Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Christmas Lights

Last night we went to the botanical gardens to see all the christmas lights.  Even though it was in the 30's the kids ran around the whole time and kept warm.  It was a fun activity for the cousins to do together before they part ways tommorow morning.  Which I am sure will be a sad time.


Penguins Playing


The kids all bundled up


Pegasus


They had beautiful peacocks


The kids had fun picking a beam of light to put their face in


Some pretty doors leading to more light displays


Yes, that dark figure is me in this gret photo carith took


Yucca plant


They had geese flying over the pond


Ronan in the pink tree


Colorful parrots


The hummingbirds were my favorite


Soldiers marching on top of the castle


All the glass bears skating on ice

The christmas lights were beautiful to see and put everyone in the holiday spirit.  Hope everyone enjoys.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

New Mexico Skies

The boys and I have been in Albuquerque for a few days with Anna, Sophia, Oma, Carith and Miguel - spending time at the zoo, botanical gardens and the aquarium.  This day started out beautiful, but shortly after we arrived in the foothills of the Sandia Moutains to do some Bouldering the dark clouds and blustery wind arrived.  It was still good for the kids to get out and scramble around on the rocks while Miguel and I got a little climbing in.



Making our way to the U-Mound boulder area with the ominous clouds building over the Sandia's


Ronan charging ahead


Anna and Sophia among the boulders - a perfect play area for kids


Dillon lounging


Sophia loved running under Dillon's legs


All smiles


Sophia really liked running through the maze of boulders



 
Anna coming up through the brush


Dillon, Anna and Ronan enjoying the view of Albuquerque and the West Mesa in the distance


Kids scrambling with crazy New Mexico skies in the background


Miguel working a problem - not sure of the name





The constantly changing sky was amazing to watch



Sophia was happy to add my vest as an extra layer


I think, I think  I can lift it


U -Mound bouldering area - Foothills of the Sandia Mountains



Another great shot of the kiddos and New Mexico sky


A section of the Sandia's highlighted by the afternoon sun with the growing clouds


As you can see in the photos the sky in New Mexico is amazing to watch.  It is constantly changing throughout the day.  It was a fun time to see the kids running wild and free exploring the boulders.
Miguel - thanks for some of the photos.



Thursday, November 25, 2010

Cold, no - FREEZING !!!!!!

As you know we are back in the states, visiting Colorado and New Mexico.  After the wedding we were anxious to get out climbing again.  This was a big part of our lives before we moved to the island.  What we were hoping was to be a 50 degree day with sunshine (usually perfect conditions) spent bouldering in Eldorado Canyon ended up being a freezing and blustery day (I think in the 30's).  Thankfully the sun was shining  - but it still did not take the edge off.  We were doing jumping jacks and running around to warm our digits up - my shoes were under my down jacket in my arm pits in an attempt to warm them- cold, stiff rubber climbing shoes are not the most pleasant thought.  Dillon refused to even put his shoes on - he was going to attempt to climb in his Samba's.  We kept asking ourselves and "why are we thinking of putting our already cold hands on the even colder rock?"  We tried to make the best of the day - on the positive side - we had a fun adventure in the Colorado foothills with our climbing friends - it started to feel like the old days again - something the boys and I have been missing since we moved to the island.


The boys plotting some kind of adventure I am sure


You could see some of the jagged peeks on the side of the canyon through the trees and the fog that was sitting over the area all day


Dillon climbing in his Samba's - it did not last long - I think Dillon has adjusted to the island weather more then he knows.  For those not fimilar with climbing, we mostly boulder - a type of rock climbing without ropes (it is not that bad), we only go about 15-20ft high on large boulders and we place crash pads on the ground to protect from any falls.


Our friend Addie keeping warm while eating lunch in the sunshine


Love that smile


Turtling - jumping on someones crashpad while they are walking - the result - they are on the ground looking like a turtle stuck on their back - Dillon has discovered this is kinda hard to do when you don't weigh the same or more than the victim.



some perspective - Dillon's coach, Lucas topping out on a boulder while Alex spots him.  We are on one side of the canyon and in the background are some cliff faces on the otherside in the sun.


Bouldering is all about the grip strength (not completely, but alot of it) - can you tell he is hanging on to nothing!!!


See, he has shoes on - although he did not want to in the am - by the end of the day he said "mom, I have socks and shoes on and my feet are STILL cold" hard to believe they have only been away from the mountains 2.5 months


Warmth in numbers


Cold rosy cheeks


Addie, Dill and Ro at the top of the scree field above our bouldering spot


So happy to be back - even in the cold


The cliff faces where we watched some roped climbers going up the faces - they were only little dots on the rock.


All in all it was a cold yet very fun day.  Thank you to our friends for coming out and playing - we are looking forward to as many of these days as we can get in before we head back to the island. 

As I make this post it is Thanksgiving  - I am in Albuquerque and there was snow on the ground when we woke up this morning.  Dillon, Ronan, Sophia, Anna and I will pick Carith up this afternoon at the airport and we will have a thanksgiving feast of our own.  I wish all our friends and family in the states and on the island a Happy Thanksgiving - enjoy your time with your families.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Point Lobos

Point Lobos is a state park in California just at the begining of the Big Sur.  I was fortunate enough to spend many hours wandering and exploring this area when I was little.  It is really special to go back with my kids - finding the otters and seals in the water and watching the big waves crashing on the rocks.  The day we went was really foggy and cool - it made the fascinating landscape somewhat eery.



You can spend hours taking pictures here




The swirling water reminds me of watching our tropical storms form on storm pulse


Sophia and Papa


These little "palm trees" completely fascinate me - they get slammed by wave after wave and they always pop back up.  So resilient


Amazing rock formations


Solo time


My boys





The big sur under fog


The years and years of pounding waves and salt water has created the most beautiful formations


The great action shot Dillon got of the blow hole they spotted


The weather and the landscape that day reminded me of a Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings movie - spooky


Sadly we were only able to spend a couple of hours with Oma, Papa, Anna and Sophia at Point Lobos before the boys and I had to head to the airport.  We will be back again sometime, that is a definite.