Wow! That seemed like a LONG time off work! It'll actually be good to getting back to some daily structure. I love a vacation but sometimes I feel like the days just slide by and I wonder what I did with them! Do you get that way too?
But I KNOW I had a great vacation with the family and three out of four of my kids! Let's dig into those pictures!
Christmas Morning! Little Ava isn't sure she likes the shoes Uncle Carson got her so she's giving him the old stink-eye.
We played a game called "Making Maki" where you try to make little sushi out of wooden pieces using just chop sticks. It's fun but pretty simple. I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Monday after Christmas we were off to New Mexico to see Chase! Before we even went to the hotel, Carson found a "Man Vs Food" restaurant and we had lunch there. Of course, it was awesome.
Then we started to hit as many "Breaking Bad" locations as we could, starting with the "Breaking Bad" store and museum.
Of course, we had to visit Walter White's house. The woman who lives there hates it when people come by and she took pictures of us and recorded us the entire time. In a way I don't blame her. I guess a lot of people climb over the fence and steal rocks out of her yard or knock on the door. Why doesn't she move? I don't know...maybe it's super-sentimental to her?
Recognize this building?
Recognize it now? It's Tuco's building that Walt blows the windows of out. Funny thing is, it looks just like it did, mural and all and it's in a decent neighborhood, not like they portray it on the show.
Chase also loves "Breaking Bad" so he and Maddie joined us for more locations. This one is the car wash where Walt works.
This is a real restaurant that played the role of Los Pollos Hermanos in the show.
A banner inside the store.
The kids pointing out parts of the restaurant where different scenes were shot.
We found Hank's house!
We went by the TV station where Chase works.
And watched him on TV.
Okay, Nerd Time. I bought tickets to an online magic show by a magician named Dan White. He was AMAZING! If you want to be blown away, google his shows and get tickets. He sends you a box that you open only during the show and the stuff inside there and what he makes you do with it is so freaking cool!
We went to have dinner at The Melting Pot. Susan and Carson look super-bored here.
We went to a giant food court and played a card game called 3-13 which I learned at Boy Scout camp a few years ago.
Admittedly, ABQ isn't the prettiest town, but I thought this view was kinda nice!
And right where i took that picture, there are hundreds if not thousands of petroglyphs, made anywhere from 400 to 700 years ago. I love history so this was super cool to me.
Back at home now...Chase got me a really beautiful knife and case to wear on my belt.
Carson got ear candles for Christmas and wanted me to help him use them. I think it's a bunch of crap and they don't work but when you open them after you use them, there is something in there that looks like earwax, so who knows?
And finally, I made Brocolli Chicken Cheddar Pot Pie and it was SO GOOD! I got the recipe from Allison's husband's mom. (Shout Out Deb!)
And here is the recipe! It's a little cut off but you'll still be able to figure it out.
That's it! I hope you had a great Christmas. Happy New Year and thanks for looking at my pictures!
-Dave