The kids are making paracord bracelets for their friends. We have all joined in on the project.
new mexico
The Kid’s New Project
Alien Watch
Roswell New Mexico is know for the supposed flying saucer that crash landed there on July 7th 1947. For what ever reason the government/military did not want to be forthcoming with what the crash landed flyer actually was, which has caused some exaggeration of the story I’m sure. But due to this one event, Roswell has become famous for those interested in researching the possibility of extra terrestrial life. We didn’t go through town when the museum was open, we missed by a few minutes. But since the aliens are everywhere we took some pictures to share with you.

Then a random stop at a convenience store in the middle of no where between Roswell and Albuquerque proved to have some pretty fun stuff.

I bet you can’t tell which are the wood carvings and which are the kids.
-Sarah
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
We just finished hiking through Carlsbad Caverns. It was awe some. So cool to see all the natural formations and pools in the cavern. The kids really enjoyed it and liked the hike. We were a little disappointed that the cafe down in the cavern was closed, but it was still a great experience and one of my favorite national parks yet.
~Chad
White Sands National Monument!
A looooong drive…..7 1/2 hrs south down to White Sands National Monument. We drove through missile test sites, pistachio groves in Alamogordo, lava fields all the way to the bottom of the state, but White Sands was so worth it. I was told it was one of those “been there done that” things….so not. It was like the beach where you could spend hours contemplating life, playing, and you could spend all day just taking in it’s beauty. Due to construction, and it just being a loooong way from Farmington, we didn’t have as much time there as we could have spent. We played in the sand for a little more than an hour then we drove through the whole park enjoying the sight. After that we did our Jr. ranger homework in the museum/visitors center. Now onto Roswell.

Do you see the Great Horned Owl (there is a whole family up there) in the soap tree yucca?
New Mexico Fast Facts
Population
2,085,538 (2012 estimation)
Land Area
121,599 sq. miles making it the fifth largest state in the union behind Alaska, Texas, California, and Montana.
State Capitol
Santa Fe, the oldest government seat in the U.S.
Statehood
New Mexico became a state on January 6th, 1912 making in the 47th state to be admitted to the Union.
Highest Point
Wheeler Peak at 13,161 ft above sea level.
Lowest Point
Red Bluff Reservoir, south east of Carlsbad at 2,842 ft. above sea level.
State Gem
Turquoise (like diamonds to the Native Americans in this area)
State Flower
Yucca
State Tree
Piñon (think pine nuts yummmm)
State Bird
Roadrunner
State Fish
Río Grande Cutthroat Trout (fishing is huge around here)
State Animal
Black Bear
(Information from the complimentary “New Mexico Vacation Guide”
It’s a Good Day for Frisbee (disc) Golf
We all have things that we would like to do in each state, and for Chad it’s Frisbee Golf, which is great because it is a very fun thing to do as a family, and it takes us to places we would not see otherwise. The pictures do not do the course justice. It was so AWESOME! The kids loved it and were so upset when we had to leave early because it was getting too hot for the dog, and we had not packed a lunch. Imagine 27 holes (baskets), of sand stone carved landscape and juniper trees (which would be called bushes in Oregon). It was like a gigantic play ground that we can’t wait to go back to. I am so glad it is close.

So far we have found that the free things to do have been the most fun.
-Sarah
Salmon Ruins and Navajo Lake
An afternoon drive/adventure!
More Indian ruins! There are so many around here, but this time it was Anasazi ruins in Bloomfield NM.

The ruins are named after the original homesteaders pronounced Saul-mon. The original Salmon homestead is still standing next to the ruins.

What appears to be a dugout house was turned into a root cellar.

The trading post and then various types of Native American dwellings for school kids to explore and experience.

The above dwelling is called a pit house, and there were several remains of pit houses on Mesa Verde but none intact. Just the dug out hole, so it was cool to go in one and feel how cool it was even on such a hot day.

Then we drove out to Navajo Lake to check out camping spots for when Suzanne and Jeremy come visit us in a few weeks.
it was a fun family drive, checking out washboard dirt roads with the kids singing “I’ll Fly Away” in the back seat. Now to retire to bed early.
Thank you LORD for the diversity and beauty you created.
-Sarah
Farmington Museum and the Park
We can’t live in Farmington for three months and not visit the Farmington Museum. So this morning we decided on that as our adventure for today. It was a small museum filled mostly with art work, of which the kids had me take pictures of the horses to show Cyrus.

And this one “The Chrysalis” which is how I feel sometimes as the uncomfortable change/situations one must go through that make them into that better person.

After that we hit up the military surplus store and bought some hats to keep the sun out of our eyes and maybe to prevent a little skin cancer on our heads.

Hannah actually got hers at the Grand Canyon but she wanted her picture taken too.
Then we went to Walmart and got our oil changed and ate lunch, finishing up the day with several hours at the park, dinner, and a little Nintendo 64, and talking to Aunt Stephanie and Cyrus on Face time.



























































































