Our Frugal Trip to New Mexico!

The kids with their Great Grandma!

Anna eating cherries with her Great Grandpa!

"Driving" Grandpa's John Deere!

Our family just got back from a five day trip to New Mexico! We had a wonderful time visiting Jesse's grandparents and Jesse was able to help his grandpa work on their roof. They hadn't yet met our little boy, so that was a special time for us all.

Meeting up with old friends in Albuquerque!

We also had the opportunity to visit some good friends from our old small group in Boston, who moved a couple years ago to Albuquerque. It was a nice time of catching up and brought back many good memories. It's amazing how big our kids have gotten since our last time together, as our three year old was still a baby.

We spent one night on our return trip in a hotel, where Anna enjoyed swimming in their pool. The hotels in the area cost more than we had hoped, but our other budgeting efforts helped us stay under budget.

We budgeted $200 for our trip, including fuel, lodging, food, and toys/activities for the kids. We ended up spending 177.50! A gift toward gas money helped us stay within our budget, as well as the hospitality of our family and friends with meals and lodging.

Other ways we saved:
We borrowed a DVD player from a friend, which greatly helped on the long car ride.

I bought a few toys and treats at the Dollar Tree to entertain and keep our little ones busy. A new dollar pony toy kept Anna busy for hours!

We borrowed some wonderful activity games from friends who have previously traveled with little ones.

I made a "gourmet" dinner on our last night at the hotel with $10 of ingredients from the local Dollar General, instead of spending money on eating out at a restaurant. I also packed lunches for the car rides.

Thank you to everyone who helped make our trip possible!