Life in Iowa

I have been back on the farm for six days now.  It is so great to be home.  I miss the mountains for hiking but I have been busy in my flower beds when possible and have planted all my flower pots to try to brighten up the landscape.  They have forecast rain practically every day but we have lucked out the past three days.  It should be dry enough today to till the garden and get that planted but it is looking rather threatening outside as I type this so that may not happen!  My plan is to put in a much larger garden this year.  We eat a lot of vegetables and I will spend a lot of money on gas driving to grocery stores from the farm!  It just makes sense to have them close at hand....and fresh!

Thursday I am departing for Peoria.  I cannot wait to see Drew and Kayley.  I am going to help Megan with some things in her house and then on Sunday afternoon I am packing up the kids and bringing them to our farm for a week.  They are excited about that and so are Grandpa and Grandma! Mark has not seen the kids since January.  I pray the weather is good that week because they love the outdoors and like to ride the golf cart, lawn mower, etc.  I am going to try to fit their bikes in my car but that is questionable.  My trunk is small because of the hybrid battery compartment so they probably won't fit.  I am hoping Andy will find a way to get them in the car.  :-)

The kids will also be having a blast on a wonderful gift from Uncle Milt!  It is a combo water/jumping inflatable yard toy.  It arrived here yesterday. It looks huge with plenty of room for jumping and splashing.  It says it is equally fun with or without water so even if the temps are not good for swimming they can have fun jumping this visit.  Thank you, Milt!

Blast Zone Pirate's Bay Inflatable Water Combo

 

Looks like fun, right?  :-)

Fantastic week with my sisters!

Jan and Sharon flew to Phoenix for a visit and our trip with 13 other women to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon.  Jan arrived on April 5th and Sharon arrived the following Sunday.

We had so much fun together.  One night we met Sharon's daughter Lisa and her two sons Nick and Taylor for dinner at Fogo's.  I have NEVER had a meal like this in my life and I am old!  Huge salad bar and then the staff walk through the diners non-stop serving every wonderful cut of meat you can think of on skewers and slice it right there on your plate.  Very pricey but hey, it was Sharon's treat in honor of her upcoming 70th birthday in June.  (Shouldn't Jan and I have treated her???)  Thanks Sharon for a wonderful experience and about 6 pounds of weight gain...  :-)

Tuesday we began our adventure to the Grand Canyon.  We spent the night in Seligman, AZ on the famous Route 66.  On our way to Seligman we stopped in Jerome where Sharon's son Aaron now resides.  I just love Jerome.  Very laid back, artsy type of mountain community and just about perfect for Aaron. We toured his home in Gold King Mine Ghost town. Yes, that is what it is called. What a place.  Pics next time of the area.  The TV show "American Pickers" might be coming, that is how much unique and old stuff is there!  Last time they tried to record the show a snowstorm stopped them.  The entire time I was walking around I wished our good friend Clayton was with us.  Clayton, you would love this place!

After Jerome we headed to Prescott which required a drive with 158 curves in 12 miles.  Our dear friend Marilyn took motion sickness meds before we left.  Good idea!  I was driving so it was quite the experience.  I was glad to finally be out of that drive but it was an adventure.  We finally made it to Seligman around 4:00.  Checked in to our motel and we were off to the Road Kill Cafe for happy hour and food.  We didn't party too late as we had a rather LONG hike the following morning.

Wednesday began our journey.  Once we turned off of Route 66 (about 30 miles from Seligman) we entered the Indian reservation and drove for 60 miles to the trail head.  It was very cool and very windy at the top.  After checking our bags with the "horses, we headed down for about a 9 mile hike through the most breath taking scenery you can imagine.  We finally arrived at Supai Village and checked into our lodge.  It was still early enough so we walked another mile to the first falls.  Breath taking, again.  I went with another gal another mile to Havasu Falls and then we returned to the lodge.  Needless to say, we slept like logs that night!

The following day was our day to frolic in the water, hike to all the falls, etc.  We probably walked another 6 miles "playing".    Another night of sleeping like a log.

Friday morning was our dreaded day.  As challenging as getting there can be, getting out of the canyon is a true challenge!  What goes down must go back UP.  :-)  Everyone made it just fine but we all were sore, many had blisters and sore calves.  One gal had suffered from aching calves (severe) so she opted to go the helicopter route back to the top.  Thank goodness they offer that option, albeit for a price.  :-)

I will never forget this trip with my sisters and a wonderful group of ladies.  It was one of those "chances of a lifetime" type of experience.  I was very sad to see them fly back to MN and FL.

Now I am just trying to decide when to head back to Iowa.  I miss Mark terribly but the weather there doesn't sound inviting but tomorrow in AZ we are to hit triple digits.  Last year they didn't hit those until June 15th so it could be a long hot summer for my AZ friends.  I am thinking the end of April would be a good time to return to the farm...

Some pics and video of our trip:

Kayley and Drew, look!  Grandma's favorite color was in the canyon

My first glimpse of Havasu Falls

Sisters Jan and Sharon on the trail

Navajo Falls.  Completely different after the flooding of 2007 but more beautiful!

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Beautiful sight as we enter the Indian village

Having a hearty breakfast before our hike with my sisters (one lovingly adopted...Marilyn)

Sisters Sharon and Jan at the Road Kill Cafe

Our first view of Navajo Falls.  This was not here before the flooding in 2007!

Jan, Marla and Sharon getting into shape before the big hike.  Sitting????

Young, brave people jumping one of the Navajo Falls

Our group of 16 ladies making this journey together

Dear friend Jane took the three of us kayaking before our trip.  Wonderful day with Jane!  Jan and Jane in their kayak.

I am mowing our "lawn".  Takes me 10 minutes and 5 of those minutes are unrolling and rolling up the cord.  LOL

Jan on one of our "get in shape" hikes before the BIG one.

Front yard cactus blooming

Not a bad view on this canyon hike, wouldn't you agree?

The start of our journey

Stopping to rest about half way

Sharon and I on our way down...the easy part, going down!

I am as tired as I look!

Another wonderful hiking view

And another!

All alone, but not for long

Mark left early Sunday morning for his drive back to Iowa.  It started off poorly, coming upon an accident on I-17 which brought traffic to a halt.  Once he got past that he had clear sailing until New Mexico and another accident slowed him down.  Needless to say he arrived in Dalhart, TX much later than normal and was pretty tired!  To top it off, the restaurant that we normally eat at has been closed so he just said "I am going to bed"!  Hope he got a good breakfast yesterday morning!

He arrived at Matt's in Omaha yesterday afternoon and as I type he is now on his way to the farm.  I will be interested in hearing how it looks.  Does the lawn need baling due to all this warm weather they have been experiencing?  Are my flowers ready to bloom?  Is it too late to plant my garden?  Someone on Facebook said their garden was all in.  Mine won't be in until mid-May.  :-(  Oh well, considering it is Iowa they could still get snow!

Sister Jan arrives Thursday and Sharon arrives on Sunday.  I am so excited to see them both.  We are doing a hike in the Grand Canyon to Havasupai Falls on the 6th-8th so that will be our highlight of their visit.  It is quite a trek but worth every step once you see the falls.  Coming out of the canyon isn't quite as pleasant as going down, though!  We are going with a number of gals from here so it will be a fun three days!  Many are old friends of Sharon when she lived here so this will be extra special for her.

Well, sister Jan is a clean freak so I better go start dusting and vacuuming!  Just kidding, Jan.  I really am not going to do that.   It looks like a good day to hike instead!  :-)

Will post pics from our Grand Canyon hike upon our safe return....

Good times in Peoria

I spent a week with Megan, Drew and Kayley and had a splendid time.  Matt drove over from Omaha and was there Thursday through Monday morning so everyone was there except Mark and Andy.  They were busy attending Cactus League BB games in AZ with Andy's brother!

It was so good to see the kids.  They had grown a lot since our January visit.  Things change so quickly when they are little!  The weather was very good most days so we could be outside.  Lots of bike rides to the park, fishing for the very first time with Matt, riding the Gator and tractor, etc.  I assumed it wouldn't be all that great in Peoria in March but I guess this year doesn't count as being normal.  Unbelievable warmth in the midwest!

Mark is leaving Sunday morning for Iowa.  He will make it to Matt's home on Monday late afternoon, spend the night with him and head to the farm on Tuesday.  I wouldn't be surprised if he is in the field later in the week! Another unheard of thing this early!

My sisters are flying to Phoenix next week.  We hike the Grand Canyon (Havasupai Falls) on April 6-8th so we are getting pretty excited about that.  Jan will arrive this coming Thursday and Sharon will get here Easter Sunday.  Sharon and Jan haven't seen each other for two years so it is well past time for us to get together!

Unless a spring blizzard hits Iowa I will most likely start back after the sisters leave.  No reason to stay here when it is nice in Iowa!  We hit 90 degrees here this week so I am assuming it is going to start getting pretty hot in the desert and that is my signal to jump in the car.  Neither one of us is looking forward to our drive home but not much to do about that except do it!  The worst part is staying in the motel in a dumpy town (Dalhart, TX) all by yourself.  If you love/know Dalhart please forgive me for slamming it!  Just not fun alone.  :-)

I couldn't leave Drew and Kayley without getting a few pics and video!

Matt teaching Kayley about the patience of fishing.  Ha!

Drew showing his skills at the park

Bicycle safety town in Peoria.  Awesome.

Drew Matt Kayley

Kayley and the Easter Bunny at gymnastics

Mark's cactus in bloom.  He was gone last year when it bloomed but this year was early!

Kayley with her favorite snack

I bought puzzles for Drew and he finished them in record time!

Kayley, Matt and Drew

Dressing up in anything and everything

These two made Grandma a beautiful birthday cake!

Ready to bike to the park

At the park

Drew's first time fishing!

Baseball, Golf, Hiking and Horses

Mark and I have been very busy these past two weeks having fun in the sun!  We enjoyed two spring baseball games,  spent two days at the LPGA tournament, hiking several times (me), and another trip to the horse track on a bright sunny day.  The last two days have been the exact opposite of the last month.  Very cold, much needed rain in the desert and even hail and thunder.  I thought I was back in Iowa except it was nicer in Dayton than it was here Sunday and Monday!  The weather is turning back to warm sunshine today.

This afternoon I hop on a plane to go visit Drew and Kayley.  I am excited.  Mark is staying here.  Andy and his brother Mitch are coming to attend spring baseball games and Mark will be their host while I go see my grandchildren.  It will be great to see them and also Megan and Matt.  Matt is driving over to Peoria on Thursday and staying through Monday morning.  I fly back on the 27th to Phoenix.

Mark will leave for Iowa the first week in April.  I am still contemplating on what day I will leave.  The weather in Iowa will be a huge factor for me.  If it continues on its present pattern I don't think I will be far behind!

Some pics from all our fun:

Up high on a recent hike by our home

White Sox spring training stadium in Glendale

At the horse track

A view from another hike

Putting on the 18th at the LPGA

Padres/Mariners spring training stadium

Hail on our patio!

Iowa neighbors

We have been busy the past few weeks.  Our neighbors from Iowa (Both Petersons, Barb and Craig and Jeff and Patty) came to our home two weeks ago and we had a great time with them.  After giving them a tour of our little home here we drove to Cave Creek to look around.  We all especially liked "The Town Dump", a store with tons of unique and special order items you would never see anywhere else!  I will be going back there before I head back home to Iowa.  After shopping we stopped at Harold's Saloon for a cold beer then back to our home for visiting and dinner.  It was a very nice day!

Last Friday we spent the day back at the horse track helping our friend Alice celebrate her birthday with her cousins, uncle and one other friend.  We had a blast and I even won $112 on a race with a $6 bet so that was extra fun!  Normally I only bet $2 per race but decided to up it this time and a long shot came in to help boost my winnings.  Yay!  That evening we took Alice and her Wisconsin cousin back to Cave Creek for the all you can eat fish at Buffalo Chip Saloon.  What a place!  It was packed to the brim and out back they had an actual rodeo arena where we watched bull riding and toddlers riding sheep.  Good time.

I still fit in my hiking, as I need to get in shape for a trip I am taking with my sisters in April.  We are hiking down the Grand Canyon, or Havasupai to be more precise.  It is a beautiful place and we are looking forward to this adventure!  We hike down, stay two nights and then hike out on the third day.  It is the "hike out" part that requires you to get into some sort of shape!  They do have a helicopter that will haul you out if you cannot make it but it can't be cheap and that is not what we want to do!  :-)

Now we are busy looking at the Cactus League baseball schedule to see what games we want to attend.  The Diamondbacks have a new (last year) stadium that we have not seen so that is on our list.  Spring baseball is a huge thing down here every year and it is fun to go to the games.  Our son-in-law Andy is coming down here to go to some games so Mark will entertain him while I fly to Peoria to see my daughter and grandchildren.  I cannot wait for that!  Well, that is about all I have for now.  Hope everyone's snow is melting!!!!

Pics from the last few weeks:

Mark at Turf Paradise

Barb, Patty, Marla at Cave Creek

The Three Amigos....Mark, Jeff, Craig

My winter geraniums are doing well.

I love this color of geranium!