For my parents' 40th wedding anniversary this summer, their primary wish was to have all the family gather in Albuquerque for a week. It was a great excuse to be together! Jason and I were especially looking forward to a getaway after our crazy past few months filled with moving details. We left for Albuquerque on a Friday morning and caravaned with Matt and Kim along the way. We spent one overnight in a hotel. The boys were absolutely thrilled that we had the chance to go swimming AND that we allowed them to jump on the hotel beds. :)
We arrived in Albuquerque on Saturday in time for a late lunch. After naptime, we filled the rest of the day with cousin playtime! Grammy and Papa's shady yard was so comfortable even in the middle of the day. We spent lots of time outdoors...
...and then cooled off with freeze pops. Yum!
Grammy and Papa brought out all kinds of indoor activities, mostly toys from our childhood. Kim, Andrew, and I had fun reminiscing as we watched our little ones play with these toys.
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| Fisher-Price buildings and vehicles |
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| a marble ramp built by Amy's Grandpa Sylvester |
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| Tinker Toys! |
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| baby dolls |
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| Legos |
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| lots of books |
That evening, Albuquerque received one of its common summer showers. Abby (the family rain-lover) led the way on this drenching party in the rain.
After everyone was all dried off, Uncle Andrew read a few bedtime stories to our boys.
The next morning while waiting for church, Cody, Ian, and Abby attempted a piano trio... using only their elbows. :)
Most days we had planned one special outing to get out into the community a bit and to give the kids something extra to do. Here Abby, Ian, Cody, and Jaden wait excitedly for our first outing....
...a ride on the Sandia Peak Tramway! This tramway has the claim-to-fame of being the longest aerial tramway in North America. The nearly 3-mile long ride takes only 15 minutes, and the views are just gorgeous! We figured that our kiddos would enjoy the experience, and it had been years since the rest of us had ridden the tram.
Unfortunately, lots of other tourists had the same idea about how to spend their Sunday evening, so the wait was rather long. We passed the time by watching for the tram coming down the mountain...
(I always think these 3 could pass as triplets!)
...and by playing fun games with Uncle Andrew.
Finally, our tram ride began! We got excellent viewing spots for the kids.
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| Abby, Ian, Cody |
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| Daddy and Jaden |
The view really is captivating! :)
Once we got to the top (an elevation of over 10,000 ft), we took a ton more scenic family photos. I just love the Albuquerque landscapes!
The ski area on the back side of the mountain was obviously not operational in the summertime, but the views here were nice too.
We hiked a short distance along some of the forest trails and took a few more family photos.
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| the happy anniversary couple! |
Our wait time to get down the mountain was even longer than the wait to ascend. Thankfully, every backpack was full of snacks, so this passed the time quite well. :)
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| Cody enjoys a snuggle with his Papa. |
Even with the long wait times, the trip on the tram was definitely worth taking. We loved the gorgeous views of God's creation! What a fun memory for our little ones!
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