We had a great time doing the American Cancer Societies Race for a Cure here in Albuquerque. There were 5 Stormtroopers, 1 Biker Scout, 1 Tusken Raider and 1 Rebel X-Wing pilot (obviously part of the Rebel Alliance), plus Celeste and other family members of other who showed up to walk.

There were a reported 19,000 walkers who raised almost $540,000, and it was great to be involved in such a worthy cause! While Marko (TK-7172) was the the only one of us who wore his helmet the entire time (great job Marko!) , we all walked the whole 5 miles in full armor.

When we crossed the finish line together you would’ve thought we were real celebrities the way everyone cheered and took our pictures. It was great fun

Thanks to Andre for the last 9 pictures.

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We went to the UNM Children’s hospital tonight for my first “official” troop! We dressed in conference room, then spent the next hour or so walking around and seeing the kids.

Our “docent” would knock on the door of the child’s room, tell them there were some Star Wars characters here to see them, then, if the they wanted, we would go in and say “hi.” Sometimes the kids had “contact restrictions” in which case we’d wave from the door. Of course some of the kids, or the kids’ parents, didn’t want us to come in for whatever reason, but for the most part everyone wanted to see us.

In fact, the first wing we went through was pretty quick… 10 or 15 minutes to do the whole thing. We would wave, say “hi”, and move along, move along. But the 2nd wing we went through was a Star Wars fan club! Children had Star Wars books, parents had Star Wars tattoos, one young man (probably 15) had a poster of himself someone had made for “Episode VII”. So, needless to say, we spent much more time in that wing taking pictures and just interacting with everyone.

It was as great of an experience as I’d have hoped it would be. The kids (and parents) were all so excited to see us. “You’re the real deal,” one parent said. “You’ve met the Stormtroopers,” another told his son. It was sad in many ways to be there, but the smiles and laughter of the kids made it much easier. What a great first troop!

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We took Jason back to the Gold Street Caffe this morning for breakfast on the way to the airport. It was so yummy! Jason and I got a green chili cheese biscuit with salmon, mascarpone cheese, tomatoes and 2 poached eggs. Celeste had some toast (with her own personal jar of jam) and a couple of eggs. It was all so delicious and we decided should be a tradition to take people to eat there on the morning they leave.

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We took Jason to Bumble Bee’s the night before he left. It was good because he had fish tacos, which he had never had before, and which are a very “New Mexican” dish.

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We took Jason to downtown Albuquerque today and walked around a bit. It was really fun as Celeste and I hadn’t been there to just walk around ourselves. We’d gone down there for business reasons, but walking up and down Central is quite different than parking at a government building to file paperwork.

One of the highlights was stopping in at the Gold Street Caffe. (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) We’re planning on going back there for breakfast on Tuesday morning before we drop him off at the airport.

After we went downtown we stopped off at Borders in Uptown Albuquerque. Celeste’s parents ended up coming by and hanging out a little as well. It was a great afternoon.

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I put on my Stormtrooper armor and Celeste, Jason and I went up to the neighbor’s house to let their kids see it, and to give them the presents we brought from the UAE.  It was a lot of fun, and they loved being visited by a TK.  Their dad is a huge Star Wars fan, so they know well “who” I was.

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Our friends Cari and Jeremy Thompson came and saw us this weekend. Even though it was a relatively short trip for them, we had a very full and wonderful weekend! We went to Flying Star (of course) and took them to see Fred and Kristin Wilson (of course), and I put on my Stormtrooper armor… of course. It was a great time!

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So our local 501st squad (the Dewback Ridge Squad) all got together today for a photo shoot. Celeste took some pictures too… here they are.

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