"Fail" Bars

Last Thanksgiving I attempted to make some pumpkin bars for the Roos family who were coming to visit Charlie and I. Since I am not a very good baker, I messed up the recipe and ending up making "fail" bars. They still tasted good but looked really bad. It was actually quite funny.

The pictures below document my attempt at making them again this year. According to Charlie they are now "mediocre" bars even though he ate half the pan already. Next year I may just have "good" bars.

Hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving!

Notice the sinking middle. I am blaming that on our oven. :)

Finished product

First Try

Wii

I love our new Wii. In fact, I think I need a reality check from it. When I started playing it was 6pm and when I looked up next it was 9pm. Not good. And what makes it even worse is that Charlie keeps beating me. Boo!!!!
Any recommendations on good games?

La Luz with Ma and Pa

Group Photo
Charlie and me

Mom and Dad

Dad coming up the trail

Me on the trail

The lovely rock slides

I think they had just about all they could take at this point. The rock slides suck!

Still more rock slides. They feel like they are never going to end.

Beautiful views from the top!

Almost done

We took my parents up the La Luz trail which is almost 9 miles from the bottom to the tram. They were troopers and I think they enjoyed almost everything except for the rock slides. It was exhausting but I always think the views are worth it!

Up, Up and Away!

Balloon Fiesta was great this year. My parents, Jan and Gerald, and cousin Sherry were here which made it even more fun!

Anniversary

Okay, so I know I promised some pictures of our anniversary date but we didn't actually go....yet. We ended up eating so much on last Saturday that the idea of going out for dinner was not very appealing and we decided to postpone. I have attached some pictures of the flowers Charlie got me and of us at the balloon fiesta on the 3rd.

5 Years!

Today is our 5 year anniversary! Can you believe it? Time went by so fast and it feels like just yesterday when I was walking down the aisle to say I do.
Charlie got my some beautiful roses that were delivered to work and I will post some pictures after our date tomorrow night to celebrate.

Charlie's New Toy

Today Charlie got a new toy. Doesn't he look good by it? :)

Iowa City, Iowa

Charlie and I went back to Iowa City on September 3-8 and had a great time. We enjoyed seeing the Roos family again, meeting our new nephew Beckett for the first time, and tailgating at the Iowa vs UNI game. Here are some pictures from our trip.

The Bonnie Roos Family at the Wig and Pen (our favorite pizza place in Iowa City)

Charlie and Ben

Bonnie and Beckett

Pete and Me

Charlie and Me

Mr. Beckett styling in his shades

Randy, me and CharlieMegan and Me

Goofing Off

Charlie and Ben

Beckett and me

The Roos Men

Margarita dispenser. Who knew? Ben and Megan enjoyed it too.

Me, Megan and Karen
The Randy Roos family

Opera

Last night Charlie and I went to the opera in Santa Fe. We saw The Elixir of Love and I thought it was great. The venue was beautiful and the music was fantastic. All I need to do now is learn Italian because even though they had the words in front of me, it would be more fun to just know what they are saying without having to read it.

By the way, I just got a hair cut too. Kind of short but exactly what I wanted.

Green Chile

One of my favorite times of the year in Albuquerque is the green chile harvest. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, green chiles are DELICIOUS! Secondly, it makes the city smell really good from the roasting of the green chiles. So much that I wish I could capture the scent and send it to you through the computer.
Here are a couple of pictures of our green chile experience last year.

The green chiles roasted in the bag.
The cut up green chiles before they are put in plastic bags and frozen for future eating.

Chopping Charlie

Me with a crazy look on my face before I peel the roasting off and then cut up.

Albuquerque - My favorite things

I thought that I would start sharing some pictures of a few of my favorite things about living in Albuquerque over the next couple of months. Since most of you will not ever see Albuquerque, I thought it would be fun to give you a perspective through my eyes.

Up first...Historic Route 66.

On Route 66 there are a ton of the old signs still standing from when people from all over the country traveled this well known route. It is really cool because you feel like you are seeing a part of history. Attached are some pictures of those signs.

Besides the cool signs, there are a ton of one-of-a-kind shops to browse and great restaurants in the Nob Hill District, the University of New Mexico and all of its activities, and a downtown that is continuing to gain in popularity.
Stay tuned for more of my favorite things!