TWENTY-TWO and TWENTY-THREE

Annual Memorial Day Crawdad boil and Crawdad dive.

2024 weeks twenty-two and twenty-three

I could not convince her that these glasses were the worst. She said, "No, I look just like Cyclops from X-men." That doesn't make it better! After giving her a good tease, this strong amazing woman-child said, "I don't actually care what people think. Luna Lovegood would wear silly glasses if she liked them and wouldn't care what anyone thinks!" 

Thursday night, after my last day of work, we got in the car and drove overnight to New Mexico. Our first stop was Carlsbad Caverns. 

It was a beautiful way to start our "Erosion Road Trip." I kept trying to get this to catch on, but more appropriately this road trip should have been named "The Gift Shop Road Trip of the Southwest."

Pistachio Land was such an excellent recommendation. It was the perfect stop for a delicious pistachio ice cream before we went to...

White Sands! 

Over our Hotel breakfast we met a really nice band of motorcyclists doing a cross-country road trip on their bikes. They have done motorcycle trips across the US, Canada, Australia and Europe. They had some great stories to tell, then they let the kids sit on their bikes for a photo.

Our next big stop was Petrified Forest National Park. It was so much cooler than just the petrified trees. It is well worth a visit.

Navajo Tacos. 

We got to the Grand Canyon too late to watch the sunset and I was almost deterred by the 5:15 sunrise time, but I woke up early enough anyway to watch the sun rise up over the South Rim. 

Even though everyone else got more sleep than I did, I'm so glad I got to stand there in the cool morning air and watch the canyon light up. 

We met Matt's cousin and her family at the Grand Canyon for three days of cousin fun time. Just like in Belgium, the cousins were the main attraction for my kids. 

I was not inclined to stand this close to the edge to be in this family photo. 

Theo and V got a digital camera this spring, and it was really fun for them to be able to take their own photos of things. 

V kept buying flutes as her souvenirs. You can see how thrilled Theo is by this. 

After hiking twice in one day, my children were not in the best of moods. Matt very generously fed them pbj in the hotel room while I had dinner alone. It was delightful. 

I got to see the sunrise, so Matt and his cousin went to see the sunset. 

Our last Grand Canyon stop: the Watchtower. 

I was delighted by all the beautiful flowers we saw on this trip. 

V chose to pose like this at Horseshoe bend. 

How the cousins waited for anything on the trip. Any pole is a maypole if you want it to be. 

Our last big stop was Antelope Canyon. 

We probably took more photos here than for the rest of the trip combined. It was a quarter mile of magic. 

Here we are at one of the most beautiful natural wonders on earth and my son just wants to dig in the sand. 

There were so many moonflower plants dotted among the red rocks. 

On our way home we stopped at Four Corners. 

The highlight of this trip for Theo was this insane rock shop in Albuquerque called Mama's Minerals. 

The long drive home. 

Kip was spoiled rotten while we were away. She came home filled up on snuggles. 

On Saturday, the kids had their first swim meet for the summer. 

It was a long day and they were both so nervous to compete but ended up having a blast. 

Matt's artwork will be displayed in the Flower Mound Community Activity Center for the month of June. Very exciting. 

Quotes

Theo -"Yeah well you can't be talking."

Vera- "Yes I can. I have a mouth."

Theo- "This donkey needs a fashionable hat." What that could possibly be, I don't know.