To ACK and Back

A lot has happened since our little journey to White Sands. I left Ruidoso and went to a conference in Stillwater. It was nice to be back in our little house. I went by myself because we thought it would be too confusing for Margaux to be back in her “home house” for just a couple of days before she was whisked off on yet another adventure. So, while I was at the conference Mike was on his own with Margaux for six days, and that is no easy feat (as I am about to find out for myself when he leaves for a conference next week). On day six, he and Margaux flew to Fort Worth. We met up there, stayed a couple of days, and then flew to Nantucket via Boston. The Boston to Nantucket flight was the scariest of my life, but we made it (and everyone clapped when we landed because clapping is a sign that you are not dead and we had to reassure ourselves that that was truly the case). It was all worth it because we had a fantastic time on Nantucket. The sunny days were amazingly beautiful, and Margaux couldn’t get enough of the beach. The rainy days were days on Nantucket, which are still better than most days spent anywhere else. We’re back in New Mexico now. Margaux was so cute the night we got in. It was 9:00 p.m. and we were all exhausted from a very long travel day. I was getting Margaux ready for bed, and she was playing with her toys here at the house. She looked up at me and said, “Mom, I’m so happy.” Kids are so good at being in the moment.

Margaux in her special seatbelt on the way to Fort Worth

Margaux and me on the way to Boston

Margaux in the freezing cold water

If you thought Margaux was a girly girl, you’d be wrong. The kid LOVES to get as messy as possible.

Margaux and Mike walking to the Sankaty Lighthouse on Nantucket

Up Up and Away!

We had a fantastic weekend. We went to a hot air balloon invitational at White Sands National Monument. We spent the night in a nearby town because we had to be at the park by 7:00 a.m. We got up at 5:30 a.m. to pull that off. For all of you who know us well, you know what a feat that was. It was totally worth it. This was really one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and all three of us had a blast. It was over by 9:00 a.m. and we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim before starting back to Ruidoso.

Beauty is in the Eye...

Upon holding her first earthworm, Margaux said, "He's a cute little guy."

Marshmallows

My friend, Courtney, has the delightful habit of sending us (and by "us" I really mean Margaux) homemade marshmallows. Has it ever in your life occurred to you to make homemade marshmallows? Well, if you have the talent, you should cultivate it because they really may be a bite of one of heaven's clouds. The sequence below occurred when Margaux received a care package of strawberry marshmallows. Bon appetite!

New Mesko

I know. I know. We haven’t posted in a long time. Well, there’s a reason for that. We’ve moved! Sort of. We have relocated to Ruidoso, New Mexico until January. I'm on a research sabbatical from OSU for the fall semester. Margaux is doing great, and we all are enjoying our time here. Here are a few pics, and we’ll add more over the coming days. First, this is our view from the back deck. Awesome! Next, this is the temperature. Double awesome! Next is Margaux in a Margaux-original outfit. Hello, Project Runway! She calls this her “New Mesko house,” and occasionally says she wants to go to her "home house." That sort of makes us sad, but this is such a great opportunity for all of us, it is very much worth it. Finally, the last one is sort of hard to see so you have to click on the picture to make it big, but a doe had her baby on our property last week. If you look closely, you can see the doe on the right side of the pic and the wobbly legged, spotted fawn coming from behind the tree.

Playing in Daddy's hat

Margaux's first boat ride

We spent the 4th of July weekend at the house of some friends down on Cedar Creek Lake, outside of Dallas. Margaux got to take a ride on the ski boat, which she enjoyed very much. So if anyone's wondering what to get her for Christmas, she'd like someone to get her dad a ski boat so she can go for rides...thanks!

This morning, she was a little upset at having to get dressed and put on shoes. When she kept fighting me on the shoes, I told her "Margaux, you're grumpy," to which she replied, "I NOT GRUMPY...I BEAUTIFUL!" No self-esteem problems, here.