Miscellaneous Pictures from May

Carlsbad, NM

This memorial day weekend we had a great adventure with Greg, Steph and their family.  It was a lot of driving for them, but we had tons of fun.  They arrived at our house on Thursday night, and early Friday morning we hit the road south to Carlsbad so we could visit the big caverns down there.

The afternoon we got there we were able to spend some time at the pool.  Unfortunately, we forget to bring the floaties for the kids so Brad and I had our hands full in this pool that didn't have a shallow end!

After dinner that evening, we went out to the caverns to see the bat flight. We were there right at the beginning of bat season so we weren't sure what kind of show we would get, but we were excited to see what happened.

Once we got seated they explained that in order for the bats to come out and do their usual route, it was important that it was completely quiet so they wouldn't be disturbed. I knew right then that Karly and I would be spending the bat show away from the bats, and everybody else for that matter. Turns out we didn't end up missing too much because there weren't very many bats that night anyway.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and then went back to the cave for some exploring.  The kids were really excited to get down in to the cave.

The kids all did really good as we walked down, down, down for quite some time.  Sometimes we talked, sometimes it was quiet as we listened to the echoes of our footsteps.  Karly was strapped into the baby carrier on my front and out of the blue started singing the tune of the Darth Vader song "dun, dun, dun... dun, da dun, dun da dun..." so loud and it echoed all through the cave.  It was so awesome that she did that all on her own.

We didn't end up doing the whole hiking loop down in the cave because the men folk were a little concerned (rightfully so) about having toddler tantrums and being trapped down there in the two mile loop with no way to get out.  So we hiked down, walked around a bit and then took the elevators back up to the surface before we have any major meltdowns.  I'd say it was a success.

Then we hit the road back to Albuquerque.  Bentley rode in the Colorado car with Griffin, and Maddie rode with us.  It was a ton of fun for all involved.

We were able to spend Sunday together at our house before they had to go back to Colorado.  The kids enjoyed being together so much, and Brad and Greg got some good game time in.

Bentley loves Griffin and thinks he is so cool.  Griff is obviously way older and would probably rather be hanging out with kids his own age, but he is so sweet to Bentley.

Sunday was also my mom's birthday so they came and joined us for dinner and cake to celebrate her birthday.  It was fun having everyone together.

I'm grateful for Greg and Steph for coming out.  I love that they live close enough that we can see them a handful of times a year.  It still never feels like enough though!  We love them, and love these opportunities to create fun memories together.

Cliff's Outing with Daddy

Big kids + Dad = epic day out at Cliff's.  Without mom and the littles, these three took on the park and had a great, fast paced day.

I love this picture of Bentley in the bumper car.  His smile is so genuine and is pure happiness!

They even came home with a giant stuffed animal from a game win.  That's a first!

Fun day out with daddy.

Eden Completes 2nd Grade

Yay!  School is done and we get our Eden back!  She had a great year with Mrs. Ernst and made tremendous growth socially and academically.  I'm so proud her.  She is an amazing soul. I can't wait to have her home with us all day every day.  I missed her so much.

Welcome summer break!  We have been anxiously awaiting you!

Sister Love

As Karly is getting older, it is really fun to watch a friendship blossoming between these two girls.  I'm excited for them to have a same gender sibling so close in age. Olive loves to be affectionate with Karly, and tries to hold her hand whenever she can.  Karly used to just tolerate it, now she is starting to understand what it actually means.  Most times she likes it, but sometimes she says, "No Olive, no hold hands!" just to be a stinker. 

I sure love these girls.

Olive's Style

Olive loves to pick her clothes and I love to see the personality that exudes from what she's wearing.  She is so fun and spunky and I love her.

Aquarium and Botanical Gardens

Karly is at such a fun age for the aquarium.  She just looks around in awe and squeals and says, "Look! Fish!" every time something goes swimming by.  I love these adventures and watching my kids learn and explore. I hate that Eden has to be at school and can't be with us!

After sufficient screaming and squealing over all the fish, we went over to the Botanical Gardens and had a picnic lunch, played in the sandbox, and enjoyed the beautiful day outside walking through the garden. It was a simple day, and so magical.