Our summer fun: the Zoo

Katie had her first ever trip to the Zoo on one of the hottest days that Albuquerque had seen this year. But it was the only day that we could make it and so we braved the heat. Sadly, not to many of the animals were up for the weather and we were only able to see some of them.

Here is Katie... it was fun to watch her face as she saw the animals for the first time.


Of course the boys helped her find them. It is nice to find an activity that all of the kids enjoy.

The giraffes were awesome! They were so close! And they had this beautiful little guy with them! We all got a kick out of the polar bears. This one was laying on the top of the waterfall and he would not let the bear get into it. The other bear was really bugged and kept pacing around him and trying to pressure him off. Very entertaining!

You can see a bit of this in the picture if you click on it and enlarge it.The boys will let you that the best part was the spray park. It felt so good to get wet in the intense heat of the day.

Cute pictures of the kids before they started to melt.

Our summer fun: the Aquarium

Another family day courtesy of our local radio station.

A couple of weeks after the ABQ Jump we had the opportunity to go the Aquarium. The Aquarium here is pretty good, but small and it does not take long to go through. It is attached to some beautiful Botanical Gardens though and together they make a fun day, during nice weather.

This was the first time that Katie went to the Aquarium that she was old enough to notice the beautiful creatures that are there. She really enjoyed it!

Look at these sharks!

All of our cute kiddos + one of Eric's friends.

Our summer fun: ABQ Jump

Each summer a local radio station has a summer road trip program. They choose a location here in town and broadcast from there. During their broadcast you can get into that place for free! We have been to a lot of these this summer. Free fun is the best! Plus they go to all the places that we would be going to anyway.

The first week they were at ABQ Jump.

The boys love this place but Katie is a little unsure about it. The place was packed and I think that it was a little to much for her. She only will go down one of the slides if Brandon or Eric was with her.

Eric was an awesome big brother this day and he took Katie every time she asked. It was such a great moment for me to see them getting along so well!

Josh was bouncing everywhere! This kid has so much energy and this was a great way to get rid of some of it!I love the wedgie face!

the HOUSE: Katelyns' room

Here are the before pictures of Kate's room. Very boring. When we found out that we were having a girl I insisted on white furniture. So feminine, so pretty against a soft pink, lavender, yellow, or green. But not a yucky off-white.

Disney has a color called Cinderella's Glass Slipper. So beautiful, wispy and fresh. The perfect color for her fairy garden room.

We have painted her room, but I am not showing them yet because we are not done. We are adding a strip in Moonlight Waltz. And I still have to do a few other things to it. But soon.

Okay, a quick preview.

The picture does not do the color justice. You will just have to believe me.

So sweet, isn't she?

Independence Day

Our 4th of July was pretty quiet. We chilled at home until Brandon got off of work and then we headed to Grandma and Papa's. We had an excellent dinner of ribs, corn on the cob and homemade cheesecake. yuuummmy!

Then the boys (Papa, Eric, Josh) played with the fireworks. Papa decided that Eric was old enough to light them...


I can't imagine a noise that would bother J enough to get him to cover his ears. He was being silly.


Katie wanted to play with other toys. She was not overly impressed with the fireworks. It was her that was not liking the noise.

After the activities the boys stayed with Grandma and Papa to watch the cities firework show while Brandon, Kate and I went home and to bed. In my opinion, the perfect way to end any holiday, SLEEP!

the HOUSE: Joshua's room

One beautiful and wonderful day J's room was clean. Very clean (I did help a little). So I took a moment to get some before pictures. Truthfully I have no idea when the after pics will come, but I do have a plan for his room.

From the door.

From the window.


From the closet door.

The closet. Not too great on cleanliness, I know. I took these picture to show what great closets we have in this house. They are quite large and hold a lot of things Perfect for people with kids! I am convinced that the architect of this home plan had a bigger than average family. There is room for everything and more!

creative obedience

Lately we have been struggling with Eric to eat healthy. One night I told him to just eat! I was very frustrated. So he did what he was told... with a helper... one who loves her veggies (and other foods too)!