Tree Planting in the Bosque

I just love our Roots and Shoots group! Again, the kids and I had an incredible opportunity to do something really good for our community.


Yesterday we participated in planting 100 trees in the Bosque in honor of the 100th year since Aldo Leopold came to New Mexico. Here's a short article in the newspaper about the event.


It was hard work. As I was thinking about it today, I thought that the most inspiring part of the day was that our kids would have been happy to be out there even if there hadn't been news crews and dignitaries.


That's why I love this group so much!


And here's my sweet girlie girl after sliding face first on her belly down this dirt hill just before we were getting ready to leave. While I usually don't mind dirt, that's a lot of dirt!

Heaven Bound Balloon Team

We had the most amazing experience yesterday morning. Some friends asked if we wanted to go help crew for their friend's hot air balloon. Of course, we said, "Yes!" It was a really early morning especially for a Saturday. We had to be out of the house by 6 am. And it was coooold. But still totally worth it!



The kids all had a chance to get involved and help with getting everything ready for lift off.





It was a mini-festival of sorts. It was called the Friends and Lovers Balloon Rally. I think I heard that there were 80 balloons there that day.



The name of the balloon is "Heaven Bound." This is right before the pilot turned on the burners and got the balloon upright.


And here it is off the ground! My good friend Cindy and her son were the lucky ones who got to take a ride that morning.


We chased the balloon in our car until it landed on this open land.



Here everyone is pitching in to get the balloon back in its bag. What a fun and memorable day! Definitely, worth getting up early on a Saturday morning!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We celebrated Valentine's Day yesterday by partying with our playgroup friends. The kids had a blast decorating Valentine sugar cookies. We had an incredible day today, but I'll have to post more on that tomorrow!

I Have an 8 Year Old!

Earlier this week, my oldest had his 8th Birthday! I cannot believe that he is 8 years old. We celebrated his birthday at one of the city's indoor pools. I felt like the cupcakes I made were uninspired this year, but the kids loved them. We tried to stick to a pool/water theme. I just frosted them blue and stuck little gummy sea creatures on them. B invited a bunch of friends from our playgroup, homeschool group and his soccer team. It really is unbelievable how much energy 7 and 8 year old boys have! They got to go down the really cool slide and have squirt gun fights in the pool.


B had received some money from his Colorado grandparents for his birthday gift. He asked if we could stop by Big 5 on the way to the pool to buy some nice goggles. He had some inexpensive ones that he'd been frustrated with during his swim lessons. The new ones are pretty cool! He received so many wonderful gifts from his friends - lots of Lego sets. Although we've been so busy this week that he hasn't had a chance to really sit down and work on them. He was even asking me when we could leave the park today so he could come home. That doesn't happen very often! He also got a new chess set and Star Wars monopoly. I think I know what the family will be doing this weekend!

Finished Baby Mary Janes

Here's my latest finished knitting project. This is the third time I've made these Mary Jane Baby Booties. The pattern is very simple but I've been so happy with the results every time I've made them. This time they were for a fellow homeschooling mom and friend who is expecting her third girl in a little over a month. I snapped a quick photo as I was frantically trying to wrap them up for her baby shower this past Saturday. (I was running a little late.) The baby shower, hosted by another homeschooling mom and friend, was so much fun!