a few more bits from the road

But wait, I'm only like, halfway through the roadtrip, there's more! Like Christmas! Once we picked up Ethan in Texas, we were on a schedule and the trip seemed to jump into hyperspeed. We hit the ground running and didn't slow down for one second.

Christmas morning is just like, well, Christmas for the babes. They were so excited I thought they were going to jump out of their skin! Here they are with Auntie Delia, who, by the way, is the most wonderful 18 year old Auntie on the planet. Magdalena and Augustus are smitten, I say Smitten, with her. The sun rises and sets by her and she shines her love all over them.

After Magdalena and Augustus had their fill of good morning Christmas candy, off we went for a visit with the Huffman's for a bit of old friend/family love and hanging out. Gregg and Janet are two of the most beautiful parents we know. I've watched their children grow from little little people to college students and wild and woolly high-school students and am always inspired by how wonderful they all are, together, as a family.

the God-father, the papa, the daughter

Magdalena and Augustus helping Janet feed the fishy in their Christmas finery. Why is girl finery so much finer than boy finery? I see a velveteen jacket in Augustus's future Christmas wardrobe...

After Christmas in Albuquerque, we hit the road for Yuma, AZ to spend some time soaking up the desert sun with our Yuma family, Grandma Fran and Grandpa John. We spent one entire day at a park by Colorado River, it was an awesome, sprawling park, one could not ask for more than this park offers.

We had a wonderful morning, outside, playing at the playground. We spent the afternoon by the Colorado, looking across this small part of the river at California, getting our feet wet and standing under the train trestle, our ears covered against the deafening roar, watching as the trains passed overhead.

Yuma is where Ethan left the journey, heading on back to Texas to finish tech school. We stayed on and went on a perfect desert mountain hike with grandma Fran. Let's see...who's the seasoned hiker in this photo, and whose children look dressed for a party? Discuss.

Magdalena and Augustus had a high time with grandma, in her sewing room, designing their pillow cases custom made by grandma Fran. One minute, there is white fabric, then voila! Grandma Fran works her magic and we have custom "quillow" cases for all!