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.