To Grandmother's House We Go

Our family enjoyed a nice trip West as we drove to visit my mom in Midland and my grandparents in Carlsbad, NM. My mom lives on a few acres and has a few animals around which was fun for the kids. She has chickens, peacocks, guineas, several dogs and wild cats roaming all over the backyard.



The kids liked to search for feathers and we have quite a pile of all shapes, sizes, and colors that we brought home with us.
They also played on the swing set or at a nearby park when the rain would stop long enough. It seemed to rain almost constantly during our entire 4 day trip.

I enjoyed visiting with my mom and her husband John. Although, John may not let me come back because I showed my mom our new Ipad while we were there and the afternoon after we left she made him drive her to Best Buy to get her own Ipad. We may cost him hundreds of dollars, but deep down I'm pretty sure he likes us.

We traveled on from Midland to Carlsbad. This was the view out the car window nearly any time we drove anywhere during the trip. The streets of Midland and Carlsbad were flooded at almost every intersection.
The rain caused an interesting thing to happen. As we drove up HWY 285 from Pecos, TX to Carlsbad, I thought I saw a huge spider crawling across the road. In a few seconds I saw another, and yet another. Cody and I saw dozens of tarantulas on the road. We found out later the rain drives them from their homes. We finally stopped the car to let the entire family take a look at these incredible creatures.
We arrived in Carlsbad and went straight to the famous Carlsbad Caverns. Coming next: cavern photos, great-grandparents, a wonderful bakery, a shady hotel, and a less than spectacular bat flight.