time to go see grandma!!!
we all went out walking - so fun!
they were fishing for crawdads - but no one got any bites!
the whole gang, including cousin Connie!
Katie on her four wheeler!
(my kids were fairly upset that we wouldn't let them have a turn)
I was the queen of catching people at weird/funny moments on this trip,
several photos reflect that! ha ha ha ... anyway, she was just walking and getting ready
to run down the hill!! so fun!!
this is a definite fave - and I want it on my wall!!!
and this one is just so sweet!
daddy & Liam
(aka: daddy's little clone)
here we are at the park!
I was glad to see that Annicka's not afraid to jump into a game - even if
she's never played before! of course, if it wasn't family - she might not be so
willing. she had a good time with uncle Kris and daddy and Katie!
I really like this pic of grandma surrounded by grandkids!
that's my kids' cousins: Katie (in blue) and Willow!
Annicka says this is a horny toad lizard - lol!
she caught it at "peach hill" and had it for a few days
before it suddenly went missing!
(I have no idea what it actually is, btw)
Liam liked little "Horns" (that's what Annicka named it)
sissy taught him to pet with his pinky, so cute!
awww, a puppy just the right size for Zozo!!!
this is "Tiny" and it was Zoey's first real (up close) encounter
with a dog - she liked him a lot!
she liked sneaking into Katie's room and sitting on her little couch!
Zoey had her first ketchup on vacation!!!
I guess I never got pics of the girls at their swim team practice,
cause after the first day (for Annicka) I never went back!
it was just easier for me to stay home with our other three kiddos and
let the men take the big girls to their 9am, hour long practice!
but here's Liam and Jericho's first day!
(and we might note that I never went again to their class -
I stayed home and fed Zoey lunch and let her lay down for a nap)
Liam loved it!!!
so did Jericho!
(he's in red & black)
here's Katie having some relax time while the boys swim!
and, of course, Zoey had to have a turn!
she LOVED it!
that's our girl! what a goofy goober!
ha ha! he had raccoon eyes from his goggles!
UGH! Annicka!!! but, still, this is a pretty sweet pic of the cousins!
Annicka and Willow
oh my GOODness this kid!
I love this thing she does, where she bends and gives me a big, giant cheese face!
grandma's pool - Liam got in on the action too, but he did do a lot
of standing on that ladder!!
this was just spontaneous - don't know why he made the face
or how I caught it - but it's funny and I'm sure we all could come up
with some fun captions for it!!!
Annicka and Willow sound asleep for a nap!
she made a little accessory for "Horny"!
playing with grandma's new screen!
one outing was to Explora - the children's museum that is
full of all sorts of cool stuff to explore!
here's Zoey watching the water "fountain"!
just for memory sake, I want to note that boy
in the green shirt. why? because Annicka just happened to
be wearing the same shirt!
(which, I might also note, she picked out herself - from the boys section)
there was all sorts of silliness going on,
including her turning her shirt around - ha ha ha!
anyway, love ya Annicka - and you might not want to remember ...
but mama does!
drawing some "movies"!
Liam really loved this part!
Annicka & Katie
bubble fun ...
he loved the bubbles!
the cool part of the fountain is that you can control it!
Zoey liked pushing the button!
ha ha - I love when she does this!
(sidenote - when we got home I finally was ready, yes - mama, to say good-bye to
the "bah-bahs"! within our first week back I got stocked up on cups and
began the transition ... it didn't take more than a few days before she was having no
bottles at all and has been using her straw cups ever since!)
cousin Katie was deciding how brave she was and got offered a bit of cash to show
us she could do it (you'll see what in a minute) ... here I caught a pic of Annicka trying to
convince daddy to give her some crazy amount of money if she'd do it too,
but really I don't think any amount would have done it! lol!!
can I get a WOW!!!
we see this, of course, every time we go to Explora -
but this trip was the first time I remember seeing anyone actually do this!
there was actually a few kids who went before her!
she went almost all the way before heading back!
one afternoon the hubby's mom, aka: grandma, went through her hope
chest with me ... of course, I love this sort of "activity" and I was in heaven!
I loved the old pics, the old yearbooks, the old artwork -
pretty cool!!!
since the hubby took these pics, I'll use the captions he's been saying since he took them:
"awwww, sound asleep"
"who took my picture?"
awwww, isn't our little Liam just adorable?
got ya!
(if you fell for that, anyway)
this photo literally amazed me, it's my hubby when he was little -
but I honestly think that I could have even been fooled by this pic!!!
so sweet - two of my guys!
she's two.
need I say more?
peek-a-boo!
more than once Zoey managed to reach things and pull them onto her tray -
as you can see, this day it was the box of donuts!
and once she even fell asleep in her chair!
with her baby, no less, making this photo uber adorable!
Zoey with grandma - I love this pic!
and this one cracks me up with Zoey's little face!
I think she was probably talking, but she just looks like she's
full of sass ... which, she is - lol!!!
have I told you all about all the "tricks" Zoey can do?
she can high five and I love it when she puts out her first and says "bih buh" -
that's fist bump!!! but, of course, I especially love two things I taught her: pageant face
and pageant kiss! anyone who's watched 'Toddlers and Tiaras' likely knows
just how insane those kiddie pageants can get, but as a sort of joke I taught Zoey some
of the "moves" those little girls do! she's just brilliant and I think her
cuteness could win her a pageant ... but I don't plan to put her in one, so don't worry!
"pageant kiss"!
I was trying to be sure I got a pic of grandma with each of the kids!
my photographer-ness was fairly lacking, I didn't even manage to get a photo of the
kids with Nana (their great grandmad) which is just awful and I feel so bad!
but here's Jericho with grandma! sweet!
I love Liam's face! apparently I don't know how to focus either, lol!
sorry, I warned you I wasn't a great photographer this trip - lol!
and, before we headed out, I wanted to get a pic of "everyone"!
but, alas, Willow & Liam had fallen asleep ... and I wasn't gonna make either
of them wake up. so, we did a quick pick with everyone who was awake!
and that was our trip, in a photo nutshell!
we were in Albuquerque for nearly three weeks and we had
a great time! it's always fun to see everyone and have some time together!
thanks again Mom G. for all the yummy food, for the swim
lessons, and for a fabulous visit!
p.s. we miss you!!!
