To the 505 and Back

This last weekend Husband and I went back to my hometown to visit my Papa.  It was a good time and we were glad that we went... as always.

The adventure really began when we left on Thursday afternoon.  I opted to drive the first half so that Husband would not be so drained when he has the more difficult second half in the dark.  Let me just say that the last 30 miles on US 6 are BA-RU-TAL... oh yeah.  Anyway, it was an adventure as this was our first long road trip with me being pregnant and not really sure what to expect.  So, there were pit stops in Payson and Holbrook.  There should have been another one somewhere between Holbrook and Los Lunas - but I toughed it out.  I knew better for the trip home.  Needless to say, I was rather uncomfortable and my ankles were swollen by the time we pulled into my Dad's place.  It's amazing what simply standing up will do for a gal.

Somewhere along the second half of the trip Husband noticed something wrong with our tires and we were still about 150 miles from my hometown.  I prayed through the trip and knew that Husband would be able to handle whatever came our way.  We just prayed that we would make it in okay and that we could deal with the problem on Friday morning.  After a quick inspection at the tire shop we learned just how great the Lord's mercies were for us the night before.  One tire was cracking... no big deal.  But on the front left tire the tread was starting to separate.  Wow... disaster averted.  Husband takes good care of our cars.  We just acquired the one we were driving and all was well.  We knew that replacing these particular tires was in the future.  However, we figure that the length of the trip and other factors pushed them over the edge much before their time.  The other tires were perfectly fine.  Go figure.  As you can imagine, we now have four new tires.  :)

Friday was filled with some fun of the truest sense.  We purchased some green chile to replenish the supply here at home.  It was a delight to smell it roasting.  Then came the daunting task of peeling and packing over three bushels of the stuff.  We worked on it for some time and then put the rest in the fridge to do on Saturday.  Friday evening held dinner from Saggio's (oh for the best calzones EVER) and fellowship with Mark and Renee.  Such sweet friends.  It was fun to see how their oldest, Samuel, is growing and developing his own little personality.  Then to finally meet "miracle" baby, Noah.  Good times.  We even managed a partial game of "Hand and Foot."  One of the funniest moments of the evening was the fact that Mark went to check on something in Sammy's room only to discover a large, wooden wall hanging that we brought for Noah was being cuddled in bed with Sammy.  HA HA HA!!

Saturday morning we thought we would be seeing many a friend at a coffee shop.  Many thought that they would be able to come.  Rather we had one sweet friend show up.  That was perfectly fine because it was fun to just catch up with her.  We will have to catch up with others another time.  Then back to the house to finish off the green chile peeling fest.  The day was capped off with dinner at Powdrell's BBQ... bliss.

Sunday, we headed to church in Albuquerque where we sat under the preaching of the Pastor who first pastored my Dad and me.  We even got some down time with him and his wife between services.  Then off to Mark and Renee's to pick up a sweet gift for Little Flower (more on that in another post).  We rushed home, ate some brunch, packed the car, and finally left around 2:00 PM - a bit later than expected.  However, we made it home at a fairly decent time.

It was a good time.  My dad spent a lot of time with us in the chile peeling department and just hanging out.  He had a few things going on during the weekend as well.  We will see him again in October when he is out here for a bit.  The weather was delightful... amazing to be out at 10:00 AM and not be sweating in the shade... or the sun for that matter!

However, home is home, and we are always glad to be back.  I may have to post a pucture later of our very stuffed-with-chile freezer.  AND there is more still at my Dad's place!  Score.