Albuquerque!

We were so excited to have the opportunity to go to Albuquerque last month! We wanted to take Ian to see the hot air balloon fiesta before he starts "real" school. Plus, it's always a great excuse to see family! We stayed with Kim's parents, Grammy and Papa, and Kim's brother (Uncle Andrew) and family (Aunt Sarah & Abby) were kind enough to drive in for the long weekend.

We'll share a gazillion pictures of the balloon fiesta events in future posts, but here are some of the other things we loved about the trip ....

Traveling
Both boys were excellent travelers and enjoyed all parts of the flying experience -- looking out the windows in the airport, being in the plane, and of course getting off to see Grammy and Papa!

Playing in the Backyard
The boys made themselves at home right away and loved being in Papa and Grammy's backyard. Ryan loved carrying around this basketball,

while Ian preferred to have races with Momma.

Ryan thought it was fun that he could get to the backyard all by himself!

Grammy, Ryan, and Ian played a little T-ball.

And then they quickly found the dirt. Ian spent some time rolling the dump truck through the dirt and digging holes each day we were in ABQ!

Grammy helped Ryan see the neighbors' dog through the fence and sample some of the grapes growing on the vine above them. Ryan kept saying "ruff, ruff!"

Playing with new toys
Ryan thought it was fun to watch the Disney characters pop up from each door. Grammy would open them for him and then Ryan would quickly close the doors, hoping to do it all over again.

Ian and Ryan's favorite toy while at Grammy & Papa's house was the marble run that Grammy's dad made. They would spend SO long watching handfuls of marbles go from the top to the bottom.

And both boys also loved riding on the horsie that Great-Grandpa Sylvester made as well.

Of course, Grammy and Ian had to play Crackers in My Bed, a fun matching game, together!

Ian took a liking to some of Grammy's stuffed bears. Here, he brought the bears into the living room to watch some old, old Disney cartoons on videotape.. He laughed and laughed while watching them.

Uncle Andrew was excited to show Ian and Ryan how to use some of his childhood toys, including this Construx set. Ian LOVED them!

Getting Ready for Halloween
Aunt Amy had had the neat idea of having the 4 boy cousins wear coordinating Halloween costumes -- Ian the cop with three robbers/prisoners. Kim had asked if Grammy would help create the costumes during our time together. While at Kohl's right before our arrival, Kim's mom found a super cute policeman costume for Ian. He loved all of the "gear" that came with the costume, too ... handcuffs, whistle, badge, etc. Grammy also gave Ian a small notebook for him to write people "tickets."

After writing Kim a ticket, Ian was excited to put her in play handcuffs.

Aunt Amy found a cute yet simple "pattern" for creating the robber costumes, and Grammy helped Kim implement the plan. We covered a white onesie with black duct tape and black pants with white duct tape. 

We were proud of our finished product!

Getting to know our niece better
The last time we had been with our sweet niece, Abby, was last Thanksgiving, when Abby was just a few months old. We were thrilled to experience the happy, determined, independent toddler she has become.

Ryan was VERY interested in Abby and quickly started calling her by name. What fun to have cousins that are so close in age.

Abby certainly isn't scared of dirt! And she liked the dogs over the fence just as much as Ryan did!

It was funny watching Ryan and Abby eat apples while they played outside. We only had to wash the dirt-covered apples off with a hose a few times. :)

I loved playing "Sound of Music" songs for Abby.

Abby taught Uncle Matt what she knows about wind chimes.

What a kissable little girl! We love you, Abby!

Quality Family Time
It was fun to see Aunt Sarah (a former pre-K teacher) in action with Ian. She did a great job going along with whatever Ian wanted to play and helping to provide ideas and learning opportunities throughout the way. Here, Sarah is guiding Ian through the process of creating his own hot air balloon with materials at Papa and Grammy's house.

Ian showed Aunt Sarah just how much he likes dump trucks and other vehicles.

Uncle Andrew was a favorite story-reader for both Ian ...

... and Ryan.

Uncle Andrew is such a playful and fun uncle & dad. He blew lots of bubbles for the kids.

We enjoyed playing "Ring Around the Rosy" together!

Former kindergarten teacher Grammy was excited to conduct some science experiments with Ian. Ian had to guess what would happen to the balloon covering the top of the bottle if the bottle was submerged in boiling water. Ian was thrilled to see that the balloon inflated. Thanks for making learning fun, Grammy!

The boys had fun playing the piano with Grammy.

Going to the playground
Papa and Grammy live right next to a school with a fun playground. Grammy guides Ryan across the soccer field to the playground equipment.

Ian asked Papa to dig in the rocks with him. What a great Papa to say "yes!"

The boys loved walking over this bridge again and again.

Ian thought it was hilarious to act out "Billy Goats Gruff" with Grammy.

Grammy asked Ian if he'd be able to jump from stone to stone. What a fun challenge!

Getting spoiled by grandparents

Grammy kisses are the best, thinks Ryan.

Ian was excited to show Grammy and Papa some pictures from his Pre-K class website. He "introduced" Papa and Grammy to each child in his class.

Grammy and Papa were both willing volunteers for story-reading before bedtime.

Papa was thrilled that Ian wanted to "watch" some of the Cardinal baseball game on the computer. Papa taught Ian all about baseball terminology.

Working with Chiles

Uncle Andrew Aunt Sarah, Abby, Papa, and Matt went together to get chiles roasted.

They bought a 40 pound bag and then got them roasted.

When they got home, everyone had a job -- de-seeding, cutting, weighing, and packaging.

We had to wear rubber gloves to prevent our hands from burning.

We enjoyed some yummy breakfast burritos with green chiles after working hard.

THANKS FOR A WONDERFUL TIME, PAPA AND GRAMMY! You are fabulous hosts and made us feel so at home. Thanks for making the trip to Albuquerque so we could spend some quality time with you, too, Andrew, Sarah, and Abby. We love you!
(lots more pictures to come ... :))