Linda Rokos Watts

Thursday we packed our bags and headed to the airport. Stella always gets so excited about flying it makes it feel like a big adventure. A quick trip (45 minutes) in the plane and we landed in Albuquerque. We had the whole family meet us at the airport and we hopped in Annie's car and made it to our condo at about 9pm. Tired from a long day of work and traveling we crashed in preparation for a few busy days with the entire family. We got Stella some new luggage for the trip. She's been eyeing the Roxy roll bag for some time now and I finally broke down on Wednesday night before we left and bought it for her. Stella if front of our little apartment downtown. There were so many people staying at the house that the foo's mom let us stay in one of their rental properties. I love the old doors they have in New Mexico. They are everywhere and one more beautiful then the next. Saturday night the whole gang eatin traditional tamales ( YUMMM ) and Chile rellenos . Last year J...

I've always thought fly fishing was kind of geeky. In high school all the guys use to fly fish the Yampa in Steamboat and they would wear all their goofy lookin gear and spend hours in the river. I never understood it until now. Connor had got me hooked on fishing. He bought Stella a good fishing pole for Christmas this last year but last weekend was mama's turn. I finally got my very own 9 foot long fly fishing rode. Let me tell you...it's not a cheap sport. Those suckers are expensive and all the gear that goes along with it adds up quick. Having just started to learn, I don't have all the geeky gear yet. We'll see just how many fish I can get before I start investing more into it. So far though I'm hooked! :) My new travel case. The rode breaks into 4 pieces and is made of carbon fiber so this little baby keeps it all safe! My fly reel. There she is in all her glory. I still need to find a good name for her. It's the fuzzy red heart fly... I don't ...

Three days at her dads and I missed the lil bugger like crazy. I took this silly little pic while we were waiting for the bus this morning. Wishing everyone a happy, wet, and cloudy day!

Saturday morning the foo, his brothers and I packed up the cars and headed up to Steamboat for a little weekend get away. We got a fantastic condo right on the mountain with a beautiful view of the valley. It was so bright and green up there it was breath taking. We spent all of Sunday shopping downtown, buying Connor some new cowboy boots and hiking up Fish Creek Falls. It was nice to get out of town for the weekend the only thing missing was Stella. We really missed her this weekend but she was off having a great time at here dads. The view from one of the decks. Steamboat Valley at its greenest. A late night(8pm) pic of the crew right before putting Grant down to sleep and a pic taken earlier in the night of Adam and Laurie making Blue Cheese Buffalo burgers... mmmmm ! What do you get when you put 3 brothers in an elevator ? Yeah...I don't know either! :) Baby Grant in a new hat my mama made for him and Grant and Dad watching the Nuggets. Go Nuggets! Fish Creek Fall, Steamboat...

You can't make a trip up to Steamboat and not go to the hot springs. They have changed quite a bit over the last 10 years since the time we use to sneak up there in high school but they sure are still great! We spent all of Monday morning relaxing in all the different pools of warm water up there, we even did a quick lap in the cold river, it was FREEZING! This is one of the new steam rooms they build into the mountain. Megan and I chillin poolside. The boys. Connor, Robin, Adam and Chad with his back turned. Another little structure with one of the springs running right through it. It's amazing how warm it keeps the structure. The springs were a great way to end a fantastic trip to Steamboat.

Stella has been taking piano lessons this whole year and she's getting really good. She's put in the long hours of practice and with thanks to my mom for the extra help...(i know nothing about piano or how to read music) she's now learning Bach. She has a recital coming up in a month and she will be playing Musette in D written by Johann Sebastian Bach. She even studied Bach in school so she's really excited to play his music. Johann Sebastian Bach himself. Dates to be posted soon on her recital. Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! :)

Lavender is not only on of my favorite colors but the actual flower is beautiful. We have then all around our house and they are in full bloom right now. My mom stopped by my office today with a bouquet of freshly cut lavender flowers. Smells so yummy! Hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day! Thank you mama!