Hurricane Don Hits New Mexico

I know what you're thinking upon first view of this post- there are many environmental wonders in New Mexico, but how can we experience hurricanes in the desert? Well you see, Hurricane Don is a very special occurrence, in the form of one of our best friends (and a former Churchill Charger and Texas Aggie), Stephen Donley, who is better known affectionately in our group as "Don". Wherever Don is, you can guarantee a wild party and a good time, and we were so excited when he decided to take a trip to visit us in Las Cruces with his sweet girlfriend, Brittany.

The hurricane made its appearance on Friday evening, and we kicked off Stephen and Britt's visit with a little relaxation on the deck, just catching up since the last time we had seen them was in May for Memorial Day weekend. These two are so much fun and just wonderful people, and we loved having them at our house and showing them the sights of Las Cruces.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and feasted on Cody's famous breakfast tacos before we visited the local farmer's market on a quest to find Britt some unique New Mexico jewelry and freshly grown veggies. We were super excited to land her a gorgeous turquoise ring along with some other great finds (I took my role as personal shopper very, very seriously), and tired the boys out to the point that they sat on the tailgate while we finished up our shopping excursion. After the farmer's market, we ventured to Mesilla to show them the site of Billy the Kid's trial and hanging, and before returning home we feasted on yummy margaritas and chips and queso at Peppers, one of our favorite restaurants. Britt and Stephen were pretty fascinated by all of the history in our area, and we had fun playing tour guides for the day.

Shopping at the Farmer's Market

Outside the famous spot where Billy the Kid was tried & hanged for his rebellious ways

Enjoying a little down time at Peppers'

My buddy and me! Stephen and I go way back to our days as Churchill Chargers. Dad coached him in football, we went to Texas A&M together and now he works with my mom at Independence Title. Love this guy!

The trio enjoying some yummy margs

Saturday night we hosted some of our friends for a fiesta/BBQ, and naturally, my husband took it upon himself to provide enough food for at least 3 more parties. :) The boys did a fantastic job grilling up some delicious fajitas, and Britt and I created quite a spread of chips and dips, salad and veggies... along with a very sweet-tooth friendly Pineapple Cake. (I must credit the Johnson family cookbook for this one-- it was definitely a hit!) We had so much fun hanging out and visiting with everyone, and Britt and Stephen enjoyed getting acquainted with our NM friends.

Only part of the spread. You better believe we had pounds and pounds of fajita meat spread over the entire kitchen counter! Cody never skimps when it comes to feeding a crowd. He may have inherited that trait from his daddy. :)

The master griller in all his glory

Britt & Stephen (and a guest appearance by Cody the grill master's tongs)

Our sweet friend Steph and Sonny, Nick and Danette's little man. Sonny loved the watermelon and couldn't finish one piece before he stuffed another into his mouth. What a cutie! He loved playing with Rio and growled at him as he chased him around the deck and backyard. Rio didn't know what to do with this "little person" and kept his distance of at least a foot. He was so good with Sonny!

After catching up on some sleep Sunday morning, we woke up, got dressed and headed to one of our favorite spots, DeLaVega's Pecan Grill for brunch. We all feasted off of each other's plates, then headed to Lulu (Mom and my favorite boutique in Las Cruces) for a little more shopping. We ended the day with a visit to Rio Grande Winery for a little wine tasting and live blues music, and were in awe of the beautiful weather. I am so excited that fall is upon us-- it's definitely the most beautiful time of year in these parts!

Stephen doing his best Matt Bomer impression at Lulu. The boys were good sports and endured even more shopping for us!

Our little group at Rio Grande Winery

They loved the mountains, so we had to get a pic of them showing off the gorgeous scenery.

Just livin' the dream enjoying a few of our favorite things- live music, the great outdoors and good wine!

We were so sad to see Britt and Stephen go, but are definitely looking forward to the next time we can all get together. We truly cherish our friends from TX, and are so blessed that we are able to see them so often even being so far away. Thank you two for being so wonderful and such gracious guests. We love y'all!