Fun Family Time in NM

We decided to take the boys up the tram to the top of the mountain! This range is called the Sandia Mountain Range. The mountains are beautiful with an elevation of about 15,000 feet. They were so excited to get on the tram.

After we got to the top, we walked around quite
a bit. The regular trails were closed due to an
elevated fire risk. We hiked on the mountain bike path and had a great time seeing the top of the mountain.










Top of the Mountain with N.











Top of the mountain with J.

La Familia C.

There were tons of butterflies on the alpine flowers. Had to get a pic. Now, that's a "peek-chure"












Top of the mountain looking away from the city.

The Best Burger In Town

This is called male bonding at its best. (I think the Father-of-Five will have something to say about this one!) I wouldn't exactly call myself a hamburger conisseur, but I must say that these are officially GREAT. These Burgers come from a great place called "Blake's Lotaburger." Blake's is a New Mexico hamburger tradition. They also have some GREAT shakes. "A" has great memories of sneaking his grandpa Blakes shakes. The two of them would hide out behind the shed and sip away! Sounds like fun to me!

Fireworks in Albquerque with the K's

We went to Albuquerque to visit A's family for the fourth. We had such an incredible time. My husband has a large extended family (as you can see above) that are the warmest, most loving and fun bunch of people you'd ever meet. He told me from the beginning that the best gift he could give me was his family, and boy was he right! (I have not figured out to turn these pictures around, so excuse the horizontalness!)

"A" has told me for years about the annual firework display that the kids have. This is the kind of display where you can buy your firewords roadside and let them off. N's facial expression says it all. His favorite was the smoke bomb. We even had to buy a pack and take them home.

Here is the infamous "sheepy" grin that J gets quite often. I see a future pyromaniac in those baby blues!

The display.

We're Off Like a Herd of Turtles

I have never seen quite the gathering of turtles as I have this day. The boys were with their Mamoe and Papa at their neighborhood park this evening. I was at their house eating and enjoying just a few minutes of time by myself when I got the call from Papa that there was a turtle feeding frenzy. To the park I went with bread in one hand and a camera in the other. Between the ducks, the turtles, and the fish, that bread was gone in a matter of seconds. Once the turtles smelled the bread, turtle heads in multiple groups of 10s popped their hungry heads out of the water! It looked like a mass of small submarine ships headed our way.

Fun Summertime Trip

I guess this is my first real blog posting with pictures. After much wrangling with this new-fangled blogging thing, I have finally figured out how to post both a text and picture on my blog site. My very techno-savvy father-of-five brother would be proud of me. (I know he is reading this and smiling!)

We just had a GREAT trip to OKC to visit very longtime friend and friend I consider to be like a sister, "Christie." The little girls are hers, and the boys are my Taz 1 and Taz 2. We all swam and the kids played together like they have been together for years.

"Christie" and I have many things in common having small children in common, however we have one difference. Her world has been steeped in GIRL and mine has been steeped in BOY. (Although she now has baby #3, which is a boy!) In saying our prayers after a fun trip, the boys and I were listing all of the things we were thankful on the trip. They listed anything and everything they could think of...except one thing. Both of them asked if God wouldn't mind too much if they were NOT thankful for BARBIES!!! I had to turn my head and giggle. We settled on being thankful for the wonderful girls who play with those yucky Barbies.

All in All, it was a joy to see my dear friend, and treasured the time immensely.

We had a wonderful and unexpected stop on the way home to a GREAT place called Turner's Falls. This is a part of the Arubuckle National Forest in Oklahoma. Since hubby was not home, and we were in no rush to return, we decided to stop and check this place out. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE! The falls you see behind the boys is a 77 foot long waterfall! The falls creates this beautiful natural pool that is perfect for swimming. From here, there is a creek that flows and is IDEAL for kids (and adults like me who sometimes feel like kids) to swim in.

As you can see, the boys were wearing their Dallas Cowboys attire. Not being prepared for the swimming opportunity that lie before us...how could I deny these children the chance to go in! Afterall, I had a hard enough time restraining myself. After walking along the creek and throwing rocks in, I asked the boys if they wanted to go swimming. Can you guess what the answer was? Next, I told them that they could go swimming if they wanted to. They took off in the direction for the car...being hot and tired, I stopped them and told them to skip their suits and get right in the water. With wide-eyed surprise, they got really excited about the idea of swimming in their clothes. Kind of makes it more fun, don't you think? In the water they went, and we didn't leave for 3 hours.

This place is a kind of heaven in our Texas/Oklahoma heat. We loved it very much, and plan on returning in a few weeks.

Blog

Well, here is my attempt at a first blog post. I am not sure that this is actually going to work, so we shall see. My dear brother has been after me for quite some time to start this blog, so if I find sucess in getting this going, I dedicate this to him!

I will have many funny stories to share about my beautiful, exhausting, darling, mischevious, nice, naughty, and ever curious twin boys. (and also about my love of all things home improvement, outdoors, music, family and so forth.)

With that said, let the stories begin!

Pre-Introduction

Hi there Denise -I have a little "gift" for you!

Watch your email for all the directions on how to use this blog.

I cant wait to start reading all the stories you have about the boys.

I know Mom & Dad will also love hearing the stories, and seeing pics (from your new digial camera) of your family.

I'll get you blogging one way or another!

Your big Bro
David the "Father-of-Five"