Our 2024 was a wonderful year full of adventures and firsts for the kids. The year ended a bit sad when we said goodbye to Jared for a year. It never gets easier, but we are so proud of all he does for us and his country! He will return from Poland September/October of 2025.
January through June
We started out our year in a hotel room on the way home from California visiting family. Then we had zoo visits, parade spectating, band concerts, robotic competitions ... and more fun.
We rung in the new year in a California hotel on the way home from our Christmas vacation visiting family.
Happy Valentines Day
A quite time outside with Flora.
Ft. Bliss
Ft. Bliss
Ft. Bliss
Wisteria on my garden. This old wisteria plant we got to inherit when we moved into our house back in 2016
Spring time
Happy Easter!
She loves bugs
Liams 13th birthday portrait
Liam's 13 Birthday portrait
Ella has to get some portraits too
Practicing for school
Yoga
The Rose Garden, we visit every Mother's Day
Ella took this one
These goofy three...
Armed Forces Day Parade
Liam's Robotics competition where his school placed first!
A beautiful morning walk, don't worry, the road is closed to motor vehicles.
El Paso from above
Liam's end of the year (school year 2023-2024) music concert.
She is growing up fast, I won't be able to pick her up like this much longer
Ella's birthday Zoo visit with Grandmere
Hello little guy
See you later alligator
FIVE!
Liam's face ??
Watching LB, a retired Marine, swim so peacefully
Noahs recognition in his Fourth grade class at the end of the year ceremonies
With his wonderful teacher
Ella's fifth birthday portrait before her hair cut...
After the haircut, where she got bangs
The doll she holds was made by my Grandma Charlotte (Ella Charlotte after her!) it is a transitional doll that is two dolls in one. Here is one side...
Here is the other.
Always the silly one for good meausre
I got to get in there too
Sweet child of mine
July
We took a family trip to Colorado. It was wonderful fun in Buena Vista, then Castle Rock. I even got to take some portraits of my beautiful nieces, Maddie and Maianna.
Our first hike...
Our second hike.
Noah took this photo- I edited it
St. Elmo, CO
Anyone need to use the outhouse?
A lovely little home for sale in St. Elmo
Aspen trees are my favorite
Time for school!
Rita the troll
I found Goldbug!
August through October
The kids started school in August. Ella, her first year in school, Kindergarten, Noah, fifth grade, and Liam, eighth grade. In September we visited Fort Stanton, New Mexico on a day trip. Then at the end of that month we said goodbye to Jared as he left for Poland where he will be stationed for the next year. In October, we went to an Airshow and Ella was in her first school music concert!
We took a day trip to Fort Stanton , New Mexico
Noah took this photo-I edited it
We had fun learning the history of this place that predates the Civil War
Old bottles found on the premises
Loved this old hat
Okay Ella, now pick it up and play us a song
Replica of the old barracks
We love old cannons, and took these for Grandpa (Chuck Maddox)
A drummer boys drum
Hospital where they treated tuberculosis patients from 1899-1954
Inside the hospital. A hunted hallway, perhaps?
The officers quarters
The Chapel
Hello creepy cricket
Inside an old officers quarters - children's room
Layers of history
Noah's 10th birthday portrait
And a silly one for good measure
Sweet Ella
Saying goodbye to Jared as he heads out to Poland for the next year.
We will miss you!
Blowing kisses
We saw his plane fly off into the sunset
Evening on Ft. Bliss after watching Jared's plane fly away
We attened an Air Show on the 12th of October, that was so much fun! We got to walk through this Chinook.
Army Golden Knights Parachuting team
This was Kirby Chambliss, US and World acrobatic champion! He was amazing and our favorite prefomance!
They raced! The Red Bull edge540 and the JetTruck!
The Vanguard Squadron-powered by ethanol
June 6, 1944 this was the C47 piloted by Lt. Col. John Donalson, that lead the airborne invasion on Normandy.
Named "That's all Brother" as a message to Hitler
P51 Mustang
The Canadian Snowbirds
Halloween on Ft. Bliss
Rapunzel
Hunting for candy
Found some!
Ella's first music concert at school, she did so well!
November and December
November is finally when we get to see some fall colors here in the desert. We spent a wonderful thanksgiving with family in Colorado, Elizabeth and her family, where the kids got to play in the snow and feed giraffes at the zoo. Then Grandmère, my mom, got to come visit us for a week before Christmas. While she was here, we saw Noah preform in his first orchestra concert, visited a local art museum, The International Art Museum of El Paso, where we saw two of my photos exhibited, and made some Christmas cookies.
A tree that is just down the street from our house
First time feeding giraffes
Maddie and the hungry giraffe, trying to get the lettuce in her had that's out of frame
posing for a photo
It licked her hand!
The look of a hungry giraffe
Sleepy lions
hiding in plan sight
I love his googly eyes
Looking for the Tiger
Comparing to a Grizzly
Do you want to build a snowman?
Snowball fight!
Macro snowflakes
One that landed on my jacket
look carefully and see the beauty of the flakes
12/12 morning sunrise view from our back yard
I had two of my photos on exhibit in a local art museum in their annual show called the Sun Bowl Art Exhibit
My name!
A photo of Ella...
And my self portrait
Mailing letters to Santa
Noah's first orchestra concert. He did wonderful!!
Making cookies with grand-mère
Found a pocket of light!
Our last adventure of 2024 was taking a trip across town into Santa Teresa, NM to the War Eagles Air Museum on December 29th. One of my favorite places to visit around here, that mixes my inherited love of old classic cars from my dad and my inherited love of planes and aviation from my mom. Take a journey with us and learn about some of the aircraft and cars they have on display...
Lockheed P-38 Lightning - modified for air racing
The Museum's claim to fame...(next five photos)
Curtiss P-40 E Warhawk, featured in the 1970's film, "Tora, Tora, Tora!"
We got to take a peek inside...
The kids didn't know what to think of it's tail art.
A very rare TF-51 Mustang
same plane, differnt angle
WACO EGC-8 biplane
Piper J-3 Cub, the oldest aircraft in the hanger
My favorite, the F4U-4 Corsair, such a beauty!
The kids got to sit and play in this piece of a Bell OH-58 Kiowe (next three photos)
Noah at the throttle...
...Liam at the switches
Tupolev Tu-2, nicknamed Bat
The only plane like this that is on display in the US
Under the wing of a P-51D Mustang
Lycoming 9 cylinder Radial Engine
Hawker/Sea Fury FB Mk. XI
Who wants the jump seat?
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15UTI Midget
Inside the cockpit of the Midget
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21 PFM Fishbed
The jump seat in the MiG-21 with Russian writing
My favorite spot in the museum for photos in front of these hanger doors creating beautiful silhouettes.
Boeing/Stearman PT-17 Kaydet
In the foreground, Piper PA-18 Super Cub
The kids were getting restless...
Douglas A-26C Invader
Convair L-13A Grasshopper
North American FJ-2 Fury
North American T-28B Trojan
A peek at the T-28B's engine
The kids sitting in frontt of a Fieseler FI-156 Storch
1929 Ford Model "A" touring car
Okay, stand together and smile...or do that...
Biggest to smallest
1936 Packard Super 8 Roadster
Love the swan emblem
1935 Packard 120
1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II - Ell's favorite
1970 Jaguar E-Type Series I
If only new cars were still that price!
1950 Ford
1920's and 30's Fords
1935 Auburn Model 851 Speedster
1914 Ford Model "T" Speedster
Outside memorial for the Vietnam War
