Simply breath taking......

From Tuesday through Friday I felt like I was in another world. The trip to the falls at Supai Indian reservation was awesome! We saw so much beauty and the pictures don't begin to do it justice. We started down the trailhead around 10 am on Wednesday morning. It is an 8 mile journey to the Supai village where we would reside for two nights. The first 1-2 miles were switchbacks, getting down the mountain. After that we walked the canyon floor for 6 miles. What goes down MUST come up, so we knew in 2 days we would be climbing up those switchbacks! But, we didn't dwell on that fact while we were there. :-) We got to our lodge around 1 pm. After all 16 women were safely at the lodge Sharon, Jan and I and 5 others ventured 2 more miles to view our fist look at Havasu Falls. Words cannot describe our feelings when we saw it.......if you are in the area and feel like walking about 30+ miles in three days, I would recommend this hike. You would NOT regret it. May I suggest you train a bit beforehand, though. :-) I always said that before one leaves this planet they should raft down the Colorado River on the rapids through the Grand Canyon. This ranks right up there, both are a once in a lifetime experience.
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A few shots from the hike enclosed.................

Off to Havasupai

Sharon, Jan and I and about 13 other gals are leaving this morning for a three day adventure hiking to Havasupai, which is on the south side of the Grand Canyon. We are pretty excited to go but have been watching the weather. A front is moving through just then, bringing some very gusty winds and cooler temps. We won't let Mother Nature suppress our excitement to do this, though!

Sister Jan is loving her vacation here. Yesterday was 98 so it was a far cry from the freezing cold and snow of her home in Osakis, MN. Saturday the three of us hiked then went to lunch with Jane, a fun gal who we had gone down the Canyon river rapids with several years ago. I pretty much laughed through the entire lunch! Then it was off to the putting and chipping green for a bit of practice. Sunday Jan and I stayed at my town house. We went to a driving range close by me, then to Megan's for a visit with her family. Sharon joined us, also.

I will be out of Internet and phone range until Friday so this will be my last post for awhile. Hope everyone has a great week wherever you are........

Pics are from the week....

Great Aunt Jan to visit

Sister Jan flies to Phoenix this afternoon. She has had a horrible winter in Osakis, Minnesota so I think she will find the weather here much to her liking. She's going to spend almost two weeks here with Sharon and I so we are really excited about that. Next Tuesday all three of us are going on a hike to Havasupi with about 12 other gals. Sharon went last year and says it is quite an adventure. We return on Friday. Fortunately Andy's brother and family are coming here for a visit so they were going to take some of those days off anyway so babysitting won't be such a burden to them while I do this hike.

Jan and Drew have never met so he will be seeing one of his great aunts for the very first time. That will be nice! I will post pictures and video when I get them. Big surprise there? :-)

Monday, monday

I used to really hate Mondays but they aren't so bad now. When I arrive Drew greets me with a beautiful smile and Sox gives me a mini-bath in greeting. My Ogden greeting usually consisted of something similar to "the server is down" or "e-mail is NOT working" or "Accelerated Reader is down at Howe". The people reporting these things usually said so with great distress and urgency in their voices so it was not a great way to start one's day. I am glad those days are behind me! Life is much more peaceful now. :-)

Mark arrived back at our farm last Wednesday afternoon. He spent his first night in Tucumcari, NM and the second night in Lincoln, NE. He didn't think Matt was available that night so he didn't go on to Omaha to see him. He was pooped and wanted to quit for the night. Turns out Matt was free so he just drove to Lincoln and had dinner with his dad. That was nice. I wish I could have had dinner with them, too! I think Mark is still used to this Phoenix weather. He said it is very cold in Iowa and so dreary. You can use a lot of adjectives to describe AZ weather, but dreary is definitely not one. It is almost sunny and cheery every single day. I hope Iowa's weather shapes up soon so he can get the crops in the ground.

Pictures of Drew and Grandpa, a crane putting in a new air conditioner next door at the town house and shots of Drew from the week-end.

Fun on the hillside

Another birthday

Grandma had a birthday this week-end. I normally don't celebrate them other than the fact that I am glad to see another one. But, I have to say it was a great week-end and one I would like each time I have a birthday. :-) Saturday morning I hiked with Megan and Sharon on the Go-John Trail in Cave Creek State Park. The desert is in high bloom again and it was a sea of yellow. Just breath-taking. Another "breath-taking" moment was when a young man stopped us and said a rattler was stopping any further hiking. He was a big one, sunning himself across the entire path. The guy decided to go in the brush to get around the snake. I was a bit apprehensive, wondering if relatives were near by, but we got through just fine. Well, Megan did snag a big cactus in her thigh by-passing the trail, so it wasn't completely fine but Sharon removed it and all was well again!

That afternoon we decided to do another Phoenix Zoo visit. Very pleasant day with the animals. For dinner, Mark took us all to the Satisfied Frog for dinner. Great place to eat in Cave Creek, AZ if you ever are in the vicinity!

Sunday Megan and Drew came over for brunch. (Andy was in Las Vegas for a friend's wedding). Mark spent the afternoon packing for Iowa. :-) He left this morning at 6:30 in hopes of avoiding the peak of the rush hour on the freeway. He is driving to Tucumcari, NM to spend his first night on the road. Drive safely!!

Glad we are here

Mark and I talked to friends back in Iowa and one had 3" of snow and the other received 5+" of the stuff. In the meantime, we are frolicking in the green space across the street from the town house and trying to avoid turning on the air conditioner! I certainly prefer those conditions as opposed to shoveling snow and freezing. I hope they get some relief and that spring arrives very soon. Mark leaves Monday for Iowa so I can guarantee he is hoping for the same thing!

Mark has been spending a lot of time with Drew this week with grandma in the background and I think they both have really enjoyed their time together. I have the feeling grandpa will want to come out here more this summer than have me come back there just so he can watch Drew's growth and personality in action.

This morning the ladies (Sharon, Megan and Marla) are taking a 5 mile hike at Cave Creek State Park so grandpa is babysitting. Sounds like the boys are going to a small nearby airport and watch planes come in and take off. Drew is at the age where he looks up all the time and watches the planes and helicopters so he should enjoy that activity. This afternoon we are all going to the zoo again and catch the sights we missed on the first visit.

A few pictures from the week...............

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Easter week-end

It was a beautiful week-end in Phoenix, highs near or above 90 but very comfortable. Mark and I went to the driving range both Saturday and Sunday. Met an old gentleman from the Ben Hogan school of golf theory and he taught us (tried to) teach us a lot of little things. I must say he helped me a lot. I was hitting straight!! Now I need to grab the guy and haul him to the chipping green as that is my real downfall.

Sunday we had egg casserole for brunch at Megan and Andy's home. Grandpa Butch is here visiting so Drew had all his grandparents around for the occasion. Butch came visiting from LeMars, Iowa so we are all so very happy he has had a week full of sunshine and great temps. He has been in shorts and sandals all week!

Here is a video of Drew's Easter week-end:

Grandpa and Drew grazin' in the grass

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The many faces of Drew, & a whistle, too!

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Happy, happy Monday

Hope everyone had a fantastic week-end. Mark and I had a glorious time. Golf on Saturday with Andy and yesterday was spent at the ballpark, a spring training game with the White Sox and Padres. We sat on the hillside grass which was just perfect for Drew. He loves being outside and was a breeze to watch at the game. The sun was out in full force and we actually started to get pretty warm by game's end. So, the day consisted of lots of sunscreen, lots of bad food (for you) but delicious, and a good ball game. Chicago lost but we didn't care, just spring training after all! As you can see from one photo, we could have been at Daytona Beach instead of the ball game. :-) Email me!

Give me the spoon!

Helping grandma clean house

Overnighter

Drew spent the night with us Saturday night. Megan and Andy "had" to host her law firm's box at the Phoenix Suns game. Tough job but someone has to do it I guess! :-)

We got along just fine as Drew re-arranged my little kitchen and decided it's contents would go better in the family room!
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Poppies and greenery everywhere

It was a gorgeous week-end so Saturday Sharon and I took a 5 mile hike near Cave Creek at a state park. All the rain this year really is starting to show up in desert blooms and a blanket of green that isn't always present. Sharon said the only down side to all that lush greenery is that it is a bigger fire hazard during the heat of summer. :-( Notice the yellow from all the poppies in bloom...
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Shadow Puppets

This video is a bit off the topic of this blog, but it just blew me away! Raymond Crowe from Australia does amazing shadow puppets to Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World". Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!




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Drew's first "bike" ride

Thank goodness for fences

Going a bit farther now....

Megan and Andy filmed this last night. I noticed this morning Drew would walk to things he crawled to on Friday when I was last with him. He will really take some watching now! On the bright side, he can soon go hiking with mom, grandma and Aunt Sharon! Also, grandpa and daddy will soon have him walking up and down those long aisles of their favorite store, Home Depot. :-)


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hey.....look at my new shirt!

Yup, I'm gonna be a big brother but don't know if I will have a sister or a brother yet. My mom says she is due on September 4th but she has to have a C-section so it will be the week before that. I am really excited about being a big brother but I wonder if Grandma will make me share MY blog with the new baby? hmmm........ Anyway, I am pretty excited about this and hope you are too! Love, big bro Drew
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Uncle Mitch's gift

Mitch's Christmas gift to Drew has been quietly sitting in the background waiting for Drew to take a ride on him. This week-end he finally took the plunge and had a great time doing so.

Happy Valentine's Day

Another week bites the dust. Funny, when I was employed I just couldn't wait until Friday and the week was finally over. Now, each passing week blends in with the week before, etc. That's a nice feeling. As fellow retiree sister Sharon once said: "every day is a Saturday".

Hope you all had a nice Valentine's Day. Mark grilled a delicious Iowa t-bone steak for us and was better than any restaurant would have served, I am positive. We decided to skip going out to dinner last night because the restaurants are so crowded on the 14th and I am glad we did!

Mark spent the week doing odds and ends around here and at Megan's place. Trimming our Mexican palm tree, putting in a new closet door at Megan's, etc. It was nice weather to do all that. Tomorrow and Sunday we hope to help Andy landscape his front yard. I will enjoy that task as I love working on yards and making things look nice outdoors.

Tomorrow Sharon and I are hiking Black Mountain in the morning before any yard work. I love that hike, hard as it is! It is a great feeling of accomplishment to reach the top. I believe I will do Everest next as I hear it is a really warm hike. :-)

Must post a few pics of our growing Drew, changing each and every day! Have a good week-end everyone.

Sunday afternoon at the zoo

Phoenix has a really terrific and beautiful zoo and Mark and I got to enjoy the day there with our grandson and his parents. Temps in the upper 70's, sunny skies and lots of people and animals.

What a day!

This shows just how nice it is outside this February 8th!

Winter is flying by

I cannot believe we are already in to February but that means the temps of a record low January are behind us. :-) Just saw the forecast and this week-end will be in the mid 70's which is just scrumptious down here with all the sunshine. There will be lots of swinging for Drew, golf and hiking for Mark and me.

To catch up a bit, last week-end was big here in the Valley. Both the FBR Open and the Super Bowl were happening so lots of extra people in town. Mark and I attended the FBR both on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we went with Megan, Andy and Drew. That was our warmest day. The crowd bordered on overwhelming that day! Sunday crowd was much smaller probably due to a much cooler day and the big football game parties going on everywhere. I did pretty good until the very end when I just got too cold and had to bail out to the pickup for some engine heat! We did really enjoy attending that and seeing all those great golfers. Unfortunately Tiger wasn't there.

Yesterday Grandpa had his first full day of watching his grandson. I was invited to play in a golf guest day with sister Sharon at her home club. It was a beautiful day and she and I had a great time. I hadn't golfed since last October so was pretty rusty and didn't contribute to the score all that much but our foursome did get 2nd place in our flight and each got $35 so that was fun. :-) Thanks girls! Mark had an equally enjoyable day with Drew. They went for a walk, swinging in the park, etc. I could tell grandpa had a fun time all alone with Drew.

Well, TGIF (and sincere sympathy) to all my working friends, especially those in the frozen tundra called the mid-west.....enjoy your week-end!

Getting oh so close...........

Grandma will soon be kept on the run, I think.

The desert is hopping!

Lots of money being spent in the area this week. The Super Bowl and the FBR Open are both on the same week-end and the local channels can barely contain themselves. :-) Celeb sightings everywhere, except evidently where I go! We are going to attend the FBR Open but couldn't quite afford the ticket price for the Super Bowl. Andy was hoping he would get a shot at a ticket with his season ticket but wasn't lucky in that department. There were very few given the shot at that. Anyway, it is a very exciting week here in the Phoenix area.

The weather has been cooler but I was sweating after our walk today. I feel guilty saying that after hearing from my Minnesota sister that they had a SEVENTY FOUR degree temp drop in 12 hours. God, I do not miss that crap!!! I also saw that my former school dismissed today at noon due to terrible weather. Drive safely all you mid-westerners!! And I will make sure I put sun screen on each day. Sorry, that was mean.

Well, I will throw a couple of pictures up of Drew just because it's my blog and I can. :-) The first picture shows Drew doing the Richard Nixon impersonation I taught him.........

Dogsitting on a rainy Sunday

Megan, Andy and Drew flew to Omaha on Friday so Mark and I have been watching our "granddog" Sox. Friday and Saturday were absolutely gorgeous days and Sox and I took long walks. Today, not so good.......although much needed rain in the desert is falling. It is supposed to rain all day. Sox is just lounging around the town house and has discovered our bed. I love Sox like my own but must admit I am super glad she is on Mark's side of the bed................ :-) That's what we get for not making the bed immediately upon arising this morning. Hope you all are enjoying your week-end. We are!