We head north to the Western Slope (CO) to meet up with Tom & Melisa for a weekend of snow, machines, lots of friends, and, unfortunately, three ER visits. Hugo and I make the five-mile snowmobile ride down Little Cimmaron to The Chamberlain Cabin.

A beautiful ride in. Sheep Mountain in the center, and fresh tracks beyond.

Melisa, Tom, Hugo, and myself. A pause on the ride in to make sure the trailers are secure.

About forty minutes later, we make it to the cabin, which is absolutely buried.

The long process of digging out the cabin begins with digging out the shed so we can get to more shovels.

Digging out.

We moved a lot of snow.

Time to play in the snow!

Sledding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and snow-mobiling were the activities for the weekend.

Stéphane catching some air on the snow bike.

Snow cave.

The next day the Front-Rangers arrive at the trailhead. Lots of littles, gear, food, clothes, and supplies are shuttled into the cabin.

Hugo enjoyed playing with the other little people.

Long story short, there was some mayhem, some blood, and three of the group ended up at the ER. A broken nose and handful of stitches later, all is well and we have more photos for Tom’s Wall of Pain and some good stories to swap around the campfire.

Family shot in front of the cabin.

I drive the girls and Hugo back out (SLOWLY).

“The Survivors”

We just returned from our favorite climbing spot in New Mexico: Red Rock Arroyo. Warm temps, lots of climbing and relaxing and family time.

The short hike to “The Harry Potter Climbs”

Taking a break from climbing for a reading session with the Hug-ster.

I’ve been able to lead a number of climbs here, which is awesome!

Harmonica session in “the cave”.

Baby Swiss on a Triscuit. Hugo making it look like it’s filet mignon.

Stéphane putting up a burly route on the “second tier”

Books at camp.

Dinner prep

Dinner around the campfire.

Goofing off.

Jamb session with daddy.

Stéphane rapping down from “the second tier” climb.

Shot from “the second tier”. Apache Kid Wilderness and beyond.

Hugo surprised us by power hiking / running up the super steep hill near camp – all the way to the top!

Family photo!

Stinky, grubby, and rested. Back to home and work and responsibilities…until The Eleventh Day comes again…

Desert turns to alpine turns to snow and ice, and we find ourselves at Lake City and decide to check out the ice park first thing.

So an ice park is “farmed ice”, meaning it is created in the winter by spraying water in the right conditions on the right kind of terrain so that ice forms.

As opposed to “wild” or “backcountry ice”, pictured here, which is basically just waterfalls that freeze in the winter. Here’s Stéphane at Horsetail Falls outside Ouray back in 2012.

One of the rare times we are adventuring sans camper: our cute little cabin rental for the weekend.

Brother Alan, Tom, and Stéphane at the ice park. Beautiful, crisp day for some ice climbing!

Playing in the snow. The green IKEA bucket proves itself to be worth its weight in gold yet again.

Stéphane leading upwards on a beautiful ramp of ice.

Hugo hangs for hours, enjoying the snow and his red car.

This is what it looks like after someone leads a route on ice – there are ice screws that the climber screws into the ice on his way up. He clips the rope into the screw/beaner combo in order to keep himself safe if he falls.

One of the nights we have cheese fondue evening with freshly-baked bread and some yummy fondue cheese. It was really good to catch up with our friends Rene and Belinda- Swiss natives who left their country many moons ago to settle in Lake City.

Hugo practicing his technical fondue skills.

Hugo gets his first guitar lesson from Uncle Tom.

Rene and Belinda teach us how to dance to Swiss folk music.

Another blue sky sunshine day! Today was much warmer and less windy than the first day.

Fun in the tub.

Man, I haven’t done this in a while and I am already pumped!!

It is super rare for Stéphane and I to get to climb together these days, so this was pretty special!

Hugo goofing off while mommy and daddy climb.

Amazing ice formations. Stéphane calls this one “the beard”.

T-Rex wants to swing the ice axe!

Beers, gourmet brats and deviled eggs at the Lake City Brewery. The brewery is right next to the ice park (GREAT placement) and has tasty beers and grub.

He only wears sunglasses inside.

Shenanigans back at the cabin.

It was really great to catch up with Rene and Belinda again. We hope to see them again soon.

Aunt Melisa shows Hugo how.

Love birds 🙂

An awesomely fun trip to Lake City! We’ll be back soon! (and yes, I know that Hugo needs sunglasses) 🙂

We started the month out with a short but wonderful trip back to my homeland, Detroit, MI, to catch up with familia. This was Hugo’s first set of flights where he got his very own seat (and we had to pay for him this time around – wallet says “ouch”).

Santa Fe > Denver > Detroit. We have made a habit of stopping at the New Belgium pub in Denver on our way to and from wherever we are to-ing and from-ing. It’s a great pit-stop and BONUS: high chairs (Hugo tends to actually sit in his chair when he’s up high) and a couch (also for Hugo). Easy button when traveling.

It doesn’t get any better than being home for the holidays. We laughed, drank, and chatted the afternoon away at Founder’s Brewery downtown, just behind the Masonic Temple. Such a fun spot and the best company ever.

Posing outside.

Good times.

Bud Light, Euchre, and Grams is my partner – life is good! Oh, and there’s a Bud Light tower on the table. This is most definitely a Trombley gathering.

Just the best memories ever at this table in this little kitchen.

A visit to the Newmans to meet Sebastien!!! Such a sweet little guy and we enjoyed the afternoon and evening chatting it up and eating some amazing Italian food Chez Newman. Merci beaucoup, Newmans!

Hugo got to try his hand at bowling for the very first time while mom, Betty, and Grams were at their weekly bowling league. Hugo’s very first bowling score (with bumpers and help from the dragon ramp) was a 55!

Post-bowling gifts, drinks, good catching-up time, food, and laughter @ The Boat Works. Hugo enjoying some “Kristal snuggles” from Aunt Kristal.

A week of work, some travel south and we find ourselves back at our favorite hideaway, Red Rock Arroyo, for three days of some awesome climbs and very summery temps (in the 60s!).

Getting ready for my first of 3 full and 2 half leads of the trip. This was the most I’ve lead ever! Getting more comfortable in my head on the sharp end. It was also a pleasure to see how well Hugo hung out on his own, playing with Myra and his toys while we climbed.

Topped out on my third lead of the trip. Feeling strong!!

Stéphane, of course, leads all the hard routes and is super strong, comfortable, and confident on the rock. I’m always so proud of him.

Climbing our butts off while Hugo takes a nap in the camper. This photo illustrates why we love this place: we are climbing right above where I am standing and look how close the camper is – easy button when it comes to climbing and kiddos.

Belay shadow.

Lots of textures.

Hugo wants to spend the night with Myra. Except Hugo’s a little too big for Myra’s digs. He loves his “Mya” dog.

Full moon at camp

On the way back home, we stopped in Albuquerque at the Bio Park for the River Of Lights.

I’m cold and there’s too many people 🙂

Joyeux Anniversaire, Papi!!!!

$10 gets you an orange tree sticker and a map! We head out into the Jemez Mountains to find our very special first Hefti family Christmas tree!

And we found it!! Except you can’t really see it – it’s behind us. But it’s perfect and we love it. Big thanks to Tom and Pam for coming out with us and helping us track down the perfect tree!

Here’s a better picture of it – our tree!

She’s all dressed up for the holidays.

Opening presents on Christmas Eve. This is a special one because it’s from our V. We love our V.

Hugo received a workstation from Tante Silvia et Nani et Nani – merci beaucoup!! Now he can work on projects right next to daddy.

T-Rex puppet from Aunt Lorry and Uncle Kev. His favorite gift of all. We went for a Christmas afternoon hike and who came along? T-Rex, of course. Who’s he napping with right now? Give you one guess…

Hefti family tradition – Fondue Chinoise!

Baking cookies with daddy.

The “Before” picture of our master bathroom floor. A month after we purchased Casa Uva, we started to hear popping sounds when we walked into the bathroom. We realized the grout was cracking out from in between the tile.

The exploratory digging begins.

Soft, weak sub-floor removed. Confirmation that supporting joists are still solid (phew).

A layer of dry, clean 2″ x 6″ tongue and groove.

Layer #2: OSB. Creating a STRONG sub-floor!

Layer #3: rubberized waterproofing paint. Goes on PINK, dries red.

Layer #4: cement board is cut to size and laid.

Bonus layer: in-floor heating! This added a bit to the overall budget, BUT warm tile on bare feet on a chilly December morning is aaaaahhhhhhhmazing.

Final layer: each tile cut to size and fitted perfectly.

And finally, many layers later, the AFTER picture.

AFTER pic, different angle. OH, in addition to the new, strong, warm, beautiful tile floor, Stéphane also painted the walls and ceiling white: fresh and clean.

BEFORE pic: our den is the darkest room in the house and has only one window. The brown walls (AND ceiling) really make this room feel like a cave. This is a semi-before as Stéphane had already painted the ceiling white.

AFTER: white, clean, and modern-feeling. Yes, the walls are a little bare, but we’ll find some fun art. Next stage in this room’s transformation, Stéphane will create a built-in with storage for climbing gear, additional shelving, and a little desk (all on the far wall).

AFTER: different angle.

Our downstairs half-bath is so small it’s hard to even get a decent picture of it, but here is the BEFORE. Like all the other rooms in Casa Uva, walls and ceiling are brown.

AFTER: bright and happy.

The gang up at Mangy Crag. This photo taken just before Hugo fell into a cactus and screamed bloody murder. (!!)

The kiddie section of the crag – we were able to find a nice, fairly flat spot for Hugo and Anna.

A cloudy, colorful sunset.

Digging into the Thanksgiving feast.

Daddy and son relaxing around the campfire.

Stéphane showing off his new Army of Darkness tee (and his fabulous muscles) – back off ladies, he’s all mine!!!!

Giving Hugo a joy-ride around camp.

The tribe around the fire at night.

The many side dishes warming up in the coals.

Hugo enjoyed clambering around on the low rocks surrounding our camp.

He LOVES his yellow car (and rolling his eyes; I did not teach him that one, neither did Stéphane…)

Jamming with daddy.

Melisa cruising Brown Sugar

He loves making faces.

Me starting up Pelvic Floor.

A musical evening. Hugo is enchanted by Sarah’s flute.

The gang at the base of Brown Sugar.

Tom cracks a smile belaying Stéphane. The weather finally warmed enough for us to clamber up to Brown Sugar for a quick lap.

Melisa goofing off.

A cool panorama from Brown Sugar.

Susan & Melisa.

The beautiful sandstone crags of Escalante.

Another unreal sunset.

Chords around the campfire.

Pallet fire dancing. It’s a thing with our tribe.

Camp art.

Sporting a grouse(?) feather he found while on a camping trip up in The Jemez with daddy.

Walking Myra around the ‘hood.

“Reading” Mr. Paint Pig’s Alphabet in the camper before bed (thanks for the recommendation, Aunt Chris!)

“Reading” and playing with his cars on his orange blanket next to our climbing spot.

No, he’s not at the dentist getting a root canal – it’s Hugo’s first push-up popsicle!

Every time we drive by the hospital (behind which sits the helicopter), Hugo waves and shouts. He loves helping daddy wash the helicopter and is always looking up to the sky when he hears any sky noise.

Family climbing trips are becoming much easier and way more enjoyable now that Hugo is able to be a little more independent at the crag.

The MVP for this particular trip was the John Deere tractor and trailer.

Hugo loves hiking on trails with us, and trail running with momma.

Tooth brushing is fun when I can do it with daddy!

Veggies at 11,000 feet (Molas Pass). Hug has become a seasoned camper and road tripper.

On his very first international flight this past August, to Switzerland.

Hanging at the crag, munching on a cracker while mommy and daddy get some climbs in.

Happy birthday, sweet little Hugo! We love you to the moon and back!

Swaying many feet off the ground on unstable, creaky scaffolding, the crew begins the process of removing the cedar shakes.

Shakes for days.

Weathered, yellow tar paper moves in the wind (and so does the scaffolding).

The crew takes off for the day, trailer heavily-laden with the old cedar shakes.

After many false-promises and two weeks of no-shows, a new crew shows up to begin wrapping our girl in Tyvek (waterproofing).

Noel and his dad (day 1) and Noel, his wife, and Stéphane (day 2) complete the waterproofing Casa Uva.

In The Eleventh Hour, just days before leaving for Switzerland, the house is *finally* finished.

We love the way it turned out – the style and the color.

View from the rooftop deck. Hooray!!

Hanging the Telephone Line, 1933. Men used climbing spurs to attach telephone insulators twenty feet up in tall, straight ponderosas.

Myra and I head out for the ten mile run, hitting the trail mid-morning.

Desert flower just off the trail.

Heading down into Guaje Canyon and then back up the other side.

Soaking up the sun and pounding the dirt.

I was surprised by how lush and green it is! These hardy flora and fauna still grow and bloom even in this driest of climates.

Sections of the Telephone Trail were old forest / logging roads.

After getting a bit turned around, we finally reach Pine Spring Ranger Station. I was a bit disappointed with the remains. I guess I thought it would be a little more well-preserved. Regardless, an excellent day of exploring on our local trails!

Myra soaking her tired and very sore paws in a little stream that ran through Guaje Canyon. She had a rough final two miles out but she made it back to the car.

Sections of Myra’s paws tore off during the run. I felt horrible! She healed up after a few days though, and joins me on shorter runs now 🙂

Not the best picture but you can just barely see the two solar panels that Stéphane mounted to the roof.

Energy from the sun is collected by the panels and then sent to “the brain”: this charge controller is what sends the power into our batteries when they need it, and stops sending the power once they are fully charged.

The solar panel wires feed inside from the roof through the a/c. From there, into the solar controller, and then down into the batteries. Look at the beautiful work Stéphane did to make the wires disappear.

A few shots of the interior of The Gruffalo. She has way more storage than the Baby Bison, lots of natural light, two bunks, and a queen bed (and she’s smaller, lighter, and has better clearance – yay!).

Hugo sleeps on the bottom bunk and we use the top for storage of blankets, books, and toys.

We’ve found that adding different-sized hooks in strategic places really helps with organization and to keep all the little odds and ends in their places when we’re out camping. We have hooks for headlamps, hats, kitchen utensils, camper keys, bottle opener, jackets, etc. The black magazine rack is home base for the essentials: radios, climbing books, maps, camera.

The dinette folds down into our bed. It requires a little more work around bedtime but we’d much rather have a smaller, lighter camper so the extra work is no biggie.

Plywood platform perfectly shaped by Stéphane to slide onto the bath. Myra’s bed fits on top.

Our first stop was Dolores Canyon, just north of Dove Creek in SW Colorado. We thought we had our directions wrong as we drove past flat farmland down dusty county road 10, then we took a slight left and switched back down, down DOWN into the canyon. Beautiful!

The Dolores River runs through Dolores Canyon. We spent one night here and did some exploratory hiking to check out the climbs.

Lots of pretty lines, and anchors shining in the sun.

Hugo enjoyed the hike, slowly shedding the hat, then the mittens, then the winter onesie as the sun entered the canyon and warmed things up.

He was very interested in the river.

Little man cruising down the road.

Dolores Canyon has some great-looking climbs, very reminiscent of Escalante. Unfortunately, not easy-button climbing with Hugo so we’ll be back with the group to climb.

Next stop, Indian Creek: where red mesas meet bluebird skies; where friends meet up to climb in the sun all day, straggle back to camp, gather around the fire and exchange stories all night. Below is our camp (Cobbler Camp) – you can just barely see our campers and cars lined up along the end of the dirt road in the foreground.

Scraps of paper flutter in the breeze at the Beef Basin Message Board. There is no cell service at The Creek, so this is how people find each other.

Golden Hour at Cobbler Camp.

One by one friends and friends-of-friends roll into camp.

Annie & Fred, Alissa & Colton, Melisa, Stéphane at the base of Bunny Slope (Critic’s Choice Wall). The steep and slippery hike up combined with the exposed areas below the climbs make it hard-button climbing with Hugo. So we switch it up – Stéphane climbs for part of the day while I hike around with Hugo near camp. Then we trade places.

Brian takes a rest.

Gear.

Meanwhile, back at camp…

Tired climbers return from the crag. Light the fire, crack a brew.

Evening at The Creek.

Ray grills some amazing meats in our oblong-shaped firepit: perfectly-shaped to accommodate both a blazing fire and a bed of coals for grilling.

Cheers!

Those up past their bedtime and alcohol tolerance participate in Stupid Human Tricks.

Wake up, hydrate, and get up that crack! Ray is our off-width (super wide crack) specialist.

Large gear. Heavy rack. Big smile.

Stéphane had some great days on the rock, putting up some gnarly leads.

Up he goes!

And up another…

Nice work!!

Meanwhile, back at camp…

Hugo and I went on some exploratory hikes, Hugo learned about cactus and knows to avoid it, and is proving himself to be a little free-range trailblazer.

And he loves his girl Myra (THE most patient, gentle dog in the world).

Tom and Melisa in their happy place. Good to catch up with them and get some T&M (and P&K) time. We miss our Montrose peeps but we are so fortunate to be able to get together with them in places such as this.

Another wonderful desert adventure in the books. Can’t wait to get out there and do it again soon. Come visit so you can do it with us!

Look mom- no diapers (ever again)!!!!

She’s one foot shorter and one foot narrower than The Baby Bison. Way lighter (read: easier towing and better gas mileage), higher clearance, more storage, and better interior layout (bunks! And a dinette that folds down to a queen bed for us).

We just returned from taking The Gruffalo out on her maiden voyage with the Heftis. I’m not sure she ever met a dirt road with her previous owners, so we definitely put her through the paces the last few days.

We spent a few days at Diablo Canyon – one of our favorite places to climb. Hugo did great sleeping in his bunk bed (we had to add a baby gate + blanket over top to keep him from falling out and to keep his space dark) and our bed – which is actually the dinette folded down into a queen bed – was super comfy thanks to an added foam mattress.

We were surprised with how easily we were able to fit the climbing gear, clothing, camping stuff, bedding, etc., into The Gruffalo! Lots of storage for such a little camper! And Stéphane absolutely loves the electric awning.

The other day someone asked us why we had a camper versus a tent. Yes, we know we are “glamping” (glamorous camping) but here’s the thing: would we go out and camp/climb/play outdoors with Hugo if we all had to sleep in a tent? Maybe (if we were hard core), but you can bet we wouldn’t do it half as often as we would with a camper. So yes, we know we are “fancy” when we go camp but the point is that we get outside and we get after it and it is something we love to do as a family. Glamp, camp: do whatever you do that you love to do together and that makes you happy!

This trip was super enjoyable with Hugo – he is walking so well and is very independent – going on little walks around the campground and around the climbing area while we climb. He is very curious and loves exploring, climbing up on smaller rocks (and of course Myra).

Scrambling up our rock at the base of our climbs.

The Tilley Hat. Yes, they make them for kids! We found it used for $3. Best. Hat. Ever. Not sure Hugo would agree…

Climbing at Styx Wall again. There are many awesome areas to climb here at Diablo Canyon but we come here to the Styx Wall because it is the easy button with Hugo: short hike in and the base of the climb is a sandy wash – basically a giant sandbox for the Hug-ster.

A rather large sand box.

Fun in the sun.

I need to keep a copy of this one in every room in the house, so when Hugo is acting up I can remember his awesome-sweetness potential and not give up hope.

Can you believe he still bums rides? The Time of the Pack is nearing its end… (little dude is heavy).

We had a great time testing out The Gruffalo and climbing in Diablo Canyon!

Baby Bison takes a break from its travels @ Hurd House.

The ramp! Queen bed up top, couch folds out to bed below.

Everything we own packed in tight, made the trip across the country to “B” (New Mexico).

When you aren’t using the “garage”, queen bed lowers down and couch folds out and garage space becomes sleeping space.

Our little Baby Bison also came with a kitchen and bathroom! Not bad for an 18 foot RV.

The bathroom. Believe it or not, there’s a full-size shower in there. We used it as a closet/extra storage space (who showers when they’re camping anyways?)

The BB made it possible for us to move all of our things across the country AND have a home-away-from-home while on climbing trips.

We’ve explored Tres Piedras, Comales Canyon (pictured here), El Rito, Diablo Canyon, and our local County Road 376 up in the Jemez with The Baby Bison.

BB has taken us on Colorado adventures up in Creede, Escalante, and Montrose.

And it’s housed us for simple day trips just to get out, enjoy the sunshine, climb (or work), and be together.

It’s been a giant playpen for Hugo,

(working on his pull-ups here)

a shelter from the elements,

our home base,

and our home away from home.

Thank you for giving us cool memories like this,

and for enabling us to get to places like this.

The Apache Kid, namesake of The Apache Kid Wilderness.

Expressive rocks here at our camp.

Our home for nearly a week. We saw not one soul until the day we left, five days later!

Perfect pairing: crackling campfire + brisk, moon-filled night.

Luna Campground is an ACTUAL campground – like with fire pits and picnic tables – VERY fancy. We typically do not stay in such places but Camp Luna is free and central to so many climbs it wouldn’t make sense to crash anywhere else.

Taking advantage of the many nooks and crannies to hide out from the wind one night. And play Yahtzee.

So many stars.

Hugo tries out a headlamp.

The evenings get cold pretty quickly so we log some camper time with Hugo before he hits the hay.

Perfect pairing #2: warm milk + Mr. Snuggles.

Smokey says: “Let’s climb!”

Perspective on just how close the climbs are to camp. While Hugo naps, we get in as many laps as we can.

Climbing with Hugo has always been hit or miss and lately, as he grows more mobile, we’ve been posting more losses than wins. Yet here at Red Rock Arroyo, we post a “W” as Hugo comes into his own: exploring the area while we climb, he stumbles around in the sand, pushing the stroller, helping daddy with the rope, and showing interest in what his parents are doing fifty feet up in the air.

Rocking the winter onesie and his new “real” shoes (they have soles).

Myra: patience ad infinitum.

Cool shot looking down on camp and out into the Apache Kid Wilderness.

Pushed myself to the top of this sandbagged route. The climbing here is mostly sport; very enjoyable, different routes. I even got another lead under my belt, thanks to Stéphane’s encouragement.

This one’s for our climbing Team Ducktape friends, The Lunas 🙂

Fun in the sun.

Hugo scrambling around at The Box. Day five we head north, towards home, to check out the climbing near Socorro, NM (“The Box”).

Love the font they used for this BLM sign-in kiosk: old school. Placed atop the box: an arrowhead, some kind of animal tooth / nail, and a conglomerate-type rock.

Top rope climbing area just beyond the camper. We enjoyed a fun morning of climbing with a really nice group and Hugo got to play with some kiddos.

The Apache Kid Wilderness spoke to us and we will be back!

The Apache Kid Wilderness is quiet, vast, and riddled with Wild West history. In iteration #102 of how the Apache Kid (center) met his death, the Kid is captured by ranchers (the Anderson posse) who lived in the very area where we explored. Angry at the Kid for stealing their cattle, the posse kill him. Today, one mile from the Apache Kid Peak high in the San Mateo mountains, a marker stands as The Apache Kid’s grave (no, I haven’t found it yet, but I will).

There are tons of playgrounds in our new town. Mommy and Daddy found one that has the perfect-sized steps and slide for me. I go down head-first all the time. Because if it isn’t dangerous, it isn’t worth doing!

My first words were: “blah blah, blah blah, blah blah” in a very sing-song, sarcastic tone, JUST LIKE momma when daddy talks shop…(mom says “oops”)…

Words I can say in addition to blah blah: mama, buh-bye, and *sometimes* dadddda

My favorite things are my books. I pick the one I want to read and bring it to mom or dad. Baby Farm Animals, My First Counting Book (Little Golden Books from Grammie) and Polk-A-Dot (thank you Krugmans) are my current preferred reading material.

Baby Farm Animals is the best!

I also enjoy my Hello! (Highlights) magazine that Dr. & Mrs. B send me every month.

I took my first steps on my Nani’s birthday – December 7th. Also pictured here are Mr. Snuggles and Mrs. Hedgehog (before her dryer accident, now we call her Grandma Hedge).

Toilet paper was sooooo three months ago.

The new thing is ladders.

Mom takes me hiking all over the place. I really like being in my pack, except for when mom tries to “run” – it gets a little bouncy. Now that we live near pavement, she runs with me in the stroller – WAY smoother.

I also get rides in “the chariot”. This thing is pretty slick. Now that it’s winter, mom puts the plastic covers down to keep out the cold and a blanket over me and we cruise around town.

Mom and dad like to climb up rocks. They take me with them on their climbing trips – we get to sleep in the camper and hike around all over the place. When I’m bigger, I’ll climb with them too.

For now, I just practice on the low rocks. Mom and dad even bought me a climbing harness and a helmet! I’ll be big enough to fit into them soon.

When we go on climbing trips, I get to sleep in my cool little tent.

I like scrambling around on rocks and being outside. It’s the best.

I can eat with a fork and spoon now (sort of). Yogurt and oats is the easiest to eat. Applesauce is a bit runny and I usually get more on myself than in my mouth.

Daddy’s my favorite. Mom’s okay too, but daddy is just so cool.

I helped daddy wash his helicopter the other day.

I have my own helicopter too! It’s from Nanni and Ninni. It’s a magnetic puzzle. Sometimes I can get the main roter on but mom has to help me with the other pieces.

I like to steal mom and dad’s phones – these phones are very interesting to me. It seems that they are supposed to be for talking but I see people stare at them more than talk to them. Mom always takes her phone away from me when I find it – ugh! That makes me scream.

I have eight teeth now and I just started brushing them! I really like the apple-flavored training toothpaste. I ask mommy to put it on my toothbrush and then I suck it off. She tries to brush my teeth but I run away!

I share the floor with this other creature – her name is Myra. She has stinky breath and likes to lick my face. Whenever I eat, Myra stays REALLY close to me. Sometimes I throw food on the floor not because I don’t want it, but because I know Myra REALLY wants it. It tastes WAY better than her food (I know because I ate some back when I was a baby, and it did not taste right).

I try my best to help out at home. Here’s me helping with the laundry.

And I help in the kitchen too! Mostly I pull all of items out of my special drawer and lay them on the floor so mom can see what’s available.

Just last night I started playing hide and seek with daddy! I go into the cupboard and close the door. Then I wait for a second, open the door, and scream! You wouldn’t believe it, but mommy and daddy are SO surprised EVERY time – it’s like they forget where I am or something. They’re a little weird when they pander to me like that.

I made my mark in the basement! Mommy and daddy are going to keep track of my height on the basement pole, just like Grammie and Grampie did for mommy and Uncle Pete & Dan when they were little. Fifteen months!

We bought a house! I like to call it the Ugly Duckling because even though real estate is so hot in Los Alamos, no one wanted to touch this one with a ten foot pole (except us). Projects have begun.

The entryway: Stéphane build a storage bench + mirror. The seat flips up for shoe storage beneath.

The living room: the previous owner took his wood-burning stove. Stéphane installed this super cool natural gas fireplace.

“Light Among The Ruins” in Jemez Springs, NM – farolitos (brown paper bags with a little sand for weight and a candle inside) line the old pueblo ruins. An annual event around Christmas-time.

The photos don’t capture the beauty of this evening!

Inside the ruins of the old church.

Work-wise, Stéphane and the crew of Classic 1 Los Alamos have been working hard taking good care of the injured people in our community. The scenery of northern New Mexico is beautiful, particularly where we are in Los Alamos and the Jemez Mountains.

Helping daddy wash the helicopter!

Jammin’ out to Buffalo Soldier. Already he has better moves than mommy and daddy (sigh).

First time at the pool! Thank you Cindy & Sally for the life jacket!!

Clambering around in the dirt (and eating some of it).

Hanging out with his girl, Myra.

Pulling his little wagon around the living room.

*Almost* big enough for his little hand-me-down trike (from cousin Jack – thank you Jack!).

Rocking the yellow puffy.

Since I don’t fly a shiny helicopter, posts about my job are not nearly as exciting. So instead of that pretty bird, here’s my face – grinning because I’m on one of a PLETHORA of awesome trails in the area – and I’ll tell you that my business is growing and doing very well! I’ve added another client this past year and am enjoying both the challenge of working for myself and of mommy-ing. We are blessed that we get to keep Hugo home with us all the time and still both work. Some days are more trying than others but our little family rocks and makes it happen.

Myra will be eight years old this year. She is still out pounding the dirt with me, running her tail off.

This week we took a little trip to check out “the best bouldering in New Mexico” (Ponderosa). We had never bouldered before but thought it might be something fun to try, especially with Hugo running around now.

Stéphane scampers up the routes.

Me: what now???

Digging the crash pad.

Assessment of bouldering after trying it for the first time: glad we BORROWED the crash pad and didn’t invest in one 😉 We’re climbers – give us a rope and some vertical rock and let us go that-a-way.

Mom & Dad!

Tom & Melisa came out for the Fourth of July – our first visitors!

We had a blast checking out the local climbing area.

Stéphane’s parents, Maria and Jürg, came out for a visit from Switzerland! We enjoyed showing them the trails, local hot springs, and they even came out on a camping/climbing trip with us.

Maria and I jamming around the campfire.

A fun climbing trip to Tres Piedras.

Hugo’s Auntie V came out to visit us from chilly Maine.

Albuquerque Hot Air Ballon Festival was amazing. We went to “the glow” in the evening where the balloons are inflated but stay tethered to the ground.

Magical

Had to get a photo of that one 😉

Brother Dan and his girlfriend Jess came to visit (twice now, yeah!).

You are now caught up on all things Hefti! Come visit us in Los Alamos! It is a beautiful area and we will show you a good time 🙂 To all our friends and family, Happy New Year! Here’s to a fabulous 2018 for you all. We are so blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives!

Yes, she’s a little rough and that is why no one wanted her. Because of this, we were able to negotiate a For Sale By Owner, saving quite a bit in realtor fees.

And there you go – the money shot. View from the rooftop deck to the canyon beyond. Natural beauty, peace, solitude, and privacy.

View from the back of the house. We fell in love with all of the south-facing windows, natural light, and uniqueness.

Wall of windows (living room, below), rooftop deck (above).

Before: the owner heated the first floor of the house with this wood stove. He wanted to take it with him when he sold, and that was fine with us. Our plan was to put in a gas fireplace in the chimney, thus freeing up more space in the living room.

Two grinders, ten masonry blades, and hours of manual chiseling later, Stéphane gets a nice, clean opening in the chimney for our fireplace.

Supporting structure inside chimney built out and ready for the fireplace.

After: the fireplace! We love it – modern, quiet, and low-maintenance.

The amount of work Stéphane put into this project is indescribable. You see the end result, a beautiful fireplace, but what you don’t see is the hours of labor, sweat, trouble-shooting, measuring, and cutting. You don’t see all of the piping that had to be re-done inside the chimney and all of the internal guts of the chimney that had to be rearranged in order to make this sucker fit. Stéphane is a genius. And he’s in his element, just like we’re back on the Free Range again except way more square footage and tons more projects (heaven).

Project #2: Here’s our entryway – the front door is to the left of where the two-by-fours are leaning. It’s kind of an odd space, right? Not very big but kind of a waste of space – what do you even DO in this room?

Looking out towards the back of the house from the weird, empty entryway space.

After: Stéphane built a gorgeous storage bench for the entryway AND made this super fun mirror happen. The top of the bench opens up and we have storage for shoes beneath.

I absolutely love this! Next step is to paint the walls a very light, neutral gray.

Brother Dan and Jess came to spend Christmas with us! Jess brought the turkey but forgot the pan (doh!). The boys are improvising with some tin foil.

Dishin’ up. We had a feast! Turkey, green beans, and Stéphane’s homemade stuffing.

Enjoying “Christmosas” in the living room.

It wouldn’t be a Trombley gathering without a little euchre!!

Annnnnnd…back to projects! This is the downstairs guest bedroom / office. We’ve primed over all of the stain drips, painted the trim, and the walls are now ready for a fresh coat of paint.

Here’s Hugo at 15 months. Nothing to do with the post other than the fact that I know mom and grams are trolling the site hoping for some photos of this little guy – there will be lots more coming on the next post, I promise! xo

Hanging out in camp surrounded by the beautiful red walls of Escalante Canyon. Some folks hang with the kiddos, while the rest head out to climb up at the crags.

Hugo and daddy at camp.

The Logans come in with slick camper AND potato gun.

Starting the campfire early – well before sunset – to generate coals upon which to cook food and to keep the general population warm and toasty.

Kim splits some wood for the fire.

Hugo layers up with puffy, hat, and mittens.

I noticed a new green tab in Tom’s binder of campfire songs: “Songs for Kids” (Uncle Tom rocks).

Hugo has his own little camp chair, compliments of John Bass & Tom (thanks, guys!) and is absolutely entranced by the other little people at camp.

Pre-Thanksgiving prep: practicing our pallet dance moves before the big night. (Ray, Matt, Andy, me, Charlie, and Sage).

Bath time in the Escape Pod. Hugo fits in the little sink just perfectly (for now).

Thanksgiving morning! Let’s make some coals, prep the protein, and go earn our turkey dinner!

Me on Honey Badger at Green Machine wall. Climbing is not as easy as it used to be, pre-Hugo. Stéphane and I split our time between the wall and hanging with “Huges” at camp. Today we brought him up to Green Machine and he hung in his pack ‘n’ play with one of us while the other climbed. It worked well until nap time.

Hanging with Hugo at the crag. Looking forward to when he’s a little older and can clamber around safely outside the confines of the pack n play.

My turn to climb again. Working my way up Stick Up.

Camp yoga.

Camp kids playing with Hugo in the Escape Pod.

The climbers make their way back to camp late afternoon and the prep for Thanksgiving dinner begins. Lots of side dishes in tin foil cooking away on the giant pile of coals.

Ray brought is smoker and his skills! Delicious, juicy turkey, Ray!!

It’s wine time!

Dish up!

Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family around the campfire.

Patrick and Matt bask in the golden glow.

Doug and Heather show up and we are treated to some folksy, bluesy, harmonies.

Check out that bass.

A little more wine, please!

Rocking out to Tom’s newest addition to the campfire songs – Top Rope Hero.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Time to hit the road and head south for our new home in Los Alamos. Hugo munches on tomatoes.

Another wonderful Thanksgiving is in the books: perfect weather, a wonderful assembly of friends and family, good food, drink, and music. We turn our heads south and head to our new home (we bought a house, people!!!) and prep for the next adventure!