Walkin' (Falling) in a Winter Wonderland

This weekend my sister Kirby arrived for an extended stay in New Mexico. I was very, very excited to see her, and we were more than ready to take advantage of some quality time in the land of enchantment. Being the south Texan that she is, she was a bit disappointed at the lack of snow in Las Cruces this weekend, so we headed up to Cloudcroft for some playtime in the powder. We rented tubes and channelled our inner children (I think we're getting pretty good at that these days), and Rio was in heaven with the wide open spaces. I, however, suffered slightly when my boots decided to refrain from gripping the ground and I bit it...hard...multiple times. Note to self: Stuart Weitzman boots may be fabulous, but they are not made for off-roading. Also, after 4 falls flat on your back, that snow doesn't feel so powdery anymore. I'll probably feel that in the morning...and on that note, I believe all of those years of wear and tear on my joints must have finally caught up with me. Yes, I know it seems a bit dramatic to announce my oldness in today's post, but it is only one week until I have been alive for an entire quarter century. Glad I went hard to start my last week as a 24-year-old!

My words simply can't do our Cloudcroft adventure justice, so I'll go ahead and share a few photos with you. A picture is worth a thousand words after all!

 On our way to the tubing spot, we had to stop at a local general store. The trip wouldn't be complete if we didn't shop!

 The three of us, ready for our snow adventure

 My sister, the tree hugger...

 

And licker?

 Rio wasn't as excited about sledding as we were...

 I pretty much love any and every opportunity to wear my super stylish winter clothes.

 Rather than walk up the hill, Cody took full advantage of the opportunity to let Rio pull him on the sled. 

 Aren't we cute?

 Prepping for the family photo

 And here it is! How did I get so lucky?

 OK, these next three photos mark the first of my four falls. Rio may have had something to do with it. Who keeps a dog on a leash in a winter wonderland anyway?

 And the lack of traction begins...

 Perhaps sitting in one spot would've have been safer?

 Sassy little snow bunny (at least we look the part, right?)

 Master and his hunting champion, ready to practice some retrieving skills in the forest

It was a little hard to get great action shots and stand up at the same time. (As if I'm not already lacking enough grace.) I did my best to get a couple though, and the scenery was gorgeous. Here's Kirby the professional snow tuber!

 Cody took the jumps like a champ! Pretty sure he lives for this.

Hopefully you're getting as excited as we are that Christmas is so close. We sure are enjoying our "White Christmas" experiences this month!

Merry Christmas to all!

As most of you know, there is no month that I love as much as December. Not only does it mark the occurrence of the Christmas holidays and New Years Eve, but it also gives me a chance to proclaim my birthday royalty...that is, I become the birthday princess. If it seems odd to you that I take a whole month to celebrate the day that I came into existence, it shouldn't. You see, when other kids were celebrating their one special day at a princess party with all of their best friends in attendance, I was throwing a pre-Christmas birthday celebration before school ended for the holidays, just to ensure that a few of my friends weren't too busy with other Christmas obligations and might be able to attend. I know, poor me, right? Always the optimist, however, I made the most of this situation, and as I grew older, ended up loving the idea of having multiple birthday celebrations throughout December--some with friends, a few with family, you get the picture. Clearly it would only seem reasonable to dub myself the birthday princess for this month in its entirety. OK, thanks for letting me have my diva moment. Now on to our festive holiday home...

I've tried to begin a collection of holiday decor since I've entered "grown up" world, and I think I've done a pretty good job so far. My Christmas supplies definitely outnumber the other seasonal things, but I think that is to be expected. It is the best time of year after all! Cody and I were excited to deck our halls this year, though we think it's time for a new and bigger tree. Our little starter one looks great for this year though. I love the coziness that the Christmas accents bring and insist on enjoying them as long as possible.

 The mantle. I love the bright colors mixed with the traditional red and gold. Had to keep things fun!

 My antique sewing table, all decked out for Christmas. It's just the right place to display our Christmas cards, too.

Our little tree! At least I have a start on the presents... 

  

We were very excited to have an outside to decorate this year. Unfortunately, stucco doesn't make the most light-friendly surface, so we improvised and just fancied up the front porch a bit.A big shout out to Pinterest for the idea to spray paint a pumpkin silver (in the white chair) and use a tomato cage to create an outdoor Christmas tree.

The wreath that I created for an extra touch of outdoor holiday flair

In the words of the my very favorite boy band (N*Sync, obvi), Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Let it Snow...and snow...and snow

I'm beginning to think that we bring snow with us as we travel across the southern US (emphasis on southern...ironic?). I mean, what are the odds that we would move to the desert and experience a full-on blizzard? I swore after last year's hardcore winter that I had gotten my fill of that powdery white stuff and the cold weather that comes with it, but I must say that it was quite magical to see those snowflakes falling outside my office window yesterday afternoon. Cody even laughed when I dubbed myself the snow princess as flakes fell from my eyelashes during our lunch date. I think he's jealous. Anyway, I will admit that driving through a blizzard yesterday after work was not the most fun of experiences, and thus I am incredibly thankful for the ability to sit in my warm house until things clear up a bit this morning.

After drinking my body weight in coffee in an attempt to warm up, Cody, Rio and I began a little winter photo shoot, and I'm pretty excited to say that it made choosing the Christmas card picture extra easy. Who wouldn't use a perfect winter wonderland as a Christmas card photo backdrop? I will be withholding the actual photo though, because it just wouldn't be the same if we leaked it before the card is mailed. Don't worry though, because we have plenty other great freezing photo ops to share!

 Yep, that's the view from our front yard. These two south Texans never dreamed we'd look outside our house and see something this magnificent!

 Rio loved the snow, but wasn't as excited as me when it hit his eyelashes.

 Little man looked cold, so being the good dad that he is, Cody shared his Carhart jacket with him.

"Mommmm are you ready yet? Can we pleeeeeaaase go play in the snow now?"

 Cody's truck had icicles from the bottom of the door all the way to the driveway. It was slightly cave-like...

 Gorgeous snow-covered scenery

 Our casa in a winter wonderland

My boys!  Aren't they handsome?

 Our neighbor was kind enough to take a family pic...Rio was more interested in the snow

 My baby boy!

 View from the backyard (that's the deck)

 Mountains behind the house

 I love snow!

What a great snuggle buddy. Even though he insisted on trying to drink my coffee. He clearly appreciates the joy of Starbucks Christmas Blend as much as I do.

With the scenery outside I can truly say that it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Now hopefully we won't be frozen again in February, because I feel it's much more appropriate now and I can only handle so much of this cold weather stuff. :)

Rio's First Retrieve

Last week, Cody and some of his clients went out for a day of quail hunting in Deming, just west of us. Cody was pretty pumped for the impromptu trip, and was even more excited at the prospect of letting Rio show off his retrieving skills. Rio hadn't chased anything more than a duck decoy until this trip, but he proved to be quite the retrieving champ. He wasn't sure about the feathers in the bird though, and insisted on pawing at them to try to get them out so that it would be more comfortable to hold in his mouth. Needless to say, my experienced hunter of a husband is even more motivated by this, and ready to perfect our little man's skills before his first duck hunt over Christmas. Naturally, that means I have two dead quail in a ziploc bag in my freezer. I'll go ahead and step down from my soapbox now, before the ranting about germ-infested frozen foods begins... :) (Sorry for those of you who support this endeavor. Even I have a bit of a hippie side I suppose.)

Anyway, back to Rio's award-winning performance. He has become quite skilled in waiting until he is "released" (his name is called and Cody points his finger) to retrieve, whether it is a ball, a bird, or otherwise. We're pretty proud of the little champion that we've created, and can't wait to see him in action in just a few weeks. Without further adieu, check out Rio the Retriever!

Can't you see the pride in both of their faces? 

Well, you're in luck because at the moment we are snowed/frozen in, so I'll be able to catch up on a couple of blog posts. Get ready for a winter wonderland!