Quote for the day 2

Just because I'm losing, doesn't mean I'm lost.

-Coldplay

Quote for the day

Down through Christian history men have affirmed that in Christ they found two great freedoms: the freedom from fear and the freedom from sin.

-William E. Hordern, A Layman's Guide to Protestant Theology

Check your thumbs

If they're green, we need your help.  Our house came with beautiful landscaping, thankfully looked after by an automatic watering system.  As Dad pointed out, this makes it virtually maintenance free (I know, I've become a through and through city boy; I couldn't tell if Dad was appalled or jealous when he noted that).  Nonetheless, our plants do take some work, and I am clueless as to how they should be looked after.  Some are in bad shape (see the poor tree (#17)  below) and need careful attention to grow correctly, and others look good and need to be kept that way.  Take a look at the numbered pictures, and if you know what plant it is, or even better how to care for it, let us know in the comments.

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PS:  10 and 14 are roses (not the same kind), 4 looks like some sort of bamboo, and you can click on the pictures for a close-up view.

I ski again

Wolf Creek had some of the best snow I've ever seen:

Albuquerque weather

I just want to expand on the weather theme. It's interesting that very little of importance happens in Albuquerque weather wise, but the local news places great importance in the weather, sometimes issuing updates between news casts. Realistically Albuquerque residents need a weather update once per quarter. In fact, I'll give you all you need to know right now:




June - August: Very hot, with periods of insanely hot.

September - November: Perfect temperature to enjoy the balloon fiesta.

December - February: Pleasantly chilly with a possible dusting of snow.

March - May: Windy!




Action movies often involve a hero being chased down by a dust storm of apocalyptic size, which blots out the sun and makes people run for their lives. I couldn't connect with such scenes until I lived one:





This is the middle of the afternoon, and the picture accurately picks up how dark it was. The wind was blowing the sand hard enough to make me worry for my car's finish and make it impossible to walk around.

********* UPDATE **************

Although everything Jesse said in this post is generally true, the funny thing is the very next day we received plenty of weather. We were so unprepared for it that Jesse left his shoes and the charcoal for barbecuing out on the patio. When he asked me if he should bring it in, I said "what's going to happen -- it's not going to rain or anything." But it did. Hard. We had our first real rain (by real I mean not a sprinkle that lasts a few minutes). Everything was soaked! More amazing still, however, was the fact that this rain turned into hail that afternoon. While the hail did not last very long and wasn't very big, it was certainly weird and unexpected. I guess the only way to get real weather in Albuquerque is to complain that it is always sunny and warm!

Albuquerque + Spring = Windy

Holy cow it was windy this week. I have never spent a spring in Albuquerque before, but they weren't kidding about their winds. Although the temperature was actually nice, the excessive winds made it cold -- especially if, say, you went to the top of a mountain!

See?

We certainly screamed at the cold wind and huddled together for warmth, but we did not let a little wind prevent us from seeing the beautiful views from the Sandia Crest . . .

or the petroglyphs . . .

All in all we had fun hiking and seeing the sites -- maybe we'll do it again during some other part of the year!

Chloe Comes to Visit

After months of me dying to hold and kiss my little baby neice, Chloe and Nicole came to visit for a couple days!

She is so adorable and lovable! We had tons of fun at the dog park . . .

and at the McDonald's playground . . .

and at Toys R Us . . .

where we got a princess outfit!

And she LOVED dancing and singing in her princess dress!

Beyond fun events, we also got to share everyday moments with her as well. We read together. . .




and slept together . . .



and bathed together . .

and cuddled together!

So much fun!