New Mexico Family Weekend (September 2018)

On a bit of a whim, we found an air bnb in Albuquerque and took a little family trip.  Between the rescue dogs and the foreign exchange student our summer was certainly not our own at all, and we wanted to do something just as a FAMILY.  

Our Air bnb was a super sweet place with a garden out back.  The kids loved playing and exploring and I liked relaxing with a book or my Bible.  Chris unfortunately still had to work quite a bit, but he got some fun and relaxation in too.  

 

 

 

Chris and I went to the Albuquerque airport to have our Global Entry interviews to make our upcoming anniversary trip to Mexico that much easier...

Unfortunately there was a bomb scare in the airport that morning...right after I dropped Chris off for his appointment.  

So the kids and I were stuck without keys to the Air bnb while Chris was stranded at the airport until they released everybody after the scare.  

The kids and I found a few parks to explore.  

More garden

 

This weird thing was on a bookshelf in our Air bnb

One evening we took a nice sunset hike 

 

 

 

On the way home, we made a stop at the Great Sand Dunes National Park 

 

It's so surreal to see a bunch of sand in the middle of no where in Colorado.  

 

It was SO windy.  Not something one thinks about everyday, but when it's windy with sand it feels like little shards of glass are pricking you all over.  The kids didn't love that.  

 

But they liked sliding down the dunes

 

Family selfie.  

Sophie IS actually barely visible.  Her hair and forehead are in front of Chris between Ava and Kayla.  haha. 

Do you see how random these dunes are?  

Just in the middle of nowhere.  And all of a sudden a bunch of HUGE sand dunes.  

We took a different route home to catch some fall colors in the mountains.  

And that wraps up a fun little weekend getaway with our crew.  So glad we took that time this fall to invest in some FAMILY time.  I'm positive that's a decision we'll never regret.  

Grammy and Granddad's Visit: Part 4 -- Rocky Mountain National Park

And we enjoyed a fun "almost fall" day up at Rocky Mountain National Park together.  We got separated at the park entrance, but eventually all met back up at the shuttle parking lot to ride the shuttle up to the trailhead. 

 Shuttle selfie

 

It was a gorgeous hike that Chris planned for us.  We had a good climb for the first bit of the hike and there were patches of vibrant fall color everywhere.  The mountain views were incredible and there were patches of wildflowers strewn about all over; a small patch here, a small patch there. 

The aspens up here are my favorite part of fall.  The blazing golden hue of the leaves and the white, knobby tree trunks against the mountains give my heart a secret little thrill.  

 

 Do you see what I mean?  

I love the creative patterns our Lord has left on each and every aspen trunk.  

This scene made my heart soar.  A twisted, bumpy column amidst brilliant flaxen leaves.  All I could think was this quote I've heard before (Albert Camus): "Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."  

Le sigh.......

 

 And then we reached Bierstadt Lake.  

The quiet stillness of a mountain lake is sacred, beautiful.  

 

I made the travelers take another picture.  :)

And then I tried for a quiet, sweet shot of my 5 kids.  

It wasn't quiet, but it was sweet.  

When we were done snapping those pictures, Kayla wanted to sit on a rock and look at the water.  I asked if she would let Kolbe sit and look with her for a minute.  She consented and it was the most perfect picture of quiet sweetness.  My heart welled up with love.  Love for my sweet, innocent, joy-filled kids and love for our God, who is a master Creator.  And just as I shot the picture, a duck swam by.  It was a beautiful moment to savor. 

 

Kolbe sat watching the duck briefly, but soon wanted to be down and exploring.  He would have jumped in if Chris would have let him.  

 

Recently, Sophie is into pockets. She loves to walk around with both hands stuffed in her pockets and it makes her seem so much older, like a teenager in a 2 year old body.  It's so sweet, but always chokes me up a little.  Stop growing up, my spunky little gal.  

She also likes to sing on the trail which is really really cute.  

          

And when the hike was over, we headed back toward home, only stopping for a brief dinner on the way.  The restaurant we chose had a magician that performed some magic for kids, young and old.  

It was a lovely day and many fun and lasting memories were made, I think.  Thanks again for coming out, Mom and Dad!  We are excited for the next visit and more memories to be made.  I love the smile the kids get when they hear their grandparents are visiting, so thanks for coming out and making their faces light up.  We love you both so very much and are so grateful for your love and support in our journey of marriage and parenting.