Sunday, October 28, 2007

Great long week-end with Mark










Drew and I picked up Mark at the airport Thursday afternoon at 3:30. It was so great to see him. I was afraid Drew would have nothing to do with him as he is into not liking strangers but I think he remembered him from his visit in August! He whined a bit if granny got out of his line of sight, otherwise was great with grandpa. That first night we were invited to Megan and Andy's for dinner.

Friday Mark helped me babysit all day. We all went for a long walk through the parks that morning. It is just beautiful especially in the morning so we thoroughly enjoyed that time outdoors. That evening after Andy got home we all met Megan at a pizza restaurant close to where she works. Following a great dinner we met sister Sharon and Arne and Lisa, Nick, Dan and Taylor for bowling. Erik had just flown in from Los Alamos for the week-end so it was a special treat to see him.

Saturday morning Mark and I spent some time around the townhouse. Went for a walk through this housing complex. Went to a Mexican restaurant at noon for a salad. At 3;15 we Megan and Andy dropped Drew off with us as they had a wedding to attend. Drew helped us eat a ribeye dinner cooked by the greatest griller I know. :-)

Today we had a 9 am tee time followed by stopping by Megan's so Mark could see Drew's Tigger halloween costume before he leaves tomorrow. I hate to see him leave but the corn fields are calling him desperately!! Won't be long and he can join me for a long stay in the desert. Hope all is going well for everyone visiting this blog!!

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Thursday, October 18, 2007

Good morning







I haven't been posting many photos lately and needed to catch up on the still shots I have taken over the last week or two.

It is really nice here lately. The temps are in the low 80's, I am not running my air conditioner anymore (yeah!) and it is a really nice time to be in Arizona. Many say October is one of the best months and I can see why. The three of us (Granny, Drew and Sox the goldendoodle) take a long walk every morning since the heat went away. Every afternoon we get a blanket and frolick on the lawn. Drew dearly loves the outdoors so I think he takes after his grandma. :-) If he should happen to be in a sad/bad mood all you have to do is open the door and walk outside with him and he is all smiles again.

A couple of photos are from this past Saturday. Megan and I met Sharon and her grandson Nick and girlfriend Brit for a nice hike up Pinnacle Peak. The trail was very crowded, all due to the nice cool temps, I am certain. Sunday Megan and Andy went to the Cardinals football game and I babysat. Mark and I have tickets to two Cardinal games in December so we are really looking forward to seeing their brand new stadium and the games.

Mark is coming for a visit very soon and had hoped to have all his harvesting done. Ha! It just keeps raining and raining and raining in Iowa. Very depressing, to say the least. It has been quite the year for the Iowa farmers.....and none of it good it seems. Hopefully he can forget about it for several days while he is here. We plan to golf and hike and play with Drew the rest of the time!

I hope this finds everyone in good health and spirits! Marla

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

I look at him and I'm so amazed......


This video is for dad Andy.
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Catch up time again




Busy week-end, beautiful weather sums up life right now. Since the weather was so wonderful Saturday and Sunday I spent more time out in it! Saturday morning Megan and I drove to Black Mountain for a hike and afterwards stopped by Sharon and Arne's place to fill the fish pond and throw some food at the little guys. The Swensen's are in Iowa for a week. Iowa Wesleyan had a big reunion that they wanted to attend since they are both alumni of that college. They rented a car and drove to the farm last Wed. and spent the night with Mark. He said they had an enjoyable evening together and he grilled ribeyes for them. Yum! They return to AZ tomorrow so were gone exactly one week. They talked about getting to enjoy fall weather but from what Mark has told me, Iowa has not exactly been having fall-like temps. Very, very warm and even higher humidities. Unusual for October....

Saturday night Megan and Andy went to hear my nephew Aaron and his band play in Mesa. He was going to be the third band to play that night so I offered to keep Drew overnight since they would get home very late. It was the first time I had Drew for a sleepover with Grandma and he did just great. In bed by 8:30 and slept until 7 a.m. I can handle that! Megan picked him up shortly after 9 am on Sunday. That afternoon I started out on a walk and ended up going to Megan and Andy's, which is 2 miles. After some water and a brief visit I walked back to the townhouse.

I also did some gardening this week-end. It is really weird.....when I was at home in Iowa last week I was clipping all my perennials back, trimming the hedges for winter, etc. I get back to AZ and I go buy geraniums, other annual flowers and start planting them! I have been told that Oct. is the time to plant flowers in your pots, etc. since the heat is subsiding. I also brought some of the farm's canna bulbs on the plane with me and stuck them in a big container in my front yard. Will be interesting to see if they grow out here. I am sure they won't look as good as Mark's did but you never know! Be watching for pictures if they ever do make it. :-)

Well, hope this finds everyone happy and healthy.

I cannot do a post without a picture or two of this blog's main character.....

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Thursday, October 04, 2007

Having fun

Grandpa wanted some video of Drew crawling......