Albuquerque Trip

I'll try my best to remember all the details from this trip! It had been a year since we've last been to Albuquerque so it was exciting to head back (even if it was friggin' cold). Sam had to work the week of Christmas so we decided to head on over Friday after work.

Storms were in the forecast for Albuquerque, so we thought stopping in Lubbock would serve us best. It was so good that we did. We got a hotel with an indoor pool and did a little swimming.

Joey being Joey.

Daddy and Eli.

This is really as far as these boys got.

Once we got across the New Mexico boarder, it became really hazardous. Our van was really fishtailing and angels were really watching over us. The GPS's told us two different routes and we didn't know which to take. For some reason, we chose the back roads. At first it wasn't so bad...until we passed the snow plow. Then it became white knuckling. We saw cars stuck in the snow and ice and, as bad as I wanted to help them, we would have been in the boat. Then we got onto I-40 after some intense moments and slowly made it into Albuquerque. We saw overturn semis and other mayhem. A big thank you to Sam for taking the wheel (he said he was sore probably from clenching everything that could clench that whole drive).

What it looked like for miles. Pure ice.

We made it to my parents house and after a lot of coordination, we had the adult dinner that night at Texas Roadhouse, a family tradition around this time of year. I got to meet Nicole's new hubby Patrick (a blessing since I missed their beautiful wedding).

Adult dinner at Texas Roadhouse

Next morning we went to our former ward in Albuquerque to bless our darling little girl. She wore the blessing dress that my mom wore, my sisters and I wore, and all my nieces (with the exception of the twins for logistical issues). It was fun to see everyone. What was also special was that the Haines chapel was going out of commission come the New Year so Eden was the very last baby blessed in this historical chapel. Bittersweet to say the least.

After church we swung by Sam's parents for a yummy meal and a belated Christmas. There's a reason my kids love Jeep Grandma so much. She sure loves and spoils those grandbabies.

The next day was what I've been waiting for this whole trip...Dions 😋🥰I didn't take this photo but some little boy got a hold of my phone and captured this. We went with Sam's parents, sister, and grandma. We then went bowling and our boys had fun. As long as I beat the boy's scores, I'm good, haha! 

Barely beat those kiddos! Granted, they did play with a ramp.

That evening was NYE so we went over to my parents for games and fun (and so we didn't have to travel in the ice with drunk drivers since we were staying over there at the time). No pictures of the event, but here's Eli in his element:

Wednesday we headed over to the Boyacks for much needed catch up and hangout time. They are going to have twins any day now, how crazy is that?! For Crystal being one of my best friends, I never have a photo of her and me. I need to change that next time.

Pudding Painting

More interested in eating it.

Crystal is always so creative with kids.

Couldn't help snatch a quick photo of this kid!

Caught this scene of Cameron and Eden. Aww!

Holding her sweet bunnies.

Here are our sweet bunnies.

Then we had some fun shenanigans at Sam's parents' house with Jessica's family. I don't remember too much of what we did, but I have a picture of Hudson with a shark for a mouth and Beau's rendition of Mona Lisa.

Thursday we had fun with Jacob and Shauna's family and played at the park. Jessica invited us over to her house for games but I had to say a quick hello to my family since I didn't see them in two days. It's so hard to balance between two awesome families in one trip.

One of my all time favorite candid photos.

Eli showing his puppy to Heidi's husband's puppy, Akita.

To make up for missing the game night, we headed over to Jessica's the next night. The boys played video games, the adults played board games, and we drank yummy Italian sodas.

Look how flexible this girl is! Jealous!

Probably Joey's favorite part of the trip. He loved playing video games!

I'm not the best at capturing moments but here's what I had! Until next time, Albuquerque!