Josh turned 30!

Back on November 9... pre-dinner beers at Ponderosa Brewing...



And dinner at High Noon Restaurant and Saloon...




Welcome to the dirty thirties Josh!

I "ran" a 5K and went to a parade!

Somehow my ridiculously athletic friend, Megan, convinced me that I could be a runner, even though my whole life I have been decidedly NOT good at running.  But I decided to give it a shot, and, after working through a lot of pain and frustration, I actually surprised myself!  I was able to run probably about 2 out of 3.1 miles of the Duke City 5K, and most importantly I finished (and the ambulance behind us wasn't even for me!)!



In the beginning of November I went to the Dia de Los Muertos Marigold Parade with some friends from my old job.



Lots of cool culture and costumes!  Lindsey has perfected her sugar skull makeup game over the years... mine needs some work for next ear but I'd say it's not bad for my first try!









And Frankie was a little too young to be super impressed... maybe next year!

Family Fiesta/Balloon Fiesta

I'm so far behind and trying to play catch up here!!!  Back in October, we had two sets of visitors for the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.





First my parents came and we had a great time showing them around town, since their last visit they were only here for a few short days.  We took them for a hike up at the Sandia Peak.





It was an extremely windy day, but we ventured out along the Crest Trail for some spectacular views of Albuquerque.





And turned around at Kiwanis Cabin, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.



We also got to share the fun of the Balloon Fiesta with Barbara and Leonard, who came to visit right after my parents left.



It was a cold and early morning, but beautiful and fun as usual!



We went back the next day for the "Music Fiesta" portion to see Billy Currington!



And of course we had to take Barbara to the Bloody Mary bar (Bailey and Addie got to come too)...





Barbara taught us to make traditional, homemade gyozas...



And we took a quick trip up to Taos to pick up some old ski lift chairs that will be given new life on a porch in Hartwell, GA.







On the way home we went over the big Rio Grande Gorge Bridge for some beautiful views.