Monday, July 26, 2010

Payson Getaway

Last weekend, we were invited to visit friends in Payson, staying at their comfortable and roomy home. It is always delightful to visit with Bev and Craig Douwstra. They are wonderful hosts, making everyone feel welcome and at home!
Their son Jeremy also visited that weekend with his cute little girls, Kylie and Emily. We met our friends, Bev & Craig, Janie & Lee Fucci, for breakfast at The Beeline Cafe, and shopped at the Farmer's Market afterwards. In the afternoon while the men enjoyed naps, sports and John Wayne westerns on TV, we girls headed to Pine to check out the cute shops there.
Saturday night is the traditional summer "concert in the park"! Everyone brings their lawn chairs, snacks and enjoys a live band concert in the cool mountain air under the stars! Another couple joined us: Lou and Tina Smotek, seated on either side of Janie & Lee in this photo. Here the guys are admiring the antics of Kylie and Emily! These three couples are all valley homeowners. However, during the summer, Payson is where you'll find them on the weekends!
On Sunday morning, Bev fixed a wonderful breakfast, including pancakes, bacon and fresh fruit! No weekend in Payson is complete without a trip to WalMart and the DollarTree store! Always looking for a bargain! Thanks again Bev & Craig, for a great Payson getaway weekend!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

BUILDING ROADS


Now that Cailyn is almost 18 months old, one of her favorite things to play with at our house (besides the tupperware cupboard and reading books) is a toy that Cailyn's daddy and her aunts used to play with. Cailyn calls it "the road"! Grandpa or Grandma help Cailyn build "the road", and then Cailyn happily takes it apart! Such FUN!

She enjoys playing with the "little people" and connecting the cars together, but mostly Cailyn likes taking "the road" apart!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

34 YEARS AGO

Yes, 34 years ago on July 17, Vince and I "tied the knot"!! We dated for 4 years before our wedding...I was one very patient gal! Here is a snapshot from 1973...

And here's the bride and groom at the 1976 wedding reception...we were "so young" then, but at the time, we didn't think so!

By the way, our wedding cake was a "Cathy's Rum Cake" before she became famous in the Phoenix area for her cakes and catering. Each layer was a different flavor and decorated with fresh flowers. Our wedding day was very happy and memorable, and certainly a turning point in both our lives!

Monday, July 12, 2010

WATER FUN with Cailyn

One of the perks of working for the school system is having almost 8 weeks off in the summer....the offshoot of this free time is that I have been able to spend some cherished moments with granddaughter Cailyn. A few weeks ago, I spent a Friday babysitting at Mike and Corissa's home. After her breakfast, Cailyn and I played with the "water table" on their patio.

She loves her little watering pail and bucket, so the potted plants saw plenty of water THAT day! Cailyn has special water shoes,and willingly wears her sun hat, however, unbeknownst to me, her mommy had layed out her swimsuit too. Grandma didn't notice it, so Cailyn's playclothes were soaked by the time we finished! She didn't seem to mind though!
Fortunately, it was somewhat overcast that particular morning, so while it wasn't too hot outdoors, Cailyn and Grandma made all this fun happen before 9:00 in the morning! It's such a joy to see the world through the eyes of a child!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

FAMILY CAMPING TRIP!

Camping has always been a way for our immediate family to enjoy a vacation the frugal way. In the early years of our marriage we tent camped, and then we obtained a Coleman pop-up tent trailer from my sister and brother-in-law when they no longer needed it as they had purchased a cabin near Heber. We used that pop-up for years and were very sad to sell it several years ago when we needed the money more than the tent trailer!

For a few summers, we have been able to join Vince's brother's family campouts and have now come full circle: Vince and I are back to tent camping. We bought a great 10-man tent when our children weren't married yet, thinking we would need plenty of room for them and their friends or "significant others"! Well, nowadays, the 10-man tent is REALLY roomy for the two of us! We almost get lost in there! Frankly, the older I get, the closer I am to the "holiday inn" kind of camping, or perhaps a nice-little-cabin-in-the-woods-kind-of-camping!

In June 2010, Vince and I were invited to join his brother Arthur and family on a camping trip. Our nephew Josh reserved two nice campsites in Canyon Point Campground on Highway 87, between Payson and Heber. It is beautiful up there, the smell of the pines, cool breezes, and thunder showers in the afternoons (or evenings!) Canyon Point is one of the few really nice campgrounds that also has shower facilities! That is a definite plus! Here is our HUGE tent. We enjoyed great campfires, wonderful food which we all shared, and great fellowship with family!
One day we went off-roading to explore the high desert areas around Heber...what an adventure! Nephew Austin brought along his girlfriend Giana and a metal-detector to find buried treasure! My sister-in-law Dianne and I were searching for Indian pottery shards and found some buried in the sand from some "lost civilization"!
Vince was able to go fishing with Art and his family. Josh took this nice photo of Vince in his float tube!

Another day, after my niece Natalie arrived with her girlfriend and dog Effie, the gang went target shooting...and had a great time until the cows moved into their target range! Oops! Luckily no one was injured in the confrontation! In fact, the cows didn't seem to mind at all!
One night we roasted hotdogs over the campfire...there's nothing like it!
One of the favorite camping foods is, of course, "somemores"! Vince doesn't eat marshmallows, so I got to eat his too!Here's Josh enjoying his somemore!

And here is Josh with his fiance Beth, enjoying a special moment while we were packing up on Sunday...the least favorite part of camping! ;-)

Here is Dianne with her grand-dog Effie...we were bundled up warm as it was quite chilly in the mountains!
Art and Austin have developed quite a checklist for camping trips, and here Giana and Austin are checking the list, and checking it twice...

I enjoyed alot of reading and relaxing, but my favorite part is being with family and catching up on everyone's busy lives!

Monday, July 5, 2010

50 Years Ago...

In 1960, the Marvin Janne family moved from Ellis, Kansas to Arizona, arriving on July 5. I remember the date easily because as a 7 year old girl, I was worried we wouldn't get to see fireworks when we were traveling on the 4th of July. However, my parents made sure my sister and I were able to see some fireworks...somewhere in New Mexico, we spotted some fireworks from our motel parking lot. My parents were not quite 29 years old when they left their Kansas home and family, venturing West to a new beginning. Dad went to carpenter school and found odd jobs to feed his family. Mom sewed clothes for us, and for a few months we stayed with my Dad's cousin's family in Mesa, where we eventually built the home that my parents still reside in. Arriving in Arizona in mid-summer was pretty shocking, especially when one considers the fact that, in those days, cars didn't have air conditioning, and most of the houses here had swamp coolers. Thinking about this makes me appreciate what a stable upbringing I had. Once here in Arizona, we never moved again. I think my parents were tired of moving, having had to move several times while my Dad was in the Air Force.

To help us celebrate July 4th, 50 years later, daughter Alissa

and hubby Alan

came over to join us for hotdogs, watermelon and fireworks.
The Big League Dreams Park hosted the Town of Gilbert's fireworks display this year. The park is located about 1/2 mile from our house to the east. We were able to enjoy the fireworks display from our backyard...pretty cool! I made a special dessert for the holiday: a RED, WHITE AND BLUEBERRY TORTE. I think it's a "keeper" so will share the recipe below the photo!


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 9" round cake pan with wax paper; grease paper. Combine 3/4 c. suger, 6 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp water in a small heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Add 3/4 c. chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Add 2 eggs, beating after each egg. Add 2/3 cup flour, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. Stir again until well blended. Add another 3/4 c. chocolate chips. Stir and pour into prepared cake pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out "slightly sticky". Cool in pan 15 minutes. Invert "torte" onto wire cooling rack; remove wax paper. Turn right side up and cool completely. While cooling, beat one 8 oz pkg. (room temperature) cream cheese, 2 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla until creamy. Stir in one-half of 8 oz. container of whip topping. Spread this mixture over cooled torte; top with 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries and 1/4 cup fresh blueberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve!

Saturday, July 3, 2010

FOUR GRAND NEPHEWS!!!!

Have I mentioned that I am a "great aunt"?? In fact, I am a great aunt to four little boys! Three boys belong to my niece Amy and her husband Chris: Aiden, Garrett and Ethan. Here is a family photo taken in 2009...the boys have grown alot since this picture was taken. Aiden is 6, Garrett will be 4 in July, and Ethan will be 2 in August.



This week, my fourth grand-nephew arrived on June 29. He is the first baby for my nephew Chris and his wife MaryBeth! Bode Eugene (pronounced Bodee) weighed in at 7 lbs. 5 oz. and we know he will be a special addition to the Schuld Family. Congratulations to everyone! I am one proud "great aunt"! ;-)