Daffodils

We're so glad to be home in England! And we were delighted to see all the beautiful daffodils all over the place. Some people's entire lawns are covered in these cheerful yellow flowers. We're excited for spring because England is one big, lovely garden.

USA trip: Beautiful Albuquerque

One of the great things about Albuquerque is how beautiful the mountains and sky are. The Sandia and Manzano mountains form the eastern border of the city, and in the distance to the west you can see Mount Taylor. And the sky is beautiful; it's big, and the sunrises and sunsets are gorgeous! It snowed a couple of times, and the mountains looked even prettier with snow.

We had a beautiful view of the mountains from soccer fields where our nephew Jacob played Saturday. (You can see him in the photo in the orange hoodie, and Micaela (his mom, our sister-in-law) next to him.)

Above is the view of the mountains from my office, and below is just one beautiful sunset.

USA trip: Family

While we were in Albuquerque we stayed with my brother Bob and his wife Emily (and their 2 dogs Deviny and Zeppelin). We had a great time visiting with them, and they were fabulous hosts! (Above, Bob and I are wearing our official game jerseys of the England national football (soccer) team; their captain is named John Terry.)

When Jacob arrived from California last Friday we spent the remainder of our time with members of his family, including all 5 of our nieces and nephews. Here are just a few of the many photos we took.

(Nephews Adam and Jacob enjoying playing with Uncle Jake)

(Watching nephew Jacob's soccer game: Jacob's brother Jon, Jacob's mom Miriam, our brother-in-law Adam with his youngest, Alex, Jacob's sister Jennie, Jacob's dad Jim, Jacob, our nephew Adam and our niece Addison; you can also see our niece Emily's pigtail in the bottom right.)

(Addison was trying to have a conversation with Uncle Jake, but the sun was a little bright.)

(Emily with Aunt Rachel)


(Alex found something fun at the store.)

(Uncle Jake enjoying dinner with all 5 nieces and nephews)

(Watching Jacob's soccer game: Micaela, Jon, Emily and Adam)

(All the kids had fun making funnel cakes with their grandma: Jacob, Addison, Alex, Emily and Adam-- with Jennie)

USA trip: work

While Jacob attended training in California, I got to spend 2 weeks in the credit union office in Albuquerque, and I loved it! I really miss my coworkers and had a great time interacting with them and going to lunch with them. It was also really nice to be deeply involved in some interesting and important projects while I was there. (Pictured above: Scott, the CEO; pictured below: Jeff, the VP Marketing; notably not pictured: the best boss ever, Paula)

USA trip: New Mexican food

We've been in the United States of America since March 1, so this is the fist of several related posts. I spent my 17 days in New Mexico where I enjoyed a lot of delicious New Mexican food. They smother everything in either red or green chile, so it can be spicy, but it's always tasty! Here are a few photos of things I ate there.

(Delicious Sadie's carne adovada enchiladas, chips & salsa and sopaipillas)

(My father-in-law's breakfast from the always-delicious Weck's. I ate there 6 times in the last 2 weeks!)

(An amazing Navajo taco from Monroe's, where I ate with my coworker Jeff last week.)

(One of my favorite Albuquerque foods is a triple ginger cookie from Flying Star. It's posing in this photo with a slice of peach raspberry pie. As much as I like the New Mexico chile, I'm glad these were spared the smothering.)


(The Tostada Compuesta from Los Cuates is delicious!)

The tea room

I've been going with a group of friends to lunch at a local tea room every month. It's absolutely adorable! When we went a few months ago I had my first experience with clotted cream, which is a delicious spread eaten on scones with jam (the combination of which is officially called "cream tea"). I LOVE clotted cream, but it's probably good we only go to the tea room monthly because it must be extremely unhealthy. (left to right: Carla, Angela, Emily, me)

In addition to the clotted cream, I've also grown quite fond of the white hot chocolate. It's delicious plain, but last week I had it with a shot of hazelnut French syrup--very delicious!

Here are a few close-up food pictures (my scone, clotted cream and blackberry jam; Carla's crumpet with smoked salmon and cream cheese; and Emily's fruit salad).

I absolutely can't wait for my Mom to come visit so I can take her to the adorable tea room!