Las Cruces

Three days after arriving home from Utah, we left for New Mexico to visit Charlie's parents.  Charlie recently accepted a position with a new company, and upon giving his two weeks notice at his old job, was asked to leave immediately.  So he ended up with two weeks off of work and more free time than he knew what to do with.  We figured there was no better time for a road trip!  

We made the drive out there all in one day (it's about 11 hours).  Isaac was probably a better sport than I was about sitting in the car that long.  He was entertained by things like windmills, semi trucks, big rocks, cactuses, and his favorite: the many many trains that we passed along the way.  

Besides visiting with family, my favorite thing about Las Cruces is the food.  We had some delicious meals prepared by Janelle, but we also enjoyed a few meals out at La Posta, Habaneros, and Cracker Barrel.  And of course we made a few stops for Sonic drinks since it is conveniently located about a mile from the house (I'm jealous!).

Janelle and Charlie at La Posta

Isaac and Carrie at La Posta

Karl & Isaac watching a fishing show on TV and enjoying Sonic drinks 

Ever since our last visit in July Isaac has pointed out every red jeep we see and tells me it is like Grandpa's jeep.  He was so excited to get to go on more jeep rides!  The rides are a little too bumpy for this pregnant mama, so Charlie and I enjoyed some alone time while Isaac went out with Grandpa & Grandma.  They went geocaching out in the desert one day but Isaac was reportedly freaked out by the "prickly plants" so that didn't go so well.  He also loved being out in the backyard digging in the dirt, playing with his trucks, and exploring among the brush in the back lot (as long as he didn't have to touch prickly plants of course).  

He put his arms up to ensure that no "prickly plants" would touch him

Karl recently retired (kind of - he still goes into the office almost every day) from NMSU, but he is still a huge Aggie fan and goes to all of the games.  And even though Isaac doesn't follow much of the game, he was thrilled to go a basketball game.  We had fun cheering for the Aggies and it was so funny to hear Isaac yelling "Go Aggies, Go!!!" right along with the rest of the crowd.

Karl & Isaac cheering on the NMSU Aggies

Janelle, Charlie, Carrie, Isaac & Karl after the game

Another thing on the to-do list when we visit Las Cruces is to go see the farm animals at the University.  Isaac ended up catching a cold and was in a rotten mood that morning, but he did think it was hilarious to see peeing pigs, and he was more than happy to climb up into the construction vehicles sitting outside.

  

Cracker came with us on this trip.  He gets very nervous whenever he sees the suitcases come out because it usually means he is getting left.  I'm not sure if he was trying to make sure he didn't get left in New Mexico, or if he just wanted a soft place to relax...  Nothing like a bed of dirty clothes!  

Karl & Janelle were wonderful hosts as usual, and we were sad to leave.  They are planning to move to Price, Utah this summer so this was probably our last visit to Las Cruces and I'm glad we got to go one last time.

Utah

In mid February Isaac & I took a trip to Utah to visit my family.  It had been over a year since I had seen my parents, grandparents, sisters, aunts, cousins, etc. so it was about time for a visit!  We were only there for four nights but we managed to see almost everyone.  Here's a few highlights from our trip.

We visited with my sister Lisa and her family in Highland.  Isaac had fun playing with all of his cousins, feeding the chickens, and playing in snow for the first time.  We got very lucky with the weather because it was clear and not too unbearably cold, but there was still just enough snow on the ground for Isaac to play a little bit.    

Barkley the dog, Lisa, a chicken (sorry I don't remember any of their names!), and Isaac

The tiny little snowman that Isaac and I built

My Grandma, sister Lisa, niece Katie, Isaac, and Mom

We stopped by to visit my aunt Kay and my niece Jandie.  Isaac loves animals, so it was convenient that almost everyone's house we went to had different kinds of pets for him to play with!

Aunt Kay, Thumper, Isaac & Mom

We spent most of our time just visiting at everyone's houses, but we did get out a few times too.  We went to lunch one day at Taco Amigo, which is just a little fast food place in Pleasant Grove, but it's one of my favorite places in Utah and holds lots of memories for me.  And we went out for dinner one night with my two Utah sisters and my parents.

My sisters Wendy & Lisa and my Dad.  Most of my family makes strange faces whenever you point a camera at them!

Isaac, me, and my Mom at dinner

I was glad that Isaac had the chance to spend some time with his grandparents that he hadn't seen in so long.  It was funny because he called them "Utah Grandma" and "Utah Grandpa" the whole time.  And then I'm sure he was confused when he met my grandparents as well!  I guess we should work on coming up with better names for all of them.  

My Dad taught Isaac to throw snowballs... at me of course!

On Saturday afternoon we drove out to Price to visit some of the Woods.  Charlie's twin brother Chris, his wife Carly, and their three children live in Price and Charlie's parents will also be moving there soon. I think Isaac was in heaven to meet so many cousins on this trip and have so many new toys to play with all weekend.  His favorite thing in Price was to ride bikes and cars down the big hill in their backyard. 

Lucy, Isaac and Chris playing with the gerbils

Carly, Lucie, Isaac & Asher on the trampoline.  Isaac liked to just lay there and have everyone else bounce him. 

After church on Sunday we drove back into Utah Valley and stopped to visit my cousin Becky and her new husband Steve.  Next it was time for family dinner at my grandparent's house.  It was also Wendy's birthday and - even though she was being a bit of a party pooper - it was nice to celebrate with her.  And dinner at my Grandma's house would not be complete without a few games afterwards.  My Grandma is the master of all word games.  I'm not sure if I've ever beat her at anything.  We played Bananagrams and then some dice game called Farkle which I'm not sure I ever understood the rules for.  I just rolled and she counted points for me!

Grandma, Aunt Shirley & my Mom playing Bananagrams

It was a fun weekend and I was glad I got the chance to see so much of my family.  Isaac had a great time too and was super well behaved for the entire trip.  Hopefully we'll be able to make it back to Utah soon. 

And the day after we got back I ended up going to lunch with my CA siblings, so I was able to see my entire family within just a few days!  It would have been nice if we were all in the same place at once, but I'll take what I can get.  My sister Sandy & I had been meaning to take my brother Brian out for his birthday and we finally found a day that worked for everyone. 

Sandy with my nieces Katie & Hailey, my brother Brian and his girlfriend Amanda