i came from heaven...the zoo in heaven

Sometimes when my crazy little man is bouncing off the walls I ask, "where did you come from?" He always replies, "I came from Heaven, Mama! The zoo in Heaven!" He really is a little monkey. He has been calling himself a kangaroo-frog-monkey for a while now. He thinks it's the best of all worlds, he can jump high, climb, store treasures in a pouch, and has an awesome tongue for catching things. The stuff this kid thinks of never ceases to impress me, or make me laugh.

Before we left Albuquerque for Santa Fe, we made a trip to the zoo. Kaden has never been to a zoo before. He was nervous at first; he didn't want to see any lions or scary animals that could jump out and "catch" him. After being there for all of 2 minutes he was excited, happy, hyper, and loving it. His very favorite part was the monkey exhibit and of course, the little train we rode. The zoo had quite a few baby animals. Baby animals are too adorable. They are so playful and fun.

Kaden carried "Marty" around the whole time. He held him up to show him everything and explain things to him. Beckham had fun too. He loved the train and seeing all of the animals. He was a happy camper and fell asleep half way through.

I love this shot. That guy is like, "what up?!" and his stance is just sweet. And this little orangutan was so cute. He was climbing and swinging all over the place and totally reminded me of a little kid.

Doesn't he just look so happy? The polar bear was Kaden's other favorite animal. We stayed and watched him swim around for quite a while. The elephants were so fun; there was a baby, and I am not sure it gets much cuter than a baby elephant.

Our quick weekend getaway was amazing and I can't wait to do it all over again.

balloon fiesta-it's kind of a big deal

The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is quite an experience. We got up after less than 3 hrs of sleep to drive the 5ish miles to the mass ascension. I hadn't told the boys what we were doing. I didn't want the disappointment if it didn't work out, and I didn't want to be pestered for weeks on end. I woke Kaden up and it was the sweetest thing. He always wakes up so happy. He sits up half awake and gives me a big hug and kiss. He is so warm. It was the same this morning, but then I told him what we were doing and he perked up so fast. He got so excited and started jabbering a million different things, hurrying me to help him get dressed.

It took us about an hour and a half to drive the 5 miles. The traffic was insane. My poor clutch leg was dying when we got there. I have a stiff clutch and wow, it was really a workout. Matt and I were deliriously tired and were acting completely ridiculous in the car. It probably should have been embarrassing, especially since who knows how many people saw us, but it wasn't. It was just fun. I love laughing with him.

We got there at the perfect time. Just as the sun was rising, it was warming up, and the balloons were starting to lift off. Kids were beside themselves. they were so thrilled to see something so huge. Kaden was not at all happy about riding in the stroller. He probably is too big, but there are thousands of people at this place and that boy just doesn't pay attention when he's excited. He finally convinced me and promised me he would stay within inches of me and I let him out.

Grant and Brittany were so fun to go with. I appreciated them so much. Sometimes Matt gets lost in the shuffle. They were so conscientious about always listening to what he had to say, they stopped when his foot hurt and he needed a break, they waited for us and walked slow with us. I really am grateful; they were so good to us.

Kaden loved Grant and Britt. He is still talking about them and asking when we get to go back. He was obsessed with Trudy. The other day he said, "Hey mom, I miss Grant and Brittany and baby Trudy. Mama, can we have a baby Trudy? I love her". After the balloon fiesta we were in Trudy's room reading stories and Kaden was checking out her stuff. He was so adorable, "Mama, Trudy has a little bike, and a big giraffe to play with, and a nice bed, and books for her mommy to read to her, and look at all those blankets for her! Ahh, her mommy and daddy love her, they are taking such good care of her."

land of enchantment

Last weekend our little fam took such a fun road trip. We left after work on Friday, just as the sun was setting, destined for Albuquerque, NM. I had been thinking about going down there for the balloon fiesta for months, and after an official invite from Grant and Britt we just had to do it. I looked forward to it for weeks.

The drive down was fun. Kaden slept most of the way and Beckham jabbered in the back. Matt and I had good conversation and he got to listen to me jam to whatever came onto the ipod. It was sweet. We got to Grant and Brittany's house after 11:30. I felt so bad it was late, even if they are night owls. We had to get up at 4:30 the next morning to make it in time for the mass ascension of balloons. Did we got straight to bed like we should have? Of course not! We stayed up chatting, well mostly Brittany and I, until almost 2:00. Poor Grant and Matt. It was just so good to see them.

Oh, and this baby. I adore her. She is the most bright-eyed, smiley little thing. I love her to pieces (and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual! hah!). The boys were in love with her too. Beckham was a little worried and jealous when I held her, though.

Maybe it was the crazy lack of sleep, maybe a bug, but the boys got so sick on Saturday. They had fevers over 103 and just felt miserable. It was weird that they got sick at the exact same time. It was also weird that it lasted less than 24 hrs. I was worried about them, worried they might have gotten Trudy sick, and a little bummed because we didn't get to do a lot of what I had hoped to. It turned out to be perfect though (minus them feeling so awful), because we just got to hang out at the house. We talked, ate ice cream, and lounged. My idea of a good time.

Our time with Grant and Brittany was so fun. I hope we didn't bombard them with our chaos too much, but we loved every minute. They are so sweet, so good to us, and everything was just comfortable. Maybe that doesn't make sense. I loved that there was no pressure to entertain, no pressure to be a certain way, and I even snooped in Trudy's changing table while everyone napped and stole some tylenol for Kaden and Beckham. I'm such an awesome guest. I promise I don't usually go through people's stuff!

Sunday we watched some conference and Matt and I took the kids to the zoo. So fun. Then we drove down to Santa Fe and stayed in my grandparent's house for a night. It was so great to be there. I haven't been there for 2 years, since my Nonie passed away. Things were so much the same, exactly how I remembered them. I loved reminiscing and feeling nostalgic for a while.

We played in Santa Fe all day Monday. We hit up Trader Joes and some other fun places and headed home. Our drive home was so much fun. It's only 4 hours, so it doesn't seem too long and the boys did great. They made a disaster out of the backseat. There were snacks everywhere, coloring books and crayons, books, blankets, you name it.

At one point, they were squealing and giggling so loud; it was hysterical. I turned around and Kaden was chewing on Beckham's hand. Those two are finally at the age where they enjoy each other, laugh at each other, play together, and love one another. I love it. At one point Matt said, "Babe! This is so perfect. Our boys are so adorable I can hardly stand it! I got to be with my beautiful family all weekend and I am so happy. Thank you so much for planning this fun trip." He is so sweet.

Pretty darn enchanting, if you ask me.