Halloween 2009

We didn't plan on doing a whole lot for Halloween, but I bought a few decorations and we put them up just about an hour before people started trick-or-treating. The decorations turned out really cool and I thought I'd share. We put up a whole bunch of cobwebs, a black light, a strobe light, some scary music. It made for a really cool haunted house. Here are some pictures while it was still light (we couldn't get the ones we took after dark to come out):

Austin's costume this year was very scary - something like the Warlord of Darkness if I remember the name right.

Austin decided he would give out candy and scare people instead of trick-or-treating like everyone else. He would sit very still and wait until people came to the door and then jumped, yelled boo! and scared them.Austin was careful to be nice to the little kids and tried not to really scare them as much as the older teenagers. One teen boy was so surprised that he fell on the ground and couldn't get up for a minute - he laughed really hard!

 It was really fun for all of us and we "tricked" a lot of people that came to the door! Austin is already talking about how we're going to go "all out" next year... whatever that means!

Update on life!

So it's time to update our blog, I suppose. Yes, I know I've been MIA for months on end. I don't really have an excuse, other than the fact that Jesse and Austin and I have been having so much fun in our little routines that I forget to include other people.

So the news is that Jesse and I are relocating to Houston! I know this is not news for some, but for others it will be. Jesse received a clerkship with a judge in Houston starting this September, so we are working on relocating. What with the economy and the hiring freezes in most counties in the state (not to mention the country), I decided to start applying several months in advance to District Attorney's offices in the Houston area. It turns out that Montgomery County was hiring and, indeed, I was offered a job the same day I interviewed! (Jesse teases me about always getting the first job I interview for). This all came about a month ago.  Consequently, I gave two weeks notice in El Paso and packed up my car last weekend and drove 12 hours across the massive state of Texas to end up in Conroe (the Montgomery County Seat).

Let me just say, I LOVE my new office. El Paso was great - fantastic - and I loved the people there, but I was surprised at how excited I became during my very first day in Montgomery County. Good coworkers, bosses, and the best judge/courtroom in the courthouse. The Houston area is great - the people act and feel like home, there are stores and shopping galore, and the restaurants are endless.  The only difficult part is that Jesse and Austin are still living in El Paso until September - another five months away from experiencing all the fun new stuff with me!

I suppose I have to convince myself that life is a grand adventure and one must live as though they are the hero of their own epic story.  I just know that, while I love my new job and the Houston area is great, I miss my family and can't wait for them to join me on the quest!

Soledad Canyon

So it's been way too long since our last post. Lots of hikes, lots of events have gone by, which I hope to post on later. For now, here are a few pictures from our most recent hike. We found a great website that has local hikes, and this one is up in the Organ Mountains just east of Las Cruces, New Mexico.



This is at the mouth of the canyon heading east.



















Here are Austin and me near the back of the canyon








This is me and the Kayladog in the entrance to an abandoned burned-out rock house near the back of the canyon.












Here's Austin playing it cool at the same rock house.












So at the very back of the canyon is a waterfall. Here's Austin and me up on the side of the canyon wall to the left of the waterfall.









So, Echo wouldn't pose for a shot or let me get any pictures of her. If you're reading this, please comment and remind her how beautiful she is in front of a camera, so that there will be pictures of her in the next posting. :-)

Good Bye United States, Hello Death

Jesse:  Thanks for coming to Mexico with me today baby.

Echo:  You're welcome.  I figure, if we're going to die, we should probably die together.

(Later, while going through the port of Entry)

Jesse:  Good bye United States!

Echo:  Hello, Death!

For those of you unfamiliar with what's going on with Juarez, our sister city to the South, see an example here.  

Pictures to come. 

I passed the bar exam!

Today the results were released. I am officially an attorney in the State of Texas! I will be sworn in next week and therefore licensed to practice law!

Random fact of the month

One of my colleagues showed me this totally cool and really random fact. There is a town called Echo, Texas and it is located in Coleman County! How cool is that?

Our Trip to the Gila Cliff Dwellings

So this weekend, Echo, Austin and I went to the Gila Cliff Dwellings. As you will see in the pictures below, the weather and landscape are a lot different from El Paso and Albuquerque to the East. The drive alone was beautiful, and next spring, we're looking forward to going back to do some serious camping (thanks to Cheyenne, we've got a great camping book to give up pointers on which camping spot to pick. All the ones we passed were in there.).


This is a shot of the Gila National Wilderness area. You have to take small windy roads to get here and go slow. It keeps the whole world from doing this everyday and makes the view once you get there all the more worth it.












This is Echo and Austin on the trail up towards the cliffs. You can't see it but there's a beautiful cliff just to their right.












This is the cliff.














Here are Echo and Austin up on the shelf in front of the Cliff Dwellings. They are saying now that the "dwellings" are actually ceremonial chambers, and that no one really lived there year-round.











This is a look down into the valley from the Cliff Dwellings. They say that during the ceremonies, it filled with families dancing, chanting, singing, etc.









Here's a shot from inside the Cliff Dwellings. Apparently, the only way to get inside originally was a log ladder that you pulled up behind you.









Here's another shot from the inside. They called some of these rooms "Kivas."














A shot of Jesse in the Dwellings












So after a while up in the Dwellings, we head down to the Gila River where we cooled off a bit.














Going in for the kill!