Frost Gelato

March 15, 2014May 27, 2015 sofijaburton1 Comment

Have you had God’s gift to the world, also known as Gelato? The owners of Frost Gelato had in on their trip to Italy, fell in love with it, went to Gelato University (yes there is such a thing!), opened up wildly successful stores in Arizona, and now in our city. We had some fine samples when my husband’s co-worker brought some over on super bowl Sunday. He brought about 8 different flavors one better than the other. Yesterday the husband and I finally made to the store.

Goodness, look at that presentation!! I just wanted to eat my way through the whole store…and you kind of can; they let you sample the flavors. I know one thing for sure, I’ll be back soon!
Have a great weekend!
-Sofija

Lincoln, New Mexico

February 27, 2014May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonBilly the Kid, court house, little town of Lincoln, new mexicoLeave a comment

One of my favorite field trips we have done in the past is visiting the little town of Lincoln, New Mexico.

Lincoln is a small ghost town in southeast New Mexico, with one main street, and lots of little houses. The whole town is like a walk through museum, nobody lives there. There is a court house and prison, where Billy the Kid escaped from pretty spectacularly. There is the town store, a church, a doctor’s office, a hotel, little gift shops and places to eat for the tourists. It is really fun to walk through and see what life was like back in the 1800’s. What people could buy at the store, what a typical kitchen looked like, the sizes of beds… The doctor’s office’s instruments looked pretty scary.

Here is the my son Shane (about 2 years old at the time, how cute is he!!) in the court house.

My kids with their cousin (left) in front of the courthouse.

Houses like this are lining the street, you can wander in and out of stores.

Next the museum telling of Billy the Kid’s history and the Lincoln County War, he was in the middle of.

4-6 Museums are open 7 days a week, depending on the season. To plan your visit go here.

Have a lovely day,

Sofija

Madrid, New Mexico

January 17, 2014May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonNew Mexico TravelLeave a comment

Between Santa Fe and Albuquerque (when you take Highway 14 through the mountains) there is a fun little mining town called Madrid. It seems to be populated with Hippies and artists. There are galleries, coffee shops, little trinket stores, and boutiques. The perfect little town to stop, stretch your legs, and get a beverage for the road. Here are some pictures from our recent stop with our friends right after the holidays.

First up, our friends the Hollands, with David and Tasha in the middle. You can see the main road behind them, where most of the shops are.

The whole town still decked out in Christmas lights.

This painting is outside of the Tavern where we stopped and ate.

Found this sign inside the Tavern. Luckily Tasha was attended to.

Always a delight when cute little Tasha tags along.
If you ever make your way from Santa Fe to Albuquerque, and you are not prone to car sickness, I highly recommend stopping in Madrid.
Have a lovely weekend,
Sofija

Santa Fe

October 23, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonNM churches, San Miguel Mission, Santa FeLeave a comment

Friends,

Remember I told you about driving up to Santa Fe for our anniversary a week ago? Well, we did and we took our three year old with us. Here are some pics from that day.

The first picture is San Miguel Mission, the oldest church in the US.

Here we grabbed some fish tacos at a rooftop cantina. Little miss shades was styling and cute, always fun to have her.

Here she is in her boyfriend jeans and Converse shoes.

I have been watching this man pushing strollers for 15 years, never gets old.

This is where we always get our dessert. French pastries deliciousness!!

Lots of beautiful Catholic churches in Santa Fe.

On the way home.

I’d say put Santa Fe on your list of places to go…

Have a great day!

-Sofija

The VLA

September 4, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonAstronomy, giant telescopes, Travel, Very Large Array1 Comment

I dug through some old pictures and found these. The Very Large Array is a pretty surreal place. Jodie Foster’s movie Contact was filmed there. It is in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico (2 hours southwest of Albuquerque), surrounded by nothing but high desert.

There is a museum and some outdoor activities to learn about astronomy. Astronomer all over the world use these giant telescopes for their research. Make sure the telescopes are in a favorable configuration before you come. Some configurations have the telescopes too far stretched apart and you won’t be able photograph them nicely in a row like I did above. We went there twice, so the pictures above are from a different visit than below with the kiddos. Gosh, they were so young. The boy in the blue shirt is my nephew. The last picture is my favorite. Just in case you are wondering what Shane had for lunch that day…

If you make the trip bring lots of sunscreen and a hat. There is absolutely no shade. There is nothing to eat there and the nearest town is half an hour away.

Have a great day,

Sofija

Church in Golden, New Mexico

July 22, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtoncatholic churches in New Mexico; children's photographyLeave a comment

My favorite drive to Santa Fe is through the mountains on highway 14. This little church is on the way in a tiny town called Golden. Every time I drive by I am compelled to stop and take pictures. Did I mention to you that I am drawn to the Catholic Churches in New Mexico? They are so beautiful.

You can find the pictures I took last winter of the same church here.

-Sofija

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Photo Shoot

July 10, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonRio Grande Gorge BridgeLeave a comment

Dress: Tea

Boots: Naartjie

The Rio Grande Gorge bridge is located 11 miles north of Taos New Mexico. Crossing it is not for the faint of heart, but the views are rewarding. Next to the bridge there is ample opportunity for shopping, Native Americans and hippies are selling their jewelry, clothes, and food. A colorful bus (first picture) is selling smoothies.

Go here to see my Taos Pueblo shoot.

-Sofija

Taos Pueblo Photo Shoot with Lucille

July 8, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonLeave a comment

These are my favorite pictures from our recent trip to Taos. I’m thinking this girl could be a model. There is just one tinsy problem, this girl doesn’t like clothes…she hates seams, threads, and everything that itches. I have to catch her on a day she can tolerate an outfit that works for a shoot. Here she is wearing a dress from Tea and crocks. Earlier she wore some really cute moccasins but they had gotten too itchy. It was either the crocks or no pictures…

-Sofija

You can find more pictures from that day here and here.

Taos Pueblo

June 19, 2013May 27, 2015 sofijaburtonf, Northern New Mexico, oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA, San Geronimo Church, Taos Pueblo2 Comments

Taos Pueblo is oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA. The structure above is approx. 1000 years old. People still live here, kids are out playing, people come and go.

I was surprised to see a church in the center. Today 3/4 of the population shares in some of the Catholic practices. I’m really drawn to the Catholic churches here in New Mexico. One of my goals is to photograph as many as possible.

Next we strolled through the village, where some Natives sell handmade goods. I bought a necklace made of corn. Tasha seemed to like it.

“We have lived upon this land from days beyond history’s records, far past any living memory, deep into the time of legend. The story of my people and the story of this place are one single story. No man can think of us without thinking of this place. We are always joined together. “

Tribal Manifesto

-Sofija

All pictures taken by me with permission from the Tribe.

Taos- or How we Travel as a Large Family

June 17, 2013March 19, 2016 sofijaburtonRio Grande Gorge, Taos, taos new mexico, Taos Plaza, taos ski valley, Traveling with a family, Twirl House1 Comment

On Saturday we took the family to Taos, New Mexico. Taos is 2 1/2 hours north of us so we decided to do it in one day. Prior to leaving I planned our day with the help of this website. Lots of helpful ideas for families to plan their day trips.

We fed the kids breakfast and were on our way by 8am. Note to myself, don’t feed the kids Nutella for breakfast if you plan on doing a photo shoot that day…

Our kids are used to eating frequently (as in, they snack all day), so by 11 am they were quite hungry. I have learned that with our crew of 8 it is best if we feed everyone before or right at the destination. For us it does not work to get to a city and then having to look for a place to eat. My husband had been to Taos before, so he knew of a great place by the river to stop and eat about half an hour before our destination.

This was a beautiful rest stop, commonly used by rafting companies to pick up their clients, so the water was shallow enough for the kids to wade in it.

This is the Rio Grande, by the way. After 45 minutes we piled back in the car and headed to Taos. I have to say here that it is unusual for us to travel on the weekend during the summer. One secret to making travel easier on our large crew is to avoid crowds if at all possible. We were planning on doing this trip on Friday. However we spend all day Friday to get our air conditioner fixed, so the trip got pushed back a day. It worked out because we used another big family trick: eating during off hours. Restaurants for us are much more doable after lunch and before dinner. The waiters are much more attentive and friendly (and willing to get us yet another napkin and to split our meals).

We drove to the Plaza in Taos to get a feel how large it is and weren’t really sure if we should stop until our 5 year old spotted this place.

It’s called Twirl House, it is enclosed, and a great place for kids 10 and under. Even better, it is free.

The husband was kind enough to stay here with the younger ones while I took our two oldest to the plaza.

After the Plaza we headed 11 north of Taos to the Rio Grande Gorge bridge.

I’m glad I got to see it but I have to admit it was a freaky experience. Not sure if I would recommend it for families. The bridge is way up high, sways with cars driving on it (which they do at high speeds right next to you). The railing has openings. The whole thing seemed unsafe and hard to control. Add to the fact that our 5 year old decided to throw a fit right there and my 9 year old almost got hit by a car..it was nerve wracking. But the view is stunning.

By now it was early afternoon so we headed up to Ski Valley to eat an early dinner at the Bavarian Restaurant. The terrain is vastly different up in the valley, reminds me of the Alps. Here is my “Sound of Music” picture with Ella.

The prices are steeper than what we are used to, but it is well worth it, because of the location (kid’s can run around), and the authentic German food. And the portions are huge. The restaurant is right by a ski lift, so you can ski from here, hike, or bike.

After this we stopped one more time which I will save for another post. Stay tuned.

-Sofija

Teach Where You Live

Where homeschooling, style, and life intersect, here and around the world

New Mexico

Frost Gelato

Lincoln, New Mexico

Madrid, New Mexico

Santa Fe

The VLA

Church in Golden, New Mexico

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Photo Shoot

Taos Pueblo Photo Shoot with Lucille

Taos Pueblo

Taos- or How we Travel as a Large Family