Spring Break 2008

Spring Break 2008. Ruidoso, New Mexico

The long and somewhat relaxing drive.

Helen and the kids playing a rousing game of UNO.

Sort of a disjointed effort on our parts to spend a week at the house in New Mexico for Spring Break. Helen the kids and I arrived Saturday the 15th. Wes arrived the evening of the16th. Monday the 17th W, L, M and I went skiing at Ski Apache. It was crowded with Spring breakers and the snow was not great, but it felt good to get out there and ski for a bit. L had a rough start, but after lunch she was good as new and tore up the mountain . . . well, Lower Deep Freeze anyway. M had a morning lesson and then spent some time with Wes on the bunny slopes. M and I went for about 30 minutes and he decided he was OVER IT and wanted to have a snack and chill out in the car. L and I spent the last hour of the day splitting up to ski our favorite runs and then meeting back so we could ride the lift up. She was quite an independent one this year... can't believe she is growing up so fast. I have no pictures as of now, maybe Wes will share when he gets home.

Tuesday through Thursday is somewhat a blur of activity scattered with rest and relaxation.
Tuesday Wes went to El Paso to pick up his friend Stephen. Unfortunately Stephen was delayed due to bad weather at DFW and ended up not making it. Wes did end up staying out in the area to get pictures of trains until Wednesday though. Tuesday L and I went in to town to have a little girls only shopping time. L found several books she had wanted, I found shoes. . . we both found chocolate! The rest of the day was spent with me going for a jog in my new shoes...gasp at 7800 ft above sea level it was more of a fast walk with intermittent jogging and breathing (yes, I said intermittent breathing), the kids played outside and inside quite nicely and we lazed around until it was time for dinner. We got all dolled up for Pasta Mania night at the club.

Ready to go eat . . . would you like some cheese with that?

Pasta Mania is always an entertaining dining experience when you have kids. It is similar to an omelet station - you have your 3 pastas, 3 sauces and all kinds of add ins. You pile up your add ins and tell the chef what pasta and sauce you want and viola! you have your very own pasta creation. L was adventurous on her 2nd round and got the chili pasta, decided she loved it and got more so she could take it home . . . for breakfast. M got his first plate of pasta, the sauce was wrong, but he tried it and was very diplomatic in letting us know that the sauce was not exactly what he wanted, but he would eat it as it was still "okay". Then he went up to get his second plate (all by himself... why do they grow up so fast?) and was pleased with the outcome. THEN we got our dessert and he was in heaven with his lemon cake. He was so pleased that he found the manager and told her exactly how he felt about his wonderful dining experience and about the best cake he had ever eaten. We have decided that he will be a food critic when he grows up.

Wednesday was a go go go kind of day. I packed a picnic cooler and took the kids out for the day. We went to Smokey Bear National Monument in Capitan, NM first. M had read the story of Smokey Bear this past Fall and when we decided to come out here for Spring break - I told him we would take him to where Smokey Bear was found and then later buried. He took his time looking at everything and was very interested in all things Smokey Bear.

Coloring at Smokey Bear Museum.

M taking his time to read everything.

We were done at Smokey Bear and had planned to have a picnic lunch, but it was still early. So - we decided to go to the Valley of Fires to have our lunch - just a quick 40 minute drive away. Really an interesting area if you are ever West of Carrizozo NM and have about an hour - check it out. Google 'Valley of Fires, NM' - it looks pretty amazing from the satellite view. We had our picnic (how is it that food always tastes better on a picnic?) and then went for the hike around the park before we headed home.

L & M at Valley of Fires Recreation area

Valley of Fires - Martian landscapes on the malpais

We had a restful afternoon on Wednesday. I was packing up to go back to Texas Thursday morning and the kids and Helen went to the fort and played. Wes returned home in time for Lobster Night at the club. I think if you title dinner it makes it more of an extravaganza and more people show up. I will have to remember that for the future.... "Hey kids- tonight is Frozen Chicken Nuggets and Tater Tots Night!". No?
We celebrated M's 7th b-day after Lobster Night . . . here we are ready for dinner with our almost birthday boy (how old are you?!?).

M making a wish

Why M really likes to go to NM.

That is a recap of the part of Spring Break that I was on. I am sure Wes will update his blog with any gaps I have and with the days I was gone.

Thursday morning I left for Texas to have a break from Spring break. As much as I love to go on vacation and get away from it all - I do love to be in Texas, to be in my home state. AND - you can drive 80 on I-10 . . . what's not to love about TX?

I wound up in Kerrville. I knew I wanted to go to Fredericksburg to do some shopping, but I also wanted to see some of the Texas hill country. Friday morning I went for a hike at the Lost Maples State natural area near Vanderpool, TX. Really pretty and relaxing hike - something I would love to do in the Fall when the maples turn color. Just gorgeous area and the hike wasn't bad at all - the views were well worth it. I did not pack my camera thinking I would not make it with any extras on the 4 1/2 mile hike... I regret that I did not bring it this time. You can check out the park at this website though: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lost_maples/

After cleaning up - I headed to Fredericksburg to do a little shopping. I did not realize that it was Texas Hell Week and there were hundreds of cyclists in town and many on the stretch of road between Kerrville and Fredericksburg. I applaud these folks for their bravery in cycling the Texas Hill Country AND their drive to do this for a whole week. Needless to say - town was jam packed with people. I ended up at Wildseed Ranch, just East of town - if you need something to plant in or decorate your garden with - they have it. I could have spent a whole day there getting ideas and picking out plants and flowers for my yard. I may have to go back for some Fall plants. I did get some seeds to plant for color in the front flower beds. I will try to remember to post pictures when they come up. Went to a winery and got a few bottles to try. Toured the Nimitz Museum, had been there when I was in high school... they changed the name to the National Museum of the Pacific War, although the museum part is more a history of Chester Nimitz than the war itself. If you have not been in a long while, go again - they have added a lot to the museum since I was in high school... and if you know me - you know that was a LONG time ago....

Saturday I headed to San Marcos to see Keri and Eric and have breakfast with them, Kim S and Luke. We ate at The Root Cellar (http://www.rootcellarcafe.com) in San Marcos - I highly recommend you stop here for breakfast sometime. I hear their other menu items are just as spectacular and I hope to get to try them all in time. Had a coffee at Mochas and Javas before heading back to Keri & Eric's place to play with the cats and hang out for a bit. Eric - thank you for the suggestion of a caramel mocha... oh so delightful and kept me awake for the drive home.

That turned out much longer than I intended . . . I will make up for it by being quiet for a while. I don't see anything exciting on my social calendar until later in April. Something in San Marcos about Eric turning OLD . . . ?