Little Cowboy

Today was a big day for us, but it started out like any other day this week. Dad and Caleb spent some time playing in the morning. We worked on Caleb's legs and spent some quality time together.

Part of the play time inclued one of Caleb's new toys. He has received several new toys this week and has played with many of them. Some of them are big boy toys which will stay here at Poppy and TuTu's for a future visit.

Caleb received a couple of small stuffed animals from a
couple at church who have been longtime family friends of Dad's family. In fact, while looking through old photo albums, we noticed that this particular couple had attended Poppy and TuTu's wedding many years ago. We gave Caleb one of the animals while he was playing this morning. Of course, the first thing to do with a new toy is to stick it in your mouth to see how it tastes. Caleb is starting to master the skill of grabbing something right in front of him and he is now mastering the motion of moving said object to the mouth.

Although we had a nice relaxing morning, we loaded up the car and in the early afternoon, we headed to Ruidoso, NM, a small town in the mountains about 70 miles west of Roswell. That distance is about an hour long drive. During the course of the drive Caleb went through happy talkative time, nap time and screaming so loud you want to pull your hair out time. (Caleb's not really that loud, but when you are crowded into a car with four other people, including Caleb, and you are stil 10-15 miles from your destination, it seems awfully loud.) Mom caught this picture of Caleb as he woke up from his nap and before he transitioned to loud time.

We went to Casa Blanca which is probably one of our favorite Mexican food places in all of New Mexico. We sat a table by a nice big bay window where we could watch it rain through the pine trees as we ate our lunch. After lunch, we strolled through some of the shops in town.

Our actual destination and purpose for the trip was to go to the Flying J Ranch. The Flying J is a western style chuchwagon dinner and show. Dad's family has been going for many years. It had been a few years since we went, so we decided to make it a part of this visit. Prior to the show, we had the opportunity to wander the grounds and enjoy the fresh mountain air. In this picture, TuTu is holding Caleb on the boardwalk next to the dining area watching all of the other tourists mill about.

After staging a old west style shootout, a cowboy dinner is served. At this point, Caleb decided to get a little cranky. I held him through dinner. Even though he was a little difficult, I was still able to enjoy the barbecue brisket, pinto beans, baked potato, biscuit, apple sauce and spice cake (with a little assistance from TuTu who buttered my biscuit and potato for me).

After the dinner, the show started which is always the highlight of the evening. Mom tried to feed Caleb after she had her dinner. Caleb was eating pretty good, but when the music started, he wanted to know what was going on. Mom and I took turns holding him, but he was mesmerized by the action on the stage. I have no idea what was going through his head, but the lights and the motion on the stage kept his attention throughout the show.

After the show, we piled into the car headed home. It took awhile, but Caleb finally fell asleep and slept most of the way home. It was a long and fun day, but I think we are all pretty tired. Everyone should be crashed pretty soon.