Back to the Burque

For the long holiday weekend Eric, Liam and I made the trek to Albuquerque to visit family and friends. As always, we did more eating than anything else! My best friend, Stephanie, and I had the opportunity to spend lots of time catching up. We have been friends since we were twelve years old so we have been through a whole lot. This past weekend marked the first time that I was able to meet her sweet baby, Annabelle. It is really amazing to think about our evolution as women. When we first met we were practically playing with dolls and now we are mommies!

On Friday we went to the St. James Tearoom for afternoon tea. This was my second time to go to the tearoom and it was a blast. I love using the delicate china and eating foods like scones with lemon curd and fresh cream. Yum! I did NOT love the salmon puff pastry, but we make concessions.

At the tearoom, they assign you a personal server who brings in platters of treats and different types of teas to go with each dish.

You also get to choose your own hat to wear from among the St. James collection. Steph opted for the J-Lo inspired wide-brimmed hat. I chose a vintage brown felt hat from the 1940s.

Among our teatime treats: Cheddar & date tart, cucumber sandwiches, almond cream with amaretto peaches, chocolate pecan caramel tart, and lemon bon bons. All I gotta say is thank God for sweater season.

The next day Steph and I once again met up for a spa day. As a side note, I also spent time with my family...I promise! I just don't have many pictures of our time hanging out! We went to the Garden Gate Day Spa in Los Lunas for the "Adore My Body" package. As background, this spa is known as one of the top green spas in the country. The package included a 30 minute massage, back scrub and hydrating paraffin hand wrap, and champagne glass of sparking cider. But is also included a day pass for use of their facilities including hot tub, mineral pool, sauna, steam room and rain showers. You can also order lunch and have it brought to the aromatherapy room where you are treated to your choice of teas. And the best part: It was $49 for the whole day! I had the best massage therapist and I am convinced that a good 30 minute massage is better than a sub-par one hour massage. By the time we left, I felt like the most pampered girl in the whole world!

This was the first time we introduced Liam and Annabelle. Liam was not so interested in his new little friend. He was, however, interested in all of Belle's toys.

We were lucky enough to have our trip coincide with Eric's Dad being in town for business, so the boys had several opportunities to spend time together. The day I went to the spa, Eric and Liam had some good bonding time.

Liam and Grandpa Ron. This was the best of several pictures that Eric took. Several of them included a very blurry Liam who did NOT want to be confined for picture taking.

This was one of my favorite pictures.

The large crow in the backyard is always a source of curiosity for Liam.

Grandpa Ron was a great baseball player when he was younger. Here he is showing Liam a thing or two about the game.

Saturday night we went over to the Baca's house for some good ol' fashioned fun, including a game of Beezerweezer, beer and Dion's pizza and salad. Stephanie and I decided pretty early on, that if our friendship was to stay intact for the remainder of our trip, that we should probably be on the same team. We are very competitive and sore losers. We are also terrible winners, complete with matching victory dance and "in your face" winners remarks. Such sore winners are we, that after we won one of the rounds, we decided to try to lap a second round around the board before the guys had even gotten around the first time (this was very much against the rules BTW). As a reminder to my fellow teammates, the American flag only has 50 stars.

For some time now, I have been wanting to get Liam baptised in the church where I grew up. We also have plans to have Liam dedicated in our current home church in the spring. The day of the baptism was significant because it was also my grandmother's birthday. My grandmother was like a second mother to me, and when both she and my grandfather passed away six years ago, I felt like I had lost a part of myself. So needless to say, this day had multiple special meaning to me.

It is important to both me and Eric to raise Liam as a Christian and to provide the best example we can for him. We are committed to helping him develop a special relationship with God and to filling his life with family and friends who also share this commitment.

Liam wearing his little pinstripe suit.

Hamming it up with Uncle David.

Trying to determine if he should alert anyone to the fact that Annabelle's vision has been impaired by a rogue headband.

This is a horrible picture, but it reminded me one of those "write your own caption" photos.

I was curious to see how Liam did with me doting on another baby. At first he didn't seem to care, but when he saw me loving on Belle, he had the most sorrowful meltdown.

Sweet Baby Belle

We had a memorable time this day, shared with family and friends alike. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of pictures of the actual day.

Another beautiful New Mexico sunset. Every time I see a breathtaking sunset here in Texas, I get a little ache in my chest for my home state.

We had a really wonderful time and feel very blessed to have spent so much time with our family and friends. We look forward to catching up with our family in the months to come!