Our Last Day in New Mexico

Yesterday we enjoyed a visit with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Judith. Uncle Kevin is Chris Dad’s twin brother. They look very much alike and the kids at first were a little bit confused. LOL! Uncle Kevin and Aunt Judith have a ranch complete with 400 cattle, a movie star goat, 6 dogs, various cats and of course, horses.

Addie’s dream job is to be a horse rancher and she was thrilled to get to ride on one. So despite the over 100 degree temperature, the kids enjoyed a short horse ride and petting the various animals. Chris and I were glad to catch up with Chris’ Aunt and Uncle as this was the first time we have seen them in 12 years! One of the benefits of traveling all over is getting to visit friends and family. It was a great way to spend our last day in New Mexico.

New Mexico visit in pictures

I thought I'd add a few of our photos from our 2 1/2 weeks in New Mexico.

The kids enjoyed the fishing pond at Beulah...

The boys each caught their first fish!

We also had a nice dip in Cousin Mike's pool.

Chris poolside with Cousin Mike and Great Aunt France



Adelaide enjoying the children's science museum in Albequerque.

Chris braves the high wire bike at the museum.

Beulah

We’ve spent the last two weeks at Beulah, a privately owned guest house for people in full time ministry. We’ve also spent the last two weeks un-plugged. I must confess that I have missed having internet access, but without it I have managed to read 8 books! Besides the mini library here, we have enjoyed fishing and canoeing in the pond and having access to a kitchen. It has also been a nice break from camping, especially as the temperatures have risen up over 105 degrees here in New Mexico!
During our stay we have met several lovely couples. Like the couple who are music ministers and were a delight to our children. They still talk about singing to the catfish in the pond! Another wonderful couple we met here run a children’s home. They were a huge blessing to us as they watched our children while I took Chris to the doctor. Chris seems to have a pinched nerve in his neck. We are praying that the medicine he is on works well and that he doesn’t have a disk problem that may require surgery.
Besides meeting people here at Beulah, we also had the opportunity to visit with some of Chris relatives and family friends. We enjoyed a visit with the Neely’s and a BBQ with his great Aunt Frances and her family. The kids especially enjoyed swimming in Mike’s pool!
Like we have done on many of our stops, we have taken the time for some “field trips”. We discovered another great museum, Explora, a children’s science museum in Albuquerque. The kids enjoyed a flight simulator, designing floating paper cup propellers, and making a stop action film. They also enjoyed the giant marble run and a train set, which have given me some ideas for Christmas gifts. ;) There was even a high wire bicycle that Chris ventured out on!
We are not just vacationing in New Mexico; we have also driven all over the state visiting various churches. We’ve seen some budding new churches, some firmly established works, and met some wonderful people. We’ve made new ministry partners and have enjoyed sharing our heart for the people of Japan.
Our road trip adventure is only halfway over. We have 4 more days in New Mexico. Then we are back to Utah for a few days and on to other states. There is more fun to come!