Spring training....

Won't be long and the baseball teams return to the Valley. Time to practice.

Today I am thankful

My brother Larry and his family invited Mark and Matt to Thanksgiving Dinner in Rockwell City today. I am so thrilled they will not be feasting alone on the farm!! I love the farm, but it would be lonesome with just the two of them on this holiday. To make it even better, Larry is serving prime rib...why does that sound so much tastier than the turkey I am roasting?!?!!? I may have to alter my meal planning next year and pardon a turkey...

Here is some Thanksgiving week-end trivia. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers. hmmmm......I don't know if people are pouring drippings down the kitchen sink or if their "Uncle Buck" and his family are spending an inordinate amount of time in the bathrooms. Either way, I say keep the plunger handy! Also, I am hoping after reading this article I will not pig out today like usual! Globesity!!

Have a fantastic day!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is a short week for all you working people. I know that makes everyone very happy! I hope you have a wonderful holiday week-end with your family/friends. I had looked into flying back home over Thanksgiving but the fares were more than I wanted to pay! I figured I would save all that money since Mark will be driving out here in two weeks anyway. It would have been wonderful to see Matt, though. :-( Hopefully we can get him down to Phoenix again this year for Christmas.

I had a bunch of still pictures sitting on my camera so decided to put them to a little music:

Making a mess

All week long Drew was really in to making messes and piles. Not sure what was going on there! He piled everything he owned outdoors into a big heap...emptied his toy box and piled it all in the middle of the family room. Then Friday he went to his Thomas the train table and did the same thing! (See video below.) I will say he enjoyed doing it! Kayley just watched...and hopefully didn't learn. :-)

It has been super nice here all week long. I went hiking yesterday with four gals into a beautiful section of the McDowell mountains. Very secluded and gorgeous. We managed to get a bit lost and came out of the trail with our cars no where in sight. Seems we were about 1/2 mile south. We usually do NOT do that! The trails really meander there and it would be easy to become lost, so we did! Glad I wasn't alone!

Last night I went out to eat with Megan and family. Always nice not to cook! Well, don't know a thing so I will wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Cranky the crane

Any time Drew sees a crane from afar he calls it Cranky, from the Thomas the train stories. Yesterday I took him over to the town house where I live to show him one up close and personal. Megan and Andy decided it was time to put a new AC unit in the town house and that is what they use out here to install them...a crane! He enjoyed watching that ordeal!

Family night with Al and Peg Bundy!

Sorry for that title Megan and Andy! Every time I think of family bowling I think of "Married with Children". :-) ( Does anyone recall that sitcom???) The Thiel's were taking the kids bowling last night and I rode along. Drew had so much fun bowling and Kayley just had fun being there.

No rattlers or mt. lions on my hike today BUT

we did run into this big furry tarantula! Now, I know they are not "bad" spiders but after getting bitten twice by a brown recluse spider I do have some reservations about arachnids, especially when they are as BIG AS MY FIST! He was scurrying along in front of me on the trail and I do think I freaked a bit. The other ladies, long Arizonians, just laughed at me. Ha ha ha.... :-)
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Harvest is a "go" in Iowa!

Mark is steadily getting his corn harvested. My Iowa friends on Facebook have been talking about the great weather, wearing shorts and enjoying the sunshine. Mark says he's just thankful to be in the fields! I am happy for everyone there but especially glad that Mark is getting the corn out. The grand kids and grandma want that grandpa to get down to Phoenix as soon as possible! The weather is nice and we need to golf! :-)

Saturday I hiked with my new friends (actually Sharon's AZ friends who have let me join them after her move to Florida.) We did Pinnacle Peak which is a very popular trail on the week-ends but a good one to start for our first hike. We will hike as a group every Saturday until these gals head to cooler temps come spring. We see some beautiful Arizona countryside on these hikes and I am absolutely in heaven doing the trails!

I cannot believe it is almost Thanksgiving. I am not sure if it is the weather here or the fact that I hardly know what day of the week it is, let alone what month. It just doesn't seem like we should be having turkey and dressing once again! It is even harder to get into the Christmas spirit here. Jingle bells in the desert doesn't have that same....jingle! I wonder if I will EVER spend another white Christmas in Iowa? Sounds sad, but it isn't...because I won't. I just can't take the cold anymore! :-)

Andy had a tree die but he knew it probably would. It was originally planted by the landscapers too close to the pool and Andy didn't like the shade that it was providing and not allowing the water to warm up fast enough in the spring and fall. He tried transplanting it but it didn't quite make it. Drew became fixated on its "carcass" the past few days:

How to stay cool

Mark finally started combining corn yesterday. It is still very wet and he is driving through water is places but it is definitely time to get it out of the field. Here is wishing Iowans many days of sunshine ahead!

Kayley found the perfect way to stay cool while playing outdoors yesterday.

Hate to say it, but it is hot today!

After some really cool (cold!) temps last week, the thermometer is on the rise again. Supposed to be in the 90's all week, above normal for November. I do prefer this to those days we were in the 60's. Too hard to get Drew to put on jeans and a long sleeved shirt! :-)

Mark said the sun is finally shining in Iowa. The corn is still terribly wet but the guys are going to have to start combining eventually or they will have the worry of snow next. Such a year...

We spent the majority of yesterday outdoors. The video shows what we do outside. Have a great week everyone!

Happy Halloween

I had two visitors last night for Trick or Treat. One was dressed as a black cat and one was dressed as a normal toddler. Drew had a cute Thomas the Tank Engine costume to wear but he thought a white t-shirt and jeans were more comfortable for the occasion! Maybe next year! Grandma still gave him treats anyway. At least for pictures dad Andy donned the Thomas outfit so it didn't go completely to waste! :-)

Andy and Megan have season tickets to the AZ Cardinals games so I am going to watch the kids while they tailgate and cheer the team to victory. It looks like a nice day so we will probably spend a good portion of it outside enjoying the temps.

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.