We headed to Raton, NM over Labor Day Weekend for the annual trip to the Whittington Center. The weather was beautiful and we all had a wonderful time. This was the 5th year we've gone.
Great Grandpa Poppy with all his great grand kids
You have to watch that the bears don't eat the little boys. (There is actually a sign behind us that said "Do not feed or touch the bear." Whoops!)
The ladies and kiddos by the Welcome Center/Bookstore/Museum
Our annual picture by the horse. Uncle Ryan had to work this year so he missed out on the picture.
Riding with the scout.
We saw lots of wildlife. There was a mama and twin deer right outside the cabin. We also saw a couple of little horned lizards.
Why do we buy toys when the kids were completely entertained playing in the dirt and with rocks?
Madelyn loves to play in the dirt and sand, but doesn't want to get completely dirty or uncomfortable, so she sat in a chair to play.
The little ones loved playing on Madelyn's bed. They just rolled and bounced all over it. Amelia especially loved to tackle Xavier (he wasn't so hip on it though).
Madelyn Post-Marshmallow. Mommy found some HUGE campfire marshmallows and we never had the opportunity to use them camping, so she finally got to have one on this trip.
The most entertaining part of the trip was Xavier and the grasshopper (or "hopper" as he called it). He LOVES bugs (or "buggies"). He likes to get down and really check them out and touch them. This hopper was half-way dead when he found it. He pushed it around and then picked it up and carried it around. Adriana and Madelyn were just watching, following him around, and laughing. Then they came to tell us that the hopper had pooped in Xavier's hand. The real situation was that Xavier fell and squished the grasshopper in his hand. The girls were grossed out, but it didn't bother the boy a bit. Again, not sure why we spend money on toys.
Our beautiful princess Cinderella
Our little space ranger Buzz Lightyear. He wouldn't stand still for a picture.
All three "kids": Superdog, Cinderella, and Buzz Lightyear.
Ready to go trick-or-treating with his yellow sword light stick.
The princess and her pink wand light stick.
Madelyn and Xavier in their Halloween jammies--lights on,
lights off
Madelyn doing the bean bag toss at our church's harvest party
She must have inherited some fine bowling skills from her mother
Our pumpkins, Potato Head style
Madelyn got to go to the pumpkin patch with her preschool. They did the small maze made out of hay bales.
Then they ventured into the big corn maze. We were part of the last group of seven to emerge from the maze.
Mommy found some awesome deals after Halloween so we had to play dress-up
Our little Woody cowboy
He refers to himself as Woody when he wears this outfit, even without the hat.
