Sophia and Tessa love Toby and Grandpa

These girls love their Uncle Toby and their Grandpa!

More fun with Toby and Grandpa

Toby and Allie brought the girls a very cool triceratops night light that needed LOTS of assembly, so I made sure Uncle Toby helped with that while he was here. It was actually really fun putting it together. Sophia enjoyed making it as much as watching it light up their room.

Last time we saw him, Toby gave Sophia (and Tessa) a set of giant bubble wands, so we thought it would be fun to get them out while he and our dad were here. The wind in Albuquerque always makes bubbles difficult, but certainly not impossible!

After the bubbles, Sophia went for a spin with her friend Ethan in his jeep.

Tessa even got a turn as driver, with the battery removed first!

The girls got new boots from Grandpa and FlatOut Bears, so they posed for a picture with their new soft things.

Since then, they have decided that sheepskin boots are quite nice for dressing up, even in the middle of summer!

Wildlife West Nature Park

The girls' Grandpa (my Dad) was able to come visit that weekend, so Toby extended his stay. Unfortunately, Allie had to go home though.

The rest of us went to the nature park to check out some local animals. We saw mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, bears, deer, roadrunners, elk, javelinas, ducks, falcons, and numerous other birds.

There was also an old bus with various articles inside to look at, including a bear head.

And a very friendly road runner.

And I'm not sure if the Elk was friendly or not, but he was definitely curious about us.

Sandia Tram

The girls and I also took Toby and Allie to ride the Sandia Tram. We hadn't ridden it since Sophia was only 2 and Tessa wasn't around yet, so I figured I could suffer through it again. What I didn't expect was for Sophia to get scared too! She is usually fearless, especially about heights and rides, but I guess that log ride (see previous post) had her feeling uneasy. Of course, Tessa wanted to get up and get down and run around, which made me way too nervous. I really tried to keep calm for Sophia's sake, but I'm not sure how well I pulled it off!

I enjoy walking around behind where the tram lets you off...beautiful mountain views and solid ground! Sophia was sure she could see the ocean though!

The second video is the ride back down, Sophia said she would NOT get back on the tram, but discovered it was actually much easier than the ride up, where you really sway over each tower and it is terrifying!

A beautiful sunset back at the bottom

Cliff's Amusement Park

Do you want to ride around in a helicopter, swing in circles, spin in teacups and bounce like a frog? If you are in ABQ, you go to Cliff's Amusement Park!

Tessa and I watched as Sophia, Chuck, Toby, and Allie rode the log ride. Unfortunately, it scared Sophia and she lost her former bravery. The kiddie rides were just her style though. So while Toby, Allie, and Chuck rode the Rattler, the girls had fun on their own rides.

I'm glad that the operator thought Sophia was too small to drive the bumper cars because she had never done it before and there were lots of kids there. She loved being a passenger though!

Sophia and Tessa riding the swings

Helicopter pilots

Sophia, Tessa, and Uncle Toby riding the Hot Air Balloon ride...later Sophia said, "I actually LOVED that one."

Uncle Toby also joined the girls on the Frog Hopper, which Tessa did not enjoy very much. She is saying "ouch" which I have determined also means she is scared.

Tessa signs "down" on the teacups; she wasn't thrilled with that ride, either.

Then we checked out the Monkey Water Park, though it was shortlived as it was a little chilly. Toby and Allie rode the last ride of the day, which Sophia had planned on joining them for, but it is probably for the best that she was too scared. Even Allie was freaking out!