Grand Canyon

Another great trip with our friend Joe. We took the scenic route from Cameron into the East Rim which shows much of the Colorado River. That's always a treat because it has great views of the river and many trails that are off the beaten path. Having been to the Canyon many, many times my pictures seem to focus on other things besides the Canyon. We had lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge and ice cream before we left for home. It was a wonderful day!

Petrified Forest

Our friend Joe visiting from Florida. We went to the Petrified Forest and took some cool pictures of the rocks. It's amazing how these trees are so old and solid rock. They are also very colorful. The day was warm; but windy. I caught this bird flying off a rock.

Sisters Visit

Sully's two sisters and one brother in law arrived in Flagstaff last night to surprise him. He arrived at Beth's house and walked in wondering who these friends of Beth and Tom's were also invited for dinner. His mind couldn't get around the fact these people were his sisters! When he realized they were really there he was amazed. How did this happen? Stayed up very late catching up. Pictures attached are from the first night.

Lava River Cave 2

Hey as promised earlier this year we returned to Lava River Cave and finally entered the dark abyss and hiked with our two flashlights. It wasn't as cold as earlier this year; but it sure was dark! You can tell from the pictures that we used the flashlights to light up the area and didn't get much lit up! The top picture shows part of the cave and the second picture shows the entrance to the cave. With flashlights off you couldn't see a thing!

Another Manic Monday.

Well we finally made it home late last night. Trying to catch up today with laundry, shopping, email, etc. Lots to do and not enough time to do it in. We did want to post a few more pictures of CA and the fun we had. Yes, we're tired; but enjoy sharing with all of you our adventures. One of us has to go back to work in the morning so let's get this show on the road! In addition to disneyland and the ocean, we visited Reagan's library and Nixon's library. This pigeon was a regular on our patio at the Crowne Plaza in Ventura!

Disney Birthday

What a great day. We spent all of it in Disneyland and had a blast. Lots of rides and excitement. People sang happy birthday at least five times! After watching fantastic fireworks to music and eating delicious ice cream, we returned to our hotel, The Candy Cane Inn (www.candycaneinn.net). I would recommend this hotel to anyone. What a fantastic surprise to find there were flowers from my sister and her family. What a great end to a great day.

Outback Birthday

What a funny day. After working half a day we drove to Laughlin NV which has become our stop off point to California. After much deliberation we decided to eat at Outback. Owen's steak was too done so they redid it. While waiting for the steak to come back the manager gave him a bowl of soup on the house. Like Jewish Mom's Melissa and Elizabeth kept the food coming! When the steak came back, they added another baked potato and more green beans! Meanwhile they gave me a complimentary slice of cheesecake with hot chocolate and raspberry sauce while they sang happy birthday. After we paid the bill, hugs were given and another round of happy birthday songs. Even the customers waiting to be seated joined in! What a fun place and great customer service at the Outback in the Aquarius Casino. Check it out at http://www.aquarius.com/.

Time

Not much happening around here as we prepare for my birthday vacation in California. We leave on the 1st in the afternoon and will be traveling for almost two weeks. Of course we have a doctor's appointment and a prostate cancer conference at the end of the trip; but it will still be lots of fun. Weather's been a bit hot here lately with promises of rain this weekend. Sharon's anniversary is today. Can't believe she's been married 16 years! Where has the time gone? Soon I'll be 60 and I'm thinking what happened? I still feel young and I guess 60 is still young; but wow!

Meteor Showers

We were told only once on the news that around 1:00 AM in the north east sky there would be a spectacular meteor shower. I awoke at midnight and walked around looking out all the windows especially those facing the north east and saw nothing but our regular beautiful starry sky. I went back to bed and around 12:30 Owen woke to have a look. After awhile I got up to join him. We sat on the deck facing the north east and saw a few showers. Owen made us tea and brought us blankets. It was pretty cold out there; but we enjoyed it. Nothing spectacular as stated on the news. Around 2:00 we decided nothing much was going to happen so we went back to bed. Just wondering if anyone else got up and what they saw.

Flagstaff Mini Trophy Car Races 080809

Today was an exciting day. Amy and Drew raced their vehicles at the cinders in Flagstaff. This was Drew's first race and he hit a rock and tree and flipped onto his side. He was fine; but ended up with a flat tire and some body damage. Amy kept Jeff at bay the entire race. He tried real hard to get ahead of her; but she managed to keep him behind her. She even passed Krista early in the race. Here are pictures of both of them and a video.

National Night Out and Farmers Market

Last night was National Night Out; a time to celebrate and take back the night. Every year the police department and other agencies in town give out free food. In addition there are community service agencies giving out brochures and incentives to those interested. A band is always present and lots of fun is had by all.
Tonight we went to the Farmer's Market down the street. It started to rain just as we arrived so we looked around a bit and hid under the covering of our friend's ice cream/enchilada canopy. The rain eventually let up and we walked home with our enchiladas. Yummy! I am preparing to do my group at the women's shelter so Owen walked back to the farmer's market to mingle with his friends. The rain has subsided for now so he took an umbrella this time.

Blogs I'm following

As promised my nieces' blog is www.nikigirl613.blogspot.com. She has a 5 year old with Autism so the blog is both educational and amusing.
Also I follow my friend's blog www.thepolkadotpixie.blogspot.com. She carves dolls and doll heads from clay. Very into arts and crafts and antiques. A very interesting blog. She of course is more experienced at this than me.
I just finished reading Sundays at Tiffanys by James Patterson. Before that I read Sooner or Later by Debbie Macomber. Both very interesting; but different. Will begin reading Return to Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank. The title of course caught my eye for two reasons, one Sullivan and the other we have a spot on Lake Powell Owen calls Sullivan's Island. Once I read the jacket, I was hooked. The story takes place on the east coast and involves ghosts! Will keep you alert.
My sister is also beginning a blog soon. It will involve weight issues, etc. I can't wait to share that with you as it should be quite interesting.

How to be Happy

Just saw Tal Ben-Shahar on public tv talking about being happy. He has several books and teaches at some university (can't remember where). Happiness 101, Happier and Pursuit of Perfection. Couldn't find them at Barnes and Nobel unless I have them ordered. I think I'll do more research and possibly find them on line. Very logical info including exercise to combat depression.
Also a good friend of mine in Williams AZ and my niece in NJ have blogs. I will post their info soon in case you'd like to follow them as well.

Beaver Creek July 29, 2009

Amy, Jenny and Carol went to Beaver Creek to cool off. What a fantastic day! After working a few hours, Carol picked up the girls and we headed for the creek. Had a great spot near the water and shade. We explored the area both upstream and down. Thoroughly cooled off, we headed back to Flagstaff, picked up gramps and went for pizza! Life is Good.

Lowell Observatory

Monday night we all went to Lowell Observatory (http://www.lowell.edu/) to see the stars. A great program where Amy and Owen moved to the music. Went outside where we all managed to see the moon between cloud cover. What a gorgeous site - craters and all! Jenny posed by the meteorite.

Spaghetti Dinner

Jenny drove up to see us on Sunday and is staying for the week. Amy came over Sunday night and will be here for the week also. She brought her new parrot, Peaches. The girls made spaghetti dinner with hot spicy sausage. Yummy!

Lake Powell AZ and Utah

Family from N.J. and Tennessee visited for a week and we went to Lake Powell (http://www.powellguide.com/) on Beth and Tom's houseboat. Had a fantastic time. Since I bought a new Pentax Optio W60 digital waterproof camera (www.pentaximaging.com/digital) I decided to leave my SLR digital camera at home. Amy was so excited about the waterproof camera she tested it out in the sink! Amy also wakeboarded and Drew caught a fish. He also speared one with his bow and arrow! Enjoy the pictures and make any comments you would like or ask a question. We all had a great time. Thanks for visiting Bonnie, Dennis and Chris and Katie and Tim!

Independence Day Parade

Enjoyed our small town parade on the 4th. Here are a few pictures of the highlights. The Transmission Man goes green is one of Owen's friends as is Dave Rozema our county attorney.

Grand Canyon River Trip June 2009

What a fantastic trip. Six nights and seven days on the river. Started off at Lees Ferry AZ. The first rapid was Badger rapid where we got stuck between two rocks (or a rock and a hard place). The back end of the boat was stuck and we were there for four hours. With 17 people, all the gear, etc. we could have flipped. The captain got on her emergency telephone and they were going to send a rescue helicopter to get us out one by one. Before that, two rangers arrived in their boats. The water was coming over into the boat. I wasn't too upset as I have lived with cancer for ten years. The rangers were telling us if we fell in they would send ropes to get us out. We shoved and shook the boat and finally got out and went on our way. The rest of the trip was too exciting to go into detail. Give me a call if you want a full story!