Glasses

I have been getting headaches a lot, especially when I use my phone for long periods of time (and not just for talking).  I went to the eye doctor and he said I could use some glasses for reading.  He also suggested my eyesight was going to be getting worse soon as I got older. 

Incidentally, since then, they don't make a huge difference in my headaches, but if one is coming on, I still wear them.

Fishing

One of the favorite things at the cabin is always fishing.  This year did not disappoint.  The kids all enjoyed it.  We went out a few times on the pontoon boat, and a couple of times on the jon-boat.

 Adam learned how to tie on his own hooks and lures and threaded his own worms this year. 

 Nate was always worm guy.  He really enjoyed breaking the worms in half and handing them to the person baiting the hook.

 I find it is often best to be extra safe around water. 

We practiced catch and release since no one much enjoys eating trout.

Visiting Aunt Tammy

On the way home from the cabin, we stopped in Phoenix to visit Aunt Tammy.  It was great to see her new house and her new baby.  The kids enjoyed playing with their cousin, Natalie- and it was funny, she kept saying things like...the one with glasses or the youngest one...  I think Tammy was a little overwhelmed with the amount of energy (and noise) that 3 boys can produce, but hey, at least I stopped at 4!

White Sands, New Mexico

On the way home from visiting my parents this year, we stopped at White Sands, New Mexico.  It isn't far out of the way on our trip, so I thought it would be fun to visit, and I thought the kids would really enjoy it too.  Turns out, it was a little farther out of our way than I originally thought- an hour each way, but the kids absolutely LOVED it.  When you first drive in, you are on a paved road, and then suddenly, the pavement ends and you are driving on plowed sand roads.  It looks just like snow, but it is not wet or cold.  The farther in you go, the less plants there are on the dunes and the more pristine they look.  It was beautiful.

 

 We stopped at the visitor's center where they sell plastic sleds that you can use to slide down the sand.  We found our own sand dune and tried it out.  The kids found it was fun to sled, but it isn't all that fast, but you could also run and jump down into the sand, and that is a ton of fun.  I had fun taking pics of the kids doing crazy poses on the sand. 

 

 They also found it was fun to log roll down the sand. 

 

 

Here's a video of the sledding so you can believe it actually happens.

It was well worth the extra trip, and the kids all thoroughly enjoyed it.  When we got back to the car, I made the kids each give me their shorts and I dumped cups of sand out of each one.  I still have a lot of sand in my van, but it brings back good memories.