We worked hard, but we played harder

The kids and I headed to Albuquerque after our vacation in Denver to help with a big family project. Like I said, we worked super hard, and incredibly long hours but the kids were AWESOME through the whole thing so we also tried to make an effort to get out and have a little fun. We rolled into town the night of the 4th so we started our trip with a bang. Okay, that was cheesy, but we did do some fireworks with the Goodsons.

After the first few days of work uncle C set up a pool in the backyard where kids, adults, and dogs all had fun. Turns out you don't need a diving board when you have an uncle N. And when things get cold, you just have to be a genius like uncle C to make your own mini hot tubs. If you don't have any personal boundaries, it's even big enough for two.
After a fun night swimming, we wound down with a little backyard sit-in movie. One morning E woke up with the idea of going to a "game store" so we headed to the nickel arcade to see if that sufficed. Uncle C racked up quite the pile of tickets.
Once night Miss A and I went on a little date to eat some BBQ and meet up with one of my good friends (who ironically is Oklahoma but was living in ABQ). Luckily we were able to meet up before she moved away from ABQ so I could meet her CUTE little boy.

Br flew into town to spend the weekend with us and drive back to OKC. We saved the best for last. E also had a request to ride a merry-go-round so we headed to a tiny amusement park that I hadn't been to since I was in middle school. It was interesting to see some of the same things still around from when I was a kid and it was really fun to ride some new rides with my sister. My little thrill seekers had an awesome time too.
Let me just say that there is nothing more amusing than watching kiddie bumper cars. I think overall what I'll remember about this past trip were these good memories and especially how happy my kids are to be around their family.