Spring Break in New Mexico!!

We haven't really done anything as a family- just our little family ever!  So, we decided that for Spring Break this year, we were going to do something fun.  Problem is, everything is SO expensive, and we don't really have the funds to be able to go and stay in a hotel somewhere for a long time, so I asked around and Emerson and Tina Lomaquahu- some of the BEST people in our ward- have a time share all around and they had one that they were not using in Angel Fire, New Mexico, so they let us transfer it to our name and we were able to go!  It was SOOO much fun!  The only problem was, when we got there to New Mexico, the WHOLE town of Angel Fire was basically shut down!  The ski resort had closed down just the weekend before, because most of the snow had melted.  So, after they close down the resort (which the whole town is centered around) the whole town takes about 2 weeks off before the summer stuff starts up!  We just happened to come right when everything was closed down.  Doh!  It was alright though.  We still had SO much fun just being together as a family!  We stayed in a fun little condo right by the ski resort.  There wasn't a whole lot to do while we were there, but we made the most of it.  We went on walks around the town, found some fun playgrounds, went swimming at the local country club (when I called the resort, they told me that because the ski resort was closed, there would be not much to do, but we could always go swimming at the pool at the hotel just a couple of blocks away from our condo. When we got there, the lady at the front desk told me that the hotel pool was CLOSED!  I was so bummed, but we were able to go to the local Country Club each day for a few hours and swim, and that seemed to be enough for the kids.  They sure love to swim!  The other bummer about the pool was that Stockton couldn't go swimming!  so- we had to have one of us stay out of the water while the other one swam with the kids.  We still had a LOT of fun though!  Lincoln is becoming quite the little swimmer!  Such a cutie pie.  Because it was our first time swimming, Payton and Morgan were a little bit nervous, but also, because we were in swim lessons at the time, they were excited to be able to show off their new skills!   Cole had to work a little bit while we were there because we spent so much time there- almost a whole week!- so we spent a bunch of time at the condo just relaxing, and watching movies, and things like that.  The kids were in HEAVEN!  It was so much fun just being there together. The kids did not fight too much- just enough to make each other a bit crazy!  Haha.  The best thing though was just being together for so long!  It was lovely.  So- here are some pictures of our crazy fun trip!  Yahoo!

Lincoln was working on his Flat Stanley project for school, so we took pictures of Flat Stanley all over wherever we went.  It was so fun to see him do this project!

Stockton had a lot of fun crawling around the pool making mischief!

We did a LOT of this!  Ha!

And this...this was probably at noon or so.  Lotta just hangin.

Morgan really enjoying her Strawberry Shortcake

Such good lookin kiddies!

We were able to drive into Taos one afternoon and we drove up into the ski resort just wanting to look around. It was really warm, but we were able to sled for a couple of hours!  We had SOO much fun!  Again, we didn't really feel like we could bring Stockton along, so I tubed with the kids, and Cole hung with Stock-o.  We didn't have any of our snow stuff- we did have some hats, and a few pairs of gloves, but we were quite warm and the kids had a GREAT time!  Payton got a bit tired after a little while but Lincoln went strong the whole time!  Of course, Morgan went strong as well, but that's because she was being pulled around the whole time! 

I LOVE this picture!  Probably my favorite one of the whole trip.

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Stockton liked to sit in his tube- he thought it was pretty sweet!

Payton hung in his tube for quite some time.  He's so silly. 

We have 4 kids.  just sayin.

We went on a fun hike near our condo- the kids had a great time!

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Peek-a-boo!

We had a fun time at the park near the swimming pool. The kids love a good park!

SwIIING!!!!

 

We had an ice cream party on our last night, and the kids were pretending to be the Statue of Liberty. Hehe

On the way back home, we decided to drive through the Great Sand Dunes National Park and stayed the day.  We had a great time!  There was no water this time when we went, but it was still a great time anyways. 

Again with the free rides!  ;)

I have 4 kids- just sayin.

We had a great time running down the hills!

Christmas Card?  Can you see our name written in the sand!?!

My baby turns ONE!!!!

Stockton turned ONE on March the 17th!  What the devil?!  I say this about all of my babies when they have birthdays, but really... he was JUST BORN!!!  I could NOT love this kid more!  He is the happiest, most loving, carefree, gummy, cutest child EVER!  I seriously can NOT get enough of him!  He is such a stud.  He is so calm, happy, and just all around pleasant!  By the time I get around to Stockton's Birthday though, I was a big burned out of birthdays!  He's the last one in a long line of celebrations, and he suffered.  It's a good thing hes only ONE and doesn't remember!  He doesn't have any friends anyways except for his family!  so we had a really fun family celebration complete with cake and ice cream, and let's be honest- that's all he wants anyways!  It's funny, looking back to both Lincoln and Payton's first birthdays'.  We had a HUGE to-do with Lincoln for his birthday, complete with lots of presents and stuff- Payton's party was a bit lesser, Morgans was even less- and poor Stockton didn't get much at all!  Oh, poor 4th child.  Don't you worry your pretty little head though!  he didn't suffer too bad!  Here are some really fun pictures to prove it!  We love you Stock-o and are SOO glad that you are a part of our family!  It would not be the same without you, and we love you more each day!

He had LOTS of help opening his presents!  He was even able to open up a present all the way from Germany!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

 

Stockton is real into Cars and Balls right now, and the kids wanted me to make him some car cakes, so who am I to say no to that?!  I always have a lot of fun making the kids their cakes for their birthdays!

We thought his cake looked like Guido or Luigi from CARS!

I LOVE this picture!  He is So excited to get this cake in his belly!

He didn't seem to have much of a problem with eating his cake.  He screamed when it was gone!

Chubby little hands...love them!

The doting brothers!  Cutest boys ever.