Second Snow

We got our second snow! YEAH!

Master Bedroom Done

Couple weekends ago we got the MB done... YEAH!

Master Bedroom

The horror of doing a master bedroom with a HUGE bed!!

Guest Bedroom Work

We are now done with the guest bedroom! YEAH! Now we are working on the master bedroom....

Red Morning Sky

08/29/09 - La Luz Trail

Kevin and his friends, Clint and Greg, traversed La Luz Trail. This is the trail that starts at the base of Sandia Peak and heads up 3000+ feet. The total walk was approximately 8 miles. It took 6.5 hours. Clint brought a GPS that had a great feature--it showed time in motion and time at rest. The hike was spent about 1/2 and 1/2 between moving and not. This was likely the result of two newbies on the trail (Clint and Kevin) that spent about every other step taking pictures. It was exhausting, but well worth the effort. Looking at the mountains face on from Albuquerque, you could not even begin to guess the beauty from up close. You cross through four climatic zones (see more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Luz_Trail). Kevin was doing great until they reached the switchback trails through the rockslides. This part was very difficult (aside from the oxygen deprivation and lack of excercise on Kevin's part).

Overall, the trip was filled with beautiful views. Kevin came home afterward, took a shower and didn't move for the rest of the weekend. More pics below...

Master Bathroom Nearing "Completion"

08/23/09 - Albuquerque, NM. We've made good progress on the master b.room. The grouting is 99.9% complete (you can't see the few spots left to be done). The "throne" has been installed; however, it is not "fully functional". The Lowe's employee asnsured us that "all my toilets have every part needed for install"; this was even after Kevin asked, "Does it also have the connecting hose (a.k.a. the supply hose)?". Well, we get it home and find that it does NOT have everything needed for install...the supply hose is separate. It was a nice sales pitch, but not fully accurate. We'll pick up the hose soon and complete the installation. After we finish the toilet install; we have to seal it at the base and a few minor spots to grout. We can then call the master bathroom project finished for now (we'll return to this room, that we are both sick of at this point in the future to replace the shower). The stairs will be our next project. One other, very important part of this project is to ensure that our baby girl, Poka Dot, has a nice place to sleep. She got accustomed to sleeping on a blanket under the sinks. With the removal of the carpets, a blanket will no longer do (she is a cold cat, even in the summer); so we added a new bed for her under there (see below). She will sleep quite comfortably there until it gets too cold, then she'll return to the heated blanket that Grandma Pat gave her.

Storm rolling in

Storm rolling in from a couple weeks ago.

Bathroom Tiling

Well, today we finished tiling the bathroom. Now, if you have done tiling before, you'll understand that the project is not complete until the grout is done. Tara will be working on that. We'll be installing a new throne when the grout is complete and we'll be able to stop using the guest bathroom!

Very Cool Present

Kevin bought me the very coolest present! I am going to be tooteling around ABQ sharing the knowledge!

Grapes

The grapes we grew... before the birds ate them.

Tiling the master bathroom

In maybe a week we'll finally get to use the master bathroom again! YEAH!

Conchas Dam

Conchas Lake

Our favorite place to camp:-)

New Grill

Finally after about 12 years of using a very little but reliable grill Tara got a new one!!! She is very happy!

BACON!

His cute self!