The End

...of the vacation pictures that it! Although there are probably 100 more, even I am growing tired of vacation posts!! We took Emma's new camera on the trip, and managed to get some really great shots! Here's the last installment:

Don't Go Chasin' Waterfalls

Our last day in Sipapu, we hiked a trail that led to a small waterfall. It was our seventh day away from home, it was lunch time, and the kids were not that excited about going on a hike; but, since the parents of this operation are slightly on the stubborn side, we went anyway!
With emotions frazzled and energy long spent, it only took a simple splash of water into Emma's face to cause what I like to refer to as the MAJOR VACATION MELTDOWN OF 2010!!

I begged her to suck it up for my picture. It was, after all, just WATER. The camera battery was low, and my moment was fleeting.

She was very cooperative!

But the tears weren't the worst part of the meltdown! As the physical exertion got tougher, everyone got hungrier, and she arrived at the end of her rope long before we arrived at the end of the trail, another meltdown ensued that may or may not have involved gasping for air and writhing on the ground, begging Wes to return the cabin!

Unfortunately for Emma, her parents really are THAT stubborn!

We kept hiking!
Eventually, we did decide that we had all had enough, and turned around to head back down the trail. Emma had what I like to call THE MIRACULOUS RECOVERY OF VACATION 2010! Her heart and her lungs began to function properly, and I dare say she skipped, yes skipped down that mountain trail!

If only my camera battery had held on, I would have evidence!

While the company was not as peaceful as the scenery, if nothing else, I took some pretty cool pictures for posterity. And, lucky for Sarah, Emma gave us new material for tortuous vacation recaps that can never ever be lived down!

Rio Grande Gorge

In Taos, we stopped to see the Rio Grande Gorge. We walked out onto a long, very very high bridge! As cars would drive by, the entire thing would shake! JW and Emma were completely freaked out and it took us awhile to convince them that they could actually let go of the railing!

JW stayed quite nervous about falling in, and when Wes grabbed him (because he was getting too close to the road), he screamed like a banshee and almost jumped right in front of a car! Good times! I'm not sure he could survive a trip to the Grand Canyon!

The gorge was a spectacular sight, and a nice leg stretcher on our way from Red River to Sipapu!

Red River, NM-Day 3

We spent our last full day in Red River hiking up to the top of the ski lift! It took us 2 1/2 hours and several detours that included hiking UP black diamond ski trails.

When we hiked this same trail six years ago, Sarah (then 15 years old) kept sitting down and crying that she couldn't make it! She has not been able to live that moment down! This trip, we took bets on whose tears would fall first. The wagers were split between JW and Emma. But, it was Emma who finally took Sarah's tears of shame from her! Emma sobbed her way STRAIGHT up the last half mile!

After successfully making it to the top, we were able to ride the ski lift back down. Emma was afraid to ride down because she noticed the ski lift had no seat belts! She insisted on riding with me and she would not let go of the front bar the ENTIRE TIME! She also struggled with the fact that I was taking pictures! (I was using her camera, and she was certain I was going to drop it!) She did eventually relax enough to enjoy the ride to the bottom.
That pretty much wraps up the Red River sights! The day after the hike, we headed for Sipapu, New Mexico, where we spent the rest of our week fishing, hiking, playing, and relaxing! So, yeah, pretty much the same things we did in Red River!

Vacation Conversation

The "birds and the bees" discussion has always been dicey waters through which most parents dog paddle their way around, unsure of when, where, and how to have the conversation. If you speak too soon, your precious one is on the kindergarten playground embellishing his version of this biological phenomenon to 21 of his closest friends. Yet, if you wait too late, your child hears about it from a classmate who typically gets the details confused or uses lingo that would make Howard Stern blush.

Okay, so that's probably a slight exaggeration because I'm pretty sure there is no sexual lingo that would cause Howard to blush, but you know what I'm saying!

Luckily, I have an older, wiser sister who had swam through those waters several times now who advised me early on that there really is no particular age at which it is best to have "the talk," but rather, each child must be evaluated on an individual basis to decide when they are ready. Most of the time, you will know when they are ready.

Which brings me to the conversation I happened upon while we were on vacation. I walked into the room where my three precious daughters were discussing having babies!

JP: EWWW, Abbee, that is NOT where babies come out! Tell mom what you just told me.

Abbee: (giggling incessantly) What? I just said I think it's gross that babies and poop come out of the same hole!

Me: Abbee, babies and poop do NOT come out of the same hole!

Abbee: They don't?

Me: No, but we will talk about it later when we are alone.

Abbee: (screams) NOOOOOO! I DON'T WANNA KNOW!! You can tell me when I'm pregnant!

It goes with out saying that it's time for Abbee and I to have the talk!!

Red River, NM-Day 2

Emma had a school assignment to wake up early one morning and take a walk to see how many animals she could spot. What better place to see some unique animals than in the mountains?

So, bright and early day two, she, JP, and I ventured out filled with anticipation about the animals we would discover! We were hoping for elk, bears, deer, and hawks. We saw a crow, a duck, and a squirrel! That was it! I mean, seriously, we see those every day! What does a girl have to do to see a bear around here?
That afternoon, the kids played in the creek. Abbee, Emma, and JW used rocks to build a "bridge" so they could cross the creek without getting their feet wet. Because, clearly, they had a problem getting their feet wet!


They also relaxed on the non-operational ski lift!
Emma pondered what it meant to be Emma.
And, JP and I read books while watching the little guys play.

We had no agenda, so the kids (and the parents) were able to just kick back, play, relax, and enjoy the great outdoors! A pretty sweet way to spend your vacation if you ask me.

Well, that and spotting a bear!

Red River, NM-Day 1

When given the choice between the beach and the mountains, everyone knows I'm going beach every time! Wes? Not so much. He's choosing mountains.

We typically leg wrestle every summer to decide where we will end up, but since Wes is becoming advanced in years and pulled his hammy last summer, he was gracious enough to plan a trip to both! (I kid.) He and I took a little trip to Cancun earlier this summer, so the family vacation, by default, was to the mountains!

In a rare turn of events, Wes decided last minute that we would break the trip up by stopping halfway to spend the night before making the rest of the trek to the mountains!

The only drawback to driving west in the afternoon is you get to look directly into the sun for about 3 hours! But, I must admit the sunset was pretty spectacular!

How travel has changed in the last thirty years! We didn't hear a peep out of the kids unless they needed a bathroom or a snack!

After spending the night in Amarillo, we crossed the border to the great state of New Mexico.

We made it to Red River around lunch, but it was too early to check into our cabin so Wes went to the grocery store and bought us some fried burritos from the deli, some hot fries, some Cheetos corn puffs, and some Dr. Pepper! A great start to what would be some mighty fine vacation cuisine!

Later that evening, a deer wandered into our campground. The owners had some deer corn and gave some to the kids so they could feed the deer. I have never in my life seen a deer eat our of your hand! The kids thought it was pretty cool!

To make up for our less than nutritious lunch, we made a "home cooked" meal for dinner! Here are the kids in our quaint little mountain cabin.

There are way too many pictures to share so I'm breaking it up into several posts and I'm telling you because you care!

Almost Paradise

Wes and I were able to get away recently to one of my favorite places...the beach!! I'm a huge beach fan, and the beaches in the Cancun/Cozumel area are among some of the most beautiful in the world.

We ended up at a place just outside Playa del Carmen and I knew from the moment we arrived that I could definitely live there. The only drawback would be Wes and his propensity for skin cancer! And also the fact that I would have to find employment rather than just lie around by the ocean while some of the friendliest people I've ever met brought me fruity drinks. But, still. I'd go. In a heartbeat!!

This is the "adult only pool." I spent the majority of my time here. At first, I thought adult only meant that no kids were allowed to hang out there. So, of course, being away from my own children, I found this to be the perfect spot. I found out about day three that "adult only" could also mean that swimwear was not required!

Sadly, I must admit that the main emotion I felt when I made this discovery was pure, unadulterated ENVY! I wanted to ask her how many children she'd birthed, but I was afraid she would answer "seven!" and really make me look bad. So, my stretch marks and I just kindly looked away!
Here's Wes demonstrating how we spent the majority of our time!
This was a man-made lagoon area. Kids were allowed there so we stayed away!!
Wes and I walked along the shore line for awhile and discovered our own little private beach! Wes snorkeled while I kept my eye out for dorsal fins. (My kids have discovered a fascination for watching "Shark Week" and my enjoyment of the ocean has declined immensely!)

If you look closely, you can see a faint rainbow.

Here we are all showered up for dinner!
We got to try most of the restaurants and found them all to be FABULOUS. I've now met my quota for shellfish consumption! Who knew you could work shrimp into every type of cuisine? It demands to be restated...FAB.U.LOUS!!!

This was our favorite place for breakfast and lunch. We had the same waiter most of the time and each morning, he greeted us with "tequila for breakfast?" Never got old!

I'm not sure if the Mexican people really eat guacamole or just make it available for their gluttonous American tourist friends, but I ate my body weight in the stuff. Shrimp plus guacamole at every meal equals heaven! Throw in the ocean and you can fuhgetaboutit!

We did venture out into the open sea and snorkeled with some of the most beautiful fish I've ever seen. I think the coolest find was an enormous star fish. It was about the diameter of basketball. Maybe that's not enormous in the starfish world, but I have never before seen such a thing!

Our resort was on a nature preserve. They had these McCaws perched throughout the grounds. There were also flamingos, TONS of iguanas, some type of lemur looking animal, and supposedly monkeys! I spent a great deal of time hunting a monkey, but had no luck actually spotting one. It was the only disappointment from the whole trip!

And, because we were on the east side of the Mexican shore, this is the only sunset we saw! We were in the plane headed home!
There are few vacations that in the end I find myself wanting to stay just a couple of more days, but this one would certainly be on that list. It was spectacular!

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to go have some tequila for breakfast and research employment opportunities south of the border!

Sipapu

WARNING: THIS POST IS FULL OF PICTURES AND VACATION MEMORIES...READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

It's been so crazy with all the back to school buzz, I haven't had the chance to blog about our WONDERFUL vacation to the mountains. On Saturday, August 16, at approximately 4:30 a.m., our family (along with my brothers...James and Joe...and their families, and my Mom...AKA Nani) hopped into three cars and began what would be a 12 1/2 hour journey to Sipapu Ski Resort in New Mexico. This is the first time we have all vacationed together (not counting a few weekend trips to the lake to camp). We were all CRAZY EXCITED about the trip...especially since so many of our cousins were going too! Here we are at our first rest stop...

Those of you who know me know that when given the choice between beach and mountains, I will go with the beach 100% of the time. Unfortunately, Wes is the exact opposite. So every year when deciding where to vacation, we argue between the two! When he finally convinced me to spend a week in a cabin in the mountains, THIS is what I was thinking...
Yeah...not so much! I didn't think to photograph our less than quaint "cabin" (a term that can apparently be used as a synonym for 1964 mobile home complete with original appliances, squeaking could-give-way-at-any-minute floors, and a couple of add-ons that make up a living room and a prison style bunk room)but trust me, it looked ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like what my sweet little imagination had dreamed up as I thought of how nice the cool mountain air was going to be in August for a Texas girl!

But, we didn't let what would become affectionately know as our "glorified tent" hinder our dreams of having the best week ever! With ten kids in tow, we couldn't help but enjoy everything that nature had to offer! These six are patiently awaiting a fishing pole to be made ready for their little hands...
These two spent hours and hours trying to catch chipmonks!
We never knew when the showers were going to hit but it rained almost every afternoon we were there! Sometimes it caught us off guard...
Glory LOVED throwing things into the lake!
Here are James and Brandon with our first day's catch...
Notice the number of spoons Glory is using...she would take one spoon and dip the soup, pour it into the second spoon, then pick up the third spoon and repeat the process...THEN she would take a bite! There wasn't much soup left in the spoon by that point!! It was too cute!
We spent a great deal of our time fishing...



These girls and Glory LOVED picking flowers...

We asked some "locals" where there was an easy hike (for the sake of the kids of course, not because we were feeling a little out of shape in the higher altitude!) and they recommended trail #7...said there was a waterfall about a mile up. What they failed to mention was that the waterfall was about a mile STRAIGHT UP! It was a tiny little path straight up the mountain with no handrail, guardrail, or escalator! We stopped with Nani occassionally but we did all finally make it all the way up to the waterfall! The kids had a blast crawling in behind it (too bad I didn't get any good pictures of that...you'll have to watch for those on Leigh's blog.Here are some pictures from the hike...



One night, our s'more making got rained out so being the forward thinkers that we are, we just had s'mores for breakfast instead!!
Here's what I learned from our week in the mountains...if you take a bunch of kids and just stick them in the middle of God's beautiful creation with nothing but their imaginations and each other, they are guaranteed to have the time of their lives! These guys never whined, complained, or argued! And, I'm not even kidding! They spent hours and hours enjoying the great outdoors.






Spending time with the people you love the most in a place that screams to the glory of God...it just doesn't get much better than that!