February

February has been an extremely fun and busy month for us.  This morning was the first time in at least a month that I have been able to really take advantage of sleeping in (granted I only slept until 8:30 but it felt awesome!).  I am not complaining, though, as we have been having a lot of fun with new activities and hanging out with friends - both new and old.

The first weekend of February we went ice climbing in Ouray, CO.  Micah has every other Friday off which is great, but it also means he wants to do fun things on those Fridays so I have been taking days off of work as well (I'm hoping to get on the same schedule in April but we'll see).  We left Thursday evening after work and drove 3 hours to Durango, CO to spend the night.  On Friday morning we drove about 1.5 hours into the mountains to Ouray for our first day of ice climbing.  Although Micah ice climbed years ago, he had never been to Ouray.  We spent Friday and Saturday in the ice park (in the area called the School Room which is great for beginners).  I'm not sure I was completely sold on the sport, but we had a fun weekend nevertheless.

Here I am on the ice

The next Saturday we went to a rock climbing area called the Enchanted Tower, which is about 2.5 hours southwest of ABQ, with our friends Dan and Val and their two young sons.  We had a great day of climbing on the Mother Goose wall as there were at least 15 "easier" climbs close together and between the four of us we did every climb.  I have been leading in the gym since December, but this was the first time I actually led outside!

Getting ready to climb.  Auggie, Val, me and Micah with Eland.

On Sunday of that same weekend our friends Katie and Ryan came for a short visit.  They arrived Sunday evening, I took Monday off to hang out with them and show them ABQ, and they left early Tuesday morning.  Although I had seen them during my visit to MI in January, Micah had not seen them since we were in Calcutta, India in October!  It was so great to see Katie and Ryan again.  I really miss living close to them in CO!

We didn't take any pictures during the weekend, but this is the four of us at our favorite restaurant in Varanasi, India.

The following weekend we decided to head back to the Enchanted Tower climbing area as there are many more walls to explore in that area.  Micah and I drove down by ourselves Saturday morning and met up with Dan and Val and their boys.  Although the weather was not as great as the weekend before since it was colder and much windier, we still managed to get in some great climbs.

Dan took some great photos of us climbing! Here is an action shot of Micah going for his next clip.

Saturday evening our friends Travis and Amy and their 7 week old son Wyatt arrived for a short visit.  Travis competed in a race on Mt. Taylor Saturday morning, which is about 1.5 hours west of ABQ.  We were thrilled to see them and meet their new baby - so small and precious!  On Sunday we went out to breakfast at the Flying Star in Nob Hill and then went for a two hour hike in the Sandias.  Amazingly, Wyatt slept the whole hike!  After grabbing a late lunch, Travis, Amy and Wyatt left for Taos so they did not have to do the whole drive in one day.  It was so great to see them again!

Amy, Travis and Wyatt during the hike.

And now it is the last weekend of February and I have decided to take it easy.  Although the month has been full of fun, the laundry needs to be done, the house needs to be cleaned, the taxes need to be completed and I should really get a haircut as it has been six months since my last cut!  Micah is climbing with a new climbing partner today (they met through a mutual friend) and I am enjoying a quiet house to myself.  I think Sienna, our cat, is enjoying my being home today too as she has not seen us much this month!