Getaway to Santa Fe

Jamie and I were able to get away to Santa Fe thanks to Dad and Mom Otten being willing to watch the kids during their visit here to ABQ. It was such a treat considering it will probably be a while before we're able to do something like this again with the little ones coming in April/May time frame.

Although we've been to Santa Fe many times on short visits we've never been able to enjoy some of the attractions in town such as are museums or churches. Our first stop was a very quiet and enjoyable lunch at Flying Star where we were able to read some magazines and chat. From there we went to the Georgia O'Keeffe museum, which surprisingly focused on her artwork from her time in New York as opposed to her artwork here in New Mexico. It struck Jamie and I how much of our lives are grounded in realities (budgets, schedules, meals, kids needs) that it takes a bit of time to transition to the abstract artwork that was so much of her paintings currently featured in the museum.

From there we wondered around the downtown square as well as visited a beautiful catholic church. After that we went back to the hotel (free thanks to Hilton points), and then went out to dinner at a cozy Italian restaurant called Cafe Cafe. We very much enjoyed our meal talking without interruption as well as the amazing food. I had green chile, buffalo lasagna.

The next morning we drove down town and enjoyed a few hours at a Starbucks reading and journalling. We then headed back to the catholog church to take a few pictures of the labyrinth out front. I was intrigued by the though of a labyrinth which is different than a maze in that a labyrinth has only one path that twists and turns until it reaches the center destination. Early on Christians used labyrinths to symbolize life with it's unexpected twists and turns. They would often meditate as they walked the path.

After photographing the church we wondered on to another chapel that had a beautiful stairway built with an interesting story. The staircase is called the miraculous staircase and you can read up on it if you search for the Loretto Staircase. Although it is difficult to tell in the picture there is no inner support other than the bent wood that is wrapped in a beautiful continuous helix. Probably one of the most beautiful works of wood art I have ever seen.

After our wondering around the old town we concluded our stay by eating at one of our favorite restaurants in New Mexico called Maria's. They have the best Chili Reano of any place we've visited so far. 

Overall it was a great getaway and and good to come back to the kids and dad and mom Otten. 

Our baby boys: profiles!

We had an ultrasound (at 22 weeks) this morning. Mom and Dad Otten were able to come and see their baby grandsons via ultrasound! Two profile shots were taken today of Baby "A" and Baby "B."  They look remarkably similar to us.

Baby "A"

Baby "B"

Both boys looked healthy and are growing equally. Great signs!

A nice leg and foot image!  They are starting to look more and more like healthy little babies!

Baby A was especially photogenic today.  Here he is giving a little wave!

Jeremy and Christy's wedding

...a year and a half late... but better late than never!
Such a beautiful wedding in Wheaton, Illinios. I realized today that we had never blogged the wedding, and so asked Mom for some of the favorite pictures of their big day.  Congratulations, Jeremy and Christy!

Jeremy and Christy Otten
July 21, 2012

Ringbearers Elijah and Eric sprint down the aisle, with Elijah clutching his monkey!  It was touch and go whether or not he would even go down the aisle, but the bribe of a surprise and M&Ms helped tremendously.  After he sprinted to me, he stripped off his jacket and vest with a sigh. "I did it, Mommy!"

The Otten Family!

The happy exit to bubbles!

I love this picture of them!  Mr. and Mrs. Otten

A visit by Dad Voss

This past Thursday and Friday we were blessed to have Dad Voss down in ABQ for some business with us on base. Although most of the time was us in a conference room we were able to enjoy some of the local food and hanging out together. The kids loved seeing him and hanging out with their Grandpa.

Giraffe has adventures, too

And this is why I couldn't find Eva's lovey at nap time. She tucked it to sleep in the freezer. Didn't think of that one!

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sent from my mobile phone

Evangeline Elizabeth at 2 years old!

Our little Evangeline Elizabeth is now 2 years old!

Height: 34 3/4 inches

Weight: 28.2 lbs

Eva is becoming a creative, imaginative and passionate little girl, with a great sense of humor, and an "I can do it, too!" attitude. If she falls (from keeping up with the big kids) she rarely cries, seeing that as just slowing her down!

She is talking very well, though we have had to limit the pacifier to car time and sleeping as we noticed she wasn't saying any sounds that would push the pacifier out of her mouth (brother-- no "th" sound... she says "bruddah"). 

Eva rockin' the birthday presents Oma and Poppi gave her.  She loves that little purse, and carries it around with her arm high in the air so it won't slip off her shoulder.

Eva adores her big brother Elijah and wants to do whatever he does.

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October birthdays mean pumpkin carving!  The kids thoroughly enjoyed watching the candle make the jack-o-lantern glow.  After reading The Pumpkin Patch Parable, Elijah wanted to make a pumpkin that looked just like the picture in the book.  Eva kept saying, "Pumpkin HAPPY!!" She liked that it had a smiley face.

Calling Yia Yia (Nana.)  Oma and Poppi got Eva a toy cell phone for her birthday.  Eva loves it.  She picks up the phone and says "Hi, Yia Yia!"

Happy Birthday party at Menchie's frozen yogurt.  Eva got a big kick out of having a candle in her frozen yogurt, and loved us all singing.  She kept running up to the Menchie's workers and saying "Crown!" patting her head.  She was very proud of her paper crown.

Eva's birthday falls in the middle of Albuquerque's Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.  For her birthday celebration, we brought her down to see the balloons up close, at night for a Glowdeo, and in the morning to see them inflated.  She loved the balloons and collecting balloon cards from the pilots, but the real love of her life was discovered when she spotted the mounted police officers and got to pet the horses.  "Horsies!" became her delight.

The Noah's Ark balloon is pretty spectacular, and we think probably this little lady's favorite.  She spotted the giraffe and shouted "JOFFY!" (the name of her lovey giraffe.)

Her favorite toys right now are her baby dolls, all of which are named "Baby."  She rocks the babies, puts blankets on the babies and pretends to help the baby go to the potty (yeah... one of them took a dunk... we had to talk about that.)  Sometimes she will suddenly say "Oh, my... BABY!" as if she'd forgotten the baby somewhere, runs and grabs the baby saying "Baby cry!! Baby paci."  (Baby needs the pacifier because she's crying.)  We love watching her put her baby dolls on the riding Jeeps, or combine dolls and trains.

This pictures shows the sense of wonder and joy Eva expresses... She helped me buy balloons for our big reveal (that the babies are boys) and had such delight and joy over a simple thing like balloons!

And this should sum up our little Eva at 2 years old... Here she is modeling her "Mischief Managed" t-shirt. (Harry Potter reference...) If ever there was a little girl who fit such a shirt...

Uncle Tim's Visit

Last month Uncle Tim visited us here in ABQ for some good family time as well as a bit of golf. It was such a treat to spend time together and catch up. The kids especially loved spending time with their uncle that they don't get to see very often. 

One of the first days Tim was with us we headed up the Jemez mountains. It was a beautiful fall day with the trees starting to turn a beautiful gold against the red rock cliffs. Although very different than the midwest fall, the southwest fall has a beauty unto its own. 

We stopped at a stream so that Eli could pursue his new found love: fishing. Although he hasn't caught a fish yet, he loves casting the line and does a great job at it. 

We next went for a hike at Battleship rock where we enjoyed a great hike up the side of the mountain while following the stream. Tim and Eli stopping to take a break on a rock by the stream. 

Eva loved being with Tim and always wanted to be near him. Below she was getting a helping hand from her uncle on the steep trail up the mountain. 

One of the themes for the week was golf so we figured we would take the entire family to miniature golfing which was a huge hit with the kids. Eva picked up the idea of hitting the ball into the hole pretty quickly. 

Eli, who had gone golfing with me a year before, acted like an old pro when it came to the golfing. 

Although she may not have had the best aim, she sure got the celebration part down. 

On Saturday Tim was able to come to Elijah's soccer practice where he did a great job playing with his friend Merek. Eva enjoys the soccer as much Eli running around and having a great time. In the below picture she was running to Tim. 

Continuing on with the theme of golf Tim was able to golf at the exclusive Sandia Resort Golf Course... a virtual oasis in the desert. It was an absolutely beautiful golf course with some great golf. 

I rode along on the golf cart and enjoyed a great view and a wonderful time hanging out. It was such a blessing to spend a week together with Tim. 

Awana Grand Prix

We had our very first Awana Grand Prix this past Saturday with Elijah racing a bullet train and Eva looking forward to win she's old enough to do a car (probably next year). Originally Eli wanted a car looking something like Lighting McQueen, but then out of the blue he said he wanted a bullet train as we were going to cut the block of wood similar to the one in the below picture.

My goal was to have Elijah do as much of the work as possible so he could learn how to use tools and was surprised how well he did. 

Here he is painting the train with Eva watching from a protected vantage point. 

we painted some windows and doors on the train to make it look a bit more realistic. 

Elijah loved watching the cars race even when they weren't his. Racing cars is definitely something right up his alley. 

The look on his face every time his bullet train would race was priceless. 

His bullet trained lined up against some other cars. Eli was in the open race as there was no Cubbies category (the youngest age was Sparks) so he had to race against adults and teachers. 

In a way I was shocked how well the bullet train did as I didn't put in as much time as an engineering dad should of for a project like this. Below Eli is showing how he came in first in two of his heats, tied for first in the third, and came in third in his last heat (car nipped the inner rail and slowed it down). In a way I was glad it just made it down the track. 

Eli showing off his car and ribbon! 

They're BOYS!!

Are they boys or girls??

They're BOYS!!

Elijah was so excited when he first head the news that he pumped his fists in the air and said "YES!!"  Eva saw him, and imitated, pumping her little fists and shouting "Yes!" So we'll have three little boys and one tough little princess!

A blue balloon for each coming-soon brother.

We had a great ultrasound. The boys are growing equally, are just the right size they should be and are quite active.  The active part doesn't surprise us at all!  We feel very well supported medically, as well as supported from good friends in the area.  We'll be going for an ultrasound every two weeks, so there will be lots of pictures.