Settled In

Well it actually feels like we have finally settled into our new home. I can finally find all of my stuff and we even started on the landscaping. I have gotten used to the regular hours at work and Kristi has been enjoying life in our new environment. We have had my Mom and Kristi's parents visit and we are always up for more guests so just let us know. Our Flickr account is updated pretty regularly so check it out so you can see all our new pictures. If you only see pictures of scenery it is because you are not logged in. If you need an invite to get an account to see our beautiful smiling faces let me know.
Okay so the landscaping is progressing. It has been slow but that is because we keep finding fun things do around New Mexico and friends to spend time with. We had a landscape architect draw us up some plans...which I will post soon...and then we had the project bid by a few landscapers. We decided to do most of it on our own, based on how much I enjoy the work, and the price of labor that the professionals charge. No problem it will just guarantee I have things to do each weekend. But so far I have almost completely prepared the patio area, leveling, compacting etc. I have dug the holes for the posts and modeled the whole shade structure with AutoCad in 3D. If you don't know what that means, basically it means I am a geeky engineer. But anyway check out this collection of Flickr photos to see our progress.

You can also see all of our progress on the house here in these Flickr photos. Kristi worked really hard painting walls and decorating the house. Didn't she do a great job? Our new kitten Dexter seems to like the house, he has gone from a scared little kitten who was afraid of the ceiling fans to the king of the palace.

One really cool activity we found here in town is the summer concerts at the zoo. A great night out with beautiful weather. And the thunderstorms even stayed away.

And finally just recently we visited Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument which is located on the Pueblo de Cochiti. Here is the official description:

The cone-shaped tent rock formations are the products of volcanic eruptions that occurred 6 to 7 million years ago and left pumice, ash and tuff deposits over 1,000 feet thick. Tremendous explosions from the Jemez volcanic field spewed pyroclasts (rock fragments), while searing hot gases blasted down slopes in an incandescent avalanche called a “pyroclastic flow.”

My description is that it was really amazing and a fun day hike. Okay more to follow we miss everyone and hope to see you all soon. We pray God's blessing on you. Until next time...