Work and dessert

One of the best things about my trip to the USA was getting to go work in the office; I loved it! My coworkers are fabulous, and it was great. (above: Vicki, Scott, me, Jeff, Christopher, Brian, Jennifer, Kelli and Steve; photography by Paula)

We did more than just work; we also ate some pie and cookies and cake. I love the above photo of me with Scott, the CEO, eating pie. (Scott is awesome! So was the pie...) Pictured below, my "maximum fudge density cake." [Conspicuously absent from the post is my amazing boss Paula who wasn't interested in being photographed for the blog.]

New Mexico

Jacob came to Albuquerque for the weekend; it was wonderful to see him, and it was also really fun to visit some of our old favorite places together! One of the things we love most about New Mexico is that my brother Bob and his wife Emily live here. They're fabulous! We're also fond of their dogs. I love this picture of Bob holding Deviny (who is way too big to be held) and Emily laughing in the background.

And then there's the food. Truth be told, it's the real reason Jacob came to Albuquerque for the weekend. :) Here's a carne adovada omelet from Weck's and the world-famous El Pinto nachos.

Strawberry pie

We had such a great time this weekend hanging out with our niece and nephew Emily and Jacob! (Oh, and we're pretty fond of their parents Micaela and Jon too.) One of Uncle Jake's favorite things is a strawberry pie, and Emily thought she could match him in quantity eaten. The pictures are so cute I couldn't choose just one (or three, for that matter).

Nephew Jacob joined the fun at some point, but you can see by the below photo that most of the pie had been devoured. (The thing I love most about this last photo is the whipped cream all over Uncle Jake's fingers--I can't decide which of these three is cutest!)

In the USA

We're just hanging out in the USA right now. Jacob's at a class in Mississippi, and I'm at my brother Bob's house in Albuquerque. I've enjoyed spending time with him and his awesome wife Emily and their 3 lively dogs: Deviny, Zeppelin and Oscar (pictured with me above, fancying himself a lap dog).

I also got to see my sister-in-law Micaela and my fabulous nephew Jacob and his equally-fabulous sister Emily. My father-in-law Jim was even in town, and we all had dinner tonight after nephew Jacob's T-ball game.

I've also been working in the office, which has been wonderful! More updates to come...

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!)