Dear Etrain,
We just got back from an awesome trip to New Mexico and you were the best little travel buddy. You had another cold (almost finished shaking one off, then caught a new one before we left), you met all these new people and went to all these new places, and did great the whole time. You were understandably shy to start with each new place/person, but eventually warmed up and had a blast...especially since everyone seemed to have a new toy for you to play with. Lucky boy. Dada and I were so proud of you.
The trip started with the flights of course. You've been on an airplane several times, but this was probably the first time you really understood what was going on, and were interested in the flight and plane. It was fun to see how excited you were for take off. We must have heard "are we taking off?" at least 10 times before the plane even started moving. You were also excited to go see Auntie Zarah. My cousin, Zarah, came out to visit this summer, and you loved her and couldn't wait to see her again in New Mexico. Most of my friends or people who come to visit us get called Auntie or Uncle, even though they're not necessarily related, so when Zarah was out you called her Aunite Zarah...even though she is technically your second cousin. Whatever, she's family. :)
We had a layover in Phoenix. You were so good sitting in the car to the airport, sitting with us at breakfast at the airport, then sitting on the plane ride, so when you wanted to run on the moving walkways, I was happy to go with you. We must have ridden them 20 times or so. I was just glad you got to burn some energy before we had to get on another plane...and sit some more.
Auntie Onila picked us up from the airport, and you took a quick nap on the way to her house in the mountains. Auntie and Uncle Mario's house was home base for this vacation. They had some toy cars for you to play with, as well as a new "car transporter" (as you call it) from the Cars movie, so you were plenty busy and very happy. You also loved chasing their cats. Poor kitties. It rained a bit that afternoon, but it was brief and pretty to see. That night we had a delicious enchilada dinner and my cousin, Joe and his wife, Michelle joined all of us. Son, you'll learn as you get older...go to Auntie Onlia's starving because you can't help but eat, and eat, and eat all her delicious food and be stuffed all the time. It's just too good. (We had those enchiladas for breakfast the next day...fried egg and chili on top. Yum!)
The next day we had plans to visit Uncle Ernie, but we weren't going to leave until after lunch, so you spent the morning playing and helping Auntie in her garden.
After lunch we headed to Uncle Ernie's ranch, which is about 45 minute drive from Auntie Onila and Uncle Mario's house. As a side note, I love love love New Mexico clouds. They are just so fluffy and beautiful...something it seems like we rarely see at home. I went a little crazy taking photos and videos of the clouds during our drive. The photo below was taken as we were driving up to Uncle Ernie's house. If you look really close you can see the cows sitting down on the grass in the center of the photo.
After catching up with Uncle for a bit, we went outside to check out the animals and tractors. We had been really excited to take you to Uncle Ernie's ranch because he's got a ton of land, animals and huge dump trucks and tractors. While you seemed to like seeing everything, I think you were also a bit overwhelmed. I don't blame you. Everything and everyone was big and new, but you did great. You and Dada did some exploring and playing on your own, which you really loved too. Later Auntie Sally stopped by to visit at the ranch. She brought you some books, including a book with train stories, which we are still reading here at home.
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| Ariel the calf. |
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| Windy day |
The last day was Sunday, so Auntie Onlia and Uncle Mario went to church. We stayed home and played. You had a rough night of coughing, which continued into the day. We felt so bad for you, but you just kept going like a champ. It takes a lot to slow you down...in fact, I'm not sure I've seen you slow down because of a cold, which I'm happy about. After church we had a little more time to hang out with Auntie and Uncle.
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| I asked Dada to pose so I could check lighting and this was the face he gave me. |
Our last stop was at Auntie Carol and Uncle Carmel's house. Every Sunday they have their kids, my cousins, over for lunch, so it worked out perfect that we could visit with everyone. One funny story. We were all sitting down at the table for lunch, and there was a pretty big crowd. Part way through the meal you asked if it was your birthday and we all had a nice chuckle. I love that you thought we were all there for you...which I suppose was partially true. Silly boy.
There were a few other cousin's it would have been nice to see, but overall it was a great and relaxing vacation. Everyone was so excited to see you again. I guess I haven't mentioned, this was actually your second trip to New Mexico. When you were five or six months old we had taken you out for a visit, so everyone had a chance to see you (and fall in love with you) as a baby. Hopefully it won't be such a large time frame before we go out there again. We had been meaning to go out there earlier, but other things like other vacations, the new house, the renovation, etc just got in the way and time flew by.
Speaking of our last trip, there is this fun statue at the airport, and Dada had me take of picture of you two in front of it. We decided to replicate it this time and it's pretty funny. June 2015 vs. October 2017.
You're turning out to be a great little traveler...especially since we let you watch movies and cartoons on the tablet during the flights, which pretty much never happens at home. I'll take it, if we can get through these flights with few to no tantrums.
Where should we go next, little one?
Love,
Mama
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