After five weeks of living in the desert, I am excited to be home in Michigan! Xavier’s internship started in Albuquerque around the middle of May and, after I wrapped up the first part of my wedding season, I was able to fly out and join him at the end of June.

We’ve traveled a few times as a couple but we’ve never lived anywhere other than Michigan and I had never been gone from home for longer than two weeks. Being in one city for five weeks was a totally new experience for me and it felt more like a mini move than a vacation or trip.

WEEKENDS
The weekends we had in New Mexico were our chances to explore and we started out strong with a 14 mile hike up the Sandia Mountains. We severely underestimated how much water we would need on our hike and ended up getting really dizzy and dehydrated on the way back down. I was absolutely terrified of seeing a rattle snake, but we managed to avoid all snake encounters. We also explored the Jemez and the Santa Fe Mountains as well as the Tent Rocks. All of the terrain was so unlike anything in Michigan and we loved it! From scrambling up hills, crossing through rivers, and scaling 12 fit rocky walls, I found an adventurous side that I hadn’t ever seen in myself before.

Xav got us a zoo membership and we ended up going several times. They opened a new penguin exhibit in July and between the elephants, the big cats, the gardens, and the aquarium, we spent several hours wandering the zoo. It was also a great place to play Pokemon and people watch. The polar bears were my favorite exhibit as they were always doing something playful and funny.

Before I arrived in New Mexico, Xav found a church for us to attend and it was such a blessing to get to know the people of PCC and worship with them for several weeks.

WEEKDAYS
During the week, Xav went to his internship and, for the most part, I chilled in our Airbnb room with the cats. I was so thankful to have Gamora and Nebula with us! I spent a lot of time working through an online photography business course and redoing my website (check it out here). I also had the chance to meet up with three of my business course classmates! Meeting up with Erin, Kayla, and Maura were three of the most fun days I had in New Mexico. Each of these photographers are so sweet and even though they are in the middle of their busiest season, they took time to meet up and chat and it was a total blast! Erin challenged me to step out of my comfort zone and jump into a project. Maura motivated me as she told me about the growth of her business and her photography story. Kayla encouraged me as we talked about a work/life balance and how to embrace both. Seriously, these women are rock stars!

I also had the wonderful opportunity to do a photo shoot in the desert (a post with my favorite images from their session is coming soon)! It was one of my personal goals to do a shoot in New Mexico and it was absolutely marvelous! I connected with Kate and Tyler on Instagram and they were the sweetest couple!!

SUMMARY
New Mexico life was unlike anything we had experienced before… both in the culture and environment and the extended length of time we spent there. I am so thankful that I had such an open window of time to be able to go out and spend with Xavier but it was strange to be gone for so long! We made some wonderful friendships, enjoyed our various hikes, and learned a lot about how to get around a big city… but there really is no place like home and we are glad to be back in time to enjoy the last month of summer.