My Vacation to New Mexico

[Editor's note: After a year and a half of having my blog and seeing others posting more than 5 pictures in one post, I have finally figured out how do it myself!!!]

My mom and I left for New Mexico Thursday morning. The driving didn't take as long as we thought it would.

We drove over the Continental Divide

They are hard to see but there are some pretty mesas in the background.

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When we got to Rio Rancho we went to see my second cousin, Dione's family. It was really nice to see them and to spend some time with them. Here are Dani, Eli, Jonah, and Allie making some peanut butter putty.

Oh we're having fun now!

Oh...so clean!!!

Here's Jonah having a ball.

My second cousin, John, my mom, me

John's wife, Dione, my mom, me

Eli, Dani, John, Dione, Jonah, Allie, Caleb (McKenna and Noel were in UT)

Dione and me

We ate dinner with John and Dione (yummy schmishmabogs...no idea how to spell). We talked for a little bit, and then my mom, and I headed to Santa Fe to stay with her cousin Darlene. We got there finally around midnight.

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The next two days we spent on the family book they are putting together for our family reunion next summer. It was nice to see the pictures, the documents, the stories, etc. It now has me excited to keep a history for my family now.

Here are some pictures that I took in Santa Fe. It was so pretty there!

A Beautiful Sunset

This picture and the below two are the pueblo that my mom's cousin lives on (she lives on an indian reservation).

These train pictures are for tourists to look at. We saw them when we went to a Mexican restaurant (which was yummy) in Santa Fe.

This is the Black Butte on the indian reservation. Darlene was telling us that a long time ago the indians were in slavery to a mexican leader called Ornate. The indians got sick of it and held a revolt on this butte. They were victorious and to this day only indians are allowed to walk near this sacred spot.

The sunsets there were absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't help but take all these pictures.

Here's a mesa in the distance from where my mom's cousin lives.

Some lavender in front of my mom's cousin's house.

The view from my mom's cousin's second level deck.

This morning we got up and packed the car. We drove to my mom's cousin's ward for sacrament meeting. It was sooo weird to be in a sacrament meeting with only about fifty people...compared to the 800 that are in my ward at home. It was nice. After sacrament meeting we headed out.

The below pictures were action shots from the car.

One night we took a walk and while we were walking I heard a familiar sound that I haven't heard from when I was on my mission: locusts. They nest in trees and you hear them talking. It was comforting.

Anyway, so I'm home now. Very glad to see Kevin. And ready to go to work tomorrow!!!