The Dorman's Visit NM

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Luke and I spent our Easter weekend entertaining Luke's family in New Mexico. Wes, Amanda, Abigail, and Abigail's friend Caitlyn all made the journey from Savannah this past Wednesday. I gave them the grand tour of Carlsbad on Thursday, and then headed north to Santa Fe for the weekend. Above is a picture of the traditional Santa Fe building. I love the architecture in Santa Fe and could definitely see myself living in this high town. The elevation in Carlsbad is already a high 3,000 ft, but Santa Fe's elevation is 7,000 ft. above sea level.

Here is a picture of the Plaza. You can see some of the mountain backdrop through the trees. The Plaza is the heart of Santa Fe and just a great place to visit. You can find tons of Native Americans lining the Palace of the Governors a 400 year old building selling their beautiful jewelry. I thinks it's important to note that the Native Americans selling in the Plaza are held to standards when it come to their products. They have to be 98% sterling silver, hand crafted, and tons of other restrictions that allow you as the tourist to know you are getting a quality product.

We also toured the New Mexico History Museum that just opened it's doors in 2009. The museum was great and offered everything you need to know about New Mexico's history. A lot of interesting history: the atomic bomb, the Mexican-American war, the Native Americans who originally roamed these lands, and much more.

Below is a picture of the miraculous staircase in Loretta Chapel. This staircase is an amazing site to behold with no center or outer supports. Engineers today still cannot quite figure out how this works and supports itself. When the stairs were originally constructed there was no railing, so it really appeared to float. Another interesting note is the amazing carpenter remains unknown. As legend has it, the nuns needed a staircase built and prayed about it, a man shows up and spends much time laboring and building the stairs, once complete the man disappears without even accepting payment. I always love a good mystery!

Last but not least, turns out Luke has a cousin that lives between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. His cousin is a very distance cousin that he has never met until this weekend. Luke's cousin is a horseman. People bring horses to his house from all over the country and even Canada that need to be broken in. Sunday we visited his home and horses. His daughter is Miss Rodeo New Mexico 2010, so we were excited to dress up in a lot of her fun things. Jean her mom makes these great pieces in her leather shop. The craftsmanship is amazing and makes me want to try out leather working myself. I wish you could see it better, but my chaps say Tough Enough--it's a breast cancer awareness chap that has a matching jacket. As you can see I'm a little bit tall, so my chaps don't hit the ground like Ab's and Caitlyn's pairs.

Lazy Days

This weekend Luke and I stayed in Carlsbad. We have been traveling so much that a lazy weekend was desperately needed. We grilled out in the beautiful weather, and checked on our garden.

Sunday after church we played Frisbee golf. I was a total dork and embarrassed Luke by wearing a glove on my throwing hand (the darn Frisbee's tear up my fingers if I don't). I looked like a serious contender, but I didn't play too well. When it came to the tournament however, I took Luke into sudden death, and ended up losing by only one stroke. I'll get better and eventually win!

Here is a picture of our growing garden! Lettuce, brussel sprouts, collards, and broccoli

A baby lettuce head

Our yellow squash is really doing well. I think every seed I planted has popped up already.

Luke working the grill and enjoying a mid-day Margarita

Upgrades

Luke and I both have Dell computer from 2002. They are wonderful computers that definitely served us well over their long life.

However, it's time for an upgrade!

I have been craving a new computer for a while now. Finally I pulled the purchase trigger last Monday. In super speed my new, amazing, super fast, beautiful computer arrived this past Friday morning. Luke and I really wanted something for pictures and videos. We also love the idea of no tower or cords taking over our space(that one white cord will be plugged directly into the wall... and that's it in terms of cords). So... we splurged and got the IMAC!

I already LOVE IT. So far I don't seem to be having trouble making the MAC switch either. Isn't she a beauty!!!

Many happy blog days ahead!

Goodbye Ski Season

This past weekend finished a wonderful ski season for Luke and I. Friday afternoon we headed to Roswell and joined up with Mandy and Jacob (our fellow Auburn grads living in Hobbs), and drove up to Red River, NM for a weekend of skiing. We had a little trouble on the drive up with snow storms(yet again Luke and I have to wait for a mtn. pass to be cleared), but after while we finally made it to town around midnight. Red River is a great ski town! Very cute little town with wild Mule Deer roaming the streets and everything within walking distance-- including the ski lifts!!

Here is a picture of Luke catching air. He is getting brave on his board now. As you can see here--he didn't land this. I must say I am a little sad that he is now a better boarder than me. I think his fearless attitude has a lot to do with him surpassing me, but I do feel like I have gotten better this season. Luke and I had the best boards at Red River and decided if we move to another ski friendly area, we'll purchase our own boards.

My cousins were also at Red River for the weekend, so it was great seeing and skiing with them. My first cousins are Megan in the green and Heather in the yellow.

Here is a shot of me, Jacob and Mandy coming down the mountain. Unfortunately I just realized we didn't get one group shot with the four of us. I guess that means we'll have to make a trip next season:) Jacob is left, me middle, and Mandy right

Last but not least I must mention our delicious Sunday lunch. We stopped in at this place called Old Timer's Cafe. We didn't know what to really expect, but were pleasantly surprised with amazing food. Here is a shot of the largest calzone EVER! Luke and I shared this family size monster and even had enough left over for dinner that night, and lunch the next day. Overall Luke and I had a blast this winter being so close to great slopes and adventures.

Jenna and Prem Visit New Mexico: Part 4 -The End

So...the trip was a complete blast! Saturday night we ventured to the Fiesta Drive In. Carlsbad does have some pretty cool stuff I'll admit. At the drive in we watched Valentine's Day--late I know, but it was a pretty cute movie and we all had a good time for pretty cheap.
Sunday we headed over to the Carlsbad Frisbee golf course. Nobody had ever played real Frisbee golf, but we are great at the Wii game! So...we started off a little rough with Prem and Luke throwing their driver over a barbed wire fence (Prem thankfully jumped it and retrieved the drivers). However, once we got the hang of things the game was a lot of fun. Then crazy enough one of our two tour guides from the caverns showed up with his wife and friends, and we had a couples scramble that was tons of fun. I think Luke and I are going to be addicted to Frisbee golf and even more happy to have some new friends in town.

Sadly enough, Monday did come, and I woke up to drive Jenna and Prem back to El Paso for their flight. I am sad to see them go, but loved having them come. Thanks Jenna and Prem for making the journey, and anyone else who is up for a great adventure just let me know!!!

Jenna and Prem Visit New Mexico: Part 3

Saturday was probably my favorite day of the entire trip. I think Prem mentioned it was his favorite day as well. Saturday morning we headed to the Carlsbad Caverns. The Caverns are a must see item before you die. Luke and I had not ventured to the caverns yet since we know all visitors would want to see that sight. We arrived at the caverns in just enough time to tour the Great Room (an elevator ride down 75 floors into the Earth's surface (750ft.) so massive 40 football fields could fit inside, and for us to grab a quick bite to eat for lunch before our tour.
I booked us on the Hall of the White Giant ranger led tour. This four hour tour was suppose to be intense, challenging, and definitely lived up to it's reputation. We had to bring our own knee pads, wear long pants, bring batteries for our head lamps, bring gloves, not afraid of heights, and no fear of tiny spaces allowed. The beginning of the tour starts off with some serious small spaces that I really thought my butt wasn't going to make it through. They call it the corkscrew and it was only the beginning. We crawled, climbed, pulled our way up tiny ropes and tiny ladders on an amazing adventure. We even set in total darkness for a long while just to experience life without light. After such a great time, Luke and I are going to work on completing all tours before we leave Carlsbad.

Ranger Jenna!

Luke and our guide Chris

The whole group in a spot we could all fit!

Me and Jenna working our way through

Amazing formations

Jenna making her way through some tight spots

Jenna and Prem Visit New Mexico: Part 2

I am breaking up Jenna and Prem's visit into multiple installments due to the large volume of activities.

So, to continue on our journey we finished up skiing and headed home to Carlsbad which is only around 2 and 1/2 hours away.

Friday Luke went to work and I gave Jenna and Prem the grand tour of Carlsbad. The first stop on our tour was The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. Yes folks! Carlsbad has a zoo! Shocker I know.

Jenna checking out the Havilinas. They look like boars, but they are not even related to pigs.

Mexican wolves are an endangered species. I will say they are super huge and scary, yet beautiful.
Jenna's Lovely Cactus Hat
After the zoo we met Luke for a yummy Mexican lunch at the Pecos River Cafe and went paddle boating on the river. I will say paddle boating is a great workout and much more work than I remembered. I also forgot to take my camera for this leg of the journey, so here are some pics I stole off the Internet.

The lovely Pecos River- Carlsbad Riverfront!