Las Cruces Farmers and Craft Market

Soccer games begin this coming weekend, which meant that this past Saturday was our last "free" one for awhile. So, we decided to make the most of it and visit our local farmer's market, located in the heart of downtown. Our farmer's market is wonderful - and something that Las Crucens should really be proud of! It is the #1 farmers market in the state and ranked #9 nationally! I found that information on TheStantonMagazine.com and it was a great article, in case you would like to read it.

As I was reasearching that, I also discovered that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Las Cruces Farmers and Craft Market! A perfect year to blog about it!

There are many things that make it a worthwhile visit, but one of my favorite things is all the music. There are people playing instruments, both young and old, mariachi bands, and several who strum guitar and sing. I only snapped one photo of the music this time:The crafts are another great feature. Everything from tutus and fairy wands:

to Native American angels made from dried chile pods:Just to name a couple!

There are street artists like this one who used chalk to draw a snake crawling into a manhole:

He wrote "Not Real" in several places, but I thought he was just talking about the snake. Colin had to tell me that he meant the manhole covers weren't real, either! It was amazing!

There are also many herbs, plants, flowers and veggies for sale.

I tried really hard to get a picture of some of the beautiful produce (preferrably green chile) but those booths were just too popular and full of people!

A unanimous family favorite is the kettle corn! With 3 or 4 different booths to choose from, it is easy to find (and smell) but we only go to one every time - and he always has the longest line! Our favorite is the green chile variety! Here are Colin and Cady waiting patiently for our order:

The kids took a cool-down break in one of the misters (it was HOT!):

Another booth we visit pretty much everytime we go is the Honey lady.

It is where we buy our jars of honey for the house, but the kids also love her honey sticks and at only 5 for $1, how could we tell them no?It is a great atmosphere and there are not many better ways to spend a free Saturday morning together as a family! In Las Cruces, anyway! We are hoping we get a chance to go a couple more times this year!

Cousin Time with Papa and Gramma (Backtracking...)

I am headed back to July - please bare with me. I saw my mom this weekend and she gave me the pictures she took while she had the 4 grandkids for a week at the end of July. They are pretty cute so I have to share some with you!

Papa Jimmy and Gramma Suzy take the kids each summer for some alone time with them. They usually take their 5th-wheel out and go camping, but this year, with most of the forests closed due to fire danger, they opted to hang out at their home in Mimbres for the first part of the week. Believe me when I tell you - the kids did not mind at all! There is plenty of fun stuff to do at Papa's house!

One of the kids' favorite things to do there is to play in the river. Now, there had not hardly been any rain when the kids went up there, so the river that normally runs right below their house was dry as a bone. They did find some water, but had to go way back behind their house to get to it. The next day, they got ready to go to Gramma Suzy's good friend, Cathy's house in Silver City. Ms Cathy had invited them all over for a cookout. Her grandbabies live in Wyoming and she doesn't get to see them that often. Mom was happy to share hers for a little while! They dressed in their matching clothes and looked pretty darn cute:

Now, besides a yummy dinner and homemade ice cream, the kids' favorite thing about Ms. Cathy's was that she and her husband raise chickens. The kids loved hanging out with the chickens and came home just raving about them and asking if we could raise them too. (Colin has always wanted chickens, so he was already on board!) They held the new chicks (with Papa's help):(The next shot is my favorite shot my mom got- Cady's hands, Papa's hands and a cute, fluffy chick!)

They also got to help gather the eggs:Ms. Cathy also had beautiful wildflowers growing everywhere and let the kids pick some:

They had a great time!

Here are a couple of shots just hangin' out at home:Cady and Boxie

Waitin' to ride the 4-wheeler

The last few days of their time together was spent in Albuquerque. First, they played in the park in Silver before hitting the road:

They also stopped for lunch in Hatch at Sparky's, home of all the fun statues, like this Yogi Bear:

When they arrived at their hotel that evening, the kids were pretty excited to discover that they would get to swim a bit. My dad snapped this fun shot of my mom swimmin' with the girls:

The next day started with a trip to the NM Museum of Natural History, which was a first for Colton and Cady:

Then off to the Explora! Children's Museum:The next day was their last day together. They started with a picture on the hotel couch:

Then some playtime on the playground at Trevor's school:They all had a wonderful time together and I am so thankful to my parents for taking the time to make those special memories with their grandchildren. It also gives the four cousins special time together, which is also important.

Thanks, Mom and Dad! You both are pretty special and we love you!

Time for School!

Well, ready or not, away they went! School began this morning and I am happy to say they were both ready - even though Colton was too cool to actually admit it! I, on the otherhand, was not ready at all. I never am, though.

Anyway, they got up a little earlier than normal because it is tradition to go to an early breakfast at Cracker Barrel on the first day of school. Not before snapping a few traditional "first day of school" pics in the front yard!Then, off to eat breakfast, with a quick game of checkers before the food arrived:

Then off to school! They were both all smiles when we left them, as well as when I picked them up, so all was good. I did ok, too. It was way too quiet here at the house, and I missed them, but I kept busy with laundry and housework that had piled up over the weekend. Colin pointed out how thoughtful they all were to make sure I had enough to keep me busy today! :-)

I was anxious to go pick them up, though. Colin came home and ate lunch with me, which was nice, and also broke the day up. When he left to go back to work, I knew I only had an hour and a half to go pick up the kids and hear all about their day! Thanks, Babe!

They both loved their teachers and classmates and are excited to go back tomorrow and I know it will get easier everyday and I will soon fall back into my old routine!