About Nothing

I've been a terrible poster, I know. I'm supposed to be keeping you updated with exciting new pictures of Albuquerque, or at least cute pictures of Lily. Which I will tell you, are not hard to get. That baby is cute and keeps me smiling all day long. She also keeps me on my toes trying to keep her away from electrical outlets, electrical cords, pulling up to stand on her highchair that has wheels and is therefore not well-suited for this purpose, and dumping the dog's water dish. But that's not what I wanted to write about.

Today I was trying to call my mom, so that I could have one of those good over-the-phone cry sessions that moms are really good for. Instead I reached my step dad, and really, the transcript of our conversation is a little embarrassing. You would think I was 5 years old:

Me: Hi (sad weepy voice, pathetic, I mean really pathetic).

Ralph: Hi. Are you ok?

Me: No (voice breaking, more pathetic-ness)

Ralph: What's wrong?

Me: I'm lonely. I miss my friends. (audible crying, tangible pathetic-fest)

Ralph: Oh, I'm sorry honey. You want your mom, huh?

Me: Yeah (oh the tears...)

Ralph: Well sorry, she's at a work thing.

And so it went, with Ralph effectively distracting me with stories of my little brother's ADHD antics. Which are really funny when you don't have to deal with them.

But man...I really do miss my friends. Everyone here has been so nice! I have no complaints about the welcome and kindnesses that we've received here. I even dragged my sweet neighbor and her two kids out on an exploratory hike today, involving petroglyphs, a double stroller, and oh about 50 billion uneven stairs. I have great ideas, let me tell you.

So Milwaukee friends, know that I have not recovered from being away from you, and that I am carrying you around in my heart right now, and it's heavy.

WARNING

Our Gmail account was hacked, so please do not open any emails sent yesterday. The email just has a link - don't click on it! Sorry for any inconvenience, I'm really not sure how this happened.

Hiking in the Sandias

We ventured out on Saturday to explore the beautiful Sandia mountains, which are about a 25-30 minute drive from our house. Tim was a little surprised about how heavy the Kelty was with our "little" 20-pounder in there. Don't be jealous of my sweet hiking hat.

We hiked up the La Luz trail, which is a 7 mile trail, with a 12% grade, that ends at around 10,000 feet. Obviously we didn't make it that far this time, but we're planning on hiking it in the fall, sans Lily, when it's supposed to be the prettiest.

We even spotted an Xterra athlete running the trail. Way to go. Maybe we should have passed our baby off to him to make it more of a challenge.

Yes, I let my baby eat rocks for the photo op

This is Lily's latest expression, and it's accompanied by snorts and heavy breathing. Hilarious.

Always demonstrating the crazy flexibility.

Thinking about it...

Going for it.

Not what she expected.

So happy to have her dog back home.

Dallas

Last weekend we took a road trip to Dallas, TX with a three-fold purpose: 1) Hang out with the Lyman's 2) Pick up Dirk and 3) Meet with our financial planner.

The Lyman's kindly offered to watch Dirk for a month when we told them we'd be coming out in August, so Tim and Seth dropped Dirk off as they drove the moving truck to Albuquerque. Dirk was of course in heaven at Camp Lyman, with his girlfriend, Lucy. I have honestly never seen two dogs that were so in love. They spent a month spooning, licking each other's faces, and were generally inseparable.

We had a great time with the Lyman's and even had an adult night out at a great restaurant, which was topped only by the sweet trolley ride we took around Dallas after dinner. Did I take pictures of these fun things? Of course not. I did snap some shots at the pool on our last day there.

Cute little Eliza is 5 months and such a happy, mellow little babe.

I can't believe I knew this kiddo when she was a twinkle in her parents' eyes. Emma liked playing with Lily and swiping her diapers for her dollies.

Of course Dirk was super depressed when we took him away from his love.