Nature Hike

Last week when day care was closed, Jaimee and I took the kids on a "hike" at the Rio Grande Nature Center.  Here's Lily decked out in her hiking gear.

In reality, we walked on the paved trail while they ate pretzels.  After our "hike" we tooled around the Rio Grande Nature Center grounds and visitors' center.

The visitors' center has many exhibits about wildlife and ecosystems in the Rio Grande Bosque.  At least I think they do.  We never made it past the sand/footprint station.

After a great morning, we headed home.

Uncle Cliff's

You can tell how long someone has lived in Albuquerque by what they call our local amusement park.  Long timers like me remember when it was Uncle Cliff's, where newcomers know it as it's new,  less creepy name - plain old "Cliff's".  Every year my company hosts a picnic at Cliff's for all employees and our families.  Sometimes they even spring for t-shirts.  This year was exciting for us because we knew Connor would like some of the rides.  As usual, we were surprised and amused by his reactions to things.

We started with the little train or "choo-choo".  It took Connor a while to warm up but he was soon delighted.

Jaimee and Lily rode with us and also had a good time. 

It was really warm so we took a break from rides to enjoy the mist fans.  Almost as fun as a ride!

Connor seemed skeptical of the Merry Go Round at first but asked for "more" as soon as it stopped.  

After two spins around on the horsey, we went to wait for the big kids to ride the log ride.  It was a perfect opportunity for Connor and Lily to be adorable. 

On our way to dinner, we stopped to chat with some coworkers.  Connor insisted on fist bumping (knuckles) each person we spoke with...twice.   Then came the highlight of the evening.  A barbecue dinner. Or, if you're Connor, a watermelon feast with a side of hot dog bun.

He ate three or four of these watermelon slices. I  lost count.  He would have also eaten the rind, but Lily told him "you no eat the green part". The upswing of this feast was the sugar from the fruit reenergized him.   The first after dinner activity was walking with the boys. 

Then as JJ rode the most terrifying ride ever, Connor showed off his "splits" and Lily followed suit. I'm pretty sure I was told to "Mama splits" and was doing my splits while taking this shot. 

We headed back to the merry-go-round for three more rides.  Connor was such a pro by this point, we let him ride solo.  I love Lily watching with interest in the background. 

The last ride of the evening was the helicopter.  Connor was too short to go alone so Thomas crammed himself in there rode along with Connor. 

On our way out of the park, the kids burned off what was left of their energy by chasing each other around this tree.  

It was a fun night and we're all looking forward to going back soon. In the meantime, do you know where I can get a good deal on some watermelon?

Botanic Garden Trip

We took a trip to the Botanic Garden last weekend.  Our first stop was the farm.  It was really hot so the cow was not exactly active.  Connor knows that a cow says "moo". We'd hope he could see it in person but this cow wasn't doing anything but laying in the shade. 

After visiting the farm we took a break by the duck pond.

We were excited for our first visit to the Butterfly Pavilion.  At first Connor was interested in the butterflies...

But then he found the hose.  Connor loves hoses only second to vacuums.  

The pavilion was really lovely.

Connor's favorite spot at the Botanic Garden is the model railroad.  These bird house looking things are buttons kids can push to make the trains move.  This picture would make more sense if I had taken one of the trains, too. 

Our last stop was the Moorish Garden.  Connor loved splashing in the "agua".

We had a lot of fun and were still home by noon!

Water Babies

 We bought a water table to distract Connor while me moved.  We've used it many times since to cool down on hot summer days. We brought it out the first time Jaimee and Lily came to visit.  Connor and Lily had a GREAT time.

Connor and Lily make a great combo.  Lily likes to wet Connor's hair and tell him what to do.  Connor is happy to oblige...

...most of the time. 

Connor's become quite the copy cat.  Lily dunked her hair and he immediately followed suit.

It's lots of fun to watch them actually play together.  They've come a long way since the first time they hung out.  

You can read more about their summer fun and water table adventures here.

Walking the dog

Connor recently became fascinated with Smokey's leash.  To satisfy his urge to walk the dog, we fitted Copper (the stuffed dog) with one of Smokey's leashes.   I can report that Copper gets lots of exercise.

Brrrr!

Albuquerque recently suffered (yes, we suffered) through a snowstorm followed by some of the coldest temperatures on record.  Before it got too cold, we took Connor to the park to frolick in the snow.  It was around dinner time so we brought a snack.

After a couple of days snow cold bound at home, we headed back out.  It was still in the single digits so I bundled up Connor in many layers.  I think there were four including the snowsuit.  It was a bit much.    He was like that kid in The Christmas Story.  But cuter.  

He kept falling down. This probably isn't the greatest parenting moment, but I took a few pictures before I picked him up.

We're all looking forward to spring. 

BabyRaces

On Saturday we had some friends and their kiddos over for a play date.  It was lots of fun. With ages from just over one year to two years old the kids are just starting to play together.  The highlights of the afternoon were Lily's hopping, Connor stealing everyone's cheese, Elliot's delight at rolling the ball, and Everett's facial expressions.  The kids all seem to have the most fun when they left the toys behind and ran up and down (and up and down and up and down) the hall.  

Who needs toys?