ALBQ

 Since Ella's birthday is on Sunday this year, we had to celebrate the day before.  She was given a bunch of choices but wanted to go to the Zoo in Albuquerque. 

Cole looks like he's about to jump in here.... can you blame him?
 We all wanted to!

 We got there later in the day since we had to run a bunch of errands first in Albq.  We saw a ton of animals, but only saw 1/2 of the zoo.  Next time we'll take the train from the Zoo to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens!

 We had a great day at the Zoo, even though it was a scorching 100 degrees we were not ready for (we're used to our mid 80's in Santa Fe).  The kids did great, and Brock even got a nap in; puffs were great to keep him busy.

 Before heading home, I wanted to see the Albuquerque Temple which we'll be going to.  It was huge, compared to Louisville, KY.  The grounds were beautiful and had a walkway all around the temple.  They have a building next to the temple that houses the distribution center and "waiting" area for kids to be babysat in (perfect for next time).

 I LOVE those beautiful ginormous mountains in the background.

{Independence Day}

 Our 4th of July was a jammed packed day.  We started out by Scott taking the older kids to an early parade in El Dorado.  He said the kids did an excellent job collecting candy. Their secret was to stick in their back pockets real quick so when the next candy thrower came by they were empty handed. (check out their bulging pockets while looking at the goats)

Then we headed to the plaza in downtown Santa Fe.  There are tons of shops and indoor mall strips, restaurants, galleries, and so many fun things going on. There was a live band playing right when we got there in the middle of the square.

 (Note to self: ALWAYS bring the double stroller when going out with all three kids!)

Right off one of the main streets off the plaza was St. Francis Cathedral. It was one of the oldest and coolest buildings downtown. So interesting to see their holy water and other rituals in the catholic church.

 Then of course Scott had to take the kids fishing, so we went up to Abiquiu Lake.  Unfortunately, no luck catching any fish, but the kids did pull up a crawdad.

The beautiful Rio Grande

After fishing we went back home for dinner and baths, and then walked down to the park 2 houses down from our house for the perfect view of the fireworks set off by the HS stadium. The whole day was a blast, and the kids even got to do some sparklers!
Happy Independence Day!

Santa Fe Mountains

 One amazing thing just 10 miles north of Santa Fe are these gigantic mountains and ski resort. The scenery is night and day difference from the desert of Santa Fe.  There's green grass, aspen and pine trees, running streams...

We took a little hike through the mountains and it was so refreshing to see some greenery.

From one point we could look out over the whole valley and see Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

First Week in Santa Fe

Here's our new place in Santa Fe, the adobe housing here was probably one of the biggest shocks. It's like that here all over the city.  Everything is adobe and it's hard to recognize what it is I'm looking at since everything looks the same brown adobe style buildings and housing.

 While in the midsts of unpacking, we had to see what this city had to offer.  We are still trying to get used to this desert lifestyle, but there's so much to do here and we're just getting started!  Our first weekend we planted a "garden" in pots with tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce and green beans.

Then we took our kids to the local Rodeo for the kiddy carnival rides.  A quick fun weekend excursion.

Then we traveled an hour west into mountains and saw the Tent Rocks National Monument.  We took the kids on the 1 mile hike, which wasn't bad except for the crazy heat.  Cole had a little rough time during the hike and wanted to be carried, so Ella was gracious enough to help him with his troubles hiking (see top right in collage below)

This desert beauty is here... we just gotta learn to appreciate it, I guess.  We have gone up to the Santa Fe mountains which are green and lush and have lakes and rivers.... more to come on that!

Denver, Colorado

Our last stop before arriving in Santa Fe was Denver to stay at my sister's nice home.  We stayed 2 nights there so we could visit. We went to a neighboring community pool that was awesome with lifeguards and pool house, and kiddy pool.

Sadly, Scott wasn't able to come since he was on his death bed so sick.  At the pool Cole had a little accident that sent us to the ER at Parker's Children's Hospital.  Just as we were getting the kids out of the pool, I wrapped Cole in a towel and he was running on the cement and tripped.  Since I wrapped him so well he didn't have his hands free to break his fall so his chin did.  It gushed for a while and I knew he needed stiches immediately.  So, I went back to Jenna's house and got Scott to go to the ER with me.  Cole was very brave. I'm glad they do numbing cream now instead of shots to numb the skin before stiching him up.

 Cole got 4 stiches, and ironically it's the same place on his chin where Scott got stiches at the same age.  Like father, like son!  (Scott's parents kept reminding me of how much Cole was like Scott as a kid)

 During our trip we actually had 3 visits to the ER.  In Palmyra, Brock had a temp of 102 and an ear infection, so we had to get him some meds.  And then when we got to Santa Fe, Scott decided he wasn't getting any better and took himself to the ER in the middle of the night to get himself some stronger antibiotics.

Winter Quarters: Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha was a really nice big city, with rolling hills and so much history for our church. 

Winter Quarters Temple

We were able to switch sessions and babysitting again with Scott's parents. The grounds were so beautiful!

Mormon Trail Visitors Center

Across the street from the temple is the visitor's center.  They have pioneer clothing for the kids to dress up, and they reinacted a story where the kids pulled the handcart.  There were some great stories from this area where the Saints came here to rest from their travels to SLC.

Mormon Pioneer Cemetery

Next to the temple was the cemetery where the saints burried hundreds of souls who could not bear the winter.

Kanesville Tabernacle

We also visited the old Tabernacle where Prophet Brigham Young established the first presidency.  It was here on 27 December 1847 that Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and Willard Richards were sustained the First Presidency of the church.

Outside the tabernacle there were a few statues with their history of the area. The statue of the First Presidency is Brigham Young, Kimball and Richards studying a map while contemplating the migration of thousands of Saints to a new home in the West.

Inside the tabernacle were many artifacts of the time, including a covered wagon and a fireplace made out of sod grass as they did back in the day.  Ella had fun dancing on the stage the entire time during the presentation of the tour by the senior missionaries.