Heading Home...

We left Ruidoso early the next morning and headed to Alpine, we decided to break up the drive by stopping at White Sands again. Last time we were there play time got cut short by the storm so the boys were pleased. We arrived in Alpine, swam at the hotel and then had dinner next door. We got up and had breakfast - this is one of our kids favorite things to do at the hotels - choose whatever they want for breakfast! The drive today would get us home but we decided to stop at Balmorhea again to swim for a bit. We had sunshine/heat this time which made it much better! Lunch in the car, movies, nap and we made it home about 8pm. We were thankful to be home safely and to have had such a great time together as a family.

Reese had more fun in the sand this time around...

 it was HOT!

the boys, chasing catfish...

Ruidoso

The next morning we got up and headed to Ruidoso. Unfortunately Braden woke up sick, he threw up on and off the whole way there :( We went to Ski Apache to ride the gondola. When we arrived he was feeling better (fresh air) and decided to ride up to the top with everyone. Once to the top Kurt, Truitt and Blake hiked up to the lookout point....we stayed put and Braden was sick again.
Braden, Reese and I rode the gondola down while the guys hiked down. We got to the car and had a snack and read a book. We were reading a great book, Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong. It was hard to put down! It is about a lost boy of Sudan and his life journey, how he was taken at the age of six, escaped his kidnappers only to end up in a refugee camp for 10 years. He tells how he came to the US and eventually became an Olymipc athlete - AH-mazing story. Anyway, we read a few chapters together (I read aloud a lot of this trip, it was fun) and just talked - it was nice other than the fact he felt so poorly. It started raining just as the guys made it down and we went to our hotel. Kurt and the kids went in search of a laundry mat and played putt putt while Braden and I stayed at the hotel. Thankfully Braden felt better the next day - a brand new kid. We did the Billy the Kid scenic route. It was ok, the kids weren't that into it but they entertain themselves so it was fine. We had a picnic in the small town of Lincoln, grabbed some ice cream and then headed back into town. We went to the putt putt place and did race cars and bumper boats. It was fun and we ended the day on the floor in the hotel room eating pizza and talking about our "favorite things" from our trip so far. Heart = full.

We found a nice green space for a picnic while walking in Lincoln

 Braden had that smile the WHOLE time. Reese/I and Kurt/Blake rode the second round, it was fun!

 Reese and I sat this one out...that water was cold! It was fun to watch :)

City of the Rocks and White Sands

Next day we were up and headed to City of the Rocks. The boys had a battle with cap guns, Reese and I putted around then we had a picnic. Afterwards we headed for White Sands and then on to Cloudcroft to eat and stay the night. It was much cooler there, very nice! It is odd to drive through desert like conditions and then next thing we know we're headed through a national forest on our way to Cloudcroft.

 scorpion

 White Sands...boys had a blast! Reese and I slid down a few times too.

 There was a storm headed our way but we played for an hour before it arrived

 Blake just before he had a mouth full of sand

the clean up :)