A walk in the park

Sox and I take Drew for a walk every morning. Megan and Andy of course have a regular stroller but they also have a jogging stroller and it is wonderful for long walks and traveling over different terrain. I cannot really "jog" with him until he is at least 6 months old so we only go for brisk walks, no running for another 3 months. :-)

The pictures show what the jogging stroller look like and also Drew's shirt in honor of his father today. There is a grandma shirt and it is going on Drew very soon!
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Mommy's back at work!!

Megan started back today for the first full day since she had Drew on January15th. I think it was a little hard for her to leave him, but hopefully it helped that I was here with Drew and she didn't have to haul him off to some day care center with lots of kids. He and I got along just grand today. I dressed him in this special blue shirt and took a picture and sent to his mommy. She enjoyed receiving that, as I bought this a few days ago and he hadn't worn it yet. A few other pictures are included and also two of Drew after he discovered what great fun it was to suck on two of his newly found fingers! Every day will be a learning experience for Drew and I look forward to watching him discover his new world!!
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Desert in bloom.....

I went for a hike yesterday by myself up Black Mountain and took more time actually looking around and taking pictures of the desert in bloom rather than just hunkering down and sucking wind as I climbed the trail! It really is beautiful out here this time of year but not certain that my pictures give it justice.






Today I am at Megan and Andy's home on my first day of officially babysitting Drew. Megan went to work for a 1/2 day today through Thursday and then officially goes back full time next Monday, the 9th. He is sleeping right now so thought it a good time to update my blog.

The pictures are from my hike and two pictures are from this morning when I got Drew up to feed him. He slept all through the night, but has been doing that for awhile now. That makes mom and dad especially happy....

Good-bye, Grandpa....

I took Mark to the airport this morning. We left Sharon's around 6:30 as he has an 8:53 a.m. flight to Des Moines. Should get there around 2 this afternoon and be at the farm by 3:30 I would guess.

That was a quite difficult parting, harder than I imagined it would be! I guess after about 40 years of dating and wedded bliss, parting ways for awhile is not quite so easy. :-) Thank god for airplanes so we can see each other in about 3 hours should things get a bit lonesome! He told me to take good care of Drew, so that should not be difficult!!

Tonight I return to the airport to pick up Sharon and Arne from their Florida trip. Hope the traffic isn't too nasty, but hopefully a Sat. night should be okay on the freeways. The freeways out here are a bit more crowded than I am used to, i.e. P-70 to Ogden. :-)

I have the whole day free so am getting my hair trimmed, climbing Black Mountain and relaxing in the nice weather. Hope you all have a good Saturday, too!
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Sox and Drew on a Thursday

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Superstition Mt. and the LPGA

Mark and I, Andy and Megan and Drew headed to the LPGA Safeway Intl. finals today at the Superstition Mt. Golf Course. It is about a 55 mile trip from their home but took longer than that due to traffic going to this event. We left around 10:15, arrived after noon and stayed until after 4:00. Drew was a trooper with his # 50 sunscreen and jogging stoller with a sunshade. He didn't turn a shade of pink! We saw some very tiny gals hit the ball a country mile. It was almost mind boggling. He was most quiet when it counted (driving and putting) but we had one "scary" moment when the winner was teeing off.....he made a slight sound but Lorena Ochoa didn't notice so he was okay! :-) She went on to win the tourney so Drew didn't psyche her out!

Mark and I really enjoyed this day and I am hoping Megan and Andy did also. Drew had no opinion....he got fed when needed, changed when needed and all was good. :-) A few pictures from today.......stolen moments as grandma was NOT supposed to have a camera on the grounds........
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A new adventure Saturday

Megan and I decided to hike the "hard" trail on Camelback Mountain yesterday. I am sure it is the time of the year, but the trail was packed and parking was at a premium. We parked at least 10 minutes away so had quite a "hike" just to get to the hike!! I am so glad we went but my goodness, I was sucking wind on the way up a few times. It is a hike where you definitely are climbing rocks and boulders on a constant basis. Two spots were so steep that they did have a rail embedded into the rock so you could pull yourself up the mountain. I noticed one gal tried to make it on her own without the rail and she was soon inching her body back to that rail! It is there for a reason.

The first picture is a postcard view of Camelback. The camel is lying down with it's head to the left. Notice the praying monk figure at the start of the camel's back. The other pictures are various views along the trail and one shows me at the top and another shows a police helicopter that hovered over us at the top. At first we thought someone had fallen from the mountain but then the police just flew away never to return. Naturally, I had to throw in a couple of pics of Drew while we were babysitting last night so his Mom and Dad could go to P.F. Chang's for a much deserved night out!

Busy week

We are keeping on the go here. The last two days we have babysat so Megan and two of her visiting college friends could hike mountains and go to lunch, etc. Drew has been very good, the dog not quite as well behaved as their son. :-)

Wednesday Mark and I have an afternoon tee time so looking forward to that and then this Sunday all four of us and Drew are heading to the LPGA Safeway Tournament at Superstition Mountain Golf Course. Hope to see Julie Inkster, Michelle Wie, Annika Sorenstam, etc. Should be a fun day!!

Pictures are a beautiful sunset the other night at Terravita, Grandpa feeding Drew, Andy and his brother Chris and a couple of a happy Drew.
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Sure is nice out here!

By Iowa standards, 95-98 degrees would be a scorcher but it isn't bad out here. Those temps are above normal, though, but it is supposed to "cool off" into the upper 80's so that will be good. Nothing but shorts, flip flops and tank tops. You never wonder how to dress. :-)

I took Sharon and Arne to the airport this morning for their 8:45 flight to Fort Lauderdale. We are staying at their dump (as you can tell from the first three photos) while they are off to the ocean visiting good friends for two weeks. Mark and I shall enjoy this little job of housesitting at Terravita while they are gone. :-)

Sharon and Arne's grandson Taylor stayed with them for three days so we enjoyed taking him hiking and playing with Sox over at Megan's. Taylor also enjoyed their new pool. No one is actually supposed to get in the pool for about 2 weeks while it cures, but Taylor and Sox both managed to skip that rule for a minute or two........the water is still extremely cold from filling so they weren't in there for long!!

The weather back in Iowa sounded good for a couple of days but now it sounds back to normal: dreary, cold, damp. I am not missing it yet.............

Back in the desert

Mark and I arrived at Megan and Andy's at 3:30 yesterday afternoon. We had spent the night in Tucumcary, NM and left their at 6:15 a.m. so about a 9 hour trip. Not bad! We opened the car door to sunshine and 89 degrees. What can I say? :-)

Drew has grown so much in just 3 weeks! What a cuddler and a chunk. He is adorable, but I have already explained that particular thing to everyone. :-)

Their new pool is really nice and the backyard landscaping is gorgeous. Drew and I will enjoy that area when he gets a bit older.

Well, have to go take Sox on a walk in this sunshine......