ABQ Trip - Last Day

On our last day in Albuquerque, we visited an alpaca ranch. I had never before known the differences between alpacas and llamas, so the trip was actually very informative.

Our visit began with a brief talk by the ranch owner. She told us how alpacas are roughly half the size of llamas (150 lbs. compared to 300+). Also, alpaca fleece is very soft and luxurious, making for wool that is quite expensive! Products made from alpaca wool are apparently very thermally efficient and don't cause allergic reactions on the skin. This owner spins and sells her own wool. Hearing about the process was quite impressive!

The rest of our visit we spent out in the pens with the alpacas. The animals were surprisingly tame and didn't mind all the attention by little ones! I think this ranch gives tours fairly often and frequently has preschool visitors, so I'm sure the animals are used to little fingers. :)

Some of the animals were particularly friendly and seemed to want our attention.

My good friend Tyler accompanied our family on this outing and found a new friend! :)

After our initial introductions to the alpacas, we got a chance to feed them. The animals, of course, loved this!

Check out brave little Abby!

I think I remember the owner saying that these two alpacas were twins...

Our last alpaca activity was taking one of the animals around the pen for a short walk. Interestingly, the alpaca allows the leash-holder to stand only on his left side. Any other way will confuse him. We gave this animal lots of exercise with every child wanting to walk him at least twice! :)

Uncle Andrew and Jaden

Aunt Sarah and Cody

Grammy and Jaden

"Auntie" Tyler and Cody

Papa and Jason

 At the very end of our visit, the kids fed the fish in the pond...

...and then we received finger puppets made from alpaca wool.

Back at Grammy and Papa's home, the afternoon activities included doing a nature scavenger hunt-- finding sticks, stones, leaves, and various colors in nature...

(This picture cracks me up! Can you just sense Abby's excitement?)

...and digging for more buried treasure.

Eureka!

The kids, of course, enjoyed their downtime, too-- collecting and observing snails, 

reading books,

trying on Aunt Sarah's fun homemade animal masks, 

and just playing with toys.

Since our family had to leave town before the others, we were unable to celebrate the 4th in Albuquerque. Uncle Andrew (never one to pass up a fireworks opportunity!) graciously brought out some of the fireworks for us to enjoy a few days early. We started with these snappers which were a big hit!

 Then we lit some morning glories (although rain started sprinkling down so the wind and rain made it a bit difficult).

Once the little burst of rain stopped, Uncle Andrew lit a few larger fireworks for us on the street. Cody and Jaden preferred sitting with Daddy at a safe distance. (They have a bit of their Mommy in them!)

Uncle Andrew has been a fireworks-lover for as long as I can remember. He always treats us to a great show!

We thoroughly enjoyed our week with the Walquist family. Grammy and Papa did a great job of brainstorming fun new experiences for us, and they filled their home with all kinds of kid-friendly toys and activities. I love, too, that the older our boys get, the more relaxing our vacations are again! Thanks, Grammy and Papa, for being an excellent vacation destination! We love you!

Grammy and Papa with their 6 grandkids