Tattoos?

We'll get to the tattoos in a bit, and, no, neither Summer nor I got body art. But first, a fun day on the town. On Friday, the kids got out of school early, so Summer picked me up and we all went to lunch at Bumblebee's, a fun Baja-style Mexican place in town. Summer and I had a taco combo plate and fell in love with the special sauce on the fish and shrimp tacos, respectively.

After running some more errands, we stopped by our favorite bakery, Just a Bite, and got some mini-cupcakes. In December I bought cannoli for Summer's birthday here, and we're planning on an anniversary cake to celebrate 10 years of bliss next month.

Now for the good stuff. While we were at Bumblebee's, the manager asked if we wanted any temporary tattoos for the kids. So after we got home we applied them to Allyson's ankle and Ryan's arm:
Now we can easily say no when teenaged children ask for tattoos--"We already got you one."

The Best Field Trip Ever

On Monday the kids had a field trip with the classmates from the gifted program to the Isotopes' afternoon game--a pretty wonderful idea, if you ask me. The ballpark is a five-minute walk from my office, so I was able to sneak over after I was done and enjoy a few innings with the kids. But before I got there, Summer was caring for four small children at a baseball game. That's Mom-of-the-Year style stuff.

The seats were on the third base side, about halfway down the line, two rows back. After Dad's tale of foul ball-catching, this had the air of history. Ryan and Isaac had both brought their gloves, and foul balls came close, but no cigar.

The day itself was spectacular--65 at gametime, 77 at the final pitch. And the game was great. When I was able to, I checked the game log from work, and after 7 it was tied 6-6. I arrived around then to see some great ball. Both teams made some fielding errors and got some hits, but kept leaving men in scoring position. In the bottom of the 8th, the 'Topes stranded runners at 2nd and 3rd.

After a solid half inning of pitching and defense in the top of the 9th, the home team took the field. Soon there were runners on 2nd and 3rd again, this time for the player who had hit a home run earlier in the game. The Redhawks wisely walked him, but the intentional pass, which loaded the bases with one out, seemed to rattle the pitcher. His first offering to the 'Topes catcher was hit to right-center for the game-winning RBI single.

After the game Ryan was able to join other kids for the running of the bases, a nice treat for kids ages 5-12, who can do a quick circle of the field. The smile on his face was a mile wide. The camera was stowed in the diaper bag at the time, so there's no photo proof, but you can use your imaginations.

As we walked back to the car, I thought, "This is how it's supposed to be." A beautiful day at the ballgame.

Such Silliness

Evan started sleeping on his side and tummy. He sure looks silly sleeping this way. And, although he is not actually crawling, somehow he is getting around a lot more.

Isaac turned everything into some sort of weapon despite my best efforts to guide him in another direction. He evan made a bow with arrows and a quiver.

Ryan casually mentioned his invisible girlfriend. She happens to be a squirrel who ate 50 crayons in January and consequently is suffering from a fever of 101*. He also decided he wants 3 bottles of mouth wash for his birthday.

Allyson finally decided (after years of me begging and pleading) that it was okay for mommy to do her hair. And now I get to do it every morning (not just the past agreed upon Sunday).

Play Ball!

Friday was the home opener for the Isotopes, so we got seats and ventured out on a rather blustery evening at the ballpark. This game marked the beginning of the 'Topes' sixth season, and, since we've been in Albuquerque for every season, it's clear we'll been here for a while.

Our seats were on the upper deck on the third-base side. I love these seats; they've got a great view of both the action on the field and the Sandias in the distance. It really is one of the best views in all of baseball.

Anyhow, on to the pictures. Here's the crew all bundled up for the 48 degree weather:

An important part of baseball is food. Before the game we ate at a diner on Central (great place; we're eating there next time family's in town), and each of the kids ordered a ridiculously large hot dog. Allyson ate all of hers and got her own bag of cotton candy, and the boys shared a second bag with the parents. Evan for one thought highly of cotton candy:

Opening night includes a rather lengthy bit of pomp and circumstance; we got there early for our free hats, but by the time the game began (at about 7:20 pm), Isaac had fallen asleep in a heap:

As I mentioned earlier, it was a chilly night. By the time we left (we lasted four innings--longer than either starting pitcher), it was pretty cold. Here's a view of the Sandias; if you look closely you can see snow on the mountains from a storm earlier in the week:

We plan to go to games for my birthday, July 4th, Ryan's birthday, and Evan's birthday. There's also an afternoon game on Monday that the kids are going to as a field trip (I'm in class), and another when I'm off in May (I'll take Isaac). Play ball...

A Sunday Hike

Sunday was a gorgeous spring day in New Mexico, and after the morning session of conference, the older kids and I headed off for a quick hike in the Sandia foothills. As faithful blog readers know, we have done very little hiking this year, and I have decided to repent. To that end, we drove to the eastern terminus of Copper Avenue to the southernmost trailhead in the city's foothills open space area. There we headed due east, following a series of switchbacks, to the crest of the first major hill, an ascent of a few hundred feet over a mile or so. On the way up, we paused for a drink, and the kids found an enormous Juniper (the plant that is most likely causing my terrible allergies this season):
The trail crests at a pass between the bulk of the mountain to the southeast and a small point called U-Mound (I think named for a tendency among UNM students of yesteryear to cavort here) that rises to the west. We thought briefly about making an attempt to scale it, but decided better. Anyhow, here is U-Mound seen from the south:

On the way back down, we took a side trail that ran parallel to the contour of the foothills. A few spots were rather tricky, but the kids showed their stuff by handling all of it. At one point, Isaac, who has been attacked by cactus twice in his short life and is therefore wary of them, had to pass near a cactus on a downslope. The result is this:

He came away unscathed. The return trip took us across the scrubland that characterizes the flatlands near the trailhead. Here the kids caught a second breath and ran ahead:

This Week in Our Life

Evan recovered from his very first bout of pink eye. Is there some reason that at least one of our children get said malady when we take a trip to Utah/Wyoming?

Isaac argued about taking a nap everyday, and yet still took a nap everyday.

Ryan found out he loved April fools day. He got to lie to his parents all day as long as followed it with "April Fools!"

Allyson smashed her finger while playing with our adjustable basketball hoop. She vowed never to go outside again, quickly forgetting such things said in haste. We worried that it might be broken (what with the swelling and bruising), but luckily it is only badly bruised.

Our Most Recent Trip

Here are some photos from our trip to Utah/Wyoming over Easter, and the past week. In reverse chronological order, we have Ryan and Evan playing catch this past Monday, after we had returned home:
Next, during the week Summer and the kids spent in Utah, we have Isaac, whose long hair required a shot with the blow dryer:

And from Easter Sunday, at the Turner cottage in Evanston, here's our family, all dressed up:

The trip was a lot of fun. We got to see and spend time with a number of family members, and Nathan's ordination was an especially good experience. We will see you all again in a few months.