Hello all. As many of you know, my summer is quite filled with various travels internationally. As any traditional American traveler might do, I have decided to record my life in this here blog.

I have had the privilege of spending the past month in Santa Fe, New Mexico visiting my sister, Dom and my two favorite nephews, Awo and Koda. To very simply brief you, it has been a month of outdoor adventures, nannying and viewing the first 3 seasons of Sons of Anarchy (a must see by the way. simply for Jax) on Netflix with small moments of sight-seeing squeezed in.

My first weekend here was supposed to be a weekend of camping at the lovely Lake Abiquiu, near Santa Fe. However, due to the very unfortunate event that we ended up in a hot zone of the ROTA virus, our camping trip was cut short and had much fewer participants. Nonetheless, it was an absolutely gorgeous day.  It was especially loved by Koda, who enjoys spending his camping time retrieving tree branches thrown into the lake. (see video)

A couple weeks after my arrival, I was designated puppy-sitter while Maggie and Dom traveled to California and Iowa.It included a ginormous amount of time spent at the doggy park, as well as a hiking adventure, which Awo loved, but but also seemed to regret about half-way through. He felt similarly following our daily 2-mile run.

Upon their return to New Mexico, we got to celebrate Dom's birthday and visit with some amazing friends. For those of you who are unaware, the second photo is of Keenya. She and her friend Kristen stopped by for a couple days on their own summer travels. The last photo is of Jay and I. He is a friend of mine from my years at Coe College who happens to live in Albuquerque, which was super convenient for me :)

As for my most recent life-happening, we spent the evening at 10,000 Waves, a beautiful spa in Santa Fe. It proved to be quite the experience and well worth the 18 dollars. Not only did I have the opportunity to see more than my fair share of naked women, I also experienced what I am quite sure is the world's most ridiculous toilet. Yes, I said toilet. I had every intention of documenting this via photo, but of course, forgot, so use your imagination:

I enter the women's restroom to find myself seated on a heated seat. I think, 'huh, well this is odd, but perfectly acceptable; I have always hated sitting on a freezing cold toilet seat following my soak in a super super hot tub of water'. I then proceed to find out that this toilet includes options for it to cleanse and dry various parts of my female being. Of course, I was compelled to try each option throughout the night and was continually surprised and even more confused. But, as I always say, to each his own. I'm sure someone enjoys this luxurious alternative to my traditional mid-western toileting regimen. All in all though, I highly recommend your attendance at 10,000 waves if you choose to visit Santa Fe sometime in the future.

Anyhow...my life in a nutshell. I will be leaving for my next adventure in 2 days to the Dominican Republic. Updates on our adventures to come. Love to all!!