Joseph Tree

There are trees called Joshua trees that grow around Arizona, and here in our little Maes land we have Joseph trees. We planted this one in our back yard last spring after Joseph was born, and recently it has started blooming for the first time.

It's spring time after all, and so everything is blooming including my sweet little monkey; he has been exploring the back yard with the intensity of an experienced globe trotter. With him, two hours spent outside equal four outfit and shoe changes. No, it is not a fashion statement; the amount of dirt this little person can accumulate on his little body is astounding, you'd think we have nothing left for the plants in our garden, and yet, every time we venture outside, he manages to find more.


His concentration in doing so is truly remarkable.



Until, of course, dirt gets into places.

Spring Road Trip!

These days it is a rare occasion that we all get a weekend off together. So when such opportunity came around, we decided to take advantage of it and go on a road trip (woohoo).
The trip turned out to be very different from the original plan, but let's face it, flexibility is an integral part of any road trip as there are no set schedules , no plane hopping, no exhausting layovers.
Day ONE. Spent roaming through Albuquerque downtown, and Joseph's very first visit to a Children's Museum. Well, second visit to be honest, but he slept through half of his first one and spent the other half retrieving a rubber ducky from the kiddy pool. So, officially, this was his first visit.
In my opinion, Children's Museums are the best thing in children's edutainment since invention of the stick, all those things to touch, and pull, and push, and look at, and drool over. Joseph's reactions varied from meditative observation to focused obsession to bewildered surprise, as can be seen below.



Albuquerque is only about 45 minutes away from us, and look, the spring is in fool bloom, unlike Santa Fe, where there is not even a hint of anything green anywhere on the horizon.





Day TWO. Sky City, Acoma Pueblo. This is one of the oldest native American pueblos in the country. Located on top of a mesa, it houses about a hundred buildings, a church, plus, an unidentified number of stray dogs.
It blends so well with the surrounding environment, when you are at the foot of the mesa, you might not quite notice it.





And Joseph? Well, he thoroughly enjoyed himself.