Fun in Taos

We had a great visit with Michael, Sarah, and Jaxson in Taos. Jaxson is a calm little guy. He does speak up when it is time for lunch or a change, but the rest of his wakeful time, he quietly looks around or makes various cute little sounds. There's usually some leg motion, like he's ready to start traveling. It won't be long.

We took our tent, but this late in the season, the temperature goes right down after dark, so after a somewhat cool first night in the back yard, we retreated into the house for the remainder of our stay. We went to Santa Fe for some errands and shopping, enjoying the Southwest atmosphere. There was a craft fair in Taos, where people from various places displayed their creations (including a photographer from Missouri). We had a great drive to the the ski area north and east of Taos, where, coincidentally, our neighbor here in Chesterfield goes to ski.

Their house is on a quiet street. Some houses in the area have adobe walls, and a few are concrete, but theirs has metal walls and a metal roof. It rained a little for a couple of days, and the rain on the roof does provide a unique effect.

At the right is your mom, engaged in her morning stretches. We put our air mattress here at night, between the dining table and the cactus.

And in this photo, taken on our last night, are the happy parents. As many of you know, you can smile even if you don't get a complete night of uninterrupted sleep for a few months.

We love Michael and Sarah and Jaxson, and we look forward to the stories of what Jaxson says and does as he grows up.

We had a good drive back to St. Louis. As we got close to sundown the day we left, we weren't as tired as we had anticipated (maybe Taos has special properties, or maybe just being with Michael and Sarah infused us with energy), and we were only about 6 hours from home, so we decided to just continue instead of stopping overnight. We had a good time talking about various topics, some reminiscing about our children, but mostly your mom telling stories about the years we lived in Ohio (many of which I had forgotten), and arriving home at 2:01 am.