Hump day

Happy Wednesday to all. My former co-workers at school have very few workdays left before summer break. I cannot believe an entire school year has transpired since my retirement. It seems just like yesterday I was laughing with my friends there or complaining about the administration. :-) My life is so completely removed from all that now that it seems unreal. I am loving this retirement business and loving caring for my grandson each day. I will love it completely when Mark gets here after farming is through for the year.

I fly back to Iowa Friday night for a quick week-end visit. I am really excited to see my hubby, my home and to see if my flowers came up or if the weeds took over in my absence! I have a feeling Mark would not let that happen, even though he is so busy farming in between rain storms!

The pics are random shots of a happy Drew. The last two are of him bouncing to Beethoven from a Baby Einstein DVD. :-) It is not hard to get smiling pictures of this little guy. He has a very good disposition as I said before. He still has that instant "feed me" or "put me down for a nap" mood, of course! Enjoy the rest of the week everyone.

Let's go for a swim

Pictures are of Drew and parents in the pool . Drew was in the pool twice this week-end. I have a feeling he will be in the pool every week-end with his mommy and daddy. I may take him in myself during the week but it does involve a bit of a ritual.....sunscreen, trunks, swimshirt, swim hat and then a bath afterward to wash off the sunscreen and pool water. I may not be up to all that. :-) Sunscreen is a must down here as the sun is always out and always intense. Not many gloomy damp days like I recall in Iowa!

I had my first "all night" babysitting stint yesterday. Megan and Andy attended Megan's firm's Spring Retreat at a resort in Scottsdale. He and I got along just great. To bed at 10 and up this morning at 8:15, the perfect little baby boy! He has been doing that for quite some time so they need to be very grateful about his sleep schedule.

Happy Birthday to Drew's daddy!

It is Andy's birthday today....his last year of being in his twenties. Next year the big 3-0....I barely remember turning 30 but do recall I didn't like the feeling much. :-) I was VERY aware of turning 40 and 50 because Mark threw me surprise birthday parties which were a lot of fun with great friends and relatives attending. I even have videos which I may be brave enough to look at again some day! Now I am at the point where I am glad to just get another birthday each year. :-)

Drew had a birthday two days ago.....4 months old and had another check-up and round of shots yesterday to celebrate (?) his milestone. I cannot believe how fast the time is going. In two months he will be a half year old. Seems just a few days ago we were teasing Megan about her increasing tummy.

The next few weeks will provide lots of excitement and travel. I fly home next Friday for a Memorial week-end visit to Mark and the farm. It has been 2 1/2 months since I have been home so am looking forward to seeing it and him! Two days after I return to Phoenix Mark flies out for Drew's baptism. Matt is one of the godfathers to Drew so he is coming out, also. I cannot wait for that week-end. Andy's brother Mitch and their dad is also coming, too. It should be good fun. I can see the pool getting a work-out in this heat!

Well, Drew is sleeping so I really should be getting some chores done while the little angel is snoozing. Later!

(Naturally, I had to toss in a few new pics of Drew)

Happy Mother's (or Grandmother's) Day!

Wishing all the Moms out there a very special day. I don't know what it was like by you, but it was very hot, very sunny here in Phoenix. We discussed what to do today and we all decided the best day we could have was to sit pool side right here. Drew took his very first swim in the pool today. I don't think he thought it was all that great, but he was also close to naptime which may have accounted for his not thinking it was as great as Andy, Megan and I. :-) All in all Megan and I had a great Mother's Day, her first and a few more than that for me! I had great phone conversations with Matt and Mark to top off my day. Pictures are from this past week.

Drew's 3 month photo

Pretty cute, huh? I know, every grandma thinks that!! Now I know how right those grannies are. :-)

Grandpa's in town!

Mark arrived Thursday afternoon to an excited grandson and grandma! He was "supposed" to fly back this morning but Dan and Katie told us about all the rain....again....so we decided to delay his Iowa return until Wednesday morning since field work sounded out of the question and the weather here is glorious, so why leave? We've been having a marvelous time caring for Drew, golfing, dining out (too much for the waistline) and sitting by Andy and Megan's pool sipping a cool one. I hate to see him leave and imagine he hates leaving but the crops need someone to plant them before they will grow!

Pictures are rather misc., with the street scenes showing some of the places we take our morning walk, etc.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Grandpa Mark is flying in Thursday afternoon. Megan and Andy decided to give me a wonderful Mother's Day present by getting him a ticket out here Thursday night through Monday morning. I am so very much looking forward to seeing him and giving him a huge hug! I am assuming he is also excited about this present. :-) We have not been together since March 31 so it has been a long separation. Every time I do get lonely for him I think about all the young wives and children whose husbands and dads are in Iraq for months, even years. It pretty much puts it into perspective. But, I can still miss him!

It is nice and warm out here. Near 100 again today but it doesn't compare to the discomfort that temp would bring in Iowa. It is not bad here at all. Now, when it gets to 115, THAT will be a different tune. :-)

Pics of a happy Drew on a Monday morning. He seemed happier on a Monday than his mom and dad going off to work after the week-end!! Cheers, Marla

A hike, a football game and a prime rib dinner

Now doesn't it sound like I had a delightful day from that title? In fact, I did. The morning started out with a 5 mile hike with an organized hiking group and it was just great. We hiked though some of the most beautiful and rugged terrain I have seen out here to date. It was really warm today so was glad the hike began at 8:30. By 10:30 it was already 96 degrees and we still had about another hour to hike. One gal became over heated and they had to truck her out before she could finish. Sharon and I did not get that hot and we finished the hike with no problems.

Following our hike we went to Sharon and Arne's grandson's little league football game. Taylor and his Outlaws were going on their third season of being undefeated! Today's game ended in a 12-12 tie. They are STILL undefeated, just have a tie to tag on after the won-loss record. :-) The game was delayed by one of Arizona's famous dust devils followed by rain. My white shorts were anything but that following this game.

After the game, Arne took us out to dinner at his favorite hangout, the Scottsdale Health Care Facility cafeteria. I have never eaten dinner on a Saturday night in a hospital cafeteria "on purpose" but then decided it was a great place for us three geriatrics to dine!! Actually, Arne is a caring clown there every week for the patients and he wanted to give us a tour of their beautiful medical center. The prime rib was really very, very good and the tour was likewise. Thanks Arne!!

The pics with this post show the hike today. The really big saguaro is supposed to be the biggest in Arizona with an estimated 30 "arms". It is way over 200 years old. One picture has me standing beside it to give perspective to the cactus' size. The other pics are thrown in for grandpa of Drew.

She just "looks" dead.......

Sox the dog was totally pooped out after our walk late this morning. It is getting warmer in the desert but not that bad yet so she was fine. I think I will keep pushing our walks earlier and earlier in the morning. Sox and grandma need it a little earlier. Grandson Drew, in his shaded and high tech stroller, is doing just great. He starts snoozing within about one fast paced block. It is so wonderful taking the dog and Drew for a walk.....it is my favorite hour of the day. Fresh air and beautiful scenery. What more can one ask for?

My friend's son who was injured in Iraq is making what sounds like great progress. My heart goes out to the family. I cannot imagine going through this nightmare. Just horrible. If someone from Ogden would send me a pic of all the yellow ribbons around that town I would greatly appreciate it!!

Megan and Andy are at a Diamondback baseball game tonight. Megan gets tickets and I think they really enjoy the great seats and the night out. They took Mark and I to a game last summer. It was great fun but it was the one night in the desert that it rained...and rained profusely! I have never seen it rain like that in Iowa. We were drenched beyond belief and had to look for alternate "unflooded" routes home!

If I don't get back tomorrow, everyone please have a great week-end! Marla

Computer woes

My Mac laptap shucked out it's hard drive over the week-end. This will be the third drive this computer will have as I just put a new drive in last fall. Fortunately, that drive is still under warranty. Unfortunately, I must send the laptop to Heartland Tech Solutions in Ames for the warranty work. I am looking at 10 days to two weeks without a laptop. Yes, I can always use Megan and Andy's as I am doing now, but it is a PC and everyone knows what heartache that brings to a true Mac lover like myself. :-)

I was just recovering from all the sadness of the VT murders and then I get word that my friend and former co-worker's son was critically wounded in Iraq. He is in Bethesda now and dad and brother are there with him. Keep this family in your thoughts and/or prayers, as they need it.

I am beginning my third week of being a nanny to grandson Drew. I am enjoying each and every mintute with him! He still sleeps a couple of hours in the a.m. and afternoon so during those times I try to help the kids out with some housecleaning, laundry and having dinner started for them when they get home. I am thinking I wouldn't have minded something similar when I was their age!! But, I am not a "sitter" and need to be doing something especially if my ritalin hasn't kicked in. :-) Here are some recent snaps of Drew, mommy, etc.