We Love Dad, Too!

So, I don't want to copy my sister, but I wanted to also express to my dad that we love him a ton as he celebrates his 58th birthday. I only mention his age because I think he looks pretty good for being an older guy! Anyway, check out Rachel's tribute here: http://englishpatience.blogspot.com/2010/06/birthday-wish.html

We love you, Dad!

Roswell, New Mexico

Human Population: 45,293

Alien Population: Unknown

I got to go on a little adventure this week. I was expecting to go to Roswell on Sunday night so I could attend some training on Monday. I left Sunday at about 3pm and the training went well. I headed home Monday evening (a three-hour one way trip), but due to a death in the family of one of our employees I had to attend more training in Roswell on Wednesday and Thursday and didn't make it home until Thursday night.

My first thought when I drove into Roswell was that it's actually bigger than I expected. I know 45,000 people isn't a lot, but I thought there were a lot less than that.

My second thought while driving through Roswell was that there are a ton of banks in town. I probably only noticed this because I work for a bank.

I know most people think about aliens and UFOs when they think of Roswell, but there is more to see than just alien-related sites. Who am I kidding? That's the ONLY thing in Roswell. Enough of my rambling, here are some pics:

Other than some pretty scenery there isn't much between Albuquerque and Roswell.

There are two tiny towns between I-40 and Roswell: Encino (population:94) and Vaughn (population: 539). A majority of the buildings along the highway looked like this:

The employees of Comfort Inn made us feel welocme...

Arby's was catering to a different crowd

I guess this one surprised me because normally Wal Mart keeps things pretty uniform.

This copy shop is pretty proud of the fact that they've got aliens laboring away in the back. There were a ton of murals like this around town.

As far as I could see this is the only financial institution in town that has incorporated UFOs or aliens into its official signage.

Ah, the sun setting on my last full day in Roswell. The thing that sucked about this sunset is the fact that I couldn't share it with Emily.

Rake In Town!

You may remember me blogging about my sister and her husband coming to visit last year. You can read about it here. Rachel and Jake are back in the U.S.A. and they've been staying with us.

Rather than me trying to tell you about their trip I'll just show you a few things they've posted on their blog.

FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2010

In the USA

We're just hanging out in the USA right now. Jacob's at a class in Mississippi, and I'm at my brother Bob's house in Albuquerque. I've enjoyed spending time with him and his awesome wife Emily and their 3 lively dogs: Deviny, Zeppelin and Oscar (pictured with me above, fancying himself a lap dog).

I also got to see my sister-in-law Micaela and my fabulous nephew Jacob and his equally-fabulous sister Emily. My father-in-law Jim was even in town, and we all had dinner tonight after nephew Jacob's T-ball game.

I've also been working in the office, which has been wonderful! More updates to come...

MONDAY, MAY 31, 2010

New Mexico

Jacob came to Albuquerque for the weekend; it was wonderful to see him, and it was also really fun to visit some of our old favorite places together! One of the things we love most about New Mexico is that my brother Bob and his wife Emily live here. They're fabulous! We're also fond of their dogs. I love this picture of Bob holding Deviny (who is way too big to be held) and Emily laughing in the background.

And then there's the food. Truth be told, it's the real reason Jacob came to Albuquerque for the weekend. :) Here's a carne adovada omelet from Weck's and the world-famous El Pinto nachos.

Hey, this is Bob again. You can read more about Rachel and Jacob's journeys (both here and in Europe) by heading to their blog at http://englishpatience.blogspot.com/

Straight No Chaser

On Monday, May 10th, Emily and I headed to Santa Fe to see the men's a cappella group, Straight No Chaser. If you don't know who they are you really need to look them up.

We left early so I could do a work-related inspection and so we could have a 'romantic' dinner together at the Plaza Cafe.

The concert was held in the 'historic' Lensic Theater. I'm not sure if something historical happened there or if it's just old.

This is the hallway leading to the restrooms at the theater. I just thought it would make a good picture.

The vocals were amazing and the group was really funny.

A semi caught on fire on I-25 the evening of the concert and our trip home took us 3 1/2 hours--a trip that normally takes 45 minutes. Here's what that looked like:

Here's a video to make you feel better after having to deal with all of that traffic...

Appliances

Over the past several months our appliances in our kitchen have been doing their best to crap out on us. The following are some pictures of our old and new appliances. Can you guess which are old and which are new?

The installers actually carrying in our fridge...