Warm and NO wind

I almost hate to post this regarding weather. It is just beautiful here in Phoenix but October is a great month in the valley! Mark said how awful it has been back in Iowa...windy, REALLY windy and very cool. I talked to Megan tonight and she said it was 45 degrees in Peoria. Yikes. It was 85 here and not even a whiff of a breeze. I will now quit talking about the weather before I lose midwest friends.

I hiked my mountain yesterday once again. I took the route "backwards" this time and it took me 25 minutes longer! I was rather surprised at that but uphill going the different route was very rocky so guess it slowed me down big time. I never have to stop to rest the original way but stopped several times on this route to catch my breath. The scenery even looked different going the different route so that was a pleasant change.

Tomorrow I need to think about sowing the winter rye grass. I have never done that before but have watched my son-in-law do it and it does not look like fun. Mow it down to a stub or nothing...sow the seed...fertilize...cover in smelly mulch/(poop) and water, water, water. If I have half the lawn he established I will feel successful!

Sister Sharon from Florida is coming to AZ next week. Her children, grandchildren and I are very excited about that. Should be a great time! After AZ she will fly to Albuquerque to see Erik, Kadin, Gracie and new son Jeffrey. I should have some pics to post after that visit.

Well, hope everyone has a fantastic week-end and GO HAWKS!!!!

Pictures for Drew

I went for a walk today to Megan and Andy's old home in Phoenix which is about 2 miles from our house. As I was walking I took pictures of all the sights that Drew, Kayley, Sox and I saw every day on our walks. I am curious to know if Drew remembers any of these sights! (So Megan, let me know.) :-) I am guessing that he will not remember them but perhaps he will.

I have been busy since my return doing all my yearly doctor check-ups so that has kept me busy. I also hiked to Shaw Butte which is about 3 miles from here. It is a 5 mile round trip hike...I made it up and down fine but I definitely had blisters! Need to get these feet back into hiking shape! (Months of flip flops with no boots!)

I heard the central U.S. was overwhelmed with ridiculously high winds. They even called it very unusual. Our weird weather continues.

Ok Megan, here are the pics. See if Drew remembers any of these! There are even some I dug out of my archives of his old house and pool.

Getting settled

I spent most of today running around Phoenix. Groceries, propane tank refill, Walmart and visited a good friend from our townhouse days. I was way over-dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Very beautiful and immediately came home and put on shorts and t-shirt. While talking to Mark tonight he said he was waiting for the furnace to kick on and I was waiting for the AC to kick in. That is what 1400 miles will do I guess.

Megan went to the Iowa-Wisconsin game today. It was a nail-biter and not a good outcome for our Hawkeyes. I had taped it and planned to watch it when my errands were finished but I peeked on ESPN.com and found out the final score and just could not bear to watch it. I am one who always identified with the "agony of defeat"! :-( The ISU Cyclones did have a huge victory over Texas, though. Glad some people are happy back home!

I am going to try to get my butt up and hike tomorrow morning. It has been a long time but that IS one of the reasons I came out here now so I hope I do it.

I wish I had updated video/photos of Drew and Kayley but that is rather impossible. I won't say how much I miss them but I will say it is way more than my sadness over the Hawkeyes if that gives you a clue... :-)

Have a fantastic Sunday.

Made it to Arizona

I am back in Phoenix. I arrived today around 1:30 P.M. This was a MUCH shorter day driving than yesterday and it was helped by gaining two hours on the drive! The first day I made it to Tucumcari, NM.


All is well and good with our home. No water leaks after sitting all summer in the heat so I was pleased with that. I got a little bit blue when I drove by Megan and Andy's old street and the parks I used to frequent with the kids and Sox. I just felt like they were still there and I needed to turn and go visit them. Being in AZ and not having them close by will definitely take some getting used to!

I have no pics or videos to post so will put these two older ones up for Drew and Kayley. Megan said Drew enjoys it when I post videos of him when he was "little". :-) Maybe Kayley will enjoy her video from when she so much younger, a few months back!

I lied...

My last post talked about my good-byes to Drew and Kayley. Well.....it has been so nice in Iowa that I didn't take off for Arizona as early as I anticipated. So, I had time to squeeze in one more trip to Peoria for another good-bye! I left Friday morning for Illinois with a two hour stop at the outlet mall near Iowa City. Arrived in Peoria about the time everyone was getting home from work and day care. It was so great to see Drew and Kayley one more time! We had a really fun week-end. Saturday morning Megan and I and the kids went to look at granite for their kitchen. We then made a few stops at different stores for some items and returned home in time for their afternoon nap. That evening we went bowling which is always a favorite event for Drew. He ran to his room for his "bowling" shirt when Megan said we were going. This time Kayley bowled and had a blast. She did very well thanks to some help from their friend Wes. Both kids scored over 100 so I was glad I wasn't bowling to get embarrassed!

Sunday was another beautiful day for mid October! We packed a lunch and headed to the park. Drew rode his bike all the way to the park. Grandma was in power walking mode to keep up with him! We carved a pumpkin in the afternoon and grilled chops for dinner. I hated to see Sunday come to an end but all good things must end. I left this morning after everyone left and made it back to the farm around 1:00 P.M. Mark is out doing field work so I haven't seen him yet.

I leave for AZ on Wednesday. I plan to stop at Matt's in Omaha that evening and then head out bright and early on Thursday for Tucumcari, NM. Long day, that one! If all goes as planned I should be at our Phoenix home late Friday afternoon. Here's hoping for a better winter for you guys staying in the midwest! So long...

Three videos from the week-end:






Kayley's tea party:



Pictures:

Goodbye Drew and Kayley

I drove to Peoria on Friday to spend the week-end with my daughter and my grandchildren and to say goodbye for awhile. I will be leaving for AZ in a couple of weeks and this was the only week-end they had open so I took advantage of that. We had a great time! We went out for dinner Friday night to a place called the Fire... something. :-) Here's a picture of the outside!


It looked a little bit (lot!) like a dive! :-) It actually had pretty good food and it had a beautiful view of the Illinois River.

Saturday morning Megan and Andy shopped for granite while I watched Drew and Kayley. That evening Andy grilled delicious marinated chicken breasts, followed by the Iowa-Penn State game. We won easily so it was a fun game to watch, nothing to get nervous about!

Megan bought Kayley a Super Girl outfit for Halloween and she is hoping that Drew will wear his Thomas the Train costume from last year that he refused to wear! Drew is not "in to" wearing costumes so I am betting he refuses, but I hope not.




Sunday afternoon we went to Tanner Orchard. This place was unbelievable! When we arrived there was a LONG line waiting just to enter their market. It was well over an hour wait. Thankfully we just wanted to take Drew and Kayley to their playground so that was a quick entrance. The playground cost $7 to enter, even the adults that are just going in to watch their children. They have quite a "racket" going on there. Fortunately old people 55 and over were free. I do believe that is the first time my age has worked well financially for me. :-) It really was a fun time for the kids but Drew would have been happy if we only visited the pedal tractor area the entire time. He does love riding those. We had a very good time and we were glad we took them.

Monday morning it was back to work and daycare so I said goodbye and headed back to Iowa. It was a melancholy trip. The longest I have ever been separated from them is two weeks and now it will be seven weeks before I see them at Thanksgiving. :-(

Two videos from my week-end: