Niel goes hot air ballooning...

This past weekend, Niel and I had the opportunity to go crewing with some friends who fly hot air balloons. It was so much fun, it was unfortunate due to warm weather conditions, only Niel and another guy got to go up in the balloon. That's okay, I have been up before, several years ago with the same friends.

Niel and I also had the great responsibility of holding the throat of the balloon while we were prepping it for flight. The throat is very simply the lowest part of the balloon that connects to the gondola. When they turned on the flame, we thought our faces were going to burn off because of the extreme heat. I was fotunate to have had on a jacket. Niel wasn't as fortunate, I think he may have singed some arm hairs.

Bar D Wranglers in Durango Colorado

Sorry that it has been so long that we have updated our blog, but so much has happened in the last few weeks. I have been incredibly busy laying tile, painting and landscaping my mother's home in Albuquerque. It was last month that I learned how to tile and have done about 3oo square feet in the last month.

The pictures posted above are of the Orpilla's and us in Colorado. We went to eat at The Bar D Wranglers, it is a cowboy dinner show that has been going since 1969 in Durango Colorado. We had a great time spending the day in Durango, visiting the Art Fair they were having and seeing the sites. Durango is a beautiful little town tucked away in the mountains. We really had a great time.

We spent the weekend in Farmington, New Mexico at my brothers house. Which is about 45 minutes from Durango. All in all, we had a fun weekend. We were also able to visit Pastor Andy at Calvary Chapel Farmington for Sunday morning service.

Fellowship with Ernest and Nicole

Last weekend the Herrera family made a trip to Albuquerque. We had a wonderful time fellowshipping with them at Niel and Vanessa's home. Ernest and Nicole moved from Okinawa to Wichita, Kansas last year. They have just recently purchased a home in Wichita as Ernest is preparing to separate from the Air Force. He will be working there in Wichita for a local company.

It has been over a year since we last saw them and we had a great time together. Nicoles mother lives in Albuquerque, so they make frequent trips there. The kids had a lot of fun playing together. We were all blown away at how much Elianna, their youngest has grown. We nick named her Ernestina, for obvious reasons. Please pray for them as Ernest separates and they transition into a new season this fall.