The Lee Family: Off to Santa Fe

Lincoln was awake and upstairs first with Olivia, who still had the remnants of her flower face paint on her forehead, however, it had faded so it looked sort of odd. We had wake Sofia up since she didn't get a very good night of sleep. We packed up our bags and carried them downstairs to be put into Aunt Cathy's car. CK and Uncle Eric drove to Corner Bakery for bear claws and breakfast treats. Uncle Eric had told us how great the bear claws are from Corner Bakery, so we had to try it out for ourselves. While they were gone, Jason, April, Hayes and Leah all came over to say their goodbyes and to hang out before we headed to Santa Fe. Once they were back, the girls got dressed and we grabbed a few breakfast sweets for the road. We said our goodbyes to everyone (Chris, Jackie and kids arrived just before we left) and Uncle Eric drove us to the airport.

We loaded up and headed to Santa Fe where we planned to stay with Aunt and Uncle until Friday morning. The flight went well and Olivia and I slept like puppies in the backseat. Surprisingly, Sofia never slept but read or talked with CK the entire trip. I knew she was really tired after the short night of sleep. We arrived at the Santa Fe airport, loaded up the rental car and headed into town. We called Uncle Steve and made a plan to stop at my very favorite fast food restaurant, Bumble Bee, and pick up lunch for us all. I love that place and wish we had one near us!

After lunch, we sat out on their back deck and enjoyed the scenery and the pleasant weather. Aunt Shirl has recently redone their backyard with plants and it looks great. The girls headed off into the arroyo to climb and explore and eventually made their way back to the casita. They decided to climb into the "tree house" that is just outside the back fence and is really just a platform build into the tree. It looks a little rickety, but it held the girls and soon Uncle Steve was up there with them so he could add the cat birdhouse we gave them a few years ago. Once he was up in the tree house/platform, he decided it needed a good cleaning and Aunt Shirl handed up clippers and brooms so the three of them could clean the place up. They had a great time and no one fell out of the tree, surprisingly! Even the cat bird house stayed up in the right branch.

After the tree house was cleaned up and looking good, we decided on a hike to the Plaza through the Arroyo. The girls love the hiking trail that goes through the hills and to Fort Marcy and there are always a lot of good rocks to be found (as well as cactus to stay away from). The girls stuck with Aunt and Uncle while I took pictures as we walked. Sofia found a few rocks and Olivia did too. We read up on Fort Marcy once we arrived and it's hard to imagine how much the area has changed since then. From there we walked to the Plaza with Sofia hanging out with Aunt Shirl and Olivia sticking close to Uncle Steve. I really love how much they enjoy spending time and connecting with Aunt and Uncle, and how much Aunt and Uncle seem to enjoy their time with the girls.

We made it to the small park next to the Cathedral and found a really great European art exhibit that was just out in the open. Each painting had a description of the painting and the history behind it. It was great to just wander through and look at the art. Sofia also really enjoyed it and she and Olivia hung out with Aunt Shirl. We made it to the Plaza where a music festival is taking place all week and a really great band was playing. Several people were dancing, so Uncle Steve took the girls out to dance. They loved it! In fact, they didn't want to stop! We enjoyed the music for a while and then Uncle Steve and CK decided to head back to get the car so we could grab an early dinner at Maria's - always our first dinner in Santa Fe.

They returned with the car and we piled in and made it to Maria's, with Sofia riding in the back hatch! She loved it, of course. Dinner was delicious and such a great start to a few days spent together.

Lincoln and Sofia checking out the dinosaur game together one last time.