HydeeHydeeHo: Vacation #1

On June 21st we began our first journey by driving down to Pittsburgh to stay with my great Aunt and Uncle that live down there. That night we left Lynlee with Aunt Pat (who was MORE than okay with that) and went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game. So fun!

The stadium and the view from the stadium. I just love the rivers and bridges in Pitt. SO pretty!

Markham and I at the game

Markham and Lynlee in aunt Pat's backyard. So cute!

The next day we were planning on going to IdleWild, which is an amusement park nearby but Lynlee woke up with the Croup :( sad baby. Luckily she got over it in time to get on the plane friday.
Friday we flew into Dallas. Lynlee did ok on the flight. It's starting to get harder to fly with her. She won't just sleep now, she requires entertainment and snacks. When we made it to Dallas we drove around for a bit, checking out downtown, and then the temple.

Downtown Dallas, where the Mavs play!! woo!

We spent a couple of days in The Colony visiting my cousins Jason and Chris and showing Markham around where I grew up. It was pretty fun to be back. A lot has changed but a lot has stayed the same. We ate at one of my very favorite restaurants, La Hacienda Ranch.. SO good! And had ice cream at Braum's. YUM.

Then began our road trip. First stop Lubbock.

Lubbock temple. One of the things I've enjoyed most about all of our vacationing this year is seeing the different temples.

We went from Lubbock to Muleshoe, to Clovis where we went to one of Markham's favorite places.. Joe's Boot Shop. Oh, I didn't mention that the reason we decided to do the road trip was first off, to see where I grew up, but then to see some of the places where Markham served his mission.

This was in Joe's Boot Shop. Probably the best picture of Markham ever :]

Then from Clovis we drove to Portales and saw one of Markham's old apartments, then ended in Roswell.

This was in Portales. YIKES

Roswell! What a ridiculous little city. I loved it. Aliens everywhere. And we went to the alien museum, which was pretty ridiculous as well. The sticker on my shirt is from the museum. But the whole city has aliens everywhere. Even the Arby's had a sign that said Aliens Welcome haha

This was my freaking amazing burger I got at this little hole in the wall place Markham found in Roswell. SO freaking good.

The next day we drove from Roswell to Ruidoso to White Sands, and ended in Las Cruces.

Ruidoso was pretty cool, it was a total touristy little ski resort town. Super cute. Then white sands was absolutely amazing.

In White Sands! You literally could not take off your sunglasses. Looking at the sand was like looking at fresh snow in the sunlight. It was blinding.

Then we ended the week by driving down to El Paso and then up to Albuquerque where we spent two days for my extended family reunion. It was a total blast. A lot of my cousins I hadn't seen in 10+ years.

At the Harley Dealership in El Paso

Lynlee's cowboy boots! And they are legit because they are from Texas :]

Lynlee's Harley! haha

Lynlee and Great Grandpa Wallace

Krispy Kreme King and Queen

Apsen's cute face

Dad and Uncle Dave playing a minute to win it game at the reunion

Julie (with child) and Dave (with balloon)

On the 1st of July we flew from Albuquerque to Knoxville, TN for Markham's family reunion. We actually spent the week in Gatlinburg for the Hyde On A Mountain Top 2012 Family Reunion. and we had so much fun. We did the Dixie Stampede, went to Dollywood, played games, swam, and all stayed in this cabin together in the Smoky mountains. It was pretty amazing.

Lynlee dressed up as a cowgirl and ready to go to the Dixie Stampede!

On the 6th we flew from Tennessee to Utah where we spent a week. We did such fun things as going to City Creek, Markham going on a hike with my brother in law Ken,, and hosting Dinner Club. The highlight of the week, though, was Lynlee's birthday. That, however, is my next post.