Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you are looking forward to the new year.  2011 seemed to fly by, as they all seem to do lately!  Mark and I spent a very quiet Christmas in our home.  I did go on a hike the 24th but other than that we just chilled out here and enjoyed it.  I made chili for Christmas Eve and French Dip sandwiches on Christmas with my new crock pot, a gift from Mark.  I also received a Shark hand held vac.  That is the problem with two homes....what you have and are used to in one, you want in the other, too!  I also received some money for shopping.  Well, he might have said it was for my savings account but I am not certain I heard that part correctly!

Christmas Day Drew and Kayley skyped with us and showed us what Santa brought them.  It appears they won't be bored over the rest of the holiday.  Plenty to play with from what we saw!  It was so much fun seeing their excitement but we didn't talk long...there were toys that needed playing!

We are still hanging around the home this week.  I did hike yesterday and today, though.  I think I am addicted to that activity.  I never, ever tire of the view or the challenge.  Today a helicopter was hovering over the mountain and circled it several times.  I hope no one fell or had a heart attack!  The news this morning talked about all the rescues they have had to do because of all the visitors going on hikes and they aren't used to the terrain.  They are falling, breaking body parts or becoming ill from the elevation, etc.  The majority of the rescues have been on Camelback Mountain which is NOT for the faint of heart or for those out of shape.   I have hiked it once with Megan and once with sister Sharon and have no desire to do it again.  I am not tempting my luck!

The Hawkeyes play in the Insight.com bowl in Tempe Friday night.  We went to it last year but I think we will pass this year.  I think the Sooners will have their way with my Hawks and I just couldn't stand to see that happen.  Mark and I plan to go to the pre-game parties and fun for awhile but then will come home to watch the game.

I hope all of you have a safe and Happy New Year and a fantastic 2012!

Some very random pics:

via Megan's phone:  Drew very happy with Grandpa's gift!

Having fun at Greasewood Flats on a Saturday afternoon with friends.

via Andy's cell phone:  Mr. and Mrs. Claus

One of the trails I hike on North Mountain

Rainy days and sunshine...

I cannot believe it is already the middle of December.  Christmas will be here before we know it!  When I worked I used to LOVE this time of the year and looked forward to the long holiday season with my family.  Now, every day is like a holiday but I do miss spending Christmas with the kids and grandchildren.  I think next year I may skip flying home for Thanksgiving and do Christmas there instead!  I want to see Drew and Kayley's excitement during that holiday.  Or perhaps I can convince them to all come to Phoenix once so they can enjoy nice weather during the holiday break!

Mark has been keeping busy puttering around here.  He put up our Christmas lights and installed a new garage door opener.  I have been hiking and shopping, two things I am getting quite good at doing!  We have been having some rainy days, though.  While that is great for the desert it doesn't do me much good for outdoor fun.  Yesterday was gorgeous, around 70 degrees.  Today looks to be the same.  This afternoon we are going with friends to Greasewood, an outdoor grill/bar with live country music.  We always have fun there and are looking forward to seeing the friends.

We plan to golf on Christmas Day if weather permits.  We are assuming everyone will be asleep on the couch from consuming huge meals and won't be out of the courses.  Or, everyone is thinking like us and they will be packed and we won't get a tee time! 

Well, this will most likely be my last post before Christmas so we wish everyone a very wonderful holiday with your families.  We hope Santa is good to you and yours! 

Some pictures from our week:

I put some lights on the cactus and the rocks

The nice thing about AZ is that you can hang December lights in shorts!

The hikers are starting to decorate the mountain tree for Christmas.  Can you tell which ornament is mine?!?!

Cacti Santa

I just HAD to put up a pic of my two favorite people!

Ready to start our winter

Mark made it to our Phoenix home early this afternoon.  It was quite a journey.  He originally was going to leave Iowa on Saturday but mother nature had other plans.  Sunday he finally got off the farm and to Matt's home in Omaha.  Mother nature again decided that he should postpone his plans and stayed an extra day at Matt's and left Tuesday morning instead.  His travel on Tuesday was good and he was happy he waited that extra day.  He drove from Omaha to Moriarty, NM.  That is just a few miles from Albuquerque.  My best shot in a day's drive from Omaha was Tucumcari, NM and he went another 130+ miles!  Wow, I could not have done that!  His drive today was uneventful, even through Flagstaff.  I am so glad to have him join me here and we look forward to a great winter.

Tonight we skyped with Drew and Kayley and it did make us lonesome for our grandchildren!  I wish we could be with them at Christmas but they will have a grand time without us there.  Santa sounds like he is going to be good to them. 

A video of Kayley from our Thanksgiving trip to Peoria:

Wonderful two weeks in Peoria

Tonight I fly back to Phoenix after spending two fun weeks with Drew and Kayley.  Kayley was feeling much better by the time I arrived two weeks ago so I probably would not have needed to come this early.  But, I am glad I did.  :-)  The kids went to pre-school every morning to keep in their routine and I picked them up after they had lunch each day.

Mark came on Tuesday evening and stayed until yesterday.  Matt arrived Wednesday evening and also returned home to Omaha yesterday.  We had a fun family Thanksgiving!

We trimmed Megan and Andy's tree this week-end so that chore is done and even wrapped some Christmas presents.  I wish we could fly back for Christmas but are instead waiting for Drew's 5th birthday in January for a return visit. 

Mark is planning on leaving Saturday to spend the night at Matt's in Omaha and then will start the long drive to Phoenix on Sunday morning.  That should put him in our home mid-afternoon on Monday.  I can't wait for him to join me there!  He will be shocked but I don't even have a "honey do" list this year.  Maybe we can golf more and do some sight seeing!  We are looking forward to a great winter.

I hope everyone had a great holiday with their loved ones and may you all have a blessed Christmas.

Some pics from this trip.  (Haven't had time to edit any videos, yet!)

Getting ready for Mommy to take a Christmas card picture.

Drew was very proud of his cupcakes.

Looks like he now wants to eat one!

Princess Kayley

It was so nice here we went to the park twice!

Drew still likes to build trains....out of any vehicle!

Leaving a week earlier than planned!

I originally had a flight to Peoria for Thanksgiving break scheduled to leave on the 21st but yesterday I called and had it changed to tomorrow.  Kayley has been in the hospital for three days fighting meningitis and I want to be there when she is discharged and take care of her when she returns home.  As of this writing they are very confident it is the viral form, which is much better than the bacterial version.  The spinal tap should be definitive today in regards to which meningitis she has contracted so we are all keeping our fingers crossed.  Megan said she has really been sick.  Vomiting, bad headaches and neckaches, dehydration, etc.  My poor sweet granddaughter!!!  I am hoping I won't even be needed when I arrive but want to be able to help out if she cannot attend day care.   That poor child has been through a lot since the first of October when she had her tonsils/adenoids removed.  As Megan said, she may never get her into a doctor's office or hospital again after what she has been through!

Needless to say, I am scrambling to get things packed and the AZ house shut down for a two week absence.  I hate paying an extra $50 for checked bags so am only taking a carry on which doesn't allow for much packing anyway.  I may have to borrow some of Megan's wardrobe!  :-)  In case I don't post again for awhile, a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!

I embedded this video on my Facebook page but will re-post for my friends that are smart enough NOT to have a FB account!  It is a young man hang gliding from a cliff that I hike to almost every day.  I have seen attempts before this one but they were never able to take off because of wind gusts.  I was thrilled to finally see a guy actually take off.  Too scary for me...I couldn't do this!

Looking forward to Thanksgiving!

I am getting settled into life in Arizona once again.  I have the grass starting to grow, pots filled with geraniums and lots of hiking as often as I can do it!  My only problem is missing my husband and children and grandchildren.  I am flying to Peoria for Thanksgiving so that will solve all of those "missing" problems for a while.  As much as I love "warmth" and the desert one cannot beat family!  That said, I hope the weather isn't so horrible there that I cannot get out in a timely fashion back to AZ.  Ha!  Like I said, I love warm weather.  :-)

These past two days have really been hard on my thighs!  Guess I am not in very good shape after spending 6 months in flat Iowa.  Yesterday I climbed up and down for 6 miles and today went with great gal Jane for another 6 mile hike.  It was so much fun hearing about her and hubby's wonderful adventures in their RV all summer traveling across this glorious West and the Natl. Parks.  They love their RV and it makes me want to buy one and just go!  Thanks Jane for a great morning.

Mark and Megan both talked today about the weather back in the midwest.  Megan was not impressed, especially after just returning from a business trip to Alabama.  All I can say about that is:  IA. MN, IL, etc. are not known for their weather.  They are known for their educational possibilities, stability and great quality of life.  I am glad we raised our children there and guess I have to admit I am glad we are able to get out of that crap (winter weather) now that I am older!  Ha!

Some (very) random pictures:

Half way down North Mountain!

I still have a ways to go...

The black dirt is turning grass green!

Another view from the top

Stolen fall picture from Megan's blog. 

And another pilfered pic

I wish these two could have rung my doorbell on Halloween

I am in the desert

I left Thursday afternoon for Omaha.  Landed at Matt's around 4:30 pm.  He was working but returned home around 6.  He took me and a friend (Kailie, sorry if I am not spelling it right)  to Anthony's steak house.  Very, VERY good meal.  We had a great time there and then back to Matt's home.  I hit bed early because of a 12 hour drive the next morning to Tucumcari, NM.  The drive went without a hitch, so that was a plus!

I left Tucumcari at 6 am New Mexico time.  That would be 7 am Iowa time and 5 am Arizona time.  Needless to say, with the 2 hour time difference I made it into Phoenix early on Saturday, around 1:45 pm.  That left me plenty of time to grocery shop, start getting rid of the AZ dust and just relax.  I still do not like the drive down the mountains from Flagstaff to Phoenix.  I cannot imagine doing that road in the winter.  Yikes!

Yesterday I spent most of the day preparing our little lawn for seeding.  Thank goodness it is "little" because it took a lot of hard work, bending over, lifting 8 big bags of top cover, etc.  It is worth it in the end but I am stiff this morning!  I was going to go on a hike today but that can wait another day.  :-)

I was very disappointed in my rose bush garden.  I lost every single one.  They were so beautiful when I left last April and the watering system was working so I don't understand what happened!  It was a long and very hot summer here so I am thinking that I didn't have the water on long enough for them to survive.  Live and learn!  We enjoyed their color so much that I am going to replant them but if they die again next summer then cacti are going into that spot!!!  Hard to kill a cactus out here.  Ha!

No video today.  :-(  I will have to rely on Megan to keep us updated as to what Drew and Kayley are up to these days!

Mexican Palm upon arrival was in desperate need of a trimming!!!

Mexican Palm after trimming it...immediately!!

Date Palm was also looking very shaggy!

Date Palm looking clean shaven!

Mark's cactus was overtaken by grass while we were gone.  He is going to have to deal with this.  I am not getting near that cactus!

This once was my beautiful rose garden.  Upon arrival it looked like the yard of a foreclosed home!

This is what my rose garden looked like when I left last May.  Must have really been a long hot summer in the Valley!

Home, but not for long (updated with a video)

 I returned from two weeks in Peoria last Friday night.  Kayley was well on her way to being healed after her tonsillectomy/adenoid surgery.  She was finally about 99% the last couple of days I was there and we knew she could start back to preschool again.  It was very hard to leave knowing that I will be heading to Arizona soon.  I will miss those two little ones so much!  I do have a plane ticket already purchased to fly to Peoria for Thanksgiving, though, so that thought helps me some!

Mark almost has the harvest finished.  He ran into combine problems this afternoon so he may not be finishing tomorrow as planned.  Hopefully he can get that old machine up and running again to be done for the season!  Wish him luck!  Jan Miller is still hauling grain for him and the last two days I have been riding with her and the time spent visiting has been fun!  I don't get to see her as often as I used to so this has been very nice.

My plans are to leave this Thursday for Matt's home in Omaha and spend the night.  I like getting up early from his house and hit the road for about a 12+ hour drive to Tucumcari, NM.  I wouldn't be able to get that far without that extra 3 hours provided by leaving from Omaha!  That should put me in Phoenix by early afternoon on Saturday.  I am not looking forward to the cleaning that will face me after all those dust storms this summer.  I imagine it will be bad.  :-(  Oh well, it's a small house!!!

The next time I post I will be in the desert.  I am anxious to get back there and do some hiking!  Mark will join me when he gets the fall field work done.

Some pictures and a video from my stay in Peoria....

 

Kayley writing on her whiteboard when she started feeling better.

She is in the process of drawing a "pretty rainbow"!

Kayley wanted to go to the park and have a Burger King picnic one day.  She wasn't quite ready for that, though.  Four fries into it she started cyring and said her mouth hurt.  :-(  We went home and had scrambled eggs and cottage cheese and she was a happy camper!

Daddy said he would buy her a fish when she started taking her medicine without his "assistance".

Kayley said these were not pajamas and insisted on wearing them all day.  I thought they looked like pajamas and Megan confirmed....they are pajamas.  Oh well, she was very comfortable all day!

Grandparents Day at Preschool

Lucky for me,  the kids' preschool held Grandparents Day while I was actually here!  Yay!   Unfortunately, Kayley of course could not attend but Megan came home from work to watch her so I could attend for Drew.  I had such a great time and I think he was very glad someone was there for him.  There were lots of old folks in the building today.  :-)  I was feeling sad that Mark couldn't attend so I made sure to make some videos for him.

Kayley had a so-so day.  She was constantly saying she was hungry but no matter what I offered her that she said she wanted it was unsuccessful when it came to putting it into her mouth.  Just softly cried and said her mouth hurt.  I can only imagine!  She did take liquids all day so that was the main goal.  I finally did get two bowls of ice cream down her.  I look forward to the day the little gal is back to herself!


Some random pics and videos of Drew's program:

Drew and Kayley with the pumpkins mommy bought for them

Drew and his best friend Sam playing outside after the program

Getting ready to perform for the old folks

Kayley at home feeling good at the moment!

Some videos from Grandparents Day:

Kayley's surgery

Kayley had tonsil/adenoid surgery scheduled for Monday so Saturday I left for Peoria to lend a hand in her recovery.  The surgery went well but the recovery, not so much.  The doctor said her tonsils were the size of ping pong balls and the adenoids half that size.  Those were some super big tonsils for such a little mouth and head! She had the surgery at around 10:30 on Monday and they said she could go home as soon as she drank 4 ounces.  By late afternoon/early evening it was obvious she was not going to do it.  She had drunk 0 ounces.  :-(  There was no choice but to admit her and get an IV started so she would not become dehydrated.  All day Tuesday we worked on getting her to drink.  By that evening she had taken around 10 ounces of various liquids.  (We had a VAST array of choices for her!!)  I would not call them "easy" ounces.  We all worked hard for those few sips!  Wednesday she was feeling a bit better and they decided to release her as they think she will do better at home.  Since we have been home, she has been sipping but taking her meds is a nightmare, and this from a little gal that always took medicine without complaint.  I am sure the feeling in her throat is not helping.  Andy's been given the task of administering her meds.  Lucky Dad, but he is the only one strong enough to get them down her!  Megan and Andy were told it is about a 2 week recovery.  I never realized it was such a major surgery, at least the recovery period anyway.  Oh well, we are praying Kayley keeps properly hydrated.

Update:  Today Kayley was....remarkable!  She took her meds in a cup on her own.  Big advancement!  She had scrambled eggs for lunch and cottage cheese for a "snack", along with black olives.  Thank goodness Kayley likes foods like that because they are soft! 


Some pics and one video:

Looking happy, happy before leaving for the hospital!

Still looking good in pre-op

A bit out of it following surgery

Forcing a smile in the hospital....still not drinking any liquids, though.

Working on drinking...anything!

YAY!!!!

This is her position when Andy said "time for your meds"!

Having fun decorating a pumpkin in the play room

The look we got when we said "drink Kayley"!!!!

Happy we are leaving her alone!

Super glad to have brother Drew visit

Ah, laying in bed watching Mickey Mouse.  Life is good!!!

This shows how we tried to get her to drink!  :-)