SLEEPOVERS!!

A few weeks ago, Cailyn had asked to sleep-over at Mimi and Grandpa's house, and we were thrilled to oblige her request!  She arrives in time to eat supper on Friday night, and then we enjoy playtime until the bedtime routine begins.  Cailyn likes pretending with playfood and dishes, and she "bakes cakes" to enjoy at tea parties.  She loves dollies and stuffed animals, so "dress-up" is always part of her playtime!

                                         Mimi decided to unpack some older dolls so

her grandchildren can play with them too.  The Cabbage Patch dolls (circa early 1980's) and one of Mimi's old dolls (the doll on the far left) was named "Patty"(circa early 1960's)!  Cailyn was most interested in Patty's plastic shoes and the eyes that open and close.  I had washed Patty's dress and it held together.  The doll's hair definitely needs a "make-over" but not sure how to fix that!

Cailyn is sitting on the bed that she sleeps in at our house, in her Aunt Alissa's old room.  She enjoys looking at the "stars" on the ceiling where Alissa placed them in 1999. After playing dress-up and dolls for a short time, it was time for a bath!  Cailyn enjoys her baths...likes to comb her own hair after it's washed.

After bathtime, Cailyn enjoyed some bedtime stories with Grandpa.  She especially loves to look at photo albums!

On Saturday mornings, Grandpa makes a special breakfast, usually pancakes or waffles.  She loves to daintily dip her waffles into the syrup and loves her orange juice in the morning too.  After breakfast, while it was a tiny bit cooler outdoors, Cailyn enjoyed playing in the sandbox, and she enjoyed some "swing time" too!

Cailyn loves our "Baby" kitty!  Of course, it helps that she's the only cat that lets Cailyn get close enough to pet and love her!  Sleepovers are a special time, and we look forward to all the future ones...one of these days, maybe even little brother Landon will be able to sleepover too!

6 months old already!?!

Before Landon is 7 months old on September 3rd, thought I would blog a little about our darling grandson!

Considering his unique birth story, and cranial surgery at 2 months of age, Landon is such a happy baby!  This recent picture shows Landon without his "helmet" because the new one was ordered. He grew out of the first one in early August, so he's had a 3-week break from wearing one.

Landon wears his doc-band as if it isn't there at all, with never a frown or fuss! The new one is on his head this week! Landon is a delight to cuddle, feed and hold.  He is eating rice cereal and has started veggies now too...the orange ones first!

Landon laughs,coos, and is becoming more vocal all the time! He is sitting up...and is scooting on his knees already!  He's teething, so we're expecting to see the first tooth anytime now.

What an absolute joy these grandchildren are...it's an amazing journey to watch their development and growth, to see their little personalities develop!  We thank God each day for these precious blessings!

End of Summer for Me

I've been back to work for two weeks, but my "end of summer" vacation was complete when I was invited to watch my granddaughter splash in the swimming pool with her daddy...at Aunt Alissa and Uncle Alan's community pool in Power Ranch!

Cailyn had lots of fun with a borrowed noodle, and enjoyed catching her plastic toys in the "fishing net"!

By next summer, maybe Landon will join Cailyn in the pool too, and they both will enjoy the sunshine and water together. Thanks for including me in your water fun play time!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VINCE!!

August 5th is a day to celebrate....my husband's birthday.  He wears many hats: brother, brother-in-law, nephew, son-in-law, husband, dad, uncle, great-uncle, cousin, friend, and last, but not least, grandpa!  He likes baseball caps, and fishing hats, but you'll never see him in a golf cap.

On Sunday, July 31, our Arizona children gathered here at home for a family meal to honor their Dad for an early birthday celebration.  He requested one of his favorites, so I made homemade manicotti shells (crepes) on Saturday, and made meatballs/sausage in the Italian gravy on Sunday.  Vince likes to make the sauce, so I certainly appreciate his help!  After dinner we made an attempt to photograph "Grandpa" with Cailyn and Landon.  I probably took a dozen photos; Mike was snapping pictures too.  Here is my "best shot" and it's just "ok"!  Landon has a great smile, but whenever I get ready to snap the picture, his expression changes.  I think he sees the red eye reduction light go on! Cailyn's at the age where it is either the toothy grin or she is a moving target...looking away as I take the photo! Vince enjoyed one of his favorites for dessert; I made his Mom's Ice Box Cake and we all enjoyed that.  It's so easy: chocolate pudding, bananas, and graham crackers.  Yum!

Today, we will find ourselves enjoying dinner after work at Joe's Real BBQ in Gilbert...it's one of the local restaurants that gives you $10 towards your dinner on your actual birthday!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VINNIE!!  I LOVE YOU!!                                                                      

Get-Away-to-Greer

Vince and I escaped the valley's summer heat for 6 days and began our short vacation in Strawberry, Arizona on July 16, staying with my folks for a couple days.

 Vince helped my Dad with a project to cover the underside of the deck eaves with wood.  Dad had built some scaffolding to make the job a bit easier!

 Mom was the ultimate hostess, and even served a special coffee cake for our wedding anniversary breakfast on the 17th~plus they treated us to a delicious italian dinner at Mama Joe's Italian Grill that evening to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary!

Leaving on the 18th, we spent the next four days in Greer, AZ at the White Mountain Lodge.  We had made reservations in Greer before the Wallow Fire, so didn't know what we would find upon our arrival. 
We saw hundreds of blackened trees, but as the sign above states, there's STILL alot of GREEN!

Here's the front of the White Mountain Lodge.  We stayed in the Meadows Suite:  kingsize bed, fireplace, kitchenette...NO, I didn't have to cook, but it was nice to have the fridge for juice, milk & fruit, a stove for making tea or hot chocolate, and the microwave for  my afternoon movie popcorn during Vince's naptime! I also did alot of reading.

This is the view of the mountain just south of our lodge; it's easy to see how close the fire came to the town.  We were able to watch the daily helicopter flights over the mountains, as they (2 copters) were dropping straw to cover the ground, hoping to prevent mudslides later in the year.

This photo shows a tiny speck (helicopter) and the beige color spot on the mountain is the straw being dropped.  The green in the foreground is the Greer Meadow which runs through the town, alongside the Little Colorado River.  Again, this is the view from our porch at the Lodge. 

 

Here is the "trout pond" 30 yards from our porch though we never saw any trout.  It's part of the Little Colorado.  It is a section that's "pooled" due to a beaver family that has built it's home here.  Didn't get to see the "family", but the Lodge staff member told us about them.

One evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Molly Butler Lodge...Great food! Unfortunately, business is slow in Greer. We were one of only a few tables being served in the entire restaurant.  Signs thanking the Firefighters were seen everywhere in Greer, Pinetop, and Springerville, some of the nearby towns we visited for dining and shopping!  Yes, I did get to shop a little, after Vince enjoyed his missions to catch (& release) some trout! Here's my husband suited up for fishing at the Lee Valley Reservoir!

Below you can see how ALL businesses and homes in the area are surrounded by sandbags, as they expect the Little Colorado River to overflow its banks, especially if there are mudslides down the mountains into the one little river~ The Rendezvous House is a landmark in Greer...serving up breakfast and lunch since the early 1900's.

We enjoyed watching the wild life. We saw a few deer and a herd of elk one evening.  I enjoyed the beautiful wildflowers, many varieties of birds, the usual chipmunks, of course, and....

CATTLE!!!  On the first day of fishing at Lee Valley Reservoir, we saw a few cows near the turn off to the lake...on the second day trip to that lake, apparently those few cows had invited their "friends" for a rendezvous at the lake!

They kept watching me...as much as I was watching them!! 

We were thankful to see how much GREEN there remains; I loved the groves of aspens  below, and next is a favorite of mine, the Blue Spruce nestled right next to the mighty Ponderosa Pine.

It was sad to see the blackened areas of the forest, but are thankful that there is still so much beauty to be

enjoyed in God's country!

Below is Vince's favorite "fishing hole" during our Greer get-away.  This "secret place" is the Little Colorado River right along the Sheep's Crossing hiking trail.  He must have landed about 15 trout in a couple of hours ...before the downpour of rain.  Of course, the rain didn't stop him from fishing, but when the lightening started, then he did head back to the car!

One evening we drove to Pinetop to Vince's favorite restaurant there, called the Pasta House.  On the way I snapped this photo of the storm clouds.  When in Pinetop, one must dine here!  (Also, Darbi's is a great place for breakfast and lunch in Pinetop.)

We enjoyed our get-away-to-Greer and are thankful we had the chance to escape the heat and enjoy a change of scenery and routine for a short while.

Weekend in Strawberry

Vince and I were able to escape the Valley heat and join my parents at their mountain retreat in Strawberry, Arizona.  Strawberry is about 20 minutes north of Payson, and 3 miles north of Pine, Arizona.  We enjoyed breakfast on their lovely deck, as we watched the "wildlife" (squirrels and birds) come to the many feeders that Dad keeps filled for them.

 On Sunday morning, while Vince helped Dad with some electrical wiring for their deck lighting, Mom and I went to the Arts and Crafts Fair in Pine, and enjoyed poking around all the craft booths.  We went into the Thrift store, and also looked at the Friends of the Library booksale.  Went back home to enjoy traditional 4th of July hotdogs and watermelon for lunch.  Dad grilled the dogs to perfection!

 On Saturday night, Mom and Dad treated us to pizza at Mama Joe's Italian Grill in Strawberry and then Vince drove us "into town" (Payson) for the Saturday-night-concert-in-the-park!  It was a lovely evening, nice and cool on the grass near the lake, and band was excellent, playing some patriotic tunes for the veterans who were present, and some "big band era" music also!  We also were able to visit with some of our friends who have weekend homes in Payson.
 Before we left Strawberry on Monday morning, we went for a nice walk in the neighborhood near their home.  We also enjoyed seeing all the fruit trees in their yard.  They will have a bumper crop of apples this season, and a few pears.  They also have cherry and plum trees.  We're trying to decide what variety this apple will turn out to be?!?

Thanks for your wonderful hospitality, Mom and Dad!  It was a lovely get-away weekend, and glad we had a chance to spend time with both of you!

Monsoons are Here and One Haboob!!

Many people saw the "wall of dust" descending on to the Valley of the Sun last night! These dust storms are typical during the monsoon season, however the WALL was so dramatic that it made the national news coverage today.  Apparently the wall stretched from Apache Junction (east) to Maricopa (west)....some 70 miles long, one mile high and moved across the valley at 60 mph!

 According to some reports, the average number of haboobs in our desert is 3 per summer. I was able to capture these dramatic pictures just before the storm arrived at our house!  Surprisingly, we didn't have wind damage...but DIRT everywhere today!

 Here's the view looking east from our front yard.

 This is the view looking straight south from our front yard.  My windows WERE clean for a few months, but not anymore!  I'm sure swimming pool owners were unhappy today too!