NM Vacation Part 2

On to part 2 of our vacation to the Land of Enchantment.



When we left off, the Fourth of July had come to a close and Cade was plum tuckered out. We pick up again the day following those last events...

Our Life Group planned a nice get-together/lunch for us at the Viera's house. The kids played in the pool and tore around the house while us adults hollered at each other over the noise. It was really nice to see everyone again. Good friends, those people are.

We spent our last full day at the lake with my mom and dad (or Pa and Tootie). This was also Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday again!!!



Cade and Pa playing catch. Looks innocent enough.

Until Cade got the idea to really get Pa wet. He's "soaking" the ball to get it extra wet in an attempt to make a bigger splash when he throws it to Pa. Unfortunately for him, this ball doesn't absorb any water. But good try anyway.

Just playing around and looking cute.

Cameron took to the water like a fish. We practically had to drag him out of the lake to apply more sunscreen.

Enjoying the good life. It's rare for Elephant Butte to be this smooth after 8 am. Being a weekday helped.

I took advantage of the smooth water, and my last chance to get on a boat until who-knows-when, to ski. I can still slalom! For a few minutes. Then my knee and ankle and lower back start feeling like they're going to fall off.

Kevin tried to ski too but didn't have much luck. He got pretty close a couple of times but he was fighting a losing battle with the skis. On his first attempt I floated out with him and told him what to expect and what to do and everything I could think of. The only very minor detail I forgot was to let go if he falls down. Minor detail. When he was almost ready I hollered to take the slack up and that got interpreted as "go". The boat took off, Kevin wasn't ready, I was holding onto his life jacket to steady him... poor kiddo didn't have a chance. He plowed through the water for about 3 feet (at which time I lost my grip), popped out of both skis and disappeared under a spray of water for about 30 feet. He came up coughing and sputtering and on the verge of tears because the water shot up his nose the whole way. I think it's hilarious. He hated it at the time and still only sees very little humor in it.

Getting ready to load up and call it a day.

And Cade is tuckered out again. Mom is having to hold his head up on the way back to the marina.

After returning home, we did some riding at a local track. We rode and rode until we couldn't ride no mo. Except Cameron. He was a riding machine and was the only one who wasn't ready to go home. I think for the first time in my life, I was just too tired to go do any more laps. Besides, I'd had a good day with no crashes so why tempt fate? In this shot, Cameron is in the front and Kevin is giving chase.

The Machine!

Dana bought a summer pass to the pool and takes the boys swimming two or three times a week. Not sure what to say about this picture other than the 3 Stooges comes to mind when I look at it.

Every night when it's Cade's bedtime, we play hide and seek one time before he gets in bed. His favorite hiding place lately is in this corner. You can't really see him here because he has his eyes covered. You can only see him when he peeks out.

I took the boys fishing in the creek that runs through town last weekend. It's really nice to leave the house and in less than 5 minutes be parked and ready to catch some dinner.

Kevin started out with my pole. Some little fish were really hitting our worms. Kevin must have used 10 worms because he kept losing them.



Cameron caught his first fish (ever) after about 2 minutes of fishing. He hollered and before I could take 3 steps he popped the fish up on the rocks.

Cameron's fish. It landed in this little puddle and played dead until I tried to pick it up. Then it suddenly became very much alive. We threw it back but we should have kept it.

Cade never got a bite but had a lot of nibbles as well.

After Kevin and Cade had given up, I gave him Kevin the pole Cade was using and told him to try that one since the hook was a different size. Minutes later, Kevin hollered that he got one. I figured it was another little one. As I got closer I could see that for all the reeling he was doing, the fish wasn't getting any closer. The pole he had doesn't have any tension adjustment and the fish was overwhelming the reel. I really wanted Kevin to feel the fight but I ended up pulling the fish in by hand while Kevin continued to madly reel the line in. He was so proud to have finally caught something (catfish) worth keeping. He's only caught one other fish in his lifetime and it was a little, tiny catfish 5 or 6 years ago. It was so small I threw it back without a second thought. A moment later, he caught it again. The fish must have had a death wish. The second time I chucked it as hard as I could and never saw it again.

Now we just need to catch a few more so we can have a fishfry!

Did I mention I had never cleaned a catfish? Geez Louise! What a pain. I'll have to work on my catfish filleting skills.

I almost forgot to mention. Kevin first named his catfish Jerry. A few minutes later he changed it to JTD - for Jerry the Dinner. I don't recall ever thinking about naming my fish but then again this is the same kid that named his Angel Fish after himself - Kevin the Fish.