Fall is Here!

Hello everyone!! I'm not sure how many of you guys actually read this, so hopefully I didn't keep many people waiting. A LOT has happened since the last post (although I think that's what I say every time). Albuquerque isn't much different in the fall except for the slightly cooler tempatures, especially in the morning. There obviously aren't too many leaves around here, so the color changes aren't as prominent as they are back east. However, the chilly temps are a welcomed break from the summer heat.

Both of our jobs are going well...mine is extremely busy these days (which is good)...and Cari's is also very challenging. Although I think the most challenging part is trying to stay healthy when the kids are out every other day with something gross.

It's also been a crazy past month with traveling. I had the opportunity to go back to the east coast for Jon's "bachelor party," which involved a weekend of little sleep and lots of food and fishing. It was great to see him and hang out for the weekend...even if I did only shower once the whole time :) A couple weeks later, I traveled up to New Hampshire (Manchester/Merrimack) for work. My boss and most of my team is located at Fidelity's site in Merrimack, NH, so Fidelity flew myself and my team of 3 others up for the week (all expenses paid). We got the chance to meet with the people we work with on a daily basis and attend meetings in person as opposed to on the phones. I definitely missed Cari and Belle, but we had an excellent time..eating out every night, traveling to Boston and Portsmouth, and just being on the east coast!

We also celebrated a BIRTHDAY!! September 19th was Cari's birthday. In trying to plan something fun, I purchased train tickets (New Mexico Railrunner) to Santa Fe and took Cari to the Georgia O'Keeffe art museum. The train ride was an excellent alternative to driving, even though it took a half hour longer. However, we didn't have to worry about traffic or parking. There is a station about 5 minutes from our apartment, and the Santa Fe depot is extremely close to the Plaza and the museum. Luckily, the weather was incredible, so we sat on the Plaza and got a couple Fajitas from the Taco cart...delicious! The museum was nice too...it was good to learn about Georgia O'Keeffe and her interpretation of New Mexican culture. After a couple drinks and chips/salsa at our favorite Santa Fe restuarante (Tomasista's), we caught the train back and had a nice shrimp dinner and ice cream cake!

Finally, we've experienced two major Albuquerque cultural events in the past month. The first was the New Mexico State Fair...and talk about being the minority! We didn't go for too long, but long enough to realize that it was HUGE. There were tons of food, shows, and concerts. We enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Hispanic Village, watched the performing pigs (lame), and the Tiger show (awesome). Overall, it was just like most fairs...lots of people, lots of overpriced food, and just something fun to do. The second event was the 2009 Balloon Fiesta!! The event lasts for over a week, with different "mass ascensions" (when all the balloons take off at the same time) and "glowdeos" (at night, when the balloons are tied to the ground, but inflated and lit up). Since we were out of town for the first weekend, we decided to go during the last weekend. Cari and I went to the Special Shapes Glowdeo on a Friday night. Special Shapes are balloons that are different characters or objects (beer mugs, Spongebob, footballs, etc). It was pretty cool to see, but also had kind of a creepy funhouse feel to it. We had some greasy (but great) cheesesteaks and cheese fries (again, overpriced...but oh well). We tried to go to the final farewell mass ascension on Sunday. We got up at 5:15 so we could leave by 6 (the event was supposed to start at 7) and beat the traffic. Fortunately, we got a great parking spot and free admission from some nice people who had extra tickets. However, it was FREEZING. We were unprepared and definitely underdressed for the 40 degree weather. It was also windy which didn't help. Speaking of windy, apparently balloons don't fly if it's too windy...so the ascension was cancelled :( We did get some good hot chocolate, a cinnamon roll, and a "world's famous" breakfast burrito. It was a little disappointing not to see the balloons go up, but we were able to see some flying on Saturday above our apartment complex. We also saw quite a few throughout the week on the way to work...so not all was lost.

I think that's it for now...time to go to church. We are looking forward to seeing my parents in a couple of weeks. Also, Cari's family was supposed to come this week, but her sister came down with the swine flu late last week so they had to cancel. Please keep all of them in your prayers. A special congratulations is due to Jon and Megan who were married in Baltimore last weekend. We were so thankful to get to spend that time with them and their friends and family (and get to see my parents!!). We wish you guys the best and hope the honeymoon was fantastic! Anyways, we hope everyone is doing well and can't wait to see you all soon!