Basketball Girls

Since getting the basketball hoop in the cul-de-sac, Maddie and our neighbor Caitlyn really wanted to get better. So the girls spent an hour every day for a week learning some skills with the high school girls basketball team and their coach.

Lemonade Ladies

Maddie and our neighbor Caitlyn got busy planning, setting up, and running a lemonade stand. They were so successful the first day that they used the money to ride their bikes (alone!) to the gas station and get more supplies for the next day.

Elise and Ryan our other neighbor got involved.


Maddie then, on her own, donated $10 of the profits to a project sponsored at church for kids in Africa who cannot stay in school because of poverty. :)

Pool Time

We enjoyed the pool right away this year thanks to the record heat as summer began!

Bye-bye Crib!

Now that Gus looks like a big boy, he gets a big boy room!

These photos were taken his last night in his baby room.

Goodbye changing table. Diapers are almost gone!


The crib really is just a trampoline nowadays.

Ghost Ranch

We have lived in New Mexico for over 10 years but never been to Ghost Ranch. The Eidenbenz family invited us to hike with them in the box canyon to start off summer. It was a hot day so the shade and water were perfect.

Since 1955, Ghost Ranch has been an education and retreat center for the Presbyterian church that can be used by the public. Before that, Georgia O'Keeffe lived there in the summers from 1934-1949. She loved the landscape and so do we!

We ate lunch and played in the water at the top of the canyon.

Oops! Elise accidentally sat in the water as she got a stick.



We stopped at our favorite New Mexican food outside of Espanola.

Goodbye School, Hello Summer!

On the last day of school, Eric picked Maddie up on his motorcycle (!) and we all went to Sonic! After lunch, dad had to go back to work, but the kids and I went to our "sneaky spot" by a creek in the woods for 3 hours of letting go of school and saying hi to summer.

The kids screamed, hiked, sat, collected, floated, jumped, stared, balanced, yelled, laughed. It seemed very cathartic for them and me.

End of the Year Parties

Both girls had parties to celebrate the end of school.

Elise's school had a mellow BBQ at a grassy, shady spot where they shot off soda and mentos.

Maddie's class ate ice creams sundaes and played games.

I lead the kids in a rousing game called "Giants, Wizards, and Elves." It is like Rock. Paper, Scissors but with your whole body as a team. It was super funny!

School is ALMOST out!

We decided to celebrate ALMOST summer with the kids. We took them to the new pizza place in White Rock that has video games, pool tables, and air hockey tables. We wasted a bunch of quarters and had a blast!

Before & After

Eric couldn't wait to give Gus a real hair cut. He is my baby so I wouldn't let that happen for a while. But school was ending and summer was coming...I couldn't stall Eric anymore. So off they went into the bathroom to cut their hair for the summer.

In went my baby...

Out came my boy...

Shrinky Dinks Playdate

Elise had her two preschool buddies -- Emma and Nyla -- over for one last playdate. In the afternoon, we made Shrinky Dinks...whoa!

Piano Recital

The girls have practiced piano for a year with Mrs. Warren; it is so nice to hear Grandpa Hal's piano. It was a treat to see them at their recital because they played at Fuller Lodge, a historic old building in town.

It also was the senior recital for one of my students who has babysat the girls so the girls really loved it.

I Like My Birthday

May is always a busy month with many end-of-the-year events -- recitals, final games, my student's AP exam, parties, teacher gifts, ... This is why I love having birthday on May 21. School is almost out, I feel a little weight off my shoulders as everything wraps up, and I get a day to celebrate life and smile a lot.

This year, I enjoyed a margarita in the afternoon at my friend's backyard while the kids played. I received great gifts from my kids -- golf balls and a solar powered owl (?). I got to eat at my favorite Italian place in Santa Fe with my handsome man. Other days in there, I enjoyed my friends -- dinner with a bunch of great women, thoughtful gifts, hiking in Bandelier.
Thank you everyone!