New Mexico!

This has been a busy month for me. The first two weeks were spent on vacation. The first week I went to Santa Fe, NM and then came home for one day and was off again to sunny California.

Here are some pictures from the New Mexico trip. A whole bunch of my family went down for my cute niece Isobel's baptism.

I drove down with Kenna Merretta and her kiddos. Neither of our husbands were able to come so we went on the long rode trip together. It was really a fun trip, driving and all. Jason did not like the drive however, so that made it rough sometimes. Poor little boy, full of energy stuck in a car for 12 hours!

On the way down we stopped at Mesa Verde. I've always wanted to go there, so it was really fun to see it. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for a "quick" stop for a long drive however.
It was quite the adventure for us two moms and 6 children. Luckily this nice man helped Karina almost the whole way down and back. He really was just wonderful!
One of our favorite stops was just spur of the moment. We'd been in the car for much too long and we were just ready for a break. We stopped at the first place we could find and it turned out to be just perfect. Much simpler than Mesa Verde, and much more relaxing.

This is Abiquiu Lake

See how excited we all were to just RUN!

And with two pregnant ladies in the car we were also very grateful there was a bathroom at this stop. (No matter what it was like... P-U!)

While we were there we did a bunch of things, we went to Isobel and Eva's school and played on their playground, checked out Old Santa Fe, and hiked at Bandelier National Monument. Not to mention the most important part of all.... Isobel's baptism! She is a wonderful example to all of us!

Old Santa Fe

Kayson playing. Isn't he cute? He kind of blends in with the building though, don't ya think?

Here is my mom and Karina standing in front of the oldest house in the United States.

A man was making balloon animals and toys for all of my nieces and nephews. Most of the nephews got swords (perfect if you know them!) And he made Jason a dog. How did he know?

One of the favorite activities for all of the kids was just playing in Bryce and Bettie's backyard. They had a "sandbox" (really just sand on the ground), a little red wagon to haul rocks in, and the biggest hit of all, this wonderful swing set!

Karina and Jason had so much fun on this swing together. They never got tired of it and they were always laughing this much. What cuties.

On the way home we were wanting to stop in Pegosa Springs for the night, but hotels were a bit pricey there, so we went an extra hour and stayed in a little hotel in Durango called Durango Inn instead. They were so nice. The service was great, the room was really nice and clean, and they liked all our kiddos. In the morning we even got to walk down and see some trains. It was wonderful. I'd recommend that place to anyone passing through. :)

Our biggest stop that day was at Newspaper Rock. It was a short way off the road and it was a great place to let the kids run and eat lunch. It was really nice.

I love this picture! Holly was running around on this elevated rock and Kenna was worried she was going to topple over the side. Just look at the look on Kenna's face. That says it all.

It was a wonderful trip. And a special thanks to Bryce and Bettie for letting all of us stay at your house! It was fun to finally come and visit you down there!!