Labor Day Randomness

It's rare that all of us have a free day at the same time, so when we do, we try to plan something fun and family-ish to do with it.  Today was one of those days.  Only, we didn't really get anything planned in time.  So we just winged it (wung it?) and did total randomness.

I started the day by building H's bookshelf for his bedroom that we'd given him for his birthday back in February (yeah, I figured it was time since I built one for the homeschool room just like it and bought much more recently).

After everyone else in the house woke up, C said, "Let's drive west today, we don't explore that area much when we drive through on our way to California."

So as usual, H opted out of our family drive since he loathes long drives (especially ones that don't have any planned destination).  The other four kids got their own bench in the van ... so there was very little bickering, which was nice.  S even got some studying done on the drive.

Mostly, I'll post a few random shots from our day "out west," and probably give a caption or two (or all) to describe our day better for you.  Like it matters -- but hey, this is sort of my record-keeping blog, too, so it's beneficial to me.

In Grants, NM, we found this nice big park and the kids got to go play on the playground.  But then we went looking for a bathroom (there were only porta-potties, ew) and on one end of the park was a Mining Museum.  It was closed, but there were a few outdoor things to look at.

This seems completely safe.

There was a fishing pond in the park.

It had ducks, too.

So then we randomly stumbled on a fair and rodeo in Prewitt, NM.   It was free to get in (except for the horse show part), so we roamed around.  It was on its last hour, so most things were done and most people had gone home already.  But still ... it fit well with our theme of the day.

All the sheep and pigs in one area were spray painted.  So I asked someone why they were painted (I'm clueless about these things).  They said they'd been sold for slaughter.  Hmm.  Joyful.  These pigs are enjoying a last nap before they become my future bacon.

Dead Pig Sleeping!  (Sorry, I don't need any animal cruelty comments here.  Just making light of the obviously grim situation.  It's what I do.)

Not sure this was exactly an exhibit at the fair on purpose, but S pointed out that it was a staircase to nowhere.  Random and odd.  Yay.

This chicken seemed really suspicious of me.

Oh yeah, when we got there, they were in the middle of a youth fiddle contest (sorry, but, yawn - the couple of kids we saw needed a couple more lessons, I think) and so when we were leaving, I happened to notice this bumper sticker on the car parked next to ours.  It struck me as sort of ironic in a way.  But I don't know many fiddlers personally, so I really don't know.

When we got to Gallup, NM, we spotted this Historic Hotel.  So of course we stopped to take a look.  Why not?!

It was sort of neat inside -- but the lighting wasn't really photo quality, so I'm sorry if these are dark.

Apparently, a lot of famous people have stayed at this hotel over the years and their photos are all over the walls.

There was this geode display in the lobby that fascinated the kids.  It's hard to see how pretty it was with the lighting, so just trust me that it was cool.

It was time for linner (lunch-dinner or about 2:35pm) and we decided to try this place in Gallup.  I will tell you I had one of the best green chile cheeseburgers I've ever eaten here.  They made the fries fresh, too.  The service was awesome and friendly.  I'll definitely want to come back.  If I had one complaint, it was so hot in the restaurant.  As in, no a/c.  But it was worth it because after we had our meals, they brought us these little two-ounce portion cups with just a couple bites of ice cream, some whipped cream and cherry juice.  A perfect ending to the meal!

Spotted this bakery in Gallup as well.  C went in to check them out and lo and behold, they made their own doughnuts.  They were still fresh tasting at nearly 4:00pm.  Amazing!

We were home again by just after six o'clock.  There was still time to hit the annual Labor Day sale at Savers and pick up some extra clothes for our kids.  By that point, it was pretty picked over, but that made selecting things easier, too.

Back at home, C called his grandmother to wish her a Happy Birthday!!  Happy Birthday, Nan, from all of us!  We love you.