Fun Times In New Mexico...

So with James having a 4 day weekend, we decided to head up north and check out Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta that they do every year. Who wouldn't want to see a massive field full of hot air balloons taking off at the same time for some big event? We sure did! So after dropping Obadiah off at his puppy resort, we headed out...

Once we arrived in Albuquerque, I pulled up the event schedule only to realize I didn't pay close enough attention to it...turns out, it didn't start until the next day -- leaving us with an open afternoon/evening. With having already seen that particular city before, we decided what's an extra hour on the road? So we drove up to Santa Fe. Have you been?! We LOVED it! Not only did we finally get to experience real fall weather (it's still in the 90s here in EP!), but it was a beautiful town full of fun shops/restaurants -- not to mention the historical landmarks. We couldn't help but check out one of the famous restaurants that is apparently a hit with Gene Hackman -- Harry's Roadhouse was great!

And, of course, while we were there in the little downtown square, I had to grab a few shots of the Sam-man...

Love those two!

And I'm not sure if you've seen that article floating around about how moms needs to get IN more shots rather than always staying behind the camera, but it was a good reason to hand the camera off to James for a bit...

I could just hug him all day long...

So beautiful there in Santa Fe!

After thoroughly enjoying our unexpected evening there, we got up ridiculously early to head back to Albuquerque to get there in time for the mass ascension. Of course, as luck may have it, we got in town only to see not a balloon in the sky! Turns out, the wind was too rough so they had to cancel all morning events -- such a bummer! That then gave us an excuse to check out Old Town Albuquerque and the Children's Museum there. Can I just say, El Paso has ruined me!!! It was in the 40s that morning and I seriously felt like I was going to freeze to death. I felt like I needed a scarf, gloves and you may as well throw in a big poofy down coat to top it off. Instead, I had a light jacket and walked around acting like I was in the tundra. A wimp...I've become a total wimp with the cold! Whatever will do I when I finally face real winter weather after adjusting to EP? Oh, the joys. Either way, freezing or not, we had fun. And after a little while at Old Town, we warmed up in the museum...which by the way is nothing like the Indy Children's Museum. Apparently, I was spoiled growing up with having the world's largest children's museum at my finger tips -- who knew?! It was still fun nevertheless, and with Samuel being such a little guy, a small museum can go a long way. Oh, sweet Sam. Did I mention how much I love that little man???

To sum up our morning...

We're nerds and find historical buildings fascinating...

And Sam was pretty much in awe of various exhibits at the museum...

With doing such a good job at home of learning how to pick up his toys and put things away, he apparently felt the need to help out at the museum. Upon seeing the train tracks laid out, he immediately ripped them apart and put them in the rubbermaid container, ha. I feel like I have a little Danny Tanner in my house and I love it, haha.

While in the toddler room, James snapped a few shots of us...

Sam thought the spinning ball (I think representing a planet?!) was ah-mazing!

Soon after that, Sam was done and we were ready for lunch. Did I mention, Albuquerque has Jimmy Johns? We LOVE JJ, so whenever we're in a city that has one (assuming we're stuck living somewhere that doesn't), it's a required stop. Who doesn't love a good Vito?! Yum!

With that behind us, we headed over to the Balloon Fiesta for the rest of the day. Due to the morning events getting cancelled, the afternoon parking and admission was free -- can't beat that! It ended up being a very relaxing afternoon and with an open field in front of us and a cute little boy as a subject, I just couldn't resist...

This boy brings us so much joy...

Later on, we sat and enjoyed a live band while waiting for the evening balloon glow and these two cracked me up. James looked like he was mad and Sam...well, Sam was just focused on enjoying that apple and watching his daddy's every move...

This makes me laugh so hard, haha. He claims he wasn't mad, but he sure looks it!

Oh, those eyes...

This was around the time Samuel decided to rock out to some live music...

And after waiting for the final go, they decided that even though the wind was still a risky factor, they went ahead and still did the evening glow...

It was such a fun experience!

With talk of similar weather the next morning -- risking another cancelled event -- we scraped our plans of staying overnight to attempt seeing the launch the next morning and just headed home late that night. We both figured we'll most likely be in El Paso next year and we can try again then. In the meantime, at least we were able to see the evening glow -- so fun!

If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend it! It was something different to do and we're always up for that...