Brrrrrrrrrrr

This morning we had some snow here at the job. It was soooo pretty and it was coming down faster than it could melt. The big, fluffy flakes too. The job pretty much shut down for the guys. Guess they can't handle the chilly-willy weather!

Charlie Brown eat your heart out!

Well Christmas time is here in Santa Fe. People are starting to put up Christmas lights around town. Here in New Mexico they decorate with luminaries. They outline their whole house from rooftop to driveway. It is really pretty. These luminaries are electric instead of candle based. Therefore they burn all night. All the shops downtown have these luminairies. Pretty cool

We set up a tree last weekend. We have downsized quite a bit as you can see, but this is all we have room for and all we need. Charlie Brown would be proud! Just a bit of magic to lighten up our home. This weekend Dan is going to string some lights on the outside of the RV. We want to make sure that Santa can see us!

Gas is down to $1.64 here in Santa Fe, and down to $1.39 in Albuquerque. This is amazing.

Amazing Picture

This picture is kinda cool. We were driving down the road on the way to the mountain and I wanted a picture of the clouds over the mountain and I quick snapped a picture and this is this picture that I ended up with. Look at what is on the phone poll .... It was the only pole on the whole road and it ended up in my shot. How wierd it that?????

Our Trip To Taos Ski Valley

Dan and I just returned from the mountain. We intentionaly went to ski, but after we seen the hills we both had second thoughts. They were pretty BIG. We need to get into shape before we tackle this beast of a mountain. The drive up to the mountain was so pretty. It had snowed the night before and there was alot of fresh snow on the roads (if ya wanna call them roads, more like trechouse trails) We had alot of fun just looking around and drinking hot choclate. Isn't that what OLD people do? No just kidding! =) We are gonna do some practising on some smaller slopes before we hit the BIG ones. Santa Fe Ski is just a few miles up the road, so we will start there!

We stopped at this old bridge in Taos that was built over the Rio Grande River hundreds of years ago. The ersosion and evaporation of the river makes it almost impossbile to see from this height. It was pretty scarry. It is very sad to see how much of the river is left after all these years. The Grande River is not as grande as she was before. It is still a beautiful sight. Just to think that Billy the Kid and his possy once romped these grounds daily, running from the Indians! New Mexico has alot of history behind it. We are only just beginning to visit all the historic sights that NM has to offer.

Halloween Family Reunion

I Just spent a wonderful weekend with my daughters and my son and my grandson in Atlanta, GA. We had a lot of laughs (as usual). Even though 2 days is not enough, it was better than nothing. We were all surprised to see how grown up Tyler is getting. His little legs can't keep up with him. He is constantly on the run! Literally! He has a smile that brightens even the darkest of rooms. An ear to ear grin. He is a very happy baby, all the time laughing,and jabbering, guess he gets that from his mama! Nikki was a very nice host, and we all had a great time.

Mom and Tom , Buzzy and Cindy, Amanda and Ben joined the visit on Saturday. They brought some nice toys for Tyler. We all had such a nice visit.

After a visit with my kids, I just sit back and thank the Good Lord above that they all turned out to be as wonderful as they are. We are such a close family that we miss each other when we are not together. It is a great feeling that I have raised 3 wonderful kids that I love very much. Even though they are all off in different directions, all the choices they have made are very smart ones that have brought them great success. Hats off to the Barney Children! You are loved very much~

A Warm Fire Always Brings Friends

Today is another nice day in NM. The gas has finally dropped to under $2.00 a gallon in Albuquerque, but still is $2.89 in Santa Fe. I have found that the cost of living here is alot more than what we are used to. The groceries are unbelievable! We live a few miles away from a multi-million $ housing area. Alot of the homes belong to famous people and are unbelievable. Val Kilmer is just one of the stars that live there. Valerie Bertenelli is another. I am sure there are millions more, and I will research this more.

We have a campfire everynight at our RV. We always have someone stop by and enjoy the fire with us. Last week we had Dan's best friend from Atlanta, Greg Bell, visit us. We stood outside in 20 degree temp. cooking steak and corn on the grill. We enjoyed every bit of it. Several of Dan's co-workers also find their way to the campfire to get warm and to have a coctail with us.

His company is pouring us some concrete for a patio today. Or little home is finally coming together. A privacy fence is also going in along the back of the RV to hide the electrical trailer in the way and also to break the wind alittle.

Have a Happy Halloween to you all....

Halloween is almost here

Today in Santa Fe it is a bit chilly. The low was 31 last night and it is only 41 at 11 am. Tonight the low is supposed to be 21. Brrrrr Thats ok thought because our RV is all weather-proofed. We have lots of insulation around the outside and the pipes are all covered. We should be in good shape for the winter days ahead! Bring it on!!!!

Our gas is still higher than most places. The lowest is $3.01 It is going down but not very fast.

We decorated a bit for Halloween. As a child growing up we always made a straw-filled man that we named "Elmer". He sat on our front porch throughout the holiday. This tradition was passed along to my children. Me and the kids every year made an "Elmer". It was alot of fun because every year he was different. I, to this day, still construct Elmer for the Halloween season. I have attached a picture of Elmer. We live out in the middle of nowhere, so there will be no trick-or-treaters so enjoy him, but all Dan's construction buddies get a kick out of him.

Life Is Good

Today is a beautiful Fall day in Santa Fe. The sun is shinning and the temperature is 74 outside. The ski season is officially OPEN! Dan and I are going to take a day-trip to Toas Ski Resort on Saturday which is only a couple hours north of Santa Fe. We will be checking out the snow amounts and the steepness of the trails. We still don't have all the proper ski equipment yet, but it is still early. This is the earliest the ski season has opened in 10 years. Season usually opens in November.
I am also very excited about a trip that I have planned for the end of the month. I am heading back to GA to see my daughter Nikki and my grandson, Tyler. As a special bonus,,, my other two children ,Shannon and Derek are meeting me there for the weekend. They will be traveling from Pensacola. So we will have a great family-time weekend that I desperatly need. Shannon has a cute lil' baby of her own that she is bringing. His name is Huck, and he loves alot of attention. His 4 legs are soo small that he will have to practise his fast running now to stay away from Tyler. Tyler likes to grab fur!!! Ouch !!! Shannon has given him the nickname "captain grabby" and he lives up to his name very well.
He is the cutest lil yorkie in the world and he will be wearing his own Halloween costume on the trip. .

My little Devil

Nikki sent me these pictures of Tyler trying out his Halloween costume, and I just had to share his cute, little chubby face. I will be seeing him on Halloween for a few days and just can't wait. The other couple of pictures are too cute not to share as well.

Early mountian snow

Believe it or not~~~ There is snow up on them there hills~~ October 6th and already there is a dusting of snow up on the higher mountains. Here is Santa Fe it was 45 degrees last night, however in the higher elevations there was snow. The days still warm up niceley, 79 was todays high. I hope that this early snow is not an indication of what the winter will be. YIKES

Balloon Fiesta '08

You have not experienced anything in this world that can compare to the Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Dan and I went on Saturday morning at 4am. Yup,,, 4 am and it was every bit worth rollin outta bed for. There were over 600 hot air balloons all going up. The assention started about 7am and all the balloons were in the air by 9am. It was the most beautiful event that I have ever seen. We will definatly make this an annual event .

Simple Thoughts

Not too much to write about today. Our camping area out at Dan's job is getting closer to being done. They have to put in the power lines, and bring in the sewer tank, then we should be ready to move. We are still living in the RV Resort about 10 miles from the job. We are ansiously waiting to move.
An update on Butch (our rescue dog). The RV resort that we are living in temporarly, did not allow dogs. We tried to sneak Butch in, but the daily barking was a sure giveaway. So we decided to take him to the animal control building to house him for us for a month. We wanted him back as soon as we moved out to the new location where there was lots of land for him to run. However, in the the meantime he was on the adoption block, and within just a few days he was adopted. I wasn't able to get any information on the owners, however, they are scanned quite throughly before sending home a dog. I know that Butch is in a happy place where he can bark and run all day. We do miss him, and Dan feels very happy that he rescused him, and gave him a great home.., but Dan misses his buddy. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Maybe someday in the future we will get another dog, but not right now.

They've come for me~~~~

Well, They have finally found me~~~~ YIKES!!! ~~~~

These strange creatures were roaming around the Santa Fe AirShow that we went to on Saturday. Nikki is very afraid of aliens so just to be funny, Ihad my picture taken with one.

There were lots of other things at the airshow besides Aliens, there were lots of aircrafts on display and they had some unbelievable areobatics in the air, and of course, lots of greasy food. All in all the day was very nice.

Here are the Prarie Dogs, and the stage coach. Very interesting

Another beautiful day

We are into our 3rd week here in Santa Fe and I am still enjoying it very much. I talk to my kiddies everyday and I even babble with Tyler everyday, so that helps the missing him part easier!

Dan and I went to Rio Grande River on Sunday. It was beautiful. So peaceful and quiet. However the 11 1/2 mile dirt road that we took to get to the river was another experience. The road was washed away in several places, and the ruts we deeper than the truck. Good thing Dan has a 4x4 truck. We took a wrong turn on the way home and were chased my some mountain dogs as we passed their home, which was an ol shack with a million junk cars in the yard , and dirty laundry on the line, . As we passed we seen an ol mountain man standing in front of a fire stirring up something. I think it was a pot full of body parts and was lookin to add a couple more, (mine and Dan's)!!! It was very scarry. Eventually we found our way to civilization. Whew !!! what an adventure!!!!

I have taken some neat pictures of Prarie Dogs that are in the mountains here. They are cute little gopher-looking critters. They are very playful and would make a cute pet!.

I also included a picture of an old wagon train that was actually used in the old west. The windows are the suits of cards. Hearts, diamonds, spades,and clubs! Really made me think about how hard it really was back in the old west days!

Shopping the streets of Santa Fe

Monday, September 8th, I took to the streets of Santa Fe Historical District, and was throughly amazed. It was so cool. The shops along the streets were so old looking, they all were molded with adobe. There were churches on the cirlce that were there for years and years. I wanted to take a tour of a couple of the churches, but Butch was waiting for me in the car and he is not a very patient dog. Therefore, I will go another time. I loved watlking along the streets and just imagining the history behind this town.

The weather is so nice here, (so far). The towns people all say that this winter is supposed to be the coldest ever, because they had such a mild summer. They are forcasting alot of snow. I am kinda excited about the snow! Yesterday it was 84 '. Dan and I sat outside the 5th wheel until 9pm last night just enjoying the 67 degree evening.

Sightseeing Sunday

Dan and I went sightseeing yesterday. We went to a casino in Espanola. Neither one of us knows how to gamble (where is Shannon and DC when ya need them?) However, we just had a beer at the bar and watched people from a distance. Once we hit the lottery, we will learn how to gamble. It was quite amazing. Gambling is really big here in New Mexico. Alot of Indian reservations here and thats all they like to do.

On the way out to Espanola, which is an hour from where we are now, we passed this rock formation along the highway called "Camel Rock". Just look at the picture and you should understand why it is called this. They actually have a casino called "camel rock" which is located next to this formation. It is amazing!

We are enjoying the weather so much. It has been sunny and warm everyday since we have been here. High in the mid 80's and at night it cools off to the mid 60's. I do miss being so far from my grandson, but I talk to all three of my kids on a daily basis! Somtimes two times a day huh Shan? !!!

Our home arrived (YEAH) on Saturday so we are now finally settled in. We are staying at a local campground for a while. The same campgound that Randy Travis stayed in while his house was being built. How exciting.

Butch and I exploring

Butch and I went out exploring this morning and we found this old riverbed. It looked like there was once some water flowing through it, but at this time it was dry. Found lots of pretty rocks. Butch loved it because he had alot of running space. There was a sign posted at the edge of the bank that said "NO DUMPING" however, Butch can't read! =).

Also heard from our 5th driver this morning and he told me that he will arrive in Santa Fe on Saturday. I am looking forward to seeing our home again! Hotel living is not for Butch!

First Day in Santa Fe

Just arrived in Santa Fe and I really think that I am going to like it. The scenery is fabulous and the adobe buildings are so unique. Dan and I did some looking around yesterday and we found the job site where Dan will be working. There is nothing there (yet) but in time , this empty lot will become a water treatment plant for the city of Santa Fe.

Butch, the dog that we rescued, is the challenge that I am working on now. He is a handful and very unsure about all this new stuff. With alot of training, he will be a great friend.!