Thanks-

I had to break our Thanksgiving trip up into segments...and there are still tons of pictures in each of them! It was just such a great trip, with so much family and fun to be had! We enjoyed it all very much. Well, maybe a there were a few moments on the drive weren't all that enjoyable, but overall, even the long driving days were fine. Tommy did really well, he seemed to have a radar that alerted him when we were about fifteen minutes from our destinations; he'd wake up and cry for the last bit, but the rest of the drive he slept and only woke to eat. We'd definitely do it all over again. And most of all, our Thanksgiving trip reminded us of all we had to be thankful for, primarily the wonderful people in our lives.

We planned an extra day of vacation so we could spend some time at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Dave's in Edgewood, NM. We left Colorado Springs on Sunday afternoon, after the kids' GREAT primary program at church, so we didn't get in until quite late on Sunday night. It was incredibly windy and very cold when we woke Monday morning, with a steady blow of 45 mph, and gusts up to 60+ mph! And I thought The Springs had wind! The kids made some kites out of paper, tape and string that Pat gave them, and took them outside to fly them. They were very cool and creative, but pretty amateur kites, but aerodynamics aren't quite as necessary for flying when the wind is blowing that hard. They sure flew...away. We think they may be in Texas somewhere.

Pat and Dave live in an air park, so their house is surrounded by runways for the small planes to take off and land on. With the wind, there would be no flying, so the boys took the opportunity to explore the runway and surrounding area. It was really cold, but I guess little boys don't feel it when they are having fun!
Pat and I opted to stay indoors and snuggle the baby.

Later in the day we journeyed to Albuquerque to the Explora Science Museum. It is the COOLEST museum EVER! I am positive we could have spent a week there and never been bored. Plus, school was still in for the Albuquerque area, so it was not crowded at all. I am not a big "southwest" girl. I like rain and green and don't care for cactus or Kokopeili, but if there was anything to tempt me to move to the southwest, it would be this museum! And not only because it has these mirrors that make me look nice and thin....

Right after the entry there is a space with an interactive ball maze that entranced the kids.

And just to the other side of it is this genius yet simple contraption that I was sure we'd stay at for our entire visit Monday afternoon. The boys LOVED it. And that is really an understatement. You could move the ramps around and reposition everything and then roll marbles around and down. Hours and hours of fun. We decided we have at least three budding engineers on our hands. Guess what Adam is building in our basement for the boys for Christmas?

This museum wasn't only fun for little boys...the big one loved it too.

Simple yet genius. I am just as in love with it as the boys, can you imagine the hours of spare time I would have with this in my home? But alas, we had to move on...only to find an amazing water feature that once again enraptured my boys. You could push the buttons to make the different streams go and do different things. The way the water moved through the filters and screens made it behave as if it were solid rather than liquid. So cool!

So, so cool. This, unfortunately, I don't get to have built in my home.

There were experiments with electricity too.

And it was all explained very clearly and simply on little info cards on the walls so the kids could understand what was going on.We had a good time with this mirror prism thing. Can you guess which face is really Adam?

And there were reptiles and bugs too! REPTILES AND BUGS!!! Just when you think it can't get any better! Luke walked around to all the terrariums and said, "Hi lizard," or "Hi cockroach." I was glad those weren't out for petting.

They experimented with acids and bases using cabbage water and vinegar...guess what it smelled like in that area...you got it. Sauerkraut. Yuck.

Zach made this little paper "flower" out of a cup and then got to see how well it flew and spun using a fan that blew it upwards. If you look closely you can see Zach's flying.

The boys were sad that the only one tall enough to ride the suspended bike was Dad, but they still got a kick out of seeing him do it. I guess Pat and I were tall enough too, but, um, no.

The music area was so neat. Here Ben is playing this cello and watching a screen that showed the sound waves moving.

And this "music box" allowed you to move the notes around to make different sounds and play different songs the way a music box does.

The bubble table was huge, and full of sudsy, soapy, bubble solution, enabling the kids to make some gigantic bubbles. We were here for a good long while too....

Zach figured out how to make bubbles without using the wands.

If you know my boys, you know there were definitely competitions to see who could make the biggest bubble.

The bubbles got the boys nice and soapy, so we had to go rinse off in the water section. Adam and the boys made a great canal in the current table to float balls down.

Luke discovered how the gasses in the gas giant planets, like Neptune, swirl and move with the air currents. Well, maybe he didn't discover that, but he sure liked the big blue ball exhibit that explained it!

See, not just the little boys had a great time! Adam was in boy heaven too!

We did eventually have to head home to our delicious dinner and some relaxing at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Dave's. Ben and Pat put this puzzle together earlier in the day, so I had to get a photo. Five hundred pieces! It was Ben's biggest puzzle to date!

We love being so close to Pat and Dave. Growing up they lived in California while we were up in Washington, but now it's really not too long a drive to get to them! The kids always enjoy a visit there, and we do too.

Dave had to work, it was a Monday after all, but we were able to see him in the evening.

One last snuggle on Tuesday morning before we had to go. Pat is a wonderful grandma, and Tommy loved talking with her and flashing her his big baby grins!

It was a short visit, but so fun! Tuesday morning we were off to Gilbert, Arizona, where we would meet up with my parents and sister, and many other family members--some familiar, some new to our lives, but all so precious!