Albuquerque Bio-Park

Okay so we'd been here 8 months & had yet to go to the zoo in Albuquerque. Well we did something about that Sunday. The Rio Grande Zoo has something for everyone. There is a botanical garden, an aquarium & a train that connects it all. We started out at the zoo then caught the train & headed over to the aquarium. Which by the way was very cool for a small place. They had a big o' shark tank & a real life shrimp boat (from Texas) on display outside. We watched the botanical garden from the train (very pretty) & then headed back to the zoo. All in all a very pleasant Sunday afternoon.

Mason is amused by the giraffes.

Eric feeds a giraffe!

waiting on the train...

the lion wants Eric for a snack

"Hey, how did you get up there?"

Animals...

These are just a few of the animals that the kids got a kick out of. I'd post more but there simply isn't enough room!

young giraffe, mom & dad were MUCH taller.

kangaroo, chillin after lunch.

emu, it was 'drummin' up a storm.

the pelican grooms himself.

his home is at the aquarium outside by the shrimp boat from Texas!

this is one big turtle. he's in the shark reef tank & poor guy only has one good eye!

Shark Reef Cafe

At the end of the aquarium tour they have this fabulous little resteraunt called Shark Reef Cafe. We decided to sit down for a bite of lunch. As luck would have it our table was right next to the glass to see the shark reef. Really great to keep the kidos entertained!

a HUGE stingray that resides in the shark reef.

we watched him make several "laps" past the window.

there he goes, look at that tail!!

a very curious fish, but which one?

pretty fish.

Mason plays pee-pie with Daddy. Yes, not a fish but way too cute to not post.

Just A Little Walk In The Park

One pretty day last week the boys & I decided to head out on foot. Well, me on foot, them in the stroller. We headed to Sonic, the ATM, Post Office drop box & to the park closest to our home. I sure hope the kids enjoyed themselves cause pushing 50+ lbs up & down hills wasn't all that fun for me!! ha ha ha

Hinkle Family Fun Center

Ya'll remember a place in South Austin called Celebration Station (gone long ago)? Well, we got a place in Albuquerque called Hinkle Family Fun Center (think C.S. but bigger & better). We decided to check it out a couple of weeks ago with a couple of friends & we all had a blast (including Mason!). They've got go-karts, bumper boats, putt-putt, climbing wall, paintball, laser tag, bumper cars & tons of arcade games. We did it all, Mason even got to ride in the bumper boats with me & a life jacket, of course. Eric had a smile on his face the whole day & really enjoyed the putt-putt & laser tag. He wanted to participate in the paintball with Daddy & Bryan but he's just not big enough or old enough yet. (Thank God, I'm sure not ready for him to do that yet!)

Danny & Eric in the bumper boats



ATTACK!! (Danny & Eric, Bryan, Robin)


Robin & Eric in the go-karts


Eric loves the bouncy house!


and the putt-putt!! (Peter Pan
here we come!)

How To Make A Homemade Tent

Supplies needed:
1 twin size sheet
2+ chairs
or
1 wall & 1 sofa

So about a month or two ago we had a scheduled power outage to repair some damage caused by a thunderstorm. Well, I somehow got the little one down to sleep before hand but the big one was too excited about the lights going out to lay down. Soooo, we built a tent. I haven't made a tent from a sheet & chairs since I was a kid, but Eric sure seemed to like it. Since then we have come up with a better version that hangs in the corner. (Tent building still has to be done while the little one is asleep or he pulls it down. Ha ha ha, I guess that's what little brothers are for!)

Tent version 1.0


finally fell asleep!!


Tent version 2.0


he's very happy with the new one!


little brother!!! (just about
to pull it down)

Kiddo Update 8/13 & 8/26

*Note: This post was started on 8/13/08, I just didn't have the pictures I wanted to use so it didn't get posted. Not much has changed except Mason is now 3 WEEKS from turning 1 year old! My,my how the time does fly!!

Since I hadn't done an update on the little ones lately I guess now would be a good time to do so. Both the boys are doing good. Mason just went to the doctor last week for his 9 month checkup (yes, he's 10 1/2 months old, long story) and got a clean bill of health. He's weighting in at a whopping 21 lbs, 6oz & is standing 30 1/4 in tall. He is in the 50th percentile for his weight & the 75th percentile for his height. Woo-hoo, maybe we have a chance of having a tall child! And it won't be long now & we are gonna have us a walker on our hands! In the last week or so, he has begun taking a single step or two and he can stand up in the middle of the room on his own for about 30 seconds or so.

8/26/08: I wanted to do an update on Eric while I was at it. So I weighed & measured him today. He weighs in at a whopping 32 lbs (11 lbs more than Mason) & is 39.5" tall (only 9.25" more than Mason)!! My poor little string bean, it won't be long & little brother is gonna be the bigger brother. I tell you what, he may be small but the boy is smart & has the memory of an elephant!! He can recite word for word almost any commercial he's heard. It's funny listening to a 4 yr. old talk about 5 hour energy!! And he's coming along quite nicely with his ABC's & 123's. He can recognize all his numbers up to 10 & most of his letters (especially the ones in his name, ha ha ha). Not much else going on right now, just hanging tight till we get ready to move back to Texas. (Eric can't wait to get back to have his & Mason's b-day party. Better late than never, I guess.) =)

as soon as he sees the camera come out, he
posses for it.


this ones after me anytime he sees the camera.