Greetings from New Mexico

We left bright and early on Monday morning to head to New Mexico. Reed picked Abbey some flowers. These are Cosmos that I grew from seeds last year that apparently reseed for the next year.



All three boys were thrilled about the plane ride.



Our flight went from Nashville to Houston to Dallas to Albuquerque! It was a long haul!



The boys were troopers though. They did great.





Nash gets excited about anything that Reed gets excited about.



He is just so doggone cute!







The boys did like changing up where they were seating and even though they love the idea of using a public restroom, I'm not sure that they realized there were potties on the plane because they never asked to go.



Our first night in New Mexico we ate at restaurant called Maria's. It was delicious!



On my lunch break from teaching, I took the boys out on the paddle boats. Notice my side is much further in the water. I needed some more weight on the other side.



Then I took the on the Kayak. Abbey and Will hung out on the pier.



They boys loved their travels.



They have decided that their new favorite sport is putt putt.





After some putt putt, Reed practiced his photography skills. He took some pretty good shots.



Doesn't Abbey look good. She is exercising, eating right, and looking smokin' hot!



Last night we went to Harry's Roadhouse with Uncle Bill.



They have a stream running through the patio. The boys loved it. Until these older little girls came by.



There is more to tell you, but I'm too sleepy! Just enjoy this update for now!

The Weekend Update

Finally, after almost a year, we are getting into a better rhythm with bedtime.



If you have followed this blog for longer than five minutes, you know that Abbey and I have always struggled with the best way to put our kids to sleep.



Several months ago, we got Will into a really good sleep routine. He sleeps well. All night. That's something that we have STILL not been able to accomplish with Reed.



This past week, we have decided to try to get Reed and Nash out of the routine of us laying down in the bed with them. So far, it's been pretty good.



Last night they even slept in their beds the ENTIRE night long. That is the next item up for discussion.



Before we got the younger boys, we had taught Reed to sleep in his own bed through a series of firmly bringing him back to his bed and also a reward system. However, that quickly fizzled when we traveled to get the little boys.



This weekend has been a blur of planning, packing, cleaning, and church.



Friday evening, we cleaned the house. We cleaned and we cleaned. The boys were so sweet. They really wanted to help. Reed helped me scrub the toilets and wash the sinks and tubs.



Then, he and Nash helped dust the furniture. They would love to help with the vacuum, but I'm just not ready for that yet.



Yesterday, Abbey woke up and ran a 5K. I am so proud of her. She is doing so well with exercising and also weight loss. She has lost 26 pounds! That is excellent. I wish that I could say that I was doing the same!



When she got home, she mowed the yard (part of her weight loss plan is to burn calories! that means she has CHOSEN to take over mowing the yard!). After she finished mowing, I went outside to weed the flowerbeds and trim the hedges.



Abbey took the big boys to see Cars 2 yesterday afternoon. Will and I had some rare time to just ourselves.



Today, we had church and then went to eat at Otters.



Now, I've got to go help Abbey finish packing.

North Carolina, 32, and Craft Day

We went to North Carolina last weekend for me to teach at Sunday School weekend at Ridgecrest. The boys were thrilled for 2 reasons: 1. Uncle Bill went with us and 2. We stayed in a hotel (Reed LOVES hotels!).



Little brother Nash is learning to love the same things that Reed loves, so the whole hotel idea was pretty exciting for him.



Will was just along for the ride.



We paid a little extra to have a suite so the boys would have space to run around.



On Monday, I turned 32.



My thoughtful family had a little surprise party for me at Chick-fil-a on Tuesday night. We had blackberry cobbler that was delicious, a chocolate chip cookie cake, and homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Michelle made the yummy ice cream.



The boys also had "Craft in Your Undies" time with mom.



Will, realizing that he wasn't going to get to participate, decided he would leave his clothes on.





He did, however, participate in the cheezits for snack time.



Nash was very serious about his artwork.



Reed employed the two hand technique used by all modern artists.



Nash wanted to perfect his stroke.



Will wanted to waddle in the paint.



But took pleasure in the fact that mom served food.



I think that we know who our more detail-oriented son will be.





On Monday, we are flying to New Mexico. My mom thinks it is funny that last year I posted that we would probably not ever travel again and we travel all the time.



We are excited to take the boys to New Mexico. There will be lots of time for them to explore.