New Mexico

We had a great long weekend visiting Darren and Brittany (Colby's brother) in Albuquerque.  We went to attend the blessing of their sweet little girl Lizzie, the only grand-daughter in the family.  All of Colby's family was there, with the exception of Derek and Jen who is in her third trimester of pregnancy.  It was fun to see all the family and see where Debra grew up.  It was a trip down memory lane that we were glad to accompany her on.

This was the first time we flew with Hudson, and everything went well.  The flight there was only 30% full, so we were able to take Hudson's carseat on and had multiple empty rows in front and behind us--a great buffer if Hudson got cranky.  We were to fly at 7:30, but it was delayed until after 9pm, so it was well into bedtime.  He drank water from his bottle on the way up to help with his ears, and fell asleep shortly after.  It was so cute watching him when we first got on the flight.  He was so into all the new things to look at--the lights, seat belt, planes out the window--and there was so much he couldn't hardly focus on one thing before moving to the next.  He really was a trooper. Becuase Brittany had a stroller, we didn't bring ours on the plane.  When we landed with a sleeping child in the carseat, we took advantage of an unused wheelchair and let it double for our stroller.  Best idea I've had yet!

In NM, we all stayed at Darren and Brittany's home, which was so nice to all be together.  I loved seeing Hudson's cousins interact with Hudson.  He of course was clueless, but they loved having a cousin to play with.  They even tried to teach Hudson to crawl--adorable! The night before we were there, Kellen arrived and apparently the boys ran past him to the car saying "where's Hudson, where's Hudson?"  Kellen had to deliver the bad news that he wouldn't be there til the following day. On Friday we hung out in the morning (ok, after sleeping in because we ended up having the worst night ever with Hudson's sleeping) and drove around the city in the afternoon, checking out the house Debra grew up in, her schools, hang outs, etc. We attempted to go to dinner at El Pinto, but got there to find over an hour wait, 2 tour busses and multiple couples dressed for prom.  We ate at Red Robin. :)  Really wanting to eat there, we returned the next day for lunch at it did not disappoint.  We did learn how weak we are when it comes to hot food.  We order our food with mild sauces and they still packed a little too much heat! Ha.  We spent the afternoon at the Sandia Tramway that took us up to a peak 10,000 feet up.  We could allegedly see 10% of New Mexico from up there.  It was beautiful.  There is one part where you can walk off the patio type walks over to a rock covered area.  Colby had Hudson in the Bjorn and there was a large dropoff just behind them.  I let him know that as a mother I had to express my concern.  He did what any loving brother (around his brother) would do...took two steps toward the edge! AH!! I cringed and he eventually came back.  They were totally fine, but it kind of made me nervous. Sunday was Lizzie's blessing and a beautiful day.  Colby's uncle Daryl and family flew in for the day and Brittany prepared a beautiful and delicious meal.  We headed out late afternoon and were welcomed home by some friends here in LA who had us for a Cinco de Mayo dinner. Great end to a great trip.

being loved on by his cousins

Sandia Tranway:

 I didn't want to go as far out as Colby was...

 Kellen saved the day when Hudson dropped his ducky under the deck. 

 Lizzie's Blessing Day: