A break from the daily grind

What a weekend! Last Thursday we drove all the way to Albuquerque, NM with Grandma Duersch and Aunt Ruth. The main event was the baptism of Benjamin's cousin Lane Sego, but we did so many other fun things, too.

Our 10-hour drive down took a few hours more than planned since we decided to stop at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. We saw some really cool ruins that look like this:

We arrived in Albuquerque late on Thursday night, and after a few hours of sleep woke up to go to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. This is an annual event in Albuquerque that I went to a few times growing up, but I haven't been to it since high school. Even then I didn't get the full experience, so it was great to go again. Paul thought it was amazing, and in a few years Benjamin will think so, too.

We got to Balloon Fiesta Park at about 6:30 a.m. There were yummy breakfast burritos, fun balloon shapes, chainsaw carvers, and plenty of people bundled up against the cold just like us. There were even Storm Troopers.

Early morning

Balloons starting to go up

Benjamin thought this guy was so cool

Balloon Gondola

Chainsaw carver guy

After a long morning, we were all pretty beat.

But there was more to do....

Next stop, Santa Fe. After a quick stop for the diapers we forgot to pack, we headed off with the Sego family to the capital of New Mexico. You would think that, having lived in NM for 18 years, I would have visited Santa Fe at least once. Well, I did go there once, but I didn't go anywhere in the city or see anything outside the campus of St. John's College, so it doesn't count.

We ate at a place called The Burrito Co. Cafe. It's so nice to have some real New Mexican food once in a while!



We spent the afternoon walking around the plaza and visiting galleries and shops. Below is a picture of Native American vendors selling their crafts and jewelery.



Saturday morning we finally got to sleep in! Than Paul and I drove with Grandma and Ruth around the neighborhood where I grew up. I wish I could show a good picture of the house I grew up in, but it's too depressing to look at now. (The new owner has let everything go to waste.) We also drove by the Ernie Pyle library, Bandelier Elementary, and Highland High School. Fun to see old spots, but so glad to be where I am now!

A very wonderful and important part of our visit to Albuquerque was our visits with my parents. We saw my dad in Rio Rancho first. Unfortunately, Benjamin was a little grumpy during our visit with Grandpa Key, but at least they could spend some time together.


Saturday evening I was going to go to the Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival with Paul's mom and his sisters Heidi and Ruth but I just didn't feel like spending $6 on admission that we thought was free. So instead Ruth and I stayed in the car and did homework, which really wasn't all that bad. (Sorry for the boring details. I'm just trying to be thorough.)

That night we joined Heidi's husband Landon's family (the Segos) for a hamburger cookout, and Paul's oldest brother Brett flew in from Pennsylvania with his son Tom. This is a picture of us playing a card game called "Big Fish, Little Fish," or something like that.

Sunday we had a nice visit with my mom. Benjamin had his first taste of Mac & Cheese from a box, and although I wanted to keep it clean and feed it to him myself, he has now decided that he won't eat anything unless he can do it himself. And I mean anything. But that's a post for another time.

Church with Grandma Key was fun because we got to visit with Brother Croasdell, a member of my old ward, and we got to watch the Primary practice their Sacrament Meeting Program since my mom is a Primary teacher.
We also got to visit with Benjamin's aunts Sarah and Melissa. Sorry, Sarah, we didn't get a picture with you!


Lane was baptized on Sunday evening, and it was wonderful! We're so proud of you, buddy! Thanks for inviting us! (Sorry, no pictures of that one... we left the camera in the car.)

And that was our vacation! Thanks to Grandma Duersch for taking us in her van, and to both her and Ruth for keeping Benjamin content in the back seat! And thanks to Lane for being baptised so we could have such a great mid-semester break!