Always Fun When Grammy Comes

We just spent a wonderful week with my mom! We had so much fun exploring Albuquerque. We all loved her "magic suitcase" that came filled with treats! Everyday the boys got a treat (or sometimes several) out of the magic suitcase. I scored a cute new jacket out of the magic suitcase, and Clark loves his new Michael Bolton greatest hits collection he got (its a long story).

The boys helping Grammy make cookies.

Shopping, don't they look so amused!?

As we were driving to the airport this morning my mom asked Ethan what his favorite part of the week was, he said, "getting a Happy Meal at McDonalds." Really? Out of all of the fun things we did, pretty easy to please I guess.

Caden did crack us up in his Burger king crown that falls around his eyes.

All afternoon Ethan keeps saying, "I miss Grammy. I wish I could have gone to Boise." I do too! It is always so much fun when Grammy comes! Here are a few of our adventures we had while she was here...a little more exciting than McDonalds!

Sandia Peak Tramway

On Saturday we ventured up the to the top of the Sandia Mountains on the longest tramway in North America. It was awesome! The views of the canyons we went over and the city were amazing!

Ethan squeezed into a front row spot by the window.

Mr. Independent wanted to stand all by himself!

The top of the tram is also the top of the chairlift of the ski resort. So when we got to the top we enjoyed the views and Ethan enjoyed the snow.

He really wanted to have a pair of skis!

It was a beautiful clear day and a fun family adventure!

Santa Fe

On Friday we boarded the Rail Runner train that goes from Albuquerque to Santa Fe. We found a great seat on the second level of the train, and as you can see from this video both of my boys were pretty excited when the train started to move.

Caden looked like such a litttle man reading his magazine on the train.

When we got to Santa Fe we made our way down to the plaza. There are tons of fun little shops and amazing art galleries. In the 5 hours we were there we really only saw a small slice of it all. We ate at a fun little restaurant called The Shed and got to enjoy the famous New Mexico green chile.

We loved this church, it is beautiful. Inside it is a mix of adobe architecture and French Romanesque style stained glass windows.

Along one road in the plaza the Native Americans come to sell their art and jewelry. There were some amazing things to see, and Ethan got a little bored. When I looked for him I saw him like this:

He looked like a homeless panhandler slouched up against the pole with his hood pulled up over his face. He was just taking a little rest. He provided a lot of entertainment for the tourists and the sellers.

Caden finally crashed in the stroller as we started our walk back to the train station.

Grammy got a Navajo doll for her collection.

Me with one of my dolls in my collection.
Such a fun day in Santa Fe!

Hot Air Balloon Museum

Since Albuquerque is the home of the nation's largest hot air ballon fiesta, there is a great hot air balloon museum here. Last week we took my mom to the free story hour for kids and were then able to look around the museum. It was really well done and there were a lot of hands exhibits for the boys. We had a great time.

Ethan with his lantern. The theme of story time was Chinese New Year.

How would you like to got around the world in this thing? No thank you.

My Sunbeam

A few weeks ago I was able to attend a Women's Conference here. It was fabulous. I went to a class called "Bringing Up Your Children in Light and Truth." It was taught by a woman whose children are grown now, so she was able to share some fun anecdotes about some of the crazy things her kids did when they were little that seem funny now. She told about her son who was constantly getting into trouble and causing mischief. One night when she was at the end of her rope with him she read a quote written from another mother in a smiliar situation that said, "remember he is a big spirit in a little body."

I have been thinking about that quote now almost daily for the last few weeks. It describes my little Ethan. When I get to the end of my patience rope with him I need to remember who he truly is, and that is a son of God.

"Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that
yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were
parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in
these His little ones.... Rear your children in love, in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your
homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts." Gordon B.
Hinckley

Between the funny and crazy antics of the 3 year old Ethan, I do see glimpses of the special spirit inside his little body. He loves to learn about Jesus and he truly loves the Savior. A few days ago while we were driving he said, "I hope Jesus comes again, I love Him." Earlier in the month while he was saying a family prayer unassisted he said, "help us to read the scriptures everyday," you better believe that gave me a little kickstart to be a more diligent scripture reader. I see his kind heart when he insists on holding the doors open for people in public places, when he helps his brother, or when he prays for people that need help.

I'm absolutely amazed at what a 3 year old can learn. He has only been attending Primary and his Sunbeam class for 4 weeks now, but he can come home and tell me all about the lessons. Just randomly he's thrown out phrases to me like, "agency is a gift from God," and "every choice has a consequence." He has also learned new songs.

Last week the primary president asked me to come be a helper in his class Sunday (they have 12 kids). I was a little nervous that she called me because my child was the trouble maker. Besides having to answer every question, I thought he was doing pretty good. Then the drinking fountain break came. Each child gets a turn to be the line leader as we walk to the fountain. It about killed him that it wasn't his turn, the teacher kept having to stop the line on the walk there to remind Ethan to come get back in line. After we got drinks, we made it about half-way back to the classroom and Ethan couldn't take it anymore...he just started running, so the other 11 three year olds followed right behind. It was a few moments of chaos, the teacher told me to try to catch them because apparently Ethan does this every week and usually misses the classroom on the way back! Then I knew why I was asked to be the helper.

Last week his teacher told me that he was "darling." I asked Ethan later if he knew what that meant and he said, "it means I'm cute." Living with Ethan is never boring! I'm very grateful that amidst all the 3 year old antics I am constantly reminded of what a special person he really is.

Kasha Katuwe - Tent Rocks National Monument

Today we drove about an hour out of Albuquerque to experience Tent Rocks National Monument. It was impressive. There are tons of rock formations that look like tents made from ancient volcanic ash. The views were pretty unique and amazing.

Even the drive there was a cultural experience. We drove through pueblos and saw many people selling everything from tamales, to fry bread.

When we got there we found a map and saw that there were two trails. The first was rated "easy," a nice mile loop to see a man-made cave that someone lived in thousands of years ago. It was a nice little hike.

The second trail was rated "difficult," 3 miles round trip, a hike through the slot canyon to the top of this mountain:

So we decided to do that one too! We figured with a 3 and a 1 year old we would just make it as far as we could and then turn around. Boy were we surprised to discover that our sons are actually mountain goats! They did amazing! Our little 1 year old hiked all the way to the top. He refused to let us carry him, except for a few tricky parts in the ice at the top. It was so much fun exploring in the canyon and the view from the top was fantastic! It was worth it.

Coming into the canyon.

Ethan found this rock sticking out of the wall and thought it was a perfect chair.

We thought the exposed roots of this tree made a pretty fun tunnel.

Since we haven't seen much snow this winter the boys had to hike up every snow bank, which was great until Clark took a step and sunk down clear to his thigh while carrying Caden. He did manage to catch Caden upside down by his feet.

The view looking to the sky (hopefully not looking up my nose).

Stopping for a picnic break half way up.

We called this rock the castle.

This was where the trail got tricky. It was steep and narrow, and the melting ice made it really slick. At this point everyone passing us coming down made a comment about how crazy we were to take our kids up...we preferred to consider ourselves ambitious. After living in Iowa for a few winters the ice really wasn't too bad for us.

I loved these rocks behind Clark, they look like troll castles to me.

The boys at the top! It was windy, but the view of the surrounding mountains, lake and the tent rocks was spectacular!

Caderade and Momma at the top!

Caden got the MVP award for the day for being the best little hiker. We were amazed at how far those little legs could go.

I award myself with the biggest clutz award for dropping Caden when we made it to the summit. I was holding him for a picture and he wanted to get down, and I'm still not sure what happened, but I dropped him. I also slipped on the ice and fell, pulling Ethan down on top of me about 10 feet from the top. On the way down I slipped and fell again in a mud puddle while carrying Caden, which made for a cold bottom and a muddy view for all who had to follow behind me.

Ethan gets the comedy award for making us laugh the whole way with his commentary, and with his dog hat peeking behind rocks trying to scare us. My favorite line was when he was following right close behind my rather muddy behind...Clark mentioned how he could smell the stroller which was parked at the trailhead, and Ethan replied, "all I can smell is mom's bum!"

Clark gets the Louis L'amour award because he felt like he was in a setting from one of his books. He used his Louis power to get us all up that trail. At the end of the day he said it was one of the best days of his life, and meant it too.

Fun Family Memory.