New Mexico Trip Part 1 (Santa Fe)

My friend/coworker, Lural, and I had the opportunity to attend a really excellent Training of Trainers conference in Santa Fe for dual language educators. It was one of those things that we would have traveled anywhere for but were just lucky that it was in lovely Santa Fe at the Hilton, just 2 blocks off of the plaza.

My endlessly patient and accommodating mom agreed to go with us to take care of Owen and Quincy as well as Lural's 10-month-old, Santiago. My mom and the boys spent the bulk of the days out and about in the plaza area of Santa Fe. My mom was constantly being stopped by passersby who commented on the babies and then got lured into conversation with Owen. By Thursday, Owen had made many friends. My mom told me the following story:
They were walking down the street, and there was a man putting money in a meter. Owen said, "Hey, I've seen you before!" To which the man replied, "Yes, you're Owen. And (pointing at the stroller) you're Santiago, and you're..." It turned out that this was Rick, the owner of the book store. Later that evening Owen said to me, "Mom, do you want to go for a little walk and meet the owner of the book shop?"

Here are Quincy and Santiago during one of the very few synchronized naps that they took.

As you may or may not know, Santa Fe is known for its art. One art form that is abundant is sculpture, and Owen fell in love with many sculptures in Santa Fe. In fact, he made daily rounds to several of them--especially to feed the eagles and to play on the bears.

Owen may have only had a one-sided conversation with this new friend.
I love this picture. It shows the developmental stages of these three boys on a beautiful sculpture.Owen was a little sad on Wednesday evening because I had told him that I would take him swimming. However, when we got to the hotel room we found that a large private party was being held on the pool deck. Owen insisted that they wouldn't care if we went swimming anyway and couldn't understand why I didn't feel comfortable parading out there in my swimming suit in front of all of those people. So, his little disappointed self stood at the sliding glass door that faces the pool deck and watched the party. Oh, did I mention that he was naked?

My mom's long time friend and colleague, Kay, met us in Santa Fe on Thursday to hang out with (and help) my mom and the boys. While the two of them went out to dinner without any kids, Lural and I put the boys to bed. When they got back, they stayed with the sleeping babes while Lural and I got to enjoy a meal in a restaurant without kids. It was so relaxing! I set Owen up to listen to a book on the iPod while I put Quincy to bed, and this is how I found him:And, finally, just two of my favorite shots of my boys while we were in Santa Fe...