Albuquerque - Day 1

So it was up early and off to the airport.  Three generations of Chaires (and a Kuska), all stuffed into my little Civic, off to LAX.  Good news was, we made it!  And although there were long lines at security, when your traveling with an infant, they wave you right through.

And as usual, Olive boarded the plane and promptly went to sleep.

Such a peaceful picture.  I love this one a lot.

And two hours later, we arrive!  Rebecca had the baby, Rachel carried the diaper bag, and I, well I had everything else...

Its hard work traveling with three girls..  Let me tell you..!

I got a lot of these in my Kelloggs Cornflakes.  (The little license plates were once given as prizes in boxes of cereal.)  Anyways, it was pretty cool seeing one in person.

And away we went!  Driving through Albuquerque with Rachel in the back seat is more informative than a stack of Encyclopedias.  Rachel grew up here and was quickly pointing out little points of interest such as streets named after her family, where she got married and schools she attended.  And how could we miss the red pepper vendors. 

And we made it!  The little house where Grammita Sena lives!  And there to greet us were Uncle Alex and Aunt Terry, and Grandma!  (excuse me..  GREAT Grandma!)

Olive loves meeting new people and she quickly started hamming it up for the locals.

We all sat down and took turns holding the baby.

Rebecca's cousin, Robert swung by as well.  Olive really took a liking to him.

  

During their summers off school, Rebecca and Catherine would often come out here and spend time on their grandparents farm.  Robert and his brother Pablo were about the same age and the four of them would hang out a lot.  Im sure these two didnt get into any 'trouble' at all..  Right?  I mean just look at that halo above Rebecca's head.

Alex looks surprised that Im taking his picture for the 2ooth time.  Well I should explain that I have to take many many photos and hopefully one turns out just right.

I returned from this trip with over 700 snaps.  672 are blurry or someone has their eyes closed.  (usually Rebecca or Catherine.  Is that a sister thing?)

And now, for the first time on film, FOUR generations of Chaires sitting at the table, talking about home remedies and health vitamins, and looks like a healthy dose of Vino on the table.  (Maybe from their Spanish roots perhaps?)

Grammita teaches Olive some old indian chants.  And if I said Rachel was a stack of Encyclopedias, well then Grammita is a Library!  She is sharp as tacks and can tell you stories about anything Albuquerque.  (She's been here since 1919!)

So we spent the evening reminiscing and catching up.  We headed across the street to our favorite restaurant: Garduenos!  Home of some fanstastic Mexican food, Margaritas, and the local delicasy:  Fried Sopapillas with honey and Red Pepper sauce.   Mmmmmmmmm!

We were so stuffed that we waddled back home and quickly passed out.  Tomorrow would be a big day and we needed the rest.  

Goodnight!