We arrived on a Wednesday evening. The actual plane ride is not long but there is no direct flight so we did have a layover in Albuquerque. Upon arrival, Nicole picked us up at the small airport and shuttled us off to her home. The kids were excited to see their cousins. They got to hang out for a bit before bedtime. The Cluff's had school the next day so had to get some shut-eye.
While the kids were in school, we hit the Lubbock mall. We got some great deals on shoes and the girls even found some unique Christmas presents for all of their girlsfriends (one less thing I'll have to worry about in December.) After school got out, we were able to watch Emily play in a tennis match. She's quite good. I also learned about Texas High School Football. The school's stadium was next to the tennis court. It was larger than many of the smaller college stadiums I've seen. They also have indoor practice fields for the high school team. I had to get a picture to convince James it was true. I guess that "Friday Night Lights" deal is actually true.
On Friday we took a trip into New Mexico to a place called Carlsbad Caverns. We hiked down into a cave that was full of various caverns. The hike down was just over a mile. We passed some bat caves which, in my opinion, are quite stinky. It didn't raise my opinion of the nocturnal rodents. I still find them very creepy. The caverns were beautiful. The kids enjoyed exploring the miles of stalagtites and stalagmites. The best part is, you get to take an elevator back to the top. I was relieved we didn't have to go back up the way we came.
Saturday was Justin's baptism, as well as a few soccer games. Lindsey and Emily played a piano/violin duet that was great. They only had a couple of days to pick a song and practice but they sounded very good together. We could tell Justin was excited. Baptisms are always neat experiences and the Spirit is so strong. Justin's baptism was no exception. We are thankful we were able to be a part of it. The Lubbock Temple is right next to the church building that the Cluff's attend so we were able to see the temple grounds and feel the Spirit of the temple.
Justin was supposed to have a soccer game after his baptism but apparently, Texas Tech (the college there) had a football game and no one wanted to miss it so his game was postponed. (I told you football was big there.) We made plans to go to an amusement park instead. The park was closed for the season but we were next to Prairie Dog Town so we decided to stop for a look. Unfortunately, there was not much to see. It was a field of grass with a couple of animals. I'm not sure what the purpose was and who would actually drive out there to sit and watch prairie dogs but there is a pavillion and an area to set up chairs if you are so inclined. We were not inclined and decided to hit a corn maze instead. This was probably the most enjoyable corn maze I have been too. Not only was the weather perfect, cool and dust-free, but we had the option of getting a map to help you find your way out. I find a corn maze much more enjoyable when I don't have to wander aimlessly around searching for the exit. I know for some that's part of the fun but I'd much rather know where I'm going. At the end of the maze they had corn cannons you could shoot. These were air compressor cannons that the host would shove ears of corn into and you could aim and shoot at targets out in the field. If you hit a target, you received the prize labeled on the target. Heather was the only one that consecutively hit the target. She received a couple of bags of candy. Grandpa Yardley tried to show us how it was done but Heather outshot him as well. We all had a great time at the maze.
Our next activity of the visit was viting the Science Center. This place is similar to a science museum we used to go to in Oregon. The girls, along with Ryan and Abigail, ran around trying out various experiments. There never seems to be enough time in a science center and before you know it, we were headed to the airport to catch our flight home.
This was our first mother/ daughter trip and we had a blast. Thanks to the Cluff's for their hospitality. I worked hard at it, but I'm pretty sure that I'm Ryan's favorite aunt now!
