Even though the weather has been spectacular -- we had yet another 60 degree day today --the outdoor ice rink opened this weekend. Elise and I headed over to meet friends and try it out. This was Elise's first time on skates and her Midwest genes took over. She strapped on those skates, walked right over to the rink, and got on the ice! I could barely keep up with her. She used the little bar thingy and after a few minutes asked me to not touch her. Soon, she was zipping all over the rink, cutting people off, bumping into her friends, asking me to spin her. And when she fell down, she didn't fuss too much, licked the ice off her gloves, and got back up. She said it was one of the best days -- friends, hot chocolate, ice skating. Do we live in Minnesota?
Hopefully our little New Mexico desert kids will be able to hang with the cool Midwest hockey players and figure skaters when they come for a winter visit.
We went to the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge just in time to see the thousands of cranes, ducks, geese, and other birds settle in for the night. It was AWESOME! The kids all loved it and I was teary -- my mom had been there, she loved birds, and she watched the sun set every evening.
We all took a few extra days off before Thanksgiving to make our trip to Arizona. We decided to head south through Socorro, NM and see where Eric is going to school. He started his PhD in math again at New Mexico Tech and has been been commuting 2.5 hours each way every Tuesday since August. The girls couldn't wait to see where he studies, where he eats lunch, and most importantly, where he sits in class. Eric took them to the student union for an ice cream treat. When we asked the girls what they wanted to study when they went to college, Maddie said nuts -- to find a peanut that kids won't be allergic to. Elise said, in between licks, "I want to be a popsicle taster." :)
