New Mexico Volume 3

I think I can wrap this up in one final post. Let's see, shall we?







So, the morning after the wedding I met up with an old friend Kate while the troop went out for breakfast. Soon after we hit the road, headed to Eric's hometown of Alamogordo. We drove through Roswell and somewhere around Ruidoso our a/c went out. Now, this is not the first time we've had an a/c break down in NM, never fails on a 100 degree day. So, we cruised into Alamogordo a little smellier than when we'd hit the road. Thankfully it was an easy fix and our a/c was up and running later that day.

While in Alamogordo we did a lot of visiting. We hung out with Eric's family, our friends the Burts (I didn't get a single photo!), and the Copelands of course.


Eric's sister Tina with Elise






Out to dinner with Eric's side of the family






Cordelia enjoyed the hats at the antique store we visited.






We spent time with Eric's 97 year old grandfather who gifted him with his beloved banjo.


The Copelands treated us to a lovely afternoon/evening on our anniversary. We ate dinner and lounged around the pool before sharing some anniversary champagne. No better way to celebrate our anniversary than with two people who have been there through it all!

Then it was time to head north. The morning we planned to leave is when things took a turn... Elise slipped and fell and hit her head. When I picked her up to comfort her she puked. She seemed to rally, then she puked in the car. So I took her to the ER in Alamogordo. If you suspect a head injury is the source of puking you go to the ER, especially if you have to drive through the middle of nowhere, we wanted to make sure Elise was fine and that it was safe to travel. The doctor looked her over and said she was just fine to travel. So we grabbed some breakfast and hit the road. Then she puked again...in the car seat, a lot. We pulled off the road at a little tourist stop and cleaned up to the best of our ability. I called the ER doc again and he said it was probably over with that and we should continue on to Albuquerque. Eric had work in Albuquerque so we were motivated to get there.

We arrived at our hotel and all was well for the afternoon. We grabbed some dinner. Elise ate very little, but what she did eat multiplied in her stomach and then spewed all over our hotel room. So, at this point Eric and I were pretty concerned. We called our doctor's answering service and were advised to get to the ER and prepare for a CT scan. So, at 10:30 that night I took Elise to the ER while Eric waited in the hotel with a sleeping Cordelia.





Elise and I were in the ER in Albuquerque until 2:30 that morning. The doctor and I decided to skip the CT scan as I just had a weird feeling that there was something of a viral nature, not simply a concussion---a weird coincidence.

The next morning Elise was pretty much back to normal. So we continued on up to Santa Fe where we planned to do a little sight seeing and meet up with my brother Ben.
















We had a nice afternoon. We checked out the San Loretto chapel and wandered around the plaza. All seemed well until dinner time when Cordelia got pretty whiny. We called it a night and assumed a good rest would help the girls get back on track.


Wrong!

The next morning Elise was great. Cordelia was not. She was whiny and complaining that her stomach hurt. Assuming that it would pass, this happens to kids from time to time, we hit the road. Cordelia seemed fine. Then, right smack dab in the middle of nowhere, vomit all over the car.

We pulled off the road, Ben entertained Elise. Eric cleaned the car seat. I cleaned Cordelia.

Yep, that's right, three car pukes by this point.

We got back on the road and Cordelia was a miserable little girl, but she was a trooper. We stopped to grab a bite to eat (not her,just everyone else) and she got sick AGAIN, so I sat outside in the grass with Cordelia snuggled in my lap. The sweet girl told me she was sorry, poor kid. We made it to the hotel and she was happy to crash in the bed and by morning was back on track.



Unfortunately Eric became ill in the night, though he had the courtesy to avoid puking in the car! We realized that it was down to my brother Ben and I. So we hit the road, afraid that soon we too would be incapacitated. Mercifully we made it home and neither Ben nor I ever became ill. When we were safely home I sanitized everything and Eric recovered on the couch. So, that was one for the record books!

New Mexico Volume 2

The next morning we were in no rush as we didn't have anywhere to be until 7pm (sharp!). We decided to take our time and do a little more exploring of Santa Fe. We stopped by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and wandered the streets a bit.






We gave the girls the opportunity to blow off a little steam at the children's museum.













We grabbed lunch from the buffet at Whole Foods and nearly ate them out of fresh produce. Seriously you guys, eating fresh fruits and veggies on a road trip could make me weep for joy. Even Cordelia was happy to eat peas and corn without whining.

 Then we hit the road, headed toward the small town of Portales. The community of Portales is noteworthy for two reasons 1) Eric and I started our undergrad degrees there 2) Anne and Andy have called that home for many years (if you follow my blog you know that Andy and Anne are/were spending a year in Mexico) and were there for a visit.

On our way we stopped in Santa Rosa, a small pass-through (sorry, but it is true) town. Randomly Eric ran into his brother-in-law and one of our nephews at a gas station! They live hours and hours away, but were on their way to Kansas and it was just a happy accident that we all met up for a few moments.

Elise was waaay overdue for a nap as evidenced by this photo.

We only had a few minutes to catch up before we took on the final leg of our journey. We were headed for a legendary surprise. We drove our way down the still familiar roads as a storm was on our tail. We eyed the storm nervously because the surprise involved an outdoor venue and by the look of the storm it was a big one.

When we made it to Portales and checked into our hotel the storm was upon us, it hit hard and the streets were flooded almost instantly, this is a pretty common occurrence in NM during the monsoon season. Andy Mason, whom I have mentioned here too many times to count, called us to redirect us. We were to meet at an indoor location at 7pm sharp. We were not to tell Anne, his lady love of seven years, that we were in town.

We readied ourselves and ran to the car to avoid the rain. When we arrived at the new location we went inside and took a seat among Anne and Andy's friends and family and waited, everyone was sooooo excited. There were whispers and giggles and reunions of people who hadn't seen each other in ages.

Finally Anne entered. She had been told she was attending some sort of dress up party so she was wearing a pretty dress. I watched from my place as she was greeted by her family and friends from near and far. Finally she spotted me and I think that is when she knew something really big was about to happen as we haven't been back to Portales in over a decade. She started crying and it took all of my power to not sob for joy, because I knew what was coming!


Then Andy took the mic.


He spoke for a few minutes and then his beautiful daughter Kew joined him to sing a lovely song.




When they were done, Kew went and watched with Anne while Andy serenaded this lovely woman. The room was filling up with love, it was just so amazing to be a part of this moment, watching it unfold.

Then he did it, finally. He proposed to Anne. For the record these are two of the most amazing people in the entire world and they both feel like family to us, so it was just so amazing to see this moment unfold. Don't worry though, Anne was sassy and her reply was," I guess so!"


Photo by Stefan Kiesbye

I kid you not, the moment Andy proposed the storm broke and a double rainbow appeared in the window behind Andy. The crowd oohed and aaahed at the phenomenon and it's timing couldn't have been better. Eric teased Andy that he went a little overboard with the cheesy romance.

But wait, there's more! Andy called up a minister from the crowd, then he called up bridesmaids (Anne's sister Soley, Kew, and myself) and groomsmen (Andy's friend, Eric and Anne's brother). Yep, it was an instant wedding. Cordelia was holding the rings. Someone popped in with a bouquet. I gave Anne her something old, new, borrowed, blue. We were all set!


 Photo by Stefan Kiesbye

Photo by Stefan Kiesbye



Photo by Stefan Kiesbye


The wedding was beautiful and perfect, with the exception of the moment that Elise yelled out," I go poopy momma! I go pooooopyyyyy!" Thankfully nobody cared and everything went beautifully. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as we watched this amazing couple seal the deal!

Then there was music, cake, dancing, playing outside in the fresh air.

Photo by Stefan Kiesbye


 Photo by Stefan Kiesbye






Also, a nice woman offered to take a family photo. This is what we got...

A short while later much of the crew went to the courthouse to sign the marriage license. Andy had called in some favors and a woman was waiting for them after hours!
Photo by Stefan Kiesbye

We went to bed that night floating on a cloud of joy. What a gift to be a part of pretty much the coolest wedding of all time! What better couple to see together! Wahooooooo!

New Mexico Volume 1

Well, if you read my post last Friday then you may know that this trip takes a turn, somewhere near Albuquerque, but we did manage to have a great time in spite of...well...you'll see.

We left home, our car packed for adventure. We were all ready to enjoy a long trip. The girls were excited. Cordelia is an old hand at car travel and knew the drill. Elise started out chanting, "New Mexico!" She was calling out, "Wanna go home," by the time we'd gone about thirty miles. Don't worry, she rallied and got into the groove of travel and enjoyed herself immensely.









We stopped in Cheyenne to check out Frontier park as day one was our longest day of driving. Frontier Park had a lake and gardens which we enjoyed for a quick picnic. When we were done eating we hit up the children's park, it was free and amazing!!! The girls went nuts!











When we were done in Cheyenne it was a straight shot to Trinidad, CO.









The next morning we headed to Santa Fe and spontaneously decided to swing through Taos. We loved the drive through the mountains of northern New Mexico and spent the afternoon in Taos. We grabbed some lunch, found an awesome children's play spot and then toured a museum before heading to Santa Fe for the night.











While in Santa Fe we hit up the plaza and visited galleries and touristy shops, the girls enjoyed all of the walking and people watching.

The next day we hit the road....on to the BEST part of our trip. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post.