"dude, your kid did killer on the plane"

We left Las Vegas on September 17th on a flight to Providence, RI where we met with Kim my best'est friend since 7th grade...that's right, we have been friends since 7th grade.Thats about 20+ years...WHOA!! She used to live in Champaign IL, but recently moved to Milford, CT and what a great idea that was, well, her husband Chris is doing his residency Yale (he is a DR.DR.)but they now live a block and half from the beach...and again, what a great idea!!

We stayed a week and enjoyed every second. Isaiah was able to stroll to the beach each day on our morning walks. He taught Madeleine the fine art of sharing. He went to his first college football game, Yale v. Georgetown. And we took the kids to the aquarium and of course NEW YORK CITY. What fun we had. Its amazing how Kim and I have been friends for so long and now in the new roles as mothers its interesting to see how we have changed and have taken on this new role. Madeleine is 16 months old, so since she has more experience than I, it was interesting to see what life will look like for us in a year. What a fabulous time.

"Dude, your kid did killer on the plane"...a fine young gentlemen said to me after we landed in Las Vegas. Isaiah slept the whole way and woke up when we landed. After he said that to me, a young lady that was sitting behind him said quizzically, "there is a baby on board?"....Yea, that's right, MY BABY!! So, I believe the translation is "Wow, your baby was so well behaved on the flight"...but I'm getting up in age that I'm not sure of the lingo...hahahaha...Since then Isaiah has been on six flights and each one he "did killer on the plane"

traveling by plane....so much easier than driving!!

Its been awhile since I have blogged, but Travis has the computer and what fun is blog without pictures...so I will add some and update what has been going on.

We drove out of Vegas August 24 spending the night with my friends Matt & Anne in Flagstaff. We had a visit with them and headed back to NM on the 25th. We closed on our house on the 29th, so we are homeowners now...but do you think we are living there yet, uh that would be a NO. Well, the owner needed to stay until the 8th, and we were coming back to Las Vegas on the 13th. So we are back to traveling.

We are in Las Vegas, celebrating Travis' birthday. Dan & Dee surprised Travis by arriving in Vegas for the weekend. It was our plan but Ike helped with how long they would stay. They returned to Austin yesterday and as of today they still do not have power in Sugar Land. No major damage has been reported. Thankfully, everyone, including Ginger and Rita, are safe.

Tomorrow Isaiah and I head to Connecticut to visit my best'est friend Kim and her family...Chris and Madeleine. They recently moved to Milford, CT and they have grand plans for our week visit. We are going to the Yale v. Georgetown football game and I'm sure we'll be checking out the sights, I cannot wait to post those pictures.

Then on the 24th we head to Houston to spend time with Dan & Dee, while there we will be making a trip to Alabama to see Victoria, Kay Dee, & Dale and again, going to a football game...Auburn v. ? ...did you know that a 6 month old needs a ticket? Apparently, he takes up a lot of space so we had to get him his own seat, and you bet I'll be taking a picture of that!!!

Then....drumroll please.....OCTOBER 9TH is the big day!!! Our goods arrive in Clovis!! And we will officially be residents of Curry County New Mexico...wow, never thought i'd ever say that...but we are very excited to start making our new house a cozy home!!

Isaiah is attempting to crawl and we are hoping he does today for Travis' birthday. He is 6 months old, weighing in at 17lbs, 25 inches long... He manages to get himself in the strangest places while rolling around. As for crawling, he has his feet going its the hands that he doesn't quite get, but once he does, he is going to be off and moving...like i said hopefully he will today...so he can crawl to daddy and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Another year...

I love my birthday....yes, I do, even when after 30, I still love it and really, it should be a national holiday....hahahaha. It was a great day, hung out with my little man and then we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory.

Isaiah enjoyed carrots feed to him by Aunt Tee. He gets sooo excited when he sees food, it's so funny. Don't really know how much he actually eats and how much ends up on his bib but its great that he has started to eat baby food. Our little boy is growing up.

So my dinner included Terysa and Ron who happened to be in Las Vegas for a conference so they were able to spend the evening hanging out with us. Isaiah was laughing at Tee and Ron both, especially when Ron was giving him a lecture about the dangers of Vegas. Isaiah just laughed at him. He was our entertainment for the evening.

So another year has passed and I look forward to what this year of being 33 will bring. One of my gifts was a new bike, Travis is determined to get me to do a triathlon and honestly, I think I can do it. That's the first time I have admitted that and I will definitely be blogging about that once I get started.

So, here's to another year, may it bring many adventures and blessings. CHEERS!!

Two cities, two weddings, one weekend

What a weekend!!! We departed Las Vegas Friday early morning to San Diego. It was a light load so we had the whole row of seats to ourselves. Isaiah fell right to sleep for the very short flight. We arrive in San Diego, get the rental car, and head to Chateau de Emerich...that's Erin & Ian's house. I impress myself by getting there and only having to call Erin once because her place was not visible from the street. Isaiah and I were off to explore the area where we found an awesome place for lunch and with the weather as perfect as it was we ate outside. We return to Erin's and hang out till its time to head to the wedding. Well, its California and I had to get there via a freeway, so the wedding is at 5:30, we left Erin's at 3. I'm sure its not unheard of to be stuck on the freeway for hours. Well, it took us 20 minutes. So we again, went exploring. Isaiah was able to see the bride before the wedding and meet Miss Kristen as well. I've known both since the day Maloney's opened its doors in Albuquerque, Erin a bit longer but we all had a great time at ol' Maloney's. Erin and Ian meet while working at Maloney's in San Diego, so technically if it weren't for me begging Erin to apply with me at Maloneys in Albuquerque, they would have never met. hahahahaha. I just wanted to take credit for helping two soulmates find eachother but really, i had nothing to do with it. So, back to the wedding. Everything was PERFECT!! The dress, the flip-flops, the hair, the weather, the ceremony, the reception. All beautiful!!

So we wake up early, AGAIN. Thinking, well, its California freeway back to the airport, MUST LEAVE EARLY!! Again, getting there in 20 minutes, apparently, freeway traffic fears me because nobody was on the road. We boarded our flight to Seattle, stopping to change plans in Sacramento, then off to Seattle.

We are greeted by GramDee and Grandpa Dan when we arrive in Seattle. The weather was actually quite warmer than expected but still beautiful. We had a driver that was Ukrainian so he didn't speak much English and it was entertaining to say the least to watch GramDee try to communicate with him. But I now know that I'm getting them both Rosetta Stone for Christmas to learn a new language if they are ever in Seattle again.

This wedding was Travis' cousin Matt. He and Elaine met via Match.com or one of those online dating sites. I will now encouage anyone who fears trying it and use them as an example. This was another wedding that was beautiful, despite the 5 minute rain during the ceremony, and who could forget the boat that passed by that honked its horn, during the ceremony. But I believe it would not be a proper Hinkle wedding without some sort of entertaining story to go along with it. To me, everything was perfect.

We were able to stay Saturday to Monday and we boarded our plane back to Las Vegas. Have I mentioned it's HOT in Las Vegas. Oh geez....IT'S HOT!! Isaiah travels very well and I have to laugh at those who board the plane and look as us like "ugh, a baby on board, great" and then when he sleeps the whole way, we get compliments "wow, your baby did great on the flight" I just want to tell them, YEA, HE'S MY BABY!!! DUH!!!
He did do very well for going to two cities, and two weddings, in one weekend.

What happens in Vegas...

If you would have said 8 years ago that I would be married a second time, have a child, and would be moving from New Mexico to North Dakota and back to New Mexico, I would have certainly said, "are you crazy?"...Well, its funny how life has a way of working out. Then in 2002, after singing Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" after every Thursday night sand volleyball game at the sports plex in Albuquerque, I thought, I would NEVER get married again, let alone have a child. Then in 2005, friday the 13th, I saw the boy in the white shirt. Well, here we are celebrating our two year wedding anniversary along with our 5 month old son. I will always believe that "everything happens for a reason", whoever came up with that phrase was a genius. I now believe that everything we go through in life, every person that is put in our path along the way, is there for a reason. Travis, in the three years we have been together, married two, he has taught me that no matter what you set your mind to do, you truly can do it. I thought he was crazy when he said, "I want to do an Ironman", well, last September he did it. More importantly, when we had talked about getting married after only dating two months, I thought he was was crazy. Yes, there are many times since then that I have thought Travis is crazy, but that is one of many things that I love about him. If I tell him I want to do something, i.e. run a marathon, he will see to it that it is accomplished, and sure enough, I ran a marathon. I have since learned that there is nothing I cannot do without him by my side. Our son, Isaiah, the other love of my life, without Travis, he would not be here. It is a wonderful sight to see him grow and learn. I especially love watching he and Travis interact. Travis is such a proud pappa and I am very proud wife and mom. My path of life has certainly been through some bumpy times but looking back, I would not ever change a single bump. Everything does happen for a reason. It does not seem like it has been two years, I can remember our wedding day like it was yesterday and I know 50 years from now, when I'm 83 (whoa), I'll be saying the same thing. Guess in our case, what happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily have to stay in Vegas.

Family Reunited

Isaiah and I met Travis at the Hoover Dam yesterday. It was 103 outside so we didn't stay outside for long, but long enough to have another tourist snap a picture of us. The drive for us wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I broke it up by driving to Flagstaff, spending time at my friends house for awhile and while I was going to spend the night, I got anxious, so I continued on to Phoenix. In Phoenix I finally met my newest great-nephew, Maddox, he is 3 weeks older than Isaiah. We had a little guy dinner. But before he met his cousin, Isaiah had a bottle of formula before dinner and apparently didn't care for it because it came right back up, ALLLLLL OVVVVVVEEEERRRR. Oh well, it happens. But I find it interesting that a complete stranger can start asking you questions as to how or when the bottle was prepared, in order to diagnose the problem? She also asked it in such a way of saying that formula is devil....well, certain times calls for a quick fix and whipping out the breast, FOR ME, is not possible, so I prepare a bottle. He normally takes it, no problem. But not that night. Again, oh well, it happens. We had a great visit and since I was anxious to see Travis we left Phoenix Sunday early morning. Back to hotel living once again, listening to jets flying over but the family is reunited!!

The beauty of living like a gypsy

I went house hunting in Clovis last week and believe I have found our home. There are some improvements to be made but this house is move in ready and I'M READY...sorta. When I look at my calendar the months are just flying by. I still need to make arrangements to go see the in laws in Houston and let us not forget our pooch...Ginger. She is living the life with them, pool side, I'm sure. And I want to go see my best friend who moved to Connecticut. So I have to get those two trips in, along with going to Vegas for our anniversary, two weddings, Travis' birthday and he wants us there for Isaiah's first Halloween. Geez, that's a lot of traveling but its all part of the beauty of being a gypsy.

Isaiah has become a rollie pollie this week. Its so fun to watch. I also love listening to my dad "say MAMA....say DADA....say MAMA" . Isaiah just laughs at grandpa. Isaiah will be five months this week, my dad will be 76 on Sunday, CRAZY!!! Isaiah has been hanging out with my mom too. She is teaching him the fine art of hanging out in the recliner to watch the Game Show Network or Telemundo. I prefer Telemundo, not so keen on GSN, at least he's learning spanish watching telemundo, right? No worries, his TV exposure is limited. But its funny to see Isaiah rocking in the rocking chair with my mom, and my dad in the other chair, and all three are asleep. I'm working on getting that picture.

This week we'll be a traveling week for us. We are going to Clovis Tuesday, spending the night. Returning to Albuquerque on Wednesday and then off to Arizona on Thursday. We will be in Las Vegas on Monday. We cannot wait to see Travis. It still amazes me that we lived apart for a year because its been just two weeks and I'm going crazy without him. Thankfully spending time with family has made the time fly.

The hibiscus pictured is from my sister in law, Cindy, her plant in their backyard. Made me feel as if I just might be in Hawaii.