The Other Side of the Mountain

White Sands Missile Range is about a 15 minute drive from our house in Las Cruces. Since Sean and Candace are both military (or ex military.) personnel the boys are taking there swim lessons on the base. Today was my first trip to see the complex. White Sands is the largest military instillation in the United States and has one amazing history. It has been visited by Presidents, celebrities and even UFO's. Most of the photos are on Facebook for those of you who want to take a look. But it was a fabulous experience to hang out at the military base and learn part of the history of the country. The base is also located right at the base of the mountains which makes the view incredible.

The missile range has an indoor and outdoor museum.



Here is the base housing.



The really nifty thing is that you can actually go and touch all the rockets in the outdoor museum.



And I was not kidding about the flying saucers!





At the end of a long day of exploring we all needed to eat and Candace made what might have been the best decision since I landed. Barbeque! There is a great place called the Rib Cage right down the street that has the best BBQ that I have ever tasted. Yes, I know that everything in my life eventually comes back to the food but I can't help it. I mean look at this!



So, on that happy note I say goodnight to another day in sunny New Mexico and rest up for the next great adventure.

Dancing, Birthdays and Tacos.

I am trying to keep up with the blogging but somehow I fall behind. For all those of you who have been so kind as to ask I am doing fine. Candace and the boys are taking very good care of me here. I have pleanty of Lean Cusine Meals, Garden Harvest Sunchips, Lemonade and Baby Ruths! I have been cooking in the fabulous kitchen and we have got almos the entire first floor clean and organized. Adam has even figured out where all of his toys go and can pick them up and sort them into the correct boxes! Convincing him to do it is sometimes a different story!
I have been dancing twice since I go here. There is a ton of latin dance here and a ballroom club. I miss swing dancing but am learning some new stuff in the latin relm so that has been interesting. All if the dance folks here are very nice and have been inviting and fun. They have a Dancesport team at the college so all of the students come out and dance. I also met a few people who go to El Paso frequently for the Salsa dancing there. That should be a fun outing.
Yesterday was Candace's birthday. Adam and I cooked her a birthday breakfast...





Birthday Frittata! It was very tasty and Adam was a great helper in the kitchen.
We also went to the International Taco Festival. Good fun and even better food. We tried all kinds of different Mexican foods. It was very similar to Rib Fest in Fargo but with Tacos. They did judging and awarded the best Taco prize.





So, it has been a very exciting few days here. Next week the master bedroom, and the boys room! Good fun.
I wish that I could capture on film how beautiful it is here. The mountains and the desert are so vast and different from anything in North Dakota. One of the gentlemen from the dance club says that he loves ND. He said that if it wasn't for the winters that there would be just enough empty space for him to enjoy! I told him that everyone in ND wishes for the weather that New Mexico has. Truly fabulous.

Naked Time!

A few interesting things have happened the last few days. I got a job! And not just any job, a job at a yarn shop! I was super excited. I went in to knit with the ladies and talked with the owner and her assistant manager about working and they just happened to have an opening. In addition, the ladies that I got to knit with were pretty cool to hang out with. I am hoping that it will be a very eventful summer.
We have also moved up to the second floor of the house to clean and organize. There are a few first floor things to do yet but all the big stuff is out of the way. Today was the day for the master bedroom. I thought that Candace's remark to Sean on Skype today about summed it up. "It's amazing how spacious it is in that room when all the stuff is clean."
We also had a fabulous time hanging out with Adam while he pretended to kill zombies in the buff. I don't know about the rest of you but when I think zombies I am sure thinking...Naked Time!
Unfortunately no photo's for that event. Although they would have been perfect blackmail for the prom date era of his life!
Tomorrow we will be making spaghetti sauce and finishing the bedroom. Never a dull moment here at the Decker abode.

Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

I have found that one of the best ways to get people to like you is with food. Behold the mini meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Used to bribe countless people! This was my "me" time today. While Candace and the boys played in the back yard I hung out in the kitchen cooking. I think that they approved!


This is Isaac enjoying dinner.

There will be many more to come!

New Day 1

As is normal for my life things were exciting right off the bat. The flight was fine. The dog did a great job. People hardly knew that she was there mostly because she just slept for most of the trip. After the 40 minute drive and getting the boys settled in we realized that the breaker for the deep freeze had beed tripped so the whole deep freeze was thawed and ruined. While Candace was trying to look and it and see what we could do she got bit by a really nasty looking crazy bug. After much research and a slight panic Sean figured out from the other side of the planet that it was a camel spider!



That is pretty much the ugliest bug that I have ever seen! And they live in the garage. Swell. I also found a cockroach in the sink this morning just in case the camel spider wasn't icky enough!
But I think that the gorgeous view from the porch and the fabulous weather should balance out whatever other creatures we may find.