Living in Munchkinland

On Friday afternoon, I picked up the kids early from their respective schools, drove to the Denver airport, picked up Michael (he'd worked all week in South Carolina) and drove straight down I25 to Santa Fe. We did the trip in six hours which was amazing. We got to the Hotel la Fonda around 7:30pm, and checked out our amazing suite. (a birthday present for Michael from mom!) The kids settled in and Michael and I went downstairs to meet mom and Paul at the bar. We had food and margaritas and even danced a round to a band from Tennessee before heading up to bed. Saturday was Michael's birthday. We gave him a present (Rivals of Catan card game for 2) and gifts and then went down to the restaurant for a lovely breakfast with Mom and Paul. Then we drove out to Meow Wolf! Meow Wolf was absolutely incredible and even more fun than I thought it would be. Michael and the boys explored the space and I took my time, investigating clues. After about two hours, we left to go meet Marcie ...

Davis started his 8th grade year at STEM and a week and a half later, Samuel started 6th grade at his new school, Anastasis. Verdict: They love their schools. Woohoo!

Our drive home from Espanola was terrible. We hit awful traffic and it took forever. I almost missed my Brandi Carlile concert! Luckily, Suzy met us close to Red Rocks and I hopped from our car to hers and Michael took the boys home while we made to Red Rocks in plenty of time to tailgate before the show. It was so fun and Brandi was amazing. The next morning Davis went back to school at STEM and we began to start our fall routine. Samuel didn't start school yet, but we kept busy. He built legos and I worked out and cooked. Michael and I are doing a 21 day "lean and tone" program that involves a specific meal plan. Michael was home again and it was very nice. The kids still played long afternoons outside with their friends. I cut my thumb pretty seriously on some glass after a guacamole/cookie jar incident and had to go to urgent care for steri strips and glue. Last weekend we had Catan night with neighbors on Friday, two tennis matches on Saturday and then on Saturday...

Marcie recently purchased an event center where she runs the flower shop and where her day care is located. She is the most amazing entrepreneur that I have ever met. In her new event space, there is a gorgeous fine dining restaurant and a bar, and an outside party space that is amazing. That is where her party took place. We all got rooms at the Delta right next door so we could walk back and forth from the party. The Delta was absolutely beautiful and the rooms were huge! Sam especially appreciated the satin sheets, lol. After we checked in and quickly changed into party clothes, we all headed to Marcie's for a pre-party cocktail. My Aunt Char and Uncle Mike were there and it was so fun to be all together. The cousins were excited to see Marcie and Ann's beautiful home and the kids were thrilled to be together with their cousins. Then we drove back to the event space and had a party! The food was abundant and delicious. There were fajitas and chips and guacamole and enchil...

After a week at home, we loaded up the car and drove back out of Denver. Our destination was New Mexico. We left early on Wednesday morning and made it to Taos in 4 hours and 15 minutes, a record! We lunched at Orlandos and then went to the house where we unpacked and got settled and a little while later, my mom arrived! That evening we went to dinner at Common Fire which was absolutely delicious! My mom and I walked the sage brush trail that evening and saw the most amazing sunset. The next morning Mom, Davis, Samuel and I hiked Italianos. It's our favorite hike and it was wonderful! We stopped on our way down at the Taos Cow for sandwiches. Yum! In the evening, we all went to the Plaza for the the free Live Music that happens on Thursday nights. There had been a big monsoon that afternoon and it made for a pleasantly cool evening. The music was really good and we all danced. It was so fun. After the show, we walked to Bellas for dinner. The service was abysmal, but the food was...