Most entertaining was the Mountain Lion.  He was attracted to Cate, and would chase her as she ran back and forth.  We could hear him purr as he approached the fence.

We saw elk, a black bear, prarie dogs, retiles, bobcats, and an eagle.

The next day, we headed to the Living Desert Museum, a State Park.  We enjoyed seeing all the different cacti from around the world in the greenhouse.

After the tour, we enjoyed a delicious meal at the historic Trinity Hotel. We learned about the hotel history, and the ghost that continue to haunt the hotel.

We bundled up and took a tour down the Pecos River, enjoying the lights along the river banks. Carlsbad is know for its seasonal display of lights, Christmas on the Pecos.

We also enjoyed touring the visitor's center and learning from the park rangers.

We hiked a mile out of the natural entrance of the cave.  The bats had migrated for the winter, so we did not get to see them.

We took the elevator down 750 feet, then walked a mile along the trails of the "big room".  Along the way we learned about the history of the caves and the formations in the caves - with an audio tour.

The caverns were dark, but highlighted in areas with lights to display the stalactites and stalagmites that made the caves look so neat.

We spent a weekend in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Caroline and Cate spent Christmas day decorating the gingerbread house and train - using their own creative ideas.

Christmas day arrived and Caroline was excited to receive a Vera Bradley phone bag from Santa.  We spent Christmas Eve seeing the Rise of the Guardians, going to church, and enjoying posole at the Pollard's home.

Caroline enjoyed helping dad break down the playset - which she had played on, and built forts around for the last 10 years.

Caroline was also a bon bon with her friend Leah.  She rolled out from under the skirt of Mother Ginger (who one night was Ken Binkley!)

 The 2012 Nutcracker.  Caroline had fun as a party scene boy.  She was also chosen as Fritz understudy.

Tinkerbell, Wendy, Dorothy, Cinderella, Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice and Snow White joined in on the fun. Wendy and Goldilocks were the guilty ones...they stole the cookies from the cupboard!

Caroline celebrated her birthday with 8 friends.  She hosted a mystery party, and she was the Queen of Hearts!

Caroline turned 12.  She was so excited to receive another American Girl doll - Caroline Abbott.

The spa next to the pool was filled with concrete.

Caroline's performance theater class performed a Christmas Play for parents.  Caroline had the role of Abigail, and did a fabulous job.

Michele's Dance Academy hosted an open house for Level C dancers.  We enjoyed watching Caroline in class.  This was her pointe class (after starting 2 months ago) where she did not get any blisters.

Concrete filled the hole for the pool.

 Thanksgiving 2012. We met Mimi and Dick Daddy in Red River.  While there was some snow on our hike up Middle Fork Trail, there was very little in town and the weather was warm. Rather than skiing, we enjoyed hanging out at the house and visiting with Mimi and Dick Daddy.

Caroline, Cate and Liz enjoyed the fesitvities at the Nutcracker Tea which was held for the Junior LCCB members....yummy food, fun crafts, and autographs from the LCCB!

We always love going to the Renaissance Fair, the first of November.  This year Caroline made a candle.

A big hole was dug in our back yard, for a pool!

Caroline's friend Julie turned 12, and celebrated with a "Cake Boss" party. The girls decorated cakes, making fancy designs just like the TV series.

Halloween...Caroline went trick or treating with her dance friends Miranda, Liz and Ally.

Caroline performed with the 7th grade Zia Middle School Orchestra, playing the 1st violin.  Mrs. Martinez, the teacher recognized Caroline for joining the Orchestra this year and working hard to catch up with the other students.

We hiked a total of 6.8 miles!

At the end of the day, we were pretty pooped!

We stopped to rest, enjoyed lunch at Pratt cabin, and enjoyed learning about the history of the area.

The deeper we hiked into the canyon, the more fall colors we saw.

There were some great trees to climb!

The next day, we headed to the Guadalupe Mountains and hiked into McKittrick Canyon to enjoy the fall foliage.

More slides were added this year.

The go cart races were fun, and a little challenging!

We enjoyed some of the new games, like the hamster run.

The first stop was the pumpkin patch, where we found lots of cool pumpkins and squash.

We made it to the Maize Maze just before it closed for the season.

The Halloween festivities began.  We started at the fall festival at Mesilla Park Community Church. Cate was a bumblebee and Caroline was Cleopatra.

 Caroline had her 1st project in her 7th grade Honors English class.  She read, "The Diary of Patsy, A Freed Girl,"and made a poster presentation.

The Showstoppers performed, and taught children simple dance steps at the Fall Fitness Festival.

We drove by mom's old home, toured campus, saw Pop's old office, and shopped at Judge Keller's store.

The next day, we drove to Clemson, South Carolina, where mom grew up.

We were happy to have old friends join us. Farrell and Ann Brown, mom's old neighbors, as well as Bob and Susan Brown joined in on the celebration.

We had a girls day, then dressed up to celebrate Nana and Pop's 50th Anniversary (2 months early)!

The next day we were up early, for family pictures on the waterfront.

We enjoyed walking along the beach, finding sea shells, and playing in the sand.

We spent a day at the beach. The weather and the water were perfect!