West Point, NY Trip

We had a great time in West Point. We went for just over a week to visit my sister and family and so Frank could attend a college course at the Washington Campus. Frank caught a train to DC and stayed in DC from mid Sunday through early Saturday. He listened to speakers all day long and learned about how business and politics effect each other. While he was gone, the kids and I hung out with Aunt Laura, Uncle Andy, and the cousins. Zoe and Jenna just loved seeing their cousins, and I don't think the excitement level wore down all week! Every night now Zoe says she wants to go see her cousins again!

While in NY, Laura, the kids, and I took a trip to Jersey to visit the Ankosko cousins. It is always nice to see everyone! Despite the rain, Bobby cooked out and we all enjoyed dinner and great company. The only downside was that on the ride home, Laura's car got a flat. Maybe it was a good thing though, because when I went to get my wallet I realized it and the entire diaper bag were still in Jersey! We were about half way home (that's about 45 minutes) at that point and were dreading the return trip since it was already getting very late. Fortunately, Lorraine saved the day by meeting us half way with the diaper bag. So next time, the drill will be everyone makes sure Kelley is prepared before leaving! We wound up getting home at about 11pm, which wasn't too bad considering the chaos of the evening!

Another highlight was Laura and I getting to NYC sans kids! Uncle Andy and Frank played Mr Mom while the girls explored the city. We went to see the Broadway show 'Grease', which was especially neat since we watched the reality show 'You're the one that I Want' that picked the lead roles of Danny and Sandy. It was a lot of fun! We had the best seats ever, right in the front. We were so close that we posed a couple pictures by putting the camera on stage and setting the timer for a self portrait. That worked great, well until we got yelled at by the staff that we weren't allowed to touch the stage. Oops! After the show we walked to Central Park and through Times Square. We enjoyed a few NY foods including some yummy pastries and roasted almonds from a street vendor. We had a fabulous day and are so grateful for our day out!

Another fun, but unexpected, highlight was the kids discovering all the caterpillars in the yard. Brittany was so brave and picked one right up and let it crawl up her arm! Zoe was intrigued, and I eventually felt confident enough for her to hold one on her own. She laughed and laughed as it tickled her arm while it walked around. The boys liked the caterpillars too, and were amazingly gentle with them all. Brittany even decided to keep a couple as pets, so her dad helped her set up a little cage so they could watch them turn into butterflies.

Other that that, we toured West Point, which is an absolutely gorgeous post. We also got to Bear Mountain Park, complete with a little zoo. But mostly, Laura and I did a lot of relaxing and just enjoyed each other's company. I am now realizing that I am writing a lot about this trip. Well, I guess I have a lot to say! The week went fast, and we had a lot of fun. We hope to get there again before too long!




The kids at McDonald's (a favorite stop!) - Laura and I at Trophy Point at West Point - Laura, Nathan, Zoe, and Jenna on our picnic at Bear Mountain Park - Alex showing Zoe how to play the piano (so cute!)

Dinner with the Hollands

Our dear friends the Hollands have just moved from New Mexico to Colorado Springs. We've had almost three years here together with them. It's been fun - Zoe and their boy Tristan are only a couple weeks apart, and Sharon and I have known each other since before we got pregnant. Good thing is that Colorado Springs is only about 5 or 6 hours away, so visiting is definitely in order! They were in back in the Albuquerque area this Thursday to close on their house, so we all got together for dinner and smores (as is the usual night time entertainment around here!) We had a great night and the kids loved seeing each other! Hopefully we'll visit again before too long.

Old Friends

An old friend of ours, Tim Ewing, came to town for Safety School. That's the good thing about being here in Albuquerque - most everybody in the Shado world comes through now and then for training. Tim got his wings with Kelley, way back in the days of good ol' San Antonio circa 2000. We hadn't seen Tim since I bumped into him on on our way home from a deployment in late 2002! It was great to visit and catch up!

Then and Now

I thought it would be fun to compare old pictures of Zoe to Jenna now. I found this one - they are both 21 months and in almost the same outfits. They're definitely sisters, but hey each have their own look too. The thing you can't see in the pictures, though, is that Zoe is about 3-1/2 inches taller than Jenna is at that age!