Girls Trip 2024

Ever since our girls trip to Seattle last year, I have been looking forward to the next trip. This year's girls trip took us to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We had a great time filled with laughs, good food and unexpected surprises. We left Thursday evening and got to Albuquerque sometime after 9:00. By the time we got our luggage and rental car, we arrived to our hotel, the Sandia Resort and Casino, sometime after 11:00pm. 

Headed to get our rental

We got ourselves to bed as quickly as we could so we could be up bright and early by 3:30 am in order to get ourselves to a church parking lot where we would catch a tram that would take us to the festival. We had a 5:30am reservation for the Chasers Club where we would enjoy a nice breakfast as we waited for the festivities to start. It was very cold as we started, but as the day progressed, the temperatures improved making it an extremely enjoyable day.

Me, Tiffin, Sarah and Bevin
waiting to catch the bus that will
take us to the Balloon Fiesta

The drone light show was beautiful

We were definitely novices when it came to the balloon festival. After the drone show, there were about 10 hot air balloons that inflated and took off around 6:00am while it was still dark.

 While that was beautiful, we were confused and disappointed. We had no idea why people raved about the festival if only 10 balloons take off while the others just inflated their balloons on the ground. Come to find out, those balloons were part of the Dawn Patrol which allows other balloonists to watch the balloons and get an idea of wind speeds and directions at different altitudes. Thankfully, after it turned light outside, the other balloons started taking off and then it all became very clear just how amazing this experience was.

The oriental lady was probably my 
favorite balloon - she had pearls that hung off
of her.

It was Kid's Day and they had a Special Shape Rodeo. There were so many neat non-traditional balloons. Some of the special shaped balloons only inflated and never left the ground, while most beautified the skies. It really was an absolute beautiful and intriguing sight. 

We were back at our hotel by 9:30 am and rested for a short time before we got ourselves ready for a food tour in downtown Albuquerque. After doing our first food tour in Seattle and absolutely loving it, we have decided we would do a food tour on every trip that offered us the ability to do so. Our food tour started at Hotel Albuquerque where we indulged in a margarita and traditional New Mexican posole. With Sarah being vegetarian, she instead was given a cheese quesadilla, which honestly was THE BEST quesadilla I have ever tasted.

Our next stop was High Noon Restaurant and Saloon where we had red chile beef bites, a street taco and a margarita or beer. While at this restaurant, we sat by two couples who were long time friends and live on opposite sides of the US, but came to Albuquerque to the Balloon Fiesta. They had spent their morning going on a hot air balloon ride which is something we had wanted to do, however had waited too long to book it so could not find an available ride. They spoke so very highly of their experience and their pilot and after chatting with them awhile, they gave us the information of the pilot and told us we should him a call to see if he could accommodate us. Bevin immediately contacted the guy and he was able to accomodate us for the following morning. Yay!!

The next stop on our food tour, was The Taproom at Old  Town where we had a green chile burger with handcrafted chips and a tasty concoction.

The final stop of our food tour was the Church Street Cafe where we had traditional Mexican Natillas dessert and coffee or water.

After the food tour, we walked around downtown for a bit before heading back to the hotel to get ready for the reservation we had to eat in the nice restaurant at the hotel that had beautiful views. However, after we got up to the restaurant and we were sat at a table facing a wall, we decided to leave the restaurant and go to the restaurant/sports bar in the hotel which had even better views and was definitely more our speed after a very long day.

Beautiful sunset

The red on the horizon are the hot air balloons
during the evening glow

We got back to our room at a reasonable hour and got ready for bed, knowing we needed to be up early again for our morning hot air balloon ride.  We had to be at a launching spot before sunrise and were up in the sky by 7:30am. Tiffin is afraid of heights, so opted to stay at the hotel and sit this adventure out. We watched the crew unload the balloon and get it all prepared for our trip. We took a pic with our pilot and the person we were entrusting our life to.

The basket was large and carried
~12 passengers

Our pilot was an absolute hoot telling jokes and chatting with everyone the whole ride. I don't think I have a picture of it but th After chatting with him we found out that he is from Texas and he visited Orange often as a youngster because that is where his grandfather, Coach Purcell (who was a tennis coach at my high school) lived. Talk about a small world! 

The ride was so incredibly peaceful. It was neat to be in the air and see all the balloons that had taken off from the balloon fiesta. 

We face-timed Tiffin so she could be a part
of our hot air balloon ride

Sarah and me

All the little specs are balloons - so many!

After being up in the air almost an hour, it was time to land. Apparently, due to the amount of revenue they bring the city, hot air balloons are allowed to land anywhere they want in Albuquerque. Our pilot opted to land on the fairway of one of the golf courses in town.

After we deported the balloon basket, there was another group there waiting that the balloon chasers brought to enjoy a beautiful ride. We headed back to the hotel to pick up Tiffin so we could head to get some breakfast. Since we had all been talking about and craving the amazing quesadilla we were able to have a bite of while on our food tour, we opted to return to the Hotel Albuquerque to partake in it again. While it was not on the breakfast menu, they were willing to prepare it for us. Soooo delicious!

While there, we opted to spend a little more time downtown exploring the shops and scenery.

We saw several roadrunners

Iglesia de San Felipe de Neri 
Founded in 1706

We had tickets to take the tram up the Sandia mountain at sundown, but we opted to go earlier with hopes of eating in the lounge bar. 

Poor Tiffin! She is scared of heights, but was willing to take the tram knowing the view would be worth it. While we stood the whole ride up, she remained seated, holding on to the bar for dear life. She referred to the tram ride as her death trip to the top of the mountain.

Once we got to the top, we put our name on the waitlist for the lounge. We were able to enjoy views from the top of the mountain and within 30 minutes were shown to our table. 

Sarah was done taking pictures.

After enjoying our time on the mountain, we headed back to the hotel. We made our way back to the sports bar where we spent time out on the patio playing cards.

Yesterday, we decided to get up and drive to Santa Fe for the day. While getting ready, we enjoyed seeing balloons outside our hotel window.

We made our way to the area where all the neat shops in Santa Fe are located. We were in awe of the different lamps and chandeliers in this one particular shop. Sarah loved them so much, she purchased two for her bedroom.

We visited the Loretto Chapel which is a beautiful chapel with a mysterious staircase. This particular staircase has two complete 360 degree turns with no center pole for structural support. 

We had fun posing with a cowboy and made our way to Tomasita's which had amazing swirl margaritas with sangria and sopapillas. 

After enjoying a day in Santa Fe, we headed back to our hotel to relax a little, play a few slots and enjoy our last meal. We were told that the sports bar in the hotel was known for their blueberry cheesecake, so we opted to try a slice. Much to our surprise, it was blue and honestly, not very tasty. Despite not eating it, we did get a picture with it.

This morning we were up early to catch our flight home. We crammed a lot into our trip and had a great time. Honestly, I don't think it matters where we would opt to land for our girls trip, we would have a wonderful time. Time with these great friends is good for my soul! Until next year!!!!

Season Changing Game

Yesterday Camden had a soccer game that ended up unlike we could have imagined. During the first half of the game, Camden received a ball and planted to kick it up the field. Unfortunately, when he planted his left foot, his knee dislocated. I was actually taking a picture in live mode with my phone, so caught the dislocation. I have not been able to view the picture in live mode, and am not certain when I will be able to do so.

Camden was not that far up the field from us when the dislocation occurred. He automatically went down and started yelling, "Help me. Someone help me." Let me just say, orthopaedics has never been my thing - I don't like seeing breaks or dislocations. So seeing my own child's knee in a very unnatural position just about put me over the edge. Oddly enough, there were no athletic trainers at the field that day (which most of the time there are). A dad from our team came over and put his knee back into place. He apparently had done it once before. Camden automatically asked if he could go back out and play. It was obvious he was in shock. I just told him to relax and immediately got ice to put on his knee, which was already swelling. We put him in a wagon and carted him to the car. He was started to feel the pain and getting him in the car was not easy.

Once we got him home, we got him on the couch to prop up his leg. I called my friend who I knew had crutches and went and got them so Camden could learn how to maneuver himself on them until we got him in to see a doctor.  Within a few hours of being home, Camden received a delivery of Tiffs Treats from Sienna - so dang sweet!

Yesterday was also Shane's birthday, so we celebrated the best we could.

Despite the discomfort he was in, I helped Camden take a shower, which was yet another adventure. Fortunately my next door neighbor had a shower chair that she is letting us borrow. Since he was unable to bend his leg, it would have to stick out of the shower and since he was still learning how to maneuver on one leg, I gave him the option of having his father or I help him so as not to cause himself anymore injury. Since he was in a great deal of pain, he did not care who helped him, he just wanted to be done. Being his mom and a nurse, I stepped right in. I will tell you though, having to help your teenage son bathe is a different experience - something I guess I never really expected to do once he got old enough to take care of himself. 

Today I took off  work so I could stay with Camden and take him to see an orthopaedist to see what kind of damage had been done. He was very uncomfortable the majority of the day. We ended up seeing Dr. Jacel Brooks, who grew up in Alabama and was part of the physician team for the 2009 National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide football team. He specializes in non-operative management of orthopaedic injuries.

Sleeping and icing.

His knee prior to seeing Dr. Brooks.

When talking with the nurse before the doctor came in, I inside was freaking out. She asked about the events of the injury and when she was running through the list of people she thought might have put his knee back in position, including the coach or athletic trainer, to which Camden kept answering 'no' and then told her it was a dad, her eyes got really big. She said that if he did not know what he was doing he could have caused a lot of damage, but an x-ray would help us show if there was any bone damage. 

Dr. Brooks came in and we discussed the injury and I told him I had a live photo if he wanted to see, which he did. He was appreciative that I had that so it could help him assess the mode of injury. He reviewed the x-ray which fortunately did not show any bone damage. He requested to be able to pull blood off of the knee since it was so swollen and was contributing to the large amount of discomfort Camden was experiencing. 

Dr. Brooks drained 100ccs of blood from the knee. He scheduled Camden to have an MRI to ensure he didn't tear anything and in the meantime, he is to wear a knee immobilizer at all times, use crutches and not bear any weight on the leg until he received the MRI results. We received a physician note to excuse him from soccer as well as allow him to leave early from class and use the elevator at school as needed. 

My parents were in town this weekend so they could watch both boys play their sports. After getting Camden situated at home after his appointment, we all headed to the football field this evening to watch Casen play football. My sister joined us to watch as well. While playing on defense, he intercepted the ball and scored a pick six, helping his team to a win. I was too busy screaming to even think to get a picture, but my friend got a picture of him as he entered the endzone and shared it with me. It was a good game!

I like that you can see the cheerleaders
cheering him on.

Hopefully we will receive good results from the MRI so we can get Camden off of crutches and back to playing soccer sooner more so than later. 

HOCO Festivities

This week was Homecoming and it was a whirlwind. Since Camden wanted to do the mum exchange with Sienna on Tuesday, I left work early on Monday and headed over to Tiffany's to finish up the mum. After 25 or so hours and a few finishing touches today, the myum was finally done! 

Finished product

Tuesday after work I drove Camden over to Sienna's for the mum exchange.

Headed to the door

Exchange was a success

Posing with their mum/garter on

I loved Camden's garter.
 It even had lights!

Wednesday was the Homecoming parade. Camden walked with his soccer guys while Casen walked with the WWJH football guys. My pictures were NOT amazing - apparently it is not cool to stop and take pics with your mom during a parade. LOL

Friday was the day for everyone to wear their garters/mums to school. They do things so different than we did in high school, so I am constantly learning what the latest trends are.

At Casen's school, it was pink out day, which he decided on Thursday night that he wanted to dress up for. And, of course we had no pink, so we headed to search for a pink shirt, which believe it or not was not an easy task, and then to Michael's to get tool to make a pink tutu. The things we do as mother's. . . 

I was pleased to receive a picture in the middle of the day from Tiffany (my friend who helped make the mum), whose son snapped this pic at school and sent to her to share with me. :) Honestly, I was rather surprised to see Camden still wearing his garter.

I had asked Camden to get a pic of he and Sienna with their mums on at school. I was pleasantly surprised when he shared this cute picture with me. 

Friday night was the football game and pink out. The boys had fun hanging out with their friends and watching the game.

Tonight was the Homecoming Dance. With the help of grandpa, Camden got ready and we headed to Seasons Harvest where the group was to take pictures on their property. He looked so handsome!

We took group pics then individual pictures.

The guys

Mom was there for pictures as well

Me and my handsome guy

After pictures, we drove the group to Sapporo Restaurant and dropped them off with instructions to let us know when they were ready to head to the dance. Prior to this evening, I have been coaching Camden on his manners and how he was to pay for Sienna's dinner, so had hopes that he remembered all the things I told him. My parents were in town for the weekend, so while Camden and his date were eating at Sapporo, we all went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant and ate, sans Casen who went to a haunted house with is friends. Of course while we were eating, he texted to let me know they were ready. I arrived to the restaurant, along with some of the other parents, took a group picture and then dropped them off at the dance.

Casen with his friends at 13th Floor in Houston

If you know Camden, he is not much of a dancer and gets embarrassed easily, so I was glad to see this picture of him dancing with sweet Sienna. (And I have to laugh at the girls taking their picture behind them.)

It was a good week and, while it is so hard to believe that we are already here, I am so proud of the young man Camden is becoming. Between he and I, we both learned a lot through the Homecoming process. Hopefully we are both better prepared for what the future holds.