in the fight a woman fought with a soldier and both fell from the cliff (hence the name)

Logan and plug

Camping time (thanks to my friend Angie for the great coat right in time for camping)

Mud anyone

This is at Spider Rock, which was probably my favorite spot in the canyon -- people actually hid up at the top of these spires during the Kit Carson campaign that resulted in the "long walk" these people were the only that survived to live on in their lands -- amazing!

better shot

You were there too Mom!

Fun shots

2009-09-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Luke at work

and at play

Horsey

2009-09-01T12:18:00.001-07:00

First post of September woohoo!

Driving lessons

2009-08-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

at the local car show...

New Moon

2009-08-29T12:45:00.001-07:00

Other news

2009-08-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

Firstly our baby is now 2! We had a nice little family get together and Logan revelled in all the goodies. We had a safari theme with animal shirts, cakes, and lunch boxes.

(Not from his birthday but cute and messy enough to be)

The summer is winding to a close with our friends kids going to school and fall right around the corner. In NM, fall is also marked by green chiles. The grocery stores sell the delectable chiles in 30 lb bags and offer roasting services as do various stands on the side of the road. This year, Fred decided he wanted to can these green chiles himself so we bought a pressure cooker and cans and 30 lbs of chiles. Fred spent the better part of two days roasting, smoking, and then peeling and canning jars and jars of goodness.

We also have wonderfully generous neighbors who let us raid their fruit trees. We have been able to do peach pies and apricot jam as well as apple butter and soon other apple goodies. The spaghetti squash is also ready and yummy.

The tomatoes are right on the edge of being ripe and we hope to do salsa. YUM!

And finally the gratuitous shots because I can

Beautiful flowers from the farmers market

and "singing" Lukey's been working on the railroad all the livelong day (his current favorite song)...

Triathlon extraveganza

2009-08-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

I did 2 sprint distance triathlons this summer, one in Socorro, NM, and the other in Los Alamos, NM. It was great fun! Here are the pictorial highlights...

Pre-race...eek

Swim in Socorro

Bike in Los Alamos = hills!

Yes, its true, I smoked that old guy :)

Start em young

2009-07-29T13:00:00.000-07:00

as they say...

Here's Logan "helping" to replace brakes/cv boots

More from working on Grandpa's van...

Gorgeous gorge

2009-07-29T12:51:00.002-07:00

Hehe...we went for a little after dinner walk at the West Rim trail the other night. It always causes lots of stress for me as the deep ravine is the stuff of my nightmares but everyone else enjoyed themselves. We found a million stink bugs and even got a few to fire their stinky load.

On the bridge

We also saw some caterpillars and big horn sheep (pictured below, which Fred and I, coincidentally, had just been saying we had never seen around here...)

See-saw

2009-07-29T12:51:00.001-07:00

They can do it all by themselves!!!

Little house in the backyard

2009-07-29T12:50:00.001-07:00

Fred built a cute crooked house for the kiddos. It even has a porch! We are planning on painting it green...

Bounty

2009-07-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

The garden is doing fabulous. It seems that we are going to have a LOT of spaghetti squash and roma tomatoes. These are plants that grew out of the compost we used for fertilizer so they are great surprises. The peas are winding down but also did amazing and we got a couple carrots as well. Stay tuned for the hopeful tomato and squash harvest ;)

Summer round-up

2009-07-13T08:01:00.000-07:00

I have been lax in getting out my camera to take pictures at the various activities that we have been doing since I last wrote but wanted to capture the moments in words at least before I forget. We have gone on two camping trips since Fred has come back and Luke and Logan seem to LOVE it. The first trip was a little rough with Logan waking up at 4:30 but Luke just snuggled in and slept away. We went to a campground in the mountains just a bit away from the ski area Sipapu and it was pretty peaceful and definitely a great first trip. This past weekend we went to Hopewell Lake for two nights and both kids were so excited and they did great. Luke slept with Fred and when we went in to go to bed he was sitting there with the biggest smile on his face and then just snuggled up and went to sleep. Our friends came and had dinner and spent the night and it was so much fun. I have never experienced dutch oven cooking before but I had the best cake, potatoes, and cornbread ever as my first initiation YUM! We also went to a fishing event sponsored by the USFS where the kids learned how to cast, got lunch, and even won some goodies.

Fourth of July has also come and gone. Luke remembered what fireworks were like and was very excited to go and pick some out in the big tent. He got some good ones. They were so cute jumping around with excitement when the fireworks were being set off. We also went to the Arroyo Seco parade with Auntie and Leyla which Logan seemed to enjoy (Lukey opted out and stayed home with Grammy and Grandpa doing projects).

Finally, a video of the boys playing with the water table we got from the bank. Lukey keeps disappearing because he loves to see pictures of himself. I love the way Logan say water now. Logan also like his picture taken. The kids were playing with a pretend camera and Bobo was following whoever had the camera around saying cheese whenever they turned around :)

We have Nambe falls!

2009-06-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our first attempt at going to Nambe falls ended with a closed park (see this entry), so, we made sure that the falls were open and headed up for Father's Day. We picked up some KFC and made our way to the falls. It was perfect! The weather was hot and the river was cool. The falls were beautiful and our whole group made the small climb on their own. It was a wonderful father's day excursion.

The elusive group shot...not only is Mom missing (as in taking the picture not literally absent) but the rest of us hmmm..not on the same page :) David looks happy

I was trying to capture the beads of sweat the poor boy had on his face

Ahh ethereal...

See Mom wasn't missing

And finally the Chickie having some water fun

First time for everything

2009-06-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

After almost 4 years and 2 children, this is the first time anyone has fallen asleep in the highchair. I guess we just had too much fun ;)

Proud day

2009-06-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

My little sis graduated from college. She worked hard and we were so happy to all be there together for the grand crown of the achievement.

GO Beavs!

CONGRATS!!!

Water fountains

2009-06-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

There is a great park along the river in Corvallis which has a fountain for playing in. We stripped the kids down and let them run. JOY!

The video was taken at the end of the playing so they were getting pretty cold...

Ahhh the OCEAN!!

2009-06-15T19:30:00.000-07:00

We made it to Newport, OR on Friday for a quick visit to the beach. It turned out to be a great day with lots of sun, sand and surf. We visited the lighthouse, had clam chowder at Mo's, flew a kite, and played in the sand. The pictures tell the story better then I ever could.

They were jumping off sand dunes and Logan kept doing face-plants

Lukey flying the kite

Look! I was there too :)

We're leaving on a jet plane

2009-06-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

or are we... There were delays on our flight to PDX so we spent an extra 4 hours in the ABQ. Don't worry though, we were there extra early so we wouldn't be in a rush so we had 6 good hours to ponder our upcoming journey. Luckily, there was some great construction at the airport so we got to see large excavators with impact hammers digging up concrete, an asphalt reclaimer and lots of dump trucks in addition to the airplanes. It was good entertainment for our little travelers. They did amazingly well and after a little trepidation at all the loud noises, Luke and Logan had a great flight. The return to ABQ was the exact opposite we practically had to run to the terminal where they had already started the boarding. It all worked out in the end and we got everywhere we wanted to go!

There:

and back again:

Pagosa Springs

2009-06-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

We went on a great day trip to Pagosa Springs yesterday. The weather was perfect. It was overcast which made it so we did not get too hot when we were soaking. Luke can reach the bottom of the pool so his confidence was going up. Logan was a pretty relaxed guy all afternoon. We went to a yummy grill restaurant for dinner and finished with a wildlife safari on the drive home. We saw elk and deer galore as well as a hawk flying overhead carrying a fish. It was all really neat.

New Moon Trailer - Yipee!

2009-06-01T19:57:00.001-07:00

Yummy yummy

2009-06-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am trying to be committed to not buying bread anymore and hopefully work my way up to no buns or bagels, etc. Here are my first few loaves and the neat book that I am using to make my creations.

Almost like the picture ;)

Better shot of the masterpiece

We have FOOD!!!

2009-05-29T17:39:00.000-07:00

There has been really great rain over the past week and today when I went out to check on the garden progress I saw a radish poking out of the ground. I picked it and Luke, Logan and I all ate it right up. YEAH for homegrown food, my first :) Thanks David and Mom

Oops

2009-05-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Logan's hair has been growing very fast so I decided to cut it short...and ended up going a little too short. Auntie Monique did the honors on Memorial Day weekend. My Bobo is bald as a baby ;) just in time for summer.

and one pic of the high emotion involved in child photography sessions

Movin on into summer...

2009-05-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I have not updated this blog in a while so I thought I would update the pictures. Since zoo trip numero uno we have been two more times and once to the aquarium. It has been really great to be able to go and Luke and Logan are at ages where they are both really, really, really excited for all the animals and fishys...oh and the train of course. We have also been able to do lots of outdoor activities such as bbq-ing with s'mores and a fun Seis de Mayo celebration complete with a homemade pinata. Welcome summer in Taos!!

Our 1st trip to the ABQ zoo

2009-04-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is a long awaited trip. We prepared on Thursday by wearing our animal t-shirts: Leyla's has a tiger, Luke's has a rhino (and yes, it is Dr Lukey in the house), and Logan is sporting the elephant.

On Saturday, we were off on the 2 and 1/2 hour drive to ABQ. We were all so excited and when we got there saw that everyone else had the same idea about the zoo. It was a mob scene! We ended up parking along a curb...

It was a great zoo and I will start the picture parade off with my personal favorite

Leyla and I were waiting in line to ride the camel until the camel decided to make a noise. We'll try again another time

Grammy wrangling the small animals

Yes, Logan was there too and here is proof

That is a rhino in the background

It was stinky by the flamingos

and finally some gratuitous animal shots ;)

Lion

Agitated polar bear...could it be the sweltering desert heat?

We finished up the trip with a quick Costco run, dinner, and the drive home. Amazing day!

Wishing pond

2009-04-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Today Lukey made his first official wish (that I have heard). There is a neat fish pond in the local toy store that offers wishing rocks to the patrons. We went to the lady at the register and asked for our rocks. I explained to Luke that a wish is something that you really want to happen or just something you just really want and you put the wish in the rock and throw it in the water. He then held his rock really tightly and just stood there for several moments..."Mommy, I wish for cupcakes" and in went the rock. That's my boy!

Easter festivities

2009-04-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Easter in Taos, in my limited experience, seems to mean one of two things; rain or snow. This year was no exception and the weekend brought in a storm front that included both forms of precipitation. It is good for the flowers and trees and also gave us the excuse (as if we need one) to hang around the fire and eat. Easter day we had brunch including homemade bagels, ginger oatmeal, breakfast burritos, Chocolate, pancakes, and more. On the Sat before Easter, we went to our friends church for a hunt, went and planted seeds in a local greenhouse and went to an egg hunt at the pool. It was a cool idea, in the pool, and there were lots of eggs but they started the hunt off by turning on the overhead fountain which brought sheer terror from our camp. Leyla and Lukey were very brave and collected a few eggs while Auntie Monique gathered the mother lode ;) It was a great weekend.

Happy Birthday to ME!

2009-04-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for the best birthday ever!

Random happenings

2009-04-05T13:03:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to the miscellaneous pictures that we have accumulated and are too cute not to upload.

First off, Logan really wanted to be like his big brother and give the potty a try. It was pretty good for his first effort.

Next up, is a show and tell of the neat egg candles that Luke made for Easter. He picked out the pieces of wax and stuck them on the egg.

This is a shot of Lukey hanging out with his friend Harper. They were relaxing next to each other on the couch and I had to capture the moment of stillness.

Luke and Logan are really starting to enjoy each other's company and no where more then the great outdoors. Luke was very excited to show me the new game that they had discovered in the cooler that we have "resting" in our yard (aka we have not put it away in months...). They climb in and take turns shutting and opening the lid. Woo hoo!

And I'll finish out the random happenings post with another Logan shot. These are pretty self explanatory. Hehe

Triathlon Goal

2009-04-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

My most recent endeavor is to train for a triathlon...I am on week 3 and it is going well...to increase my motivation factor I am posting this goal here, in writing, to encourage me to keep it going ;) Socorro in August LOL

Cool thing

2009-03-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Aquarium and botanical gardens

2009-03-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Fishes! We took the kiddos to the ABQ aquarium today and had a great time. Prepare yourself for lots of pictures and even a video of the mass excitement of the day...

Ahoy captains Lukey and Leyla

Cuties on the beach? ;)

"In" the garden

I found a massive pinecone

Monique holding up a very large bird nest

and as promised excitement about fish on video

Show and tell

2009-03-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Here are the bugs that we made at craft time...so buggy

Spring IS coming

2009-03-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

The weather here has been so amazingly nice and warm and sunny. The wind is here too but we still have the mornings. While Lukey had his special date with Grammy we took Logan down the canyon to the river and he had fun throwing rocks. It is so nice to get outside in the nice, mild weather.

New toy

2009-02-23T10:49:00.000-08:00

Here is the new member of our drive-way gang :) Fred traded labor for this pop-up which is in pretty good condition and will see lots of fun camping trips.

Kids say the darndest

2009-02-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

things...

This is a post dedicated to the cute things the kids say so I can remember them forever and ever. It will be updated accordingly ;)

Luke (ie Lupa chalupa)

Luke told me I made him the "most delicious dinner ever" which I loved to hear even though technically it was Daddy who make a chicken nacho dip with tortillas on the side.

Luke likes to "boom-bash" things - which can mean anything from throwing leaves in the air to jumping up and down on the floor

Fun words (as phonetically as possible)

hook = cell phone/tv towers or electrical poles
malanky = banana
baa - lay = blanket
wing nuts = necklace
hamma - burger = hamburger

Logan (ie Bobo)

Not too much in the way of actual words going on here as of yet (Feb 09) but he is definitely discovering the power of baby blabber

March 09

After I wrote that there was not much for Logan he came out with a slew of words. The first was Mommy which he steadfastly refused to utter until this time. Well, now it is all he says "Maamy maamy" it is cute. He is also saying a lot of other words too like Cheshy (Chevy the dog), ready, set go, he counts and sings and much more. Definitely a little chatter box now :)

April 09

horsey is a constant uttering/shriek around here now

shlug = plug (pacifier)
anky = purple blankie

He also says show also as in TV show oops :)

Summer 09

hunhy = hungry
Glooky = Lukey

There are a lot of "G" sounds in Logan's world.

He is an excellent singer and is really starting to communicate well.

Winterfest

2009-02-17T16:10:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's morning this year, we went up to a small ski area called Sipapu for their annual winterfest. They had an ice castle for climbing and sliding. It was cold but the small ones had a lot of fun climbing around. They got heart-shaped balloons and ran from the big wildcat mascot.

Happy Holidays

2009-01-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

OK it is a little late but better late then never right? This is their first "professional" sitting and they squeezed us in right in the midst of nap time (thanks to my thought that we wouldn't need an appointment...) I think they turned out pretty good and they are being very cute models.

Bobo-licious

2009-01-27T14:05:00.000-08:00

"Cheese" this is what he kept saying and then running over to check out his handsome-ness on the camera screen.

and this is a sampling of his talking. Logan is talking all the time although he is the only one who actually knows what he is saying... He reads books, sings, and has pretty long rants all in adorable Bobo-speak. Fred was trying to get him out of the bath and he was saying "no" and then giving an explanation of some sort. Well, here is what we caught anyway

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-27T14:03:00.001-08:00

Welcome the year of the OX!

5th anniversary

2009-01-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

This year marks Fred and my fifth wedding anniversary. We celebrated with a day trip to SF where we had a fabulous spa experience at Ten Thousand Waves and a yummy dinner at The Railyard. Anywho...the traditional gift for a 5 year anniversary is wood and Fred made a bed. I have not had a bed frame in a long time and it is very nice to have one made especially for me. It is not quite done (needs drapes and to be painted black) but it is amazing and I love it! Thanks Fred :)

Meet our stick family

2009-01-27T13:57:00.000-08:00

Get your own Family Sticker Maker & MySpace Layouts.

Family trip to...the gate?

2009-01-27T13:34:00.000-08:00

Well, Sunday morning we set off in Grandpa's van to visit Nambe falls, a waterfall/park just north of Santa Fe, where we were planning to hike around and have a nice picnic. Mind you, there has been a bit of build-up to this event with discussions of the waterfall, etc. We get our picnic lunch in Espanola (yummy fried chicken) and make our way to the park. Making the turn, we see a hand-written sign saying the falls are closed for the season...hmmm...wait...what? In disbelief we keep driving and sure enough the gate is closed and the park is in fact NOT OPEN. No problem for the Leisher, Sargert, Redfield clan :) we hopped out of the van and played at the gate. We slid down the dirt, swung on the gate, and had our picnic. It was a lot of fun. We then went to Chimayo and saw the sacred dirt.

We finished off the day with a stop at the playground in Velarde.

We had a great adventure. Check back for part II when we try for the actual falls in the summer.

Come visit our new house ;)

2009-01-24T13:26:00.001-08:00

Rocky Mountain High

2009-01-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

Don't Fred and I do a great job of looking at the camera ;)

Sunday drive

2009-01-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

It all started Saturday morning with Fred making the announcement that he had a dream about Big R (a western, ranching, farming, catch-all type store) and that we should go there. The only Big R that I remember is in Redmond, OR, so I laughed and said "whatever"...Fred reminded me that there was one in Alamosa, CO and thus, the Leisher family gathered in the car on Sunday morning heading off to Big R. It was a nice drive and we looked at the cow shaped trees which Lukey says are "silly" and admired the mountains. We stopped at the old train yard and were well covered in black soot. Then for the big event...Big R...we admired the cute western wear, found a kettle for our wood stove and Luke and Logan picked out Thomas stickers (what else) and gumballs (of course). After this, we decided to drive a little further and visit the Great Sand Dunes. I was not thinking that we were going to see much other then snow capped hills but it turned out to be a perfect day; not too cold and the sand was actually warm in spots. We finished out the day with more trains, some pizza and a quiet ride home. All in all a nice Sunday event.