hometown celebration

It's taken me a while to get to this, but let me tell you about my recent (weekend of 18-19 Aug.) trip to Santa Fe.

My parents passed their 33rd wedding anniversary at the end of March. So when August rolled around, they decided to celebrate their "third of a century" anniversary with a party! I was invited. And of course I went, drawing it out into a long weekend at home.

I arrived in New Mexico on Thursday. Ryan picked me up from the airport and drove us to Santa Fe, where we met up with the parents and all headed to Tomasita's for lunch. This is what I ate:

A Christmas burrito!

Sopapillas. Mmmm.

 After that we visited REI and I bought a hat for running and other hot outdoor activities. They were all oh-so-pleased to be hat shopping with me. That was followed by naps all around (whether purposeful or not), and then Ryan and I went to the gym. He did weights and I ran 4 miles. Then we went home and ate bagels and lox for dinner. I spent the evening on the couch going through Consumer Reports on cars with Dad.

Trains!

Ryan was really excited about my taking this photo. Really.

 Friday we did our own various things in the morning, then went to visit my grandparents. Grandmother was out shopping with my aunt, so we visited with Granddad a little, and then when she arrived she had to turn right around for a hair appointment, so we took Granddad to lunch. We ate at Furr's Cafeteria, which is a place I haven't been in years and years. After lunch Dad and I went out car shopping (just to look, not to buy yet) for a couple hours. When we got home I spent a little while reading for school, and then we all went downtown to the Second Street Brewery for heavy appetizers and delicious beer. Plus fun live music. We followed that up with frozen yogurt. It was a good family bonding time.

Parents and beers.

Kids and beers.

Wait, did he shrink???

 Saturday morning I ran 11 miles. I was nervous about running so far in Santa Fe because of the altitude. Plus I've never run anywhere near that distance at home. I mapped out an enjoyable route that took me from the house downtown and back. This is what the run looked like:

Luckily I didn't have any altitude problems. I had some energy chews with me that came in really handy starting around mile 6, and I wore my new hydration pack (in addition to the bottle of Gatorade I sipped for the first half), so the whole thing went pretty well.

All done! And sweaty!

After the run Mom made paninis for lunch, and then my parents and I went downtown to the Indian Market. It was fun to see all the art, but my legs and feet weren't super excited about my being upright for so long.

Saturday evening was the night of the anniversary party. Ryan and I picked up my grandparents to take them to the restaurant. There were twenty people there, mostly family plus a few good friends of my parents. There were pretty flowers and good steaks and fun wedding pictures to remind people what they looked like a third of a century ago.

Unfortunately I didn't take very many (or very good) photos of the event, but here's what I got. (And hopefully those people who took a lot more and from better angles will share with my mom...)

After the party we took my grandparents home, then Ryan and I hung out with our two cousins. Both will be seniors this year, one in college and the other in high school. We've never actually hung out with them on our own, so that was fun. We wandered around downtown looking for a place to go after 10pm and finally settled for Italian sodas at the Atomic Grill.

Sunday Ryan and I went to the gym and worked out together, which was kind of fun because we've never done that together before, and then we met up with my parents for church. Afterward we all ate more Mexican food at the Blue Corn Cafe, and then Mom took Ryan shopping at one place while Dad took me at another. That afternoon Ryan headed back to Flagstaff, and after a nap I went with my parents to the Opera for their apprenticeship showcase. I always like those because you get to hear some opera but it's mostly the good bits from lots of different operas, and not one long one that could potentially get boring. When we got home we had leftover party cake and wine for a late-night snack.

Monday morning Mom made me scones for breakfast, and then my parents drove me to the airport. It was a relatively short trip, but we all had a good time and I'm glad my parents decided to throw a party!