Today after breakfast, we got ready for church.  Scott chose a chapel that was close to the temple so we could go view it beforehand.  We couldn't take any close pictures since the gates were closed but it was still nice to see from a distance.  After sacrament meeting we went back to the hotel to change for our next adventure, The Petroglyph National Monument!



































We took the longest trail first so it made the other trails super easy.  Abby enjoyed this one since we were looking for pictures all along the trail, and it was shorter than yesterday.  When we had seen all we could see of the Petroglyphs, we went back to the hotel for some family swim time.



I've really enjoyed spending time with the family this weekend.  I'm so grateful the flights worked in our favor as we were coming, I'm thankful that the flight tomorrow looks good for us to get on, and I'm thankful for the fun times we shared.  A couple funny things from this weekend, as we were driving along the freeway, Abby shouted, "Lake Ends?" not a lake, the lane.  We had a good laugh over that and now Sterling keeps saying she's illiterate.  Another thing is we were talking about how hot it was and how our necks were going to be sunburned, Miles said, "Sometimes I wish I had a mullet."  Who knew?  On one of the longer drives when we ran out of snacks, we decided to play 20 questions.  We had just enough people in the car so that we each got to ask 4 questions.  (Ashton really needs more practice at this game)  At one point, we had figured out that the thing we were trying to guess was a mammal, Ashton's question was, "Does it lay eggs?"  We all had a good laugh about that teasing him, then a few questions later someone mentioned an owl, to which Abby replied, "Well, Is it an owl?"

Today we decided to go up to Santa Fe and explore some areas up there and on the way home.  On the way to Santa Fe, Sterling spotted a sign for a Mormon Battalion Memorial.  It was quite a bit out of the way but we stopped anyway.



The Farmer's market!  This was very yummy.  So many fun breads and foods to look at and try.  The kids were keen on eating as much local as they could.  Nearly everything we tried had some sort of green chilies in it.  Some were a bit spicier than others but it was all delicious.  The weather here has been lovely so not bad to walk around nearly lunch time.











There were some very cool plants and play structures near the farmer's market so we had some fun exploring for a bit before loading back up to find the capitol.






We caught a glimpse of the capitol while driving around but it was nestled in among some building so we didn't get a great view.  There were arts and crafts shows on nearly every corner.  It seemed a very artsy downtown.  Our next stop was Bandelier National Monument to check out some cave dwellings.  On the way there we saw the camel rock...


At Bandelier, the bus driver told us we were supposed to get off at the first stop.  The lady at the visitors center said we ride the bus all the way down to the second visitor's center.  We listened to the wrong one... The bus driver.  He let us out and we started walking, and walking, it was an ok hike though Abby was fed up with hiking at that point.  Her feet hurt and she isn't used to so much walking.  The boys ran ahead on our hike.  Apparently Ashton's life flashed before Sterling's eyes a few times.  I guess Ashton wasn't taking the trail very slow and there were a couple of switchbacks that were very close to a cliff.  The hike was dry and dusty, and there wasn't a lot to see, really, until the end.  By the time we got down to the cliff dwellings where we could explore, Abby was done and didn't want to go.  I didn't want her to stay alone so I hung back with her while Scott and the boys explored.  Luckily, we didn't have to hike out of the valley, we caught the bus where we should have gotten off in the first place.  I don't know if I could have made it hiking up and out!














After our visit to Bandelier, we circled around through the mountains so Sterling could see Los Alomos.  Not much was happening there =)  We finally made it back to the hotel after stumbling upon a Whataburger for the kids' dinner.









We were all well worn out, though you can't tell from the way the kids were acting.  Another day in the books!  Tomorrow will be our last day here before leaving Monday morning.