Day 1,12/28 - Our first stop was in Payson, AZ where we let the kids play in the little bit of snow we found and ate lunch.
We braved the west Texas wind and also made a stop at The Cadillac Ranch. Another Amarillo tourist attraction that I had seen all my years there, but never walked up to it. We were all SOOOOOOO cold. That wind is killer! It's custom to spray paint your name on the Cadillacs, so we found some spray paint cans (they are EVERYWHERE) and added our signatures to the layers and layers already there.
From Amarillo we headed 1.5 hrs south to stay with my Uncle Willy & Aunt Mary Jane and their girls. They used to watch Paul (my brother) & me a lot. So it's always fun to visit them. The last time we had seen them Audrey was almost 2 years old, so it had been a long time! We stayed the night on 12/30 & also 12/31. We had good food and conversation and watched the ball drop to ring in the new year. The kids were having a blast playing with my cousin Micaela who is just a year or so older than Audrey.
Day 5, 1/1/14 - New Years day we made the quick trip a little further south to Lubbock, TX where my Grandma Cruz was staying with my cousin Joe Louis and his family. New Years Day is also my Grandma Cruz's birthday. LOTS of my mom's family came to celebrate. It was so great to see MANY cousins, aunts and uncles. Some I hadn't seen since we moved to AZ in '93! Again, I was not good at making sure we got pictures. My uncle Greg was snapping a lot, I should get some from him. After my Grandma's party we drove over to my dad & Andrea's house, just a quick drive from my cousin's. They had just gotten home from a trip to VA, so we ended the night with a little chatting and straight to bed.
Day 6, 1/2 - My dad was feeling kind of sick, but the rest of us headed to lunch and spent the afternoon at the American Wind Power Center & Museum. It actually was really neat to check out all the different windmills. They even had a train set up inside for the holidays and the workers let Audrey & Owen have a turn operating it.
Even though our trip ended a bit short by 3 sick kids, we were so grateful to make the trip safely and enjoy time with family and friends. It was long overdue! We hope to make it back sooner than the 6 years since our last visit.
After lunch we made our way through AZ to New Mexico. We stopped in Gallup, NM to fuel up. We had 2 men stop us to ask for money while stopping quickly to change a diaper and take a picture, we hurried out of there! Later we were told that you should never stop there, so many people have had bad luck with car trouble, or stuff like we experienced. Noted for future trips.
Day 1 of our road trip ended with dinner and stay in Albuquerque. The kids favorite thing was saying Albu-queR-que. Audrey couldn't get over how you spelled it and so Owen thought it was funny too. They would say it and just laugh and laugh. We staying in Uptown ABQ though we didn't get to enjoy much of it, we ate dinner out and went to sleep.
Day 2, 12/29 - We weren't there long, but on our way out the next morning we make a quick stop to the Albuquerque Temple. The kids loved walking around the grounds and having it all to ourselves. It was cold and windy!
Next stop was my birthplace of Amarilllo, TX. We met up with 3 of my elementary/middle school friends and their kiddos. It was fun to see everyone after so long, even though we have seen each other's families grow in pictures on facebook.
Day 3, 12/30 - We also made sure to visit with my Aunt Robin & Aunt Lynette. And I should have been good and got pictures of them and the kids, but I didn't. On our way out of Amarillo we made a stop at my Grandma Giberson's gravesite, I hadn't ever made it to see it before, since the funeral of course. It was just a sweet little stop, Audrey's middle name is Eileen named after my grandma. And Owen too, Owen was her maiden name. The inscription "She wore out two hearts for us" is because she had a heart transplant, when I was very small.
After that stop I decided we should do touristy Amarillo things that I had never done. So we ate at The Big Texan, home of the Free 72oz steak if you eat it and all the sides in 1 hour! No, we didn't step to the challenge!
Day 5, 1/1/14 - New Years day we made the quick trip a little further south to Lubbock, TX where my Grandma Cruz was staying with my cousin Joe Louis and his family. New Years Day is also my Grandma Cruz's birthday. LOTS of my mom's family came to celebrate. It was so great to see MANY cousins, aunts and uncles. Some I hadn't seen since we moved to AZ in '93! Again, I was not good at making sure we got pictures. My uncle Greg was snapping a lot, I should get some from him. After my Grandma's party we drove over to my dad & Andrea's house, just a quick drive from my cousin's. They had just gotten home from a trip to VA, so we ended the night with a little chatting and straight to bed.
Day 6, 1/2 - My dad was feeling kind of sick, but the rest of us headed to lunch and spent the afternoon at the American Wind Power Center & Museum. It actually was really neat to check out all the different windmills. They even had a train set up inside for the holidays and the workers let Audrey & Owen have a turn operating it.
That night our kids had a rough one, Owen had a fever and a bad cough. Alison didn't sleep well and started to get that nasty croupy cough and the night was awful with her and Owen having trouble breathing. Audrey seemed ok, but started to cough too.
Day 7, 1/3 - We headed to breakfast at the Cast Iron Grill, which was right next to the Buddy Holly Museum, we didn't go in but got a cute picture of the kids in the big glasses. We were planning to stay another night, but decided we just didn't want to be so far from home with 3 sick kids. After breakfast we said goodbye and made the 12 hour drive home straight through with 3 sick kids. We did a couple quick stops and one that included stopping at White Sands. We will definitely stop there sometime when we don't have sick kids.
Even though our trip ended a bit short by 3 sick kids, we were so grateful to make the trip safely and enjoy time with family and friends. It was long overdue! We hope to make it back sooner than the 6 years since our last visit.
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