No more Braces! and Mom's birthday

 Nolen got his braces off today!!!  He is so happy!  His teeth look amazing!!  I am so happy with how they turned out.  

 To celebrate my Mom's birthday, we went to get ice cream with  the family.  I miss her every single day.

 

Airsoft in Wisconsin

 This fall break, Edward drove with my friend Andrea up to Wisconsin to shoot air soft with friends.  He LOVED it!  The left Thursday to make the 24 hour drive.  Edward has loved getting into these tournaments with his friends.  He works hard to save up his money, from working at Flix's brew house, to buy new gear for each air soft trip.  His friend Ben went with him on the trip and they shared a tent.  I didn't hear much about exactly what they did, but Edward said he had a blast and can't wait to go again in March.  

Balloon Fiesta

 I wasn't really planning to attend Balloon Fiesta this year; however, Chelsea and her beau, Brent, came to Albuquerque and wanted to see the balloons.  Since this is may be one of the last times we are living here, it was a good time to see the balloons one more time.   Chelsea and I went early Friday morning to maybe catch a ride in a balloon, but that didn't happen.  We met up with Craig and Blair and their two friends, Matt and Brittany.  We wondered the whole place for hours and watched hundreds of balloons launch.  It really was the perfect morning for the balloons.  

 Friday night, I dragged Stephen and Nolen with me to Balloon Fiesta.  We had a really good parking spot due to Nolen's jiu jitsu gym giving us a parking pass.  So we easily walked in and stood in line to get dinner.  After finally getting food, we found a nice spot to watch the balloons light up.  We stayed through the fireworks show and loved it.   This was a good year for 2025 Balloon Fiesta. AND I am so glad Chelsea came to enjoy it with me.  

 

Golf and Paul McCartney

 You know what!? I have a BLOOD CLOT in my arm!  In my arm!!  I have had a weird summer that is turning into a terrible fall.  I had a horrible sore throat in May that lasted all summer.  To get ride of the sore throat, I took prednisone.  Well, the prednisone caused a blood clot.  I felt it in my elbow for a few months and suddenly on Saturday it was incredibly painful.  I tried to ignore the pain but started to get a bad feeling about it.  I went to the hospital at 3 AM and the doctor said there was no way it was a blood clot in my elbow.  She said she had never seen a blood clot in the elbow before.  I, at this point, was pretty certain it was a blood clot. 

Low and behold it IS a blood clot.  I had to wait a few hours for someone to come scan my arm and instantly, I could see it was a blood clot.  I had called and texted Stephen telling him I was in the hospital and he didn't get the message until after 8 AM.  He arrived as my arm was getting scanned.  A different doctor came in to tell me it was, in fact, a blood clot and then said that he had no idea what to do.  He told me to just see a hematologist.   Wow.  

 Monday, Stephen and I went golfing to get ready for our Golf trip in a few weeks.  I am a terrible golfer but I do love spending the afternoon with Stephen.  I am getting better so that counts for something.  Stephen wanted a new driver so we got a new one!  The test went great!

 Tuesday, my friend Spencer Morgan invited me to see Paul McCartney with him.  This was really an experience of a lifetime!! I like the Beetles and have enjoyed their music since being married to Stephen.  He loves the Beetles.  It was so cool to to hear songs like "Hey Jude" and "Let it be"!  I loved every minute of it!!  

 

Bravery

 As a woman, I feel like I am pretty brave.  I do a lot of things alone.  I do many hard things by myself.  I run alone, a lot.  I take my boys on trips with out other adults.  I feel like I am pretty brave.  I try my best to not allow the world to make me fearful.  This weekend, I drove to the mountains with Pearl (the dog) and got out, and then ran seven miles in the mountains alone.  I did it!  I was nervous but I did it!  I had the dog off leash the whole time so I had to keep her nearby a few times as we ran by a few people.  I ran through a camp site and I should have put her on the leash but I thought it would be OK.  I did get some funny looks but just kept on running.