My Pie Town Retreat...

A few months ago I was thinking that I just need a little break from normal routine...to be away, meditate and reflect about my life...something that has become so difficult for me to do since becoming a mom. I wanted a place where I knew I would have fun and where I would feel uplifted...a place where I could do some serious introspection. I think we all need that once in a while. That's probably why nuns and monks go into retreats to meditate and do some serious introspection of their lives...and it's probably why in my Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) we have things like Women's Conference, Time Out for Women with Deseret Book, General Conference, Relief Society, etc...I was feeling kind of overwhelmed by the city and the traffic and the super fast paced life-style here in D.C....I thought, where is the remotest place I could go? and who is my one friend who ALWAYS uplifts me? The answers were Pie Town, New Mexico and my best friend Timber. After talking to my husband, he encouraged me go for it! He agreed to stay with Brielle and Braden for a whole week!!!!! I called Timber and she loved the idea! So, I looked for tickets and found one so incredibly cheap that I just closed my eyes and bought it! I think this trip has been definitely life-changing for me. I needed it so much. I LOVED every second of it AND I had so MUCH fun! I missed my two kids and my husband terribly and I knew they all would have LOVED Pie Town, Timber and her family. (I found it interesting that I wanted this time away but at the same time I wished I could have shared it ALL with my family!!!) But my goal is to take them to Pie Town someday so that they can enjoy that beautiful part of the United States, the life-style and the McPhaul's!

I got to Albuquerque on Wednesday July 8th right around lunch time and Timber and Ace wanted to treat me to lunch. They took me to this incredible seafood restaurant called Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. I got this Cornbread Stuffed Salmon...it is the BEST salmon I have EVER had in my life!!!

The drive from Albuquerque to Pie Town is 2 and a half hours...after some technical difficulties...the transmission in their truck broke and it was dragging on the ground! We were right outside of Albuquerque headed to Pie Town...we made it to Pie Town late Wednesday night...little did I know what awaited me the next day...:)

Pie Town is literally in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico...and when I say literally I mean it!There is no cell phone service, no neighbors for quite a few miles, no internet, no traffic, and lots of open spaces! The perfect place to relax and forget about ALL of the ordinary pressures of a big city and society!

(I guess I should give a little background about how Timber and I became friends. We met in college my very first semester at Ricks College. I was a freshman starting off during the summer term and Timber was a senior in high school taking some college credits. She was 17 and I was 18 years old. Timber is one of those people that you just love from the moment you meet her! She went off to finish her senior year and we kept in touch that whole year and decided that we would be roommates again when she came back to start her freshman year. We were roommates for 2 years and we have kept in touch through the years. We had such an FUN time being roommates and our whole apartment was AWESOME! She got married two years before I did and went to England where her husband did a master's program. She called me almost once a month while she was there...I was engaged to Scott then and was having such a terrible time being away doing my student teaching in Utah and being engaged!!! It was horrible! Timber and Ace had a horrible engagement too and she comforted me so much even being miles and miles away!!! We've seen each other almost every 2 years since we were roommates. I am so blessed to have such an awesome friend like Timber! )

Oh! AND she is a cowgirl...

Timber grew up ranching and when she and Ace met they were the PERFECT match...After England they moved to Pie Town, New Mexico where Ace grew up and they manage a HUGE ranch there...Ace's parents live there too and they have their own ranch...they invited me to join them in the branding process...and I LOVED it!!! I was so nervous, I kept telling Timber not to let go of the calf's leg...they are so strong!!! I tackled 3 with help OF COURSE and then my job was to give the calves shots! I LOVED every second!!!

Look at this poor calf's eye!!! She is terrified!!!!!

Timber and Ace's two beautiful children, Denim Bleu and Blazen Trails...and yes, those are their REAL, LEGAL names!!!!

My first time riding a four-wheeler!

On Friday, we headed to Magdalena, NM. A little town, about an hour drive from Pie Town. They have a yearly rodeo there that they participate in. Denim and Blazen are old enough now that they can do some of the events they have for children. It was so fun to watch them!

Ranching life fascinates me for some reason. It is an amazing life-style. The rodeos are such an integral part of their life-style. Since they live in such a small town and everything is so spread out, this becomes their way of socializing.

Ace is such a great guy...I enjoyed his very conservative insights and we had very insightful conversations!

Smurf and Barbie are Blazen and Denim's horses. They are so old and therefore so gentle...I am also fascinated by horses!!! They are such a beautiful, docile animal!

Watching the events from the bleachers...the barrel racing and the pole racing...some of those little kids are amazing!!! I can't believe they are not scared!

Always having fun with Timber!

On Saturday, we headed to another little rodeo in a beautiful town called Quemado, NM.

When we got home from Quemado, I was ready for a nap! But Ace had other plans!...there are no naps in Pie Town, except on Sundays!!! It was time to work...The kids went to their grandparents' house for a few hours (but Timber and Ace bring their kids with them when they go out to work, they are amazing!) Timber, Ace and I went on a horse ride to go get a pair of bulls that were a long ways away to bring them where Ace needed them. We took the horses in a trailer there and steered the bulls for about 3 miles. It was such an amazing experience...and a little terrifying at the same time...you can tell I'm a city girl! The bulls were wanting to fight and they would just start wondering off and Timber and Ace had to guide them back into the path...I wish I could have taken pictures of them...but I was too scared of letting go of the reins of my horse to take pictures!!!:)

Getting ready to go...

I got a little gutsy...I was holding onto the reins with one hand and my camera with the other one when I took these two pictures...I have NO words to describe the beauty of this place!!!

Beautiful OPEN spaces!!! I miss that so much!!! I miss the WEST!!! As much as I LOVE Virginia and the amazing experience that we are having here I think my heart is in the west! Its beauty is like none else...

On Sunday, we went to Church...to their little 15 people branch in Pie Town. I LOVED it!!! I felt such a wonderful sense of closeness in that little branch...a closeness that you just don't get when there are 200 or 300 people in a ward...and I taught Sharing Time in Primary! I loved feeling like I was contributing! It was awesome!!! Since moving to such a big city, I've been missing the sense of community that one feels in a small town. I love that feeling!

After our Sunday nap we went out to explore around the ranch house. Timber showed me her chickens and I was able to gather some eggs! It was the BEST!!!

Beside their horses and their 250 head of cattle, they have a little baby antelope:

Goats:

and a pony:

Oh! and they have kittens too...and I'm so sad I didn't take pictures of them because they were so darn cute!!!

Timber showed me her garden and a few other thing around the house! They have a beautiful piece of property! I love the openness of it all and wish my kids had that much space to play! One thing I got out of this trip is that city children are so restricted. I feel like I restrict my children so much, when my home should be their playground, especially since we don't have a yard. I'm often telling them no don't do this in the house, don't do that...don't bounce the ball, don't jump on the bed, etc, etc. I get frustrated and they feel that frustration and it backfires because then they get frustrated. Kids are meant to get dirty, play and run around. Anyway, I have gotten so many insights during this trip about parenting, happiness and life.

Monday morning we went on another horse ride! I love the serenity I feel when I ride a horse. Timber and Blazen took me to see one of the windmills they have on the ranch. It was about a mile ride from the house. It was another beautiful day in Pie Town.

I love the mountains!...and being able to see miles and miles ahead!

I'm so grateful for Timber's friendship...we've seen each other at our worst and our best!!! We can laugh and cry and share ideas and have meaningful conversations, we can argue too and still love each other!!!:) She's a friend who always gives me so much insight. It amazes me how different our backgrounds are and yet how we relate so well in so many different aspects...and I think motherhood is such a link between us...to think that we would talk in college about marriage and children and dreaming what our lives would be like when we had our own families and now we are living the dreams we had when we were so young...not that we are not young now...:) I have learned a lot from Timber through the years and continue to do...she's a wonderful example!

I said goodbye to Pie Town on Monday and headed to Albuquerque that night...spent the night at Timber's sister-in-law's and headed to Red River on Tuesday morning...

On the way to Red River, we stopped in Taos. It's a gorgeous touristy town. I guess a lot of famous people, like Julia Roberts live there...can't blame them for picking such a beautiful place to live!

We got to Red River in the afternoon and just barely made it to ride the ski lift! We were the last ones on the lift!!! I'm so glad we made it because the view was just fantastic! We spent the rest of the day going to the cute little shops in Red River and laughing our heads off at some of the memories we have when we were roommates...and just talking...

and we went to Timber's for dinner!

It was such a fun, insightful, educating, uplifting, relaxing week! Scott is an amazing father to my children and a wonderful husband. He knows what this trip has meant to me and I'm so grateful that he was so willing and brave to stay with our kiddos! They were all alive when I got home!!! Thank goodness!!!!!!!!:) I've most DEFINITELY recharged my batteries!