New Mexico

I finally feel like I have the time this afternoon to blog about the trip to my sisters house that I took for Spring Break in March. My older sister Lisa moved a year ago to Rio Rancho, New Mexico (just North of Albuquerque) and I hadn't seen her house yet and I needed a vacation (if you call it a vacation when you go without your spouse with all three of your kids), so my sister and I devised a plan to spend Spring Break together. My sister flew up to Utah on Friday, March 12th and we left early the next morning to make the trek from Salt Lake City to her house 11 hours away. The kids did pretty well in the car and we made it to my sisters by late Saturday afternoon.

We were all pretty tired so we worked on getting the kids to bed early. I tried to get Ashley to sleep with her cousins in the loft and at first she liked the idea, but soon moved into my bedroom because she didn't want to be too far away from her mom in a strange new place.

Madison and my sisters youngest, Jonah, had a great time fighting, I mean playing together. I think they did really well until one of them had a toy and the other wanted it. It was great for Madison to have someone her own age to play with.

My sister has a family pass to get into the aquarium, botanical gardens, and zoo, so we spent a few days that week going to each. Our first stop towards the beginning of the week was the aquarium and botanical gardens. Ashley loved the aquarium especially seeing the sharks in the big tank towards the end of our visit.

Looking at the Stingrays

After the aquarium we headed next door to the Botanical Gardens. They have a play area with a slide and lots of fun things to climb on.

We also spent a few afternoons at the park.

Somehow the box of foil was pulled out when the girls got bored one afternoon and this is what became of it. They wanted to be robots. It's amazing what can entertain kids these days!

Can't forget little Rylee!

Next stop was the zoo. The kids had a great time.

The girls found a few umbrellas in the closet and used their imagination to build a fort.

It was so great to spend time with my sister and her family. I got teary eyed when we said our goodbyes. A big thank you to her family for putting up with us during our stay! They are the best!