Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Oops!
If you received a blog from me today, it was a very old one....not to confuse you.Sorry about that!
Visiting Jason, April and Bella
Ken, me, our son Justen and our granddaughter Bella went to Vegas for a long weekend, to visit our other son Jason, his wife April and other granddaughter Lola. It's Superbowl weekend! Here is a copy of the Travel Blog:
Bella’s dad dropped her off at our house around 8 pm last night. She and Pops played, shooting rubber bands (actually hair ties) at each other. After work I had done last minute errands, grocery shopping, stopped at Henna’s to wish her a Happy Birthday. We will miss the party Nancy is having for Saturday. I spent the evening packing up the rest of our stuff in the RV: food, clothes, shoes, etc. I said goodnight and went to bed…reading a bit first. I’m reading “Fortune’s Rock” by Anita Shreve. So far it’s OK, not the ‘page turner’ the reviews claim. Maybe after I get in to it. I set the alarm for one hour later than our normal time: 6:30 instead of 5:30. I really should leave it on 5:30, but can’t resist the luxury of sleeping an extra hour and not having to go to work. I’m not sure what time everyone else retired; I didn’t wake up when Ken came to bed. The alarm went off, two snoozes later, I got in the shower. Bella was still sleeping. She likes to sleep in our room on the floor. I guess it is pretty comfortable on the purple shag carpet. I have to be careful when I get up; she moves around so much in her sleep; I don’t want to step on her. When I come out of the shower, Pops is trying to wake Bella up. She has set her alarm on her Nintendo ds and does not want to get up before that goes off. I totally relate to her! How awful it is when someone wakes you up before you have to get up!
We finish packing up; I make some egg/cheese burritos and bacon, wrap it in foil to keep it warm and we are ready to leave. Ken come in and says he has some bad news. I hate it when people say that. The few seconds before you actually find out what is the matter, are always horrible for me; my pulse immediately goes up and I get a bad feeling. Just tell me straight out what it is. Don’t preface it with the horrible warning. Anyway, he tells us the batteries for the RV are dead and won’t hold a charge. Probably has something to do with the fire we had last summer, but we have used the RV since then, with no problems. So, we have to go to Wal-Mart before we can leave. Fortunately, Wal-Mart has the correct kind. We are about an hour to an hour and a half behind schedule. No worries. We are on Tangerine heading for I-10 and Bella asks, how long has it been?
I pass out the bacon and burritos as we head north. We have plenty of gadgets and books and magazines to keep us busy: Bella has her Nintendo ds, another electronic game, I have my laptop, my IPod; Justen has his Iphone and his MacBook. Bella falls asleep for 1 ½ hours and when she wakes up she is disappointed that we are not almost there. We stop for gas in Wickenburg. Bella’s dad gave her $10 spending money and she wants to get some candy. She picks out a Hershey’s bar. We all use the bathroom in the RV. There is some kind of metal shop/store next to the gas station. There are huge metal dinosaurs, horses, etc and I take a picture of Bella next to one. Justen is watching Dexter, season one on his MacBook. He’s never watched it so we told him to catch up so when the next season comes out on DVD, we can watch it together. After about another hour, we stopped for lunch; just parked in a large parking lot and went in to the RV to make sandwiches. Back on road, started to rain just outside of Kingman. It’s cold, rainy and dark. Bella and I played hangman for awhile. We are about 45 minutes from Hoover Dam. I hope it isn’t raining when we go over the dam. Bella and Justen have never seen it. Security checks before the dam were very fast. The inspector spend less than one minute looking through the RV. There was slow moving traffic over the dam, but it wasn’t bad. Really, it gave you a chance to really look (and take pictures) at the dam. Bella wanted to get out and go down to the lake to look for minnows. We arrive at the Oasis RV Park around 5PM. We quickly set up and head to Jason and April’s. Lola greets us at the door. She is so excited to see everyone. She keeps wrapping her little arms around Bella’s waist and says “I missed you Bella”. It’s amazing how much she has changed in only 3 weeks. She is talking so much more. She tells me too, “I missed you GeeGee”. It makes my heart melt. Their house is so, so cute. It is so cozy. It is a two story with a wrap around staircase. We chat for a while and now it’s time to go out to dinner. It is raining. We go to an Irish pub/restaurant. It’s so enjoyable to have everyone together. Lola warms up to Justen and Bella already thinks he is ‘so awesome’. It was a nice time. Justen decides to spend the night with them, so Ken and I go back to the RV. I’m so happy for Justen to be spending time with them. It is still raining and my sore throat and cough are getting worse. Good thing I have Ken’s leftover cough medicine with codeine.
I’m not sure what time Ken got up; I got up around 8:30. I didn’t have a very good night with the coughing. Ken and I drink our lattes and OJ while listening to the rain outside. We call Jason and kind of plan the day. April has to work until 4pm. We are going to buy them a grill for their 4th anniversary. We pick up the grill and head to their house. It is raining very hard. Justen has been enjoying getting to know the girls. We spend the afternoon playing, drawing, painting and simply taking it easy. It is still raining so we will be indoors today. Ken and Jason head to Home Depot to pick up a few things for some ‘handyman’ chores. Justen is sitting on the couch, with both girls on each side of him, looking at chipmunk videos; Lola is singing along. Lola and I take a walk around the neighborhood when the rain stops. April got home and we started up the new grill for hamburgers. It was nice that we were able to eat outside. They have a nice view of the snow capped mountains. After dinner, Justen, Ken and I go back to the RV to ‘clean up’. We are all headed to Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef. Jason, April and the girls arrive at our RV and we follow them to Mandalay Bay. It is really raining hard now and we get a little confused as to where to go in. It is a huge place. Ken and I have been here before but we took a taxi and got dropped off in front. Jason and Ken drop everyone off because of the rain. The girls look so cute and they are so excited. The exhibit is so cool and I highly recommend visiting it if you get to Vegas. It’s so cute the way Lola wants Bella to hold her hand the whole time; she wants to be by her big sister’s side. Everyone had a good time. The exhibit cleverly leads you through a gift shop to exit. We let the girls pick out a gift (and so did Jason and April). Justen helped Lola pick out a turtle. She knew exactly what she wanted. Bella had more trouble, deciding between a hammerhead shark and an octopus. She finally decided on the shark. I bought a cute crab magnet for the refrigerator. We decided to walk around Mandalay Bay a bit. The place is huge and beautiful. There is a reason why the resorts look like this. Not everyone wins here. Lola’s little legs look so cute running through the massive hallways. Time to go home; it’s still raining so again Ken and Jason go to get the vehicles. The plan is for Lola to come back to the RV to spend the night and Bella spend the evening with her mom. Jason and Justen are going to go out for a couple drinks. Justen has never been to Vegas and a couple of his friends are in Vegas for the Super Bowl. As we start to pull out of the parking lot with Lola in our backseat, she starts crying, asking where Bella is. She thought Bella was coming with us too. I ask her if she wants to be with Bella and Mommy and she says yes. We flash our lights and pull along side Jason to get him to stop and little Lola is now with her big sister. I like that she wants to be with her, you can see how much she loves her.
Ken and I go back to the RV; Ken watches a little TV and I go to bed, reading a little of ‘Fortune Rocks’. It’s getting a little better, but certainly not the page turner it’s critiqued to be.
It rained very, very hard all through the night. I slept pretty well. We wake up about 7:30 and it is not raining. Hopefully it stays this way. I wake up with no voice. We are drinking our coffee. I’m going to make some oatmeal. I thought I brought a 2 lb package of apple smoked bacon, and when Ken opens the package it is a pork tenderloin…so we stick it in the freezer. After breakfast, we head to the grocery. We are going to get food for the Super Bowl. I decide to get some pork ribs. We get to Jason’s and I put them in a marinade. Ideally they should have been marinating overnight. I make a veggie tray; we have blueberries, strawberries, chips/dip, nachos, and salsa. April is at work; Jason and Justen are tired, the game doesn’t start for awhile, so we decide to take the girls to Lake Mead. Bella would love to catch some bugs or something alive. Even though the lake is very low, it is still very beautiful. The ranger told us it recently has raised 7 feet from the snows melting. We hope we can get close enough without walking through lots of mud. We arrive at a boat launch and we can park and walk down to the lake. The girls have their nets and Bella has her containers. There are ducks, a few boats. The sky is party sunny; I’m glad the rain has stopped! Bella finds some clam shells but that is about it. They enjoy walking through the water and mud. Lola calls it ‘sticky mud’. Their boots are wet, well actually their pants are wet too. Bella wants to stay; Lola wants me to go get the kayak that is on the shore but it is time to go if we want to have ribs for the Super Bowl. I called Jason on the way back and asked him to begin grilling them. After they are seared, I put slow cook them in the oven for about 2 hours. The game is already starting and I make some nachos, get out all the snacks. Lola lasts about 5 minutes watching the game and then she says ‘come on GeeGee, let’s paint’. Jason tells her ‘no, Lola, GeeGee is watching the game.’ I say, that’s OK, I’d rather paint with Lola, which is true. Already, I think about how much I am going to miss her and even more, how much she is going to miss Bella….and all of us. Bella took a turn painting and produced many beautiful paintings. She really is talented. We finally were able to eat the ribs (they took longer than expected)….they were just OK..I think the overnigh
t marinade is the secret. The rest of the evening is spent playing with the girls, watching a bit of the game when possible. After the game, it’s time to go back to the RV. We all are tired, Jason has to work tomorrow and we have a long drive; should get an early start. Justen has spent the last two nights with them. I’m sure it has been so great for him to get to know the girls and to spend time with Jason and April. He is coming back with us tonight. We say goodbye to Jason; he will already be at work when we stop by in the morning to get Bella. Back at the RV, Ken and Justen watch a little TV; I go to bed and read for a while.
We got up around 7 am. Coughed a lot last night. We have coffee and juice and pack up. There isn’t a lot to pack up from outside since we never were able to sit out. It was always raining. We called April to let her know we were on our way. We parked the RV on the side street so Lola wouldn’t see it. If she did, she would want to go with us. We say goodbye to April and Lola :( and we are on our way. We didn’t have breakfast, so we stopped and picked up egg mcmuffins, hash browns, apple slices. We decided to go home a different way, through Needles, Parker, hit the 10 and cut down to the 8 via 85. We’ll see if it is shorter. Probably is because going through the dam takes about 45 minutes. We only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks. One gas station had a Dairy Queen. Bella got a banana shake, I got a vanilla cone. Bella also got a giant lollipop. It’s as big as a golf ball. We got swiss and muenster cheese, (Bella thought it was Monster cheese)turkey and pastrami and snacks from the refrigerator in the RV. Bella is always so good in the car. She asks a lot ‘how much longer’, but the answer doesn’t change her pleasant mood. She asks for gum, saying she needs two pieces because her mouth is big. I give her two big pieces of bubble gum and now she is chomping away. The gum is actually too big for her mouth. It was a good trip. The most enjoyable thing for me was to see Justen bond with his brother Jason and his granddaughters. To see Bella and Lola run up to him, sit on his lap, etc. That’s the important stuff in life. Wonderful!!
Bella’s dad dropped her off at our house around 8 pm last night. She and Pops played, shooting rubber bands (actually hair ties) at each other. After work I had done last minute errands, grocery shopping, stopped at Henna’s to wish her a Happy Birthday. We will miss the party Nancy is having for Saturday. I spent the evening packing up the rest of our stuff in the RV: food, clothes, shoes, etc. I said goodnight and went to bed…reading a bit first. I’m reading “Fortune’s Rock” by Anita Shreve. So far it’s OK, not the ‘page turner’ the reviews claim. Maybe after I get in to it. I set the alarm for one hour later than our normal time: 6:30 instead of 5:30. I really should leave it on 5:30, but can’t resist the luxury of sleeping an extra hour and not having to go to work. I’m not sure what time everyone else retired; I didn’t wake up when Ken came to bed. The alarm went off, two snoozes later, I got in the shower. Bella was still sleeping. She likes to sleep in our room on the floor. I guess it is pretty comfortable on the purple shag carpet. I have to be careful when I get up; she moves around so much in her sleep; I don’t want to step on her. When I come out of the shower, Pops is trying to wake Bella up. She has set her alarm on her Nintendo ds and does not want to get up before that goes off. I totally relate to her! How awful it is when someone wakes you up before you have to get up!
We finish packing up; I make some egg/cheese burritos and bacon, wrap it in foil to keep it warm and we are ready to leave. Ken come in and says he has some bad news. I hate it when people say that. The few seconds before you actually find out what is the matter, are always horrible for me; my pulse immediately goes up and I get a bad feeling. Just tell me straight out what it is. Don’t preface it with the horrible warning. Anyway, he tells us the batteries for the RV are dead and won’t hold a charge. Probably has something to do with the fire we had last summer, but we have used the RV since then, with no problems. So, we have to go to Wal-Mart before we can leave. Fortunately, Wal-Mart has the correct kind. We are about an hour to an hour and a half behind schedule. No worries. We are on Tangerine heading for I-10 and Bella asks, how long has it been?
I pass out the bacon and burritos as we head north. We have plenty of gadgets and books and magazines to keep us busy: Bella has her Nintendo ds, another electronic game, I have my laptop, my IPod; Justen has his Iphone and his MacBook. Bella falls asleep for 1 ½ hours and when she wakes up she is disappointed that we are not almost there. We stop for gas in Wickenburg. Bella’s dad gave her $10 spending money and she wants to get some candy. She picks out a Hershey’s bar. We all use the bathroom in the RV. There is some kind of metal shop/store next to the gas station. There are huge metal dinosaurs, horses, etc and I take a picture of Bella next to one. Justen is watching Dexter, season one on his MacBook. He’s never watched it so we told him to catch up so when the next season comes out on DVD, we can watch it together. After about another hour, we stopped for lunch; just parked in a large parking lot and went in to the RV to make sandwiches. Back on road, started to rain just outside of Kingman. It’s cold, rainy and dark. Bella and I played hangman for awhile. We are about 45 minutes from Hoover Dam. I hope it isn’t raining when we go over the dam. Bella and Justen have never seen it. Security checks before the dam were very fast. The inspector spend less than one minute looking through the RV. There was slow moving traffic over the dam, but it wasn’t bad. Really, it gave you a chance to really look (and take pictures) at the dam. Bella wanted to get out and go down to the lake to look for minnows. We arrive at the Oasis RV Park around 5PM. We quickly set up and head to Jason and April’s. Lola greets us at the door. She is so excited to see everyone. She keeps wrapping her little arms around Bella’s waist and says “I missed you Bella”. It’s amazing how much she has changed in only 3 weeks. She is talking so much more. She tells me too, “I missed you GeeGee”. It makes my heart melt. Their house is so, so cute. It is so cozy. It is a two story with a wrap around staircase. We chat for a while and now it’s time to go out to dinner. It is raining. We go to an Irish pub/restaurant. It’s so enjoyable to have everyone together. Lola warms up to Justen and Bella already thinks he is ‘so awesome’. It was a nice time. Justen decides to spend the night with them, so Ken and I go back to the RV. I’m so happy for Justen to be spending time with them. It is still raining and my sore throat and cough are getting worse. Good thing I have Ken’s leftover cough medicine with codeine.
I’m not sure what time Ken got up; I got up around 8:30. I didn’t have a very good night with the coughing. Ken and I drink our lattes and OJ while listening to the rain outside. We call Jason and kind of plan the day. April has to work until 4pm. We are going to buy them a grill for their 4th anniversary. We pick up the grill and head to their house. It is raining very hard. Justen has been enjoying getting to know the girls. We spend the afternoon playing, drawing, painting and simply taking it easy. It is still raining so we will be indoors today. Ken and Jason head to Home Depot to pick up a few things for some ‘handyman’ chores. Justen is sitting on the couch, with both girls on each side of him, looking at chipmunk videos; Lola is singing along. Lola and I take a walk around the neighborhood when the rain stops. April got home and we started up the new grill for hamburgers. It was nice that we were able to eat outside. They have a nice view of the snow capped mountains. After dinner, Justen, Ken and I go back to the RV to ‘clean up’. We are all headed to Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef. Jason, April and the girls arrive at our RV and we follow them to Mandalay Bay. It is really raining hard now and we get a little confused as to where to go in. It is a huge place. Ken and I have been here before but we took a taxi and got dropped off in front. Jason and Ken drop everyone off because of the rain. The girls look so cute and they are so excited. The exhibit is so cool and I highly recommend visiting it if you get to Vegas. It’s so cute the way Lola wants Bella to hold her hand the whole time; she wants to be by her big sister’s side. Everyone had a good time. The exhibit cleverly leads you through a gift shop to exit. We let the girls pick out a gift (and so did Jason and April). Justen helped Lola pick out a turtle. She knew exactly what she wanted. Bella had more trouble, deciding between a hammerhead shark and an octopus. She finally decided on the shark. I bought a cute crab magnet for the refrigerator. We decided to walk around Mandalay Bay a bit. The place is huge and beautiful. There is a reason why the resorts look like this. Not everyone wins here. Lola’s little legs look so cute running through the massive hallways. Time to go home; it’s still raining so again Ken and Jason go to get the vehicles. The plan is for Lola to come back to the RV to spend the night and Bella spend the evening with her mom. Jason and Justen are going to go out for a couple drinks. Justen has never been to Vegas and a couple of his friends are in Vegas for the Super Bowl. As we start to pull out of the parking lot with Lola in our backseat, she starts crying, asking where Bella is. She thought Bella was coming with us too. I ask her if she wants to be with Bella and Mommy and she says yes. We flash our lights and pull along side Jason to get him to stop and little Lola is now with her big sister. I like that she wants to be with her, you can see how much she loves her.
Ken and I go back to the RV; Ken watches a little TV and I go to bed, reading a little of ‘Fortune Rocks’. It’s getting a little better, but certainly not the page turner it’s critiqued to be.
It rained very, very hard all through the night. I slept pretty well. We wake up about 7:30 and it is not raining. Hopefully it stays this way. I wake up with no voice. We are drinking our coffee. I’m going to make some oatmeal. I thought I brought a 2 lb package of apple smoked bacon, and when Ken opens the package it is a pork tenderloin…so we stick it in the freezer. After breakfast, we head to the grocery. We are going to get food for the Super Bowl. I decide to get some pork ribs. We get to Jason’s and I put them in a marinade. Ideally they should have been marinating overnight. I make a veggie tray; we have blueberries, strawberries, chips/dip, nachos, and salsa. April is at work; Jason and Justen are tired, the game doesn’t start for awhile, so we decide to take the girls to Lake Mead. Bella would love to catch some bugs or something alive. Even though the lake is very low, it is still very beautiful. The ranger told us it recently has raised 7 feet from the snows melting. We hope we can get close enough without walking through lots of mud. We arrive at a boat launch and we can park and walk down to the lake. The girls have their nets and Bella has her containers. There are ducks, a few boats. The sky is party sunny; I’m glad the rain has stopped! Bella finds some clam shells but that is about it. They enjoy walking through the water and mud. Lola calls it ‘sticky mud’. Their boots are wet, well actually their pants are wet too. Bella wants to stay; Lola wants me to go get the kayak that is on the shore but it is time to go if we want to have ribs for the Super Bowl. I called Jason on the way back and asked him to begin grilling them. After they are seared, I put slow cook them in the oven for about 2 hours. The game is already starting and I make some nachos, get out all the snacks. Lola lasts about 5 minutes watching the game and then she says ‘come on GeeGee, let’s paint’. Jason tells her ‘no, Lola, GeeGee is watching the game.’ I say, that’s OK, I’d rather paint with Lola, which is true. Already, I think about how much I am going to miss her and even more, how much she is going to miss Bella….and all of us. Bella took a turn painting and produced many beautiful paintings. She really is talented. We finally were able to eat the ribs (they took longer than expected)….they were just OK..I think the overnigh
t marinade is the secret. The rest of the evening is spent playing with the girls, watching a bit of the game when possible. After the game, it’s time to go back to the RV. We all are tired, Jason has to work tomorrow and we have a long drive; should get an early start. Justen has spent the last two nights with them. I’m sure it has been so great for him to get to know the girls and to spend time with Jason and April. He is coming back with us tonight. We say goodbye to Jason; he will already be at work when we stop by in the morning to get Bella. Back at the RV, Ken and Justen watch a little TV; I go to bed and read for a while.We got up around 7 am. Coughed a lot last night. We have coffee and juice and pack up. There isn’t a lot to pack up from outside since we never were able to sit out. It was always raining. We called April to let her know we were on our way. We parked the RV on the side street so Lola wouldn’t see it. If she did, she would want to go with us. We say goodbye to April and Lola :( and we are on our way. We didn’t have breakfast, so we stopped and picked up egg mcmuffins, hash browns, apple slices. We decided to go home a different way, through Needles, Parker, hit the 10 and cut down to the 8 via 85. We’ll see if it is shorter. Probably is because going through the dam takes about 45 minutes. We only stopped for gas and bathroom breaks. One gas station had a Dairy Queen. Bella got a banana shake, I got a vanilla cone. Bella also got a giant lollipop. It’s as big as a golf ball. We got swiss and muenster cheese, (Bella thought it was Monster cheese)turkey and pastrami and snacks from the refrigerator in the RV. Bella is always so good in the car. She asks a lot ‘how much longer’, but the answer doesn’t change her pleasant mood. She asks for gum, saying she needs two pieces because her mouth is big. I give her two big pieces of bubble gum and now she is chomping away. The gum is actually too big for her mouth. It was a good trip. The most enjoyable thing for me was to see Justen bond with his brother Jason and his granddaughters. To see Bella and Lola run up to him, sit on his lap, etc. That’s the important stuff in life. Wonderful!!
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Buggy camping
Thursday, August 5th.
My last day of work at Oro Valley Hospital was Tuesday. I had worked there for 6 years. I was part of the team that opened the hospital, working out of trailers in the fields behind the hospital. It was a great experience, but like most everything in life, there were many changes, not all good. A great opportunity came my way at another hospital in town, Tucson Medical Center.
I begin my new job August 16th, so I am going to relax a bit before then.
This morning, me, Ken and Justen left for Ponderosa Campground, just a few miles east of Payson. It’s a beautiful pine tree filled park. We took the girls there last year about this time. They loved it….that makes me miss them so much just talking about it.
We slept in, relaxed on the front porch drinking our coffee, took showers, finished packing the RV and left. We had to stop and get gas and at Wal-Mart for some kind of adapter. We grabbed some egg mcmuffins and juice and left.
We headed up Route 77/79, then cut off towards Florence, took 60 west to 87 north. It is a beautiful drive past the Salt River, Saguaro Lake and through the desert. The desert is very green right now just from the little bit of monsoons we have had.
We have the IPod shuffle on and Justen has his headphones on listening to his music. It’s supposed to be in the low to mid 80s during the day and low 60s at night. That will be so nice. It was 110 when we drove through Apache Junction and Mesa.
I’m looking at the puffy clouds trying to see things in them. It seems like I always see a dog, usually a poodle. I see one that looks like a baby lying on its back, kicking its legs.
We are driving through the small town of Rye and I see a sign: Pete’s Place Topless Cabaret…..strange.
‘Brown Eyed Girl’ by Van Morrison is playing. For the rest of my life, every time I hear this song, I think of Lacey Peterson, murdered by her husband Scott when she was pregnant with their son Conner. This was her favorite song.
We arrived in Payson around 2 PM. We set up camp, I fixed sandwiches and we basically relaxed…read our books.
I discovered I had forgotten a few things,,,,garbage bags, mayo and Ken had to return a fuel filter he had picked up…they gave him the wrong one so we drove into Payson about a 15 minute drive.
When we returned to camp Justen was still reading his book, a Harlan Coban novel.
For dinner we grilled corn on the cob and pork tenderloin; brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was still warm, in the 80’s and 84 inside the RV, so we turned on the generator to use the air conditioner to cool it down a bit. When we went to bed, we turned the generator off and opened the windows. During the night it got really cool…...61 degrees and had to put a blanket on.
Friday, August 6th
I’m not sure what time Ken got up, but I woke up about 7:45. Justen was just waking up too. We had coffee, bacon and eggs with green chili peppers and Swiss cheese. It’s going to be a lazy day. We took showers, cleaned up and read books. We bought these great lounge chairs that lean way back and lift and support your legs.
Ken and I took a walk around the campground. There are not many people here but this is Friday, so it will probably get more crowded later on. I can’t walk too far because my foot is hurting pretty bad. It’s the one I had bunion surgery on 3 years ago. It hurts from time to time but last Saturday it started hurting really bad. I had an x-ray which didn’t show anything so next Tuesday I am having a bone scan.
We came back to camp and it is 86 in the RV, and we are sweating so we turn on the air. I know, I know, this is not really camping but the fact is I don’t like “real” camping where you have to be uncomfortable, sweating with bugs flying around your sweaty face, flies biting you, pretending like you are having fun. I like the comfort of the RV, surrounded by beautiful nature. When it cools down this evening, I will go back outside, but for now, I think I’ll read my book “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; maybe take a nap.
Ken and I took a nap; I think Justen was reading his book. After our nap it was a bit cooler outside so we turned the air off. I built a huge fire. Other campers were arriving. An old couple pulled in next to us with an old beat up looking trailer. His name was BJ; he had a long white pony tail and wore overalls. No one can remember her name. They were bragging that they camp all over the country, parking their trailer in Walmart, Kmart, church, hospital parking lots so they don’t have to pay. Paying for their spot next to us was a ‘treat’, something they rarely do. That just sounds terrible to me.
We had grilled salmon, asparagus and rice for dinner. After dinner Ken and I sat outside by the fire and it started to rain. We started the generator to turn on the air again so it will be cool for sleeping. The generator went off after a few minutes. Ken initially thought the rain may have shorted something out. After he looked at it, he realized it had ran out of gas. He asked Justen to help him put some gas in it. It was dark, raining and the generator was sitting in a weedy area. After a few minutes, Justen came back in complaining that some ants had attached him, bugs had bit him; he said it was awful. I was laughing. He absolutely hates camping. He said he does not understand camping. He said way back in the 1400s man realized he needed shelter and now in modern times man subjects himself to camping. There were more bugs after the rain, I have to admit.
We also thought it was going to be a lot cooler here. Last year we were here in August and we were wearing jackets. No so much this year.
We read for a little and then went to bed. I had a little trouble falling asleep as I felt kind of ‘buggy’ too.
Saturday, August 7th
Ken woke us up around 8 am. It’s cloudy today, looks like rain. We drank coffee by the fire and it started to drizzle. We decided to pack up and go home today instead of tomorrow. Probably a good decision because it has continued to lightly rain.
We took our time loading up and stopped at ‘Tiny’s’ in Payson. It was just OK. Justen and I had Denver omelets and Ken had a burger and fries. Justen is going through sports withdrawal, so we are listening to ESPN sports on the radio on the drive home.
I’m stretched out in the back seat; I’m going to read my book.
Just as we get to Bush Highway, the truck starts to rattle a bit. Ken pulls over and we have blown a tire on the RV. Now Ken and Justen are changing the tire. It’s probably about 100 degrees out there.
Back on the road in no time.
We got home, unpacked the RV and watched some baseball. Since we didn't make any s'mores, Ken turned on the grill and we had s'mores for dinner. :)
My last day of work at Oro Valley Hospital was Tuesday. I had worked there for 6 years. I was part of the team that opened the hospital, working out of trailers in the fields behind the hospital. It was a great experience, but like most everything in life, there were many changes, not all good. A great opportunity came my way at another hospital in town, Tucson Medical Center.
I begin my new job August 16th, so I am going to relax a bit before then.
This morning, me, Ken and Justen left for Ponderosa Campground, just a few miles east of Payson. It’s a beautiful pine tree filled park. We took the girls there last year about this time. They loved it….that makes me miss them so much just talking about it.
We slept in, relaxed on the front porch drinking our coffee, took showers, finished packing the RV and left. We had to stop and get gas and at Wal-Mart for some kind of adapter. We grabbed some egg mcmuffins and juice and left.
We headed up Route 77/79, then cut off towards Florence, took 60 west to 87 north. It is a beautiful drive past the Salt River, Saguaro Lake and through the desert. The desert is very green right now just from the little bit of monsoons we have had.
We have the IPod shuffle on and Justen has his headphones on listening to his music. It’s supposed to be in the low to mid 80s during the day and low 60s at night. That will be so nice. It was 110 when we drove through Apache Junction and Mesa.
I’m looking at the puffy clouds trying to see things in them. It seems like I always see a dog, usually a poodle. I see one that looks like a baby lying on its back, kicking its legs.
We are driving through the small town of Rye and I see a sign: Pete’s Place Topless Cabaret…..strange.
‘Brown Eyed Girl’ by Van Morrison is playing. For the rest of my life, every time I hear this song, I think of Lacey Peterson, murdered by her husband Scott when she was pregnant with their son Conner. This was her favorite song.
We arrived in Payson around 2 PM. We set up camp, I fixed sandwiches and we basically relaxed…read our books.
I discovered I had forgotten a few things,,,,garbage bags, mayo and Ken had to return a fuel filter he had picked up…they gave him the wrong one so we drove into Payson about a 15 minute drive.
When we returned to camp Justen was still reading his book, a Harlan Coban novel.
For dinner we grilled corn on the cob and pork tenderloin; brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was still warm, in the 80’s and 84 inside the RV, so we turned on the generator to use the air conditioner to cool it down a bit. When we went to bed, we turned the generator off and opened the windows. During the night it got really cool…...61 degrees and had to put a blanket on.
Friday, August 6th
I’m not sure what time Ken got up, but I woke up about 7:45. Justen was just waking up too. We had coffee, bacon and eggs with green chili peppers and Swiss cheese. It’s going to be a lazy day. We took showers, cleaned up and read books. We bought these great lounge chairs that lean way back and lift and support your legs.
We came back to camp and it is 86 in the RV, and we are sweating so we turn on the air. I know, I know, this is not really camping but the fact is I don’t like “real” camping where you have to be uncomfortable, sweating with bugs flying around your sweaty face, flies biting you, pretending like you are having fun. I like the comfort of the RV, surrounded by beautiful nature. When it cools down this evening, I will go back outside, but for now, I think I’ll read my book “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon; maybe take a nap.
We had grilled salmon, asparagus and rice for dinner. After dinner Ken and I sat outside by the fire and it started to rain. We started the generator to turn on the air again so it will be cool for sleeping. The generator went off after a few minutes. Ken initially thought the rain may have shorted something out. After he looked at it, he realized it had ran out of gas. He asked Justen to help him put some gas in it. It was dark, raining and the generator was sitting in a weedy area. After a few minutes, Justen came back in complaining that some ants had attached him, bugs had bit him; he said it was awful. I was laughing. He absolutely hates camping. He said he does not understand camping. He said way back in the 1400s man realized he needed shelter and now in modern times man subjects himself to camping. There were more bugs after the rain, I have to admit.
We also thought it was going to be a lot cooler here. Last year we were here in August and we were wearing jackets. No so much this year.
We read for a little and then went to bed. I had a little trouble falling asleep as I felt kind of ‘buggy’ too.
Saturday, August 7th
Ken woke us up around 8 am. It’s cloudy today, looks like rain. We drank coffee by the fire and it started to drizzle. We decided to pack up and go home today instead of tomorrow. Probably a good decision because it has continued to lightly rain.
We took our time loading up and stopped at ‘Tiny’s’ in Payson. It was just OK. Justen and I had Denver omelets and Ken had a burger and fries. Justen is going through sports withdrawal, so we are listening to ESPN sports on the radio on the drive home.
I’m stretched out in the back seat; I’m going to read my book.
Just as we get to Bush Highway, the truck starts to rattle a bit. Ken pulls over and we have blown a tire on the RV. Now Ken and Justen are changing the tire. It’s probably about 100 degrees out there.
Back on the road in no time.
We got home, unpacked the RV and watched some baseball. Since we didn't make any s'mores, Ken turned on the grill and we had s'mores for dinner. :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
CHANGE
Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better…King Whitney Jr.
I am making a big change. I have accepted another position at a different hospital here in Tucson, Tucson Medical Center. When I was first hired at Oro Valley Hospital in July, 2004 the construction was not finished. We worked out of trailers out in the fields behind the hospital. It was an exciting time, working with a few wonderful people, opening a hospital. I have learned so much; have seen dozens of people come and go; but I will always remember this experience as one my best. It is now time to move on, learn something new, challenge myself, meet new people. Am I scared? Yes...excited? Yes.... But without taking risks, we never grow. I will be relaxing for a few days in the mountains, then at home before I start my new adventure, working with the Physician Electronic Medical Record.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Happy Birthday Ken and USA!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Our flight arrived in Vegas around 9:30 am. We had a layover in LA, which was weird. We had no problems; took a taxi to Mandalay Bay and checked in early. It is a beautiful hotel. We changed in to our bathing suits and went down to the pool area (there are 6) to check things out. We had some lunch and then went swimming in the wave pool for awhile. I decided to book a massage. We called Jason and Lola had a bad night, running a little fever and threw up. She seemed to be feeling better, so we planned to see them when he got off work. Now it's time for a nap. :) We set the alarm for my massage. Ken said we don't need to set it, surely we won't sleep 2 hours. Good thing we set it!! I had my massage (which was great), Ken hung out at the pool.
After my massage, I joined Ken at the pool. We decided to look for a shady area that we can bring the girls to tomorrow. It's 100 degrees and sunny and we know we will need some shade. They have cabanas for rent, but they are all booked the entire weekend. They do get cancellations, so they tell us to check back each morning. They won't give you a price (except they start at $ 250) because the price changes based on supply and demand. They anticipate that on Saturday and Sunday they will go for at least $ 1000 per day. I don't think we will be doing that. We can be more creative than paying that....we WILL find shade. I have a raspberry mojito, Ken has a beer, then we call Jason. He will pick us up at 6 and we will stop to get pizza to take to his house.
We went back to our room to freshen up. Our room is on the 30th floor and offers a beautiful view of the pool areas. It's easy from here to look for a shaded area. We see an area by the lazy river and decide that is where we will go on Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow the girls are not coming until 1 PM, so we won't stake out a place; not really right to 'save' a place when you're not going to be there.
Jason picks us up and we pick up the pizza, salad and some frozen custard. The girls greet us in the driveway..it's so good to see them. We haven't seen Lola in 5 months. She has grown but mainly it's her vocabulary that is so more advanced. It's great to be together....both girls asked where Justen is? They assumed he would be with us.
We had a nice evening, catching up, playing with the girls. Lola kept saying, 'come on GeeGee, let's play'. We'd go up to her room and get her toys out. She is much like Josh was...most of her toys are broken. When Josh was born, I still had all of Justen and Jason's toys, neatly packed away, most of them in great condition. As Josh grew and I brought out age appropriate toys, he would quickly have them destroyed. Lola broke one of the Hippos in 'Hungry Hungry Hippo' so we played with 3 :)
April is taking Bella and Lola to the movies tomorrow morning before they come over to our hotel. Bella has her outfit laying out and wants me to help her pick out some jewelry and shoes to match. I love doing this with her...it makes me feel so happy to be a grandma.
We sit outside for awhile and chat before we head back to Mandalay.
Friday, July 2, 2010
We slept in until around 7:30. We went down to get a latte at Starbucks, but the line was so long, we decided to get breakfast at 'Red, White and Blue restaurant' in the Mandalay resort. We'll get our lattes there. Breakfast was good: ham, mushroom, Swiss cheese omelet, home fries, (we shared), OJ and lattes.
We went back to the room and put our bathing suits on and head to the pools. We hung out at the wave pool until it was time to meet April and the girls. We meet them in the lobby and they are so excited. We go up to the room to get them changed. They have to take turns hitting the elevator button and using the key card to the room.
We lather them up with sunscreen and head downstairs. We find a few good lounges right near the beach. The girls are hungry, so Bella and I go to the grill to get something to eat. Service is very slow and it is hot. We take the food back to the lounges and we eat right near the beach. Lola saw other kids with 'floaties' including a 'turtle floatie'. She had a turtle floaty when we lived at the condo and she thinks we still have it. I told her her daddy would go to Walmart and get her a turtle floaty for tomorrow. She accepts that, but asks me many, many times, if her daddy is going to Walmart to get her a floaty. :)
After a couple hours, it is getting hot, so we go back to the room, take baths/showers and take a rest. The girls insist on putting their 'jammies' on. Pops 'rough houses' with the girls and then we watch a 'Scooby Doo' movie. There are not a lot of choices.
For dinner we went to StripSteak. It was excellent. Bella had: duck, crispy thigh, duck egg with bacon. I had lettuce cups with Crab Louie and avocado. Ken had Grilled halibut and classic baked potatoes. Lola had some french fries and strawberry sorbet.
After dinner as we were walking around, we saw Jason. He is meeting April and some friends for an evening out. Lola reminds him that she is staying with us. :)
We went back to the room and went to sleep pretty early. Everyone was worn out.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
We plan to get an early start. The pool opens at 8 am, it's Saturday and a holiday weekend. We wake up with 1/2 hour to spare, so we quickly wake the girls, dress them in bathing suits, grab our stuff and head to the pool. We happily find lounges right next to the lazy river. There is sun now but soon it will be shade and have shade for the rest of the day. I love how Ken can look up in the sky and determine this. We lay our towels and bags down and head to 'Red, White and Blue' for breakfast. Bella gets a banana nut muffin, OJ, Lola gets a blueberry muffin, OJ and we order bacon for them. Ken and I split an omelet again.
After breakfast we head to the pools. I call Jason to remind him to bring 'turtle floaty' as well as some tubes for the lazy river. The hotel does not provide them.
Jason and April arrive with lots of 'fun' tubes and of course Lola's floaty! We have a wonderful day...down the lazy river, in the wave pool. We take a break and have a wonderful lunch at the grill. The service is slow, but that is good. It gives you time to relax and cool off.
Justen has called and he decides to join us in Las Vegas for the rest of the weekend. Andy and Cara are heading up to visit her mom in Vegas and Justen will join them. They won't arrive till later but we will have all day Sunday to celebrate Ken's Birthday and the USA's B-day!
After a full day, we head up to the room with girls to get cleaned up; Jason and April head home. They will come back at 6pm to pick us up to go to dinner. We went to 'Brio's', a wonderful Italian restaurant. Everything was delicious! They drop the girls and us off at Mandalay. They are going out with Justen and Andy tonight.
We have fun in the room, wrestling with Pops, playing with the floats; but everyone is worn out so we go to sleep pretty quickly. As Lola is laying down to sleep, she says to me: how many sand castles are we going to build tomorrow? Wow, that kind of says it all, doesn't it...the joy of being a kid, wondering how many sand castles you are going to build the next day....I go to sleep wondering myself..
Sunday, July 4, 2010
We sleep later that expected and we have to rush. Today is going to be the busiest day; we want to get the same chairs in the shade, so we wake up two weary girls and rush down to the pools. We have success, put our stuff on the chairs and go for breakfast. We decide to go to Starbucks. We get muffins, OJ and lattes.
We head to the pool. Jason, April, Justen and Andy show up and we have lots of fun. The girls are worn out and April decides to take them home for a nap. The fireworks don't begin until 9PM so if they are going to survive, they need some rest.
We have lunch at a Mexican restaurant near the pool. I decide to go to the room and take a nap, while Ken hangs out with Jason, Justen and Andy. Later Andy and Jason go home and Ken and Justen came up to shower.
We decide to have dinner at the China Grill in Mandalay. We don't want to miss the fireworks so we want to stay close.
Dinner was wonderful. Right at 9 pm, we go to the beach and the fireworks started. They set them off in the pool, so we are really close. I've never been so close to fireworks. It was so fun! As we were walking out to the beach, Ken and I were at the back, Justen was holding Lola, Jason, April, Bella were ahead of them. Ken says, 'this is the best birthday present I could ask for'.
Look at Lola's face...she is in awe of the fireworks.
We said goodnight....Justen stayed with us, the girls went home.
Monday, July 5, 2010
We slept in, we got a late checkout since our flight does not leave until 3 PM.
We had breakfast at 'Red, White and Blue' one last time. We relaxed in the room until it was time for Jason to pick us up. Bella was flying back with us to Tucson. She was going to visit her Dad for a few weeks before school starts. She will be going to school in Vegas. When Jason picked us up, Lola kept saying 'I'm going to the airport with you GeeGee'. What she meant was, 'I'm going on the airplane with you GeeGee'. It was so sad. As we got to the airport and it was time to get out of the car, she began crying. It about tore my heart out. Justen held her and we quickly left. I'm sure she didn't understand why Bella got to go and she did not.
It was a wonderful weekend...great family time. Let's make it a tradition!
Our flight arrived in Vegas around 9:30 am. We had a layover in LA, which was weird. We had no problems; took a taxi to Mandalay Bay and checked in early. It is a beautiful hotel. We changed in to our bathing suits and went down to the pool area (there are 6) to check things out. We had some lunch and then went swimming in the wave pool for awhile. I decided to book a massage. We called Jason and Lola had a bad night, running a little fever and threw up. She seemed to be feeling better, so we planned to see them when he got off work. Now it's time for a nap. :) We set the alarm for my massage. Ken said we don't need to set it, surely we won't sleep 2 hours. Good thing we set it!! I had my massage (which was great), Ken hung out at the pool.
After my massage, I joined Ken at the pool. We decided to look for a shady area that we can bring the girls to tomorrow. It's 100 degrees and sunny and we know we will need some shade. They have cabanas for rent, but they are all booked the entire weekend. They do get cancellations, so they tell us to check back each morning. They won't give you a price (except they start at $ 250) because the price changes based on supply and demand. They anticipate that on Saturday and Sunday they will go for at least $ 1000 per day. I don't think we will be doing that. We can be more creative than paying that....we WILL find shade. I have a raspberry mojito, Ken has a beer, then we call Jason. He will pick us up at 6 and we will stop to get pizza to take to his house.
We went back to our room to freshen up. Our room is on the 30th floor and offers a beautiful view of the pool areas. It's easy from here to look for a shaded area. We see an area by the lazy river and decide that is where we will go on Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow the girls are not coming until 1 PM, so we won't stake out a place; not really right to 'save' a place when you're not going to be there.
Jason picks us up and we pick up the pizza, salad and some frozen custard. The girls greet us in the driveway..it's so good to see them. We haven't seen Lola in 5 months. She has grown but mainly it's her vocabulary that is so more advanced. It's great to be together....both girls asked where Justen is? They assumed he would be with us.
We had a nice evening, catching up, playing with the girls. Lola kept saying, 'come on GeeGee, let's play'. We'd go up to her room and get her toys out. She is much like Josh was...most of her toys are broken. When Josh was born, I still had all of Justen and Jason's toys, neatly packed away, most of them in great condition. As Josh grew and I brought out age appropriate toys, he would quickly have them destroyed. Lola broke one of the Hippos in 'Hungry Hungry Hippo' so we played with 3 :)
April is taking Bella and Lola to the movies tomorrow morning before they come over to our hotel. Bella has her outfit laying out and wants me to help her pick out some jewelry and shoes to match. I love doing this with her...it makes me feel so happy to be a grandma.
We sit outside for awhile and chat before we head back to Mandalay.
Friday, July 2, 2010
We slept in until around 7:30. We went down to get a latte at Starbucks, but the line was so long, we decided to get breakfast at 'Red, White and Blue restaurant' in the Mandalay resort. We'll get our lattes there. Breakfast was good: ham, mushroom, Swiss cheese omelet, home fries, (we shared), OJ and lattes.
We went back to the room and put our bathing suits on and head to the pools. We hung out at the wave pool until it was time to meet April and the girls. We meet them in the lobby and they are so excited. We go up to the room to get them changed. They have to take turns hitting the elevator button and using the key card to the room.
We lather them up with sunscreen and head downstairs. We find a few good lounges right near the beach. The girls are hungry, so Bella and I go to the grill to get something to eat. Service is very slow and it is hot. We take the food back to the lounges and we eat right near the beach. Lola saw other kids with 'floaties' including a 'turtle floatie'. She had a turtle floaty when we lived at the condo and she thinks we still have it. I told her her daddy would go to Walmart and get her a turtle floaty for tomorrow. She accepts that, but asks me many, many times, if her daddy is going to Walmart to get her a floaty. :)
After a couple hours, it is getting hot, so we go back to the room, take baths/showers and take a rest. The girls insist on putting their 'jammies' on. Pops 'rough houses' with the girls and then we watch a 'Scooby Doo' movie. There are not a lot of choices.
We went back to the room and went to sleep pretty early. Everyone was worn out.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
We plan to get an early start. The pool opens at 8 am, it's Saturday and a holiday weekend. We wake up with 1/2 hour to spare, so we quickly wake the girls, dress them in bathing suits, grab our stuff and head to the pool. We happily find lounges right next to the lazy river. There is sun now but soon it will be shade and have shade for the rest of the day. I love how Ken can look up in the sky and determine this. We lay our towels and bags down and head to 'Red, White and Blue' for breakfast. Bella gets a banana nut muffin, OJ, Lola gets a blueberry muffin, OJ and we order bacon for them. Ken and I split an omelet again.
After breakfast we head to the pools. I call Jason to remind him to bring 'turtle floaty' as well as some tubes for the lazy river. The hotel does not provide them.
Jason and April arrive with lots of 'fun' tubes and of course Lola's floaty! We have a wonderful day...down the lazy river, in the wave pool. We take a break and have a wonderful lunch at the grill. The service is slow, but that is good. It gives you time to relax and cool off.
After a full day, we head up to the room with girls to get cleaned up; Jason and April head home. They will come back at 6pm to pick us up to go to dinner. We went to 'Brio's', a wonderful Italian restaurant. Everything was delicious! They drop the girls and us off at Mandalay. They are going out with Justen and Andy tonight.
We have fun in the room, wrestling with Pops, playing with the floats; but everyone is worn out so we go to sleep pretty quickly. As Lola is laying down to sleep, she says to me: how many sand castles are we going to build tomorrow? Wow, that kind of says it all, doesn't it...the joy of being a kid, wondering how many sand castles you are going to build the next day....I go to sleep wondering myself..
Sunday, July 4, 2010
We sleep later that expected and we have to rush. Today is going to be the busiest day; we want to get the same chairs in the shade, so we wake up two weary girls and rush down to the pools. We have success, put our stuff on the chairs and go for breakfast. We decide to go to Starbucks. We get muffins, OJ and lattes.
We head to the pool. Jason, April, Justen and Andy show up and we have lots of fun. The girls are worn out and April decides to take them home for a nap. The fireworks don't begin until 9PM so if they are going to survive, they need some rest.
We decide to have dinner at the China Grill in Mandalay. We don't want to miss the fireworks so we want to stay close.
Look at Lola's face...she is in awe of the fireworks.
We said goodnight....Justen stayed with us, the girls went home.
Monday, July 5, 2010
We slept in, we got a late checkout since our flight does not leave until 3 PM.
We had breakfast at 'Red, White and Blue' one last time. We relaxed in the room until it was time for Jason to pick us up. Bella was flying back with us to Tucson. She was going to visit her Dad for a few weeks before school starts. She will be going to school in Vegas. When Jason picked us up, Lola kept saying 'I'm going to the airport with you GeeGee'. What she meant was, 'I'm going on the airplane with you GeeGee'. It was so sad. As we got to the airport and it was time to get out of the car, she began crying. It about tore my heart out. Justen held her and we quickly left. I'm sure she didn't understand why Bella got to go and she did not.
It was a wonderful weekend...great family time. Let's make it a tradition!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Early up...
I've been so, so, so busy at work, I missed my blogging.
But tomorrow morning, I have to get up at 4 am to go with my wonderful husband to the airport to fly to Vegas. We are going to visit our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters for the holiday weekend.
The 4th is Ken's Birthday...what a day to be born!
I love this holiday and birthday and have many, many, many memories to recall.
From before I knew him; as a kid- sparklers and snakes and hoping to see some fireworks in the sky...the sound of firecrackers even after I went to bed.
Justen's first 4th of July he was only 4 weeks old... we lived in a one bedroom apartment and the fireworks woke him up, he cried and cried. As a new mother, I was irritated about this. Any sleep we could get was precious.
Every year his mom had a barbecue for his B-day; always a cake with red, white and blue. I can still feel the humid air, dark outside, mosquitoes biting me, waiting for the first fireworks wherever we were, hoping it would hurry up and start, because I was tired, the kids were tired, but so enjoying the summer night...you never forget those nights.
Josh was literally petrified of fireworks...he would go in to a crying fit, with tremors...very traumatic.
I remember the swimming parties, laying on the lounger in our backyard, waiting for the fireworks at El Conquistador.
Every year is different, but every year is special, especially because it is my husbands birthday.. and this year we will be with family...it feels good.
Hope you all make some memories. Happy Birthday USA and Ken!
But tomorrow morning, I have to get up at 4 am to go with my wonderful husband to the airport to fly to Vegas. We are going to visit our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters for the holiday weekend.
The 4th is Ken's Birthday...what a day to be born!
I love this holiday and birthday and have many, many, many memories to recall.
From before I knew him; as a kid- sparklers and snakes and hoping to see some fireworks in the sky...the sound of firecrackers even after I went to bed.
Justen's first 4th of July he was only 4 weeks old... we lived in a one bedroom apartment and the fireworks woke him up, he cried and cried. As a new mother, I was irritated about this. Any sleep we could get was precious.
Every year his mom had a barbecue for his B-day; always a cake with red, white and blue. I can still feel the humid air, dark outside, mosquitoes biting me, waiting for the first fireworks wherever we were, hoping it would hurry up and start, because I was tired, the kids were tired, but so enjoying the summer night...you never forget those nights.
Josh was literally petrified of fireworks...he would go in to a crying fit, with tremors...very traumatic.
I remember the swimming parties, laying on the lounger in our backyard, waiting for the fireworks at El Conquistador.
Every year is different, but every year is special, especially because it is my husbands birthday.. and this year we will be with family...it feels good.
Hope you all make some memories. Happy Birthday USA and Ken!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Memorial Day, San Diego
Thursday, May 27th
We left Tucson for San Diego-me,Ken, Justen, Larry and Henna for the Memorial Day Weekend Holiday. We got on the road at 6am. I made homemade apple strudel and we also had Bob Evans breakfast sandwiches (not so good) for the road. I read magazines for awhile, Justen watched DVDs, Ken had the Ipod going. I was in the back seat of the truck so I could stretch out. It's a beautiful day~good to have Justen along. Stopped for gas in Yuma. The drive went fast, uneventful. Most of the time I was reading my book-"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society". It is very good-it's about the German Invasion of the island of Guernsey during WWII. It's amazing how much there is to know about WWII. I think I know a lot but probably not. We arrived in Chula Vista a 2 pm. We were all hungry so we made sandwiches and sat outside. We love this RV park. It sits on the bay between Coronado and Chula Vista. After lunch Henna and I took a walk along the bay, stopped at a restaurant and had a drink. Back to the RV park, sat outside and had some of Larry's green chili and chips, wine, talked and laughed. For dinner (wow-we eat often!) we had grilled chicken and steamed broccoli, apple strudel for dessert. After dinner we sat around our gas heater for awhile (gotta love San Diego weather) and then went to bed. Justen watched TV for awhile; Larry hooked up his satellite to our RV so Justen could watch the basketball playoffs. We had cable from the RV park, but it only has a few basic channels.
Friday, May 28th
Up about 7:30, we had coffee, then breakfast outside: eggs, ham, hash browns, OJ, toast. Ken and I took a bike ride around the park, took showers. We skyped Josh to see if he wants to join us on the Jan 2011 cruise to Cabo. Everyone (Justen, Uncle Don, Jason, April, Bella, Lola) is going. We met Eduardo for the first time. It felt good to do that..it really did. Ken was outside and didn't know we were talking to them, so I told him to come in and meet Eduardo; he did and I'm sure he felt good too. Good steps...
They will need to check with work, but they are hopeful! Can you imagine.....our whole family together for the first time...in, well, I can't remember and I only want to think of the future.
As we were leaving the RV park to go to the Zoo, April called, very upset saying Jason is on his way to the doctor. He had a physical (with blood work done) the day before (routine although he had an ear infection). The Doctor's office called and wanted to see him immediately. The only thing I could think of was cholesterol or white blood cells, but it all sounded so weird. My stomach immediately felt sick. I called Jason and asked him to call me as soon as he was finished at the Doctor. After we arrived at the Zoo, he called about 30 minutes later....and it was his cholesterol, which is (I think 208). The Doctor actually was surprised to see him; the urgency was the result of an over zealous receptionist that wanted to fill the appointment slot. Wow...what a relief, but he does need to watch his diet and exercise. High cholesterol runs in my family.
We got back to the RV park around 2:30. We had some snacks and Justen made some Raspberry, Mint Mojitos. Yum! Then it was time to get ready for the Padres game. Larry and Henna did not go. We went early and ate at a wonderful restaurant, "Soleil". We sat outside on the sidewalk; it was fun to watch the people walking by on their way to the game. We had appetizers: Lobster Tempura with mushroom risotto, shrimp/avocado flat bread. For dinner Justen had skirt steak and Ken and I shared grilled mahi. Everything was delicious. We arrived in Petco just as they were singing the National Anthem. Our seats (Stubhub) were great, row 12 behind home plate. The park is so nice. I was cold, it was around 65 degrees; I had my jean jacket on, but I was still cold. I went to buy a sweatshirt and the cheapest I could find, was $91; I was not going to pay that much!! The Padres lost after loading the bases in the 9th. I had a nice time with Justen and Ken. We got back to the RV around 10:30, read a little.
Saturday, May 29th
Ken woke up around 6:30; he never sleeps in when we travel. After another hearty breakfast, Larry and Ken went fishing. I napped ( I know, pathetic) and then when they returned, we loaded up to go to the beach. It was cool, but so beautiful. We all relaxed, some snoozed, some read, and some sun bathed. Henna was absolutely freezing, so I took care of her. Notice her bundle of towels; and right next to her, Ken and Justen shirtless; it's hard to imagine that she is from Scotland!
The water was freezing; Justen and Ken were brave enough to try it out; only their feet and then retreated. Back to the RV; time for a little lunch. Ken and I took a bike ride and soon it was time for happy hour. Tonight is Henna's turn for dinner (we take turns). We had grilled pork roast, peas and artichoke hearts, and fingerling potatoes. After a wonderful dinner, it was a bit windy so we retreated to our RV. Justen watched TV and Ken and I read our books.
Sunday, May 30th
Our last day. We had another great breakfast. This day, we had no definite plans. We lounged, rode bikes, took walks, napped, then Henna and I went shopping. She wanted to find a Trader Joe's, so Justen found one for us in Eastlake, a cute little town about 25 minutes east. The shopping area had lots of outdoor eating areas, ponds, lots of flowers and trees. We had a latte, went to Borders, Trader Joe's and the grocery. When we got back to the RV park, we all sat around and read books; Justen watched sports.
Tonight is my turn for dinner. I am making Shrimp Tostados: fresh grilled shrimp combined with a mixture of olive oil, mayo, serrano chilis, garlic, minced red onion, diced roma tomatoes, cilantro, lime zest and lime juice. Place fresh avocado slices on top of the tostado, add a generous helping of the shrimp mixture, add cheese and sour cream. So yummy. The original recipes calls for fresh crab instead of shrimp. I have not tried it with crab, although I have tried it with grilled mahi....my favorite.
We had a nice evening together. We have to leave tomorrow. Originally we planned to stay until Tuesday, but I have to get back to leave for a business trip to Chicago.
I am jealous of Larry and Henna. They are heading up the coast, all the way to Washington. Their next stop is Pismo Beach, which I love! They will be gone until August. After Washington, they will head to Colorado.
Our drive home was uneventful; I got dropped off in Phoenix since my flight leaves from there early in the morning. It was a great trip, never long enough. You don't want to wish your life away, but how nice to take the whole summer to get out of the heat of Tucson and explore the country!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Weekend Words
Had a nice time visiting Uncle Friday night. Annie and Bobbie and Larry were there. Henna is in Denver with her grand kids. We took Italian Sausages and brats for the grill, cole slaw and chips. We take enough for leftovers since he does not cook. He so looks forward to us coming over. Fridays have to be difficult for him. He told Ken that twice this week he 'forgot' that Aunt was gone. One was he came home from working in the park, walked in the house and said, 'I'm home'.....the second one was he was sitting outside and saw a quail family, the first of the season---dad, mom and 8 little babies looking like ping pong balls....he got up, ran in to the house to tell Aunt......and then he realized.
Bella took her gecko 'Leo' to Uncle's.
After we got home, Bella and Justen took a walk with flashlights; then time for bubble bath, reading and bed. Bella had to leave early (9am) on Saturday morning so she had a quick breakfast of hash browns, bacon, OJ and strawberries with whipped cream. Hopefully we will get to see her once more this week...she wants to go to 'Sauce' before she heads to Las Vegas.
Now the weekend is almost over...I have that feeling that I hate....like I have to hurry to do a few more things that I wanted to do...not wanting the weekend to end. Still have time for grilled chicken and a nice glass of wine outside.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Bello Boo
Bella is coming over tonight because it's Friday night and we love our routine of her spending Friday night and Saturday morning/afternoon with us. But as life is...this is about to change :( :(
School gets out next Thursday and she will be moving to Las Vegas to join her mom, Jason and Lola. I'm sure they are very excited about this........but me, Ken and Justen will miss her tremendously. Justen and her have bonded and it is great to see. Pops (Ken) picking her up from school, hikes at Catalina State Park to look for creatures, Bella's zoo (bugs, frogs and her gecko) in our garage/backyard, Cheese Puffs, watering my flowers, feeding the birds at Uncle Don's, Justen and her exploring the hill behind Uncle's, painting and crafts with GeeGee (me), bubble baths, hot chocolate with whipped cream - please, old fashioned oatmeal with sugar, real cream and milk, not too hot - please,,,,,,,,,,,,,I could go on and on. She is a special girl and we will miss our routine...a lot. But, we hope to get up to Vegas to visit and also see her when she comes to visit her Dad here in Tucson.
Life always changes folks.....enjoy each moment like it is your last.....
School gets out next Thursday and she will be moving to Las Vegas to join her mom, Jason and Lola. I'm sure they are very excited about this........but me, Ken and Justen will miss her tremendously. Justen and her have bonded and it is great to see. Pops (Ken) picking her up from school, hikes at Catalina State Park to look for creatures, Bella's zoo (bugs, frogs and her gecko) in our garage/backyard, Cheese Puffs, watering my flowers, feeding the birds at Uncle Don's, Justen and her exploring the hill behind Uncle's, painting and crafts with GeeGee (me), bubble baths, hot chocolate with whipped cream - please, old fashioned oatmeal with sugar, real cream and milk, not too hot - please,,,,,,,,,,,,,I could go on and on. She is a special girl and we will miss our routine...a lot. But, we hope to get up to Vegas to visit and also see her when she comes to visit her Dad here in Tucson.
Life always changes folks.....enjoy each moment like it is your last.....
Monday, May 10, 2010
I loved yesterday
I have to be honest....I don't always love Mother's Day. Oh, I loved it when the boys were little and they would make the wonderful homemade cards. Kenny would 'help them' make breakfast for me. We would usually spend the day with Ken's mom, MaMoo( as the boys called her).
As I have gotten older the day has always seemed to build up too much emotion for me. I seem to dwell on how things used to be when my sons were younger and we were all together. Oh, I know, life goes on but that's my point...this day brings all the memories back and the way it used to be.
I recently heard a story about someone's grandma who in her last years could not listen to "White Christmas". It brought back too many memories; her husband was gone, her sisters and brothers were gone. It just became too sad. I understand that.
Anyway, I did have a great day. Bella had spent the night so waking up with a young child is always so fun. She wakes up a bit slowly...only a bit...after about 2 minutes she is wide awake and ready to go; cheerful, happy, full of excitement.
We 'skyped' Josh in Prague and we had a great time together. He looks great. It was so fun to see him. Bella called her mom to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. Jason called to wish me a Happy Mother's day. And about 3 PM, Justen, Ken and I had a wonderful lunch/dinner at Wildflower
I started with a Blooming Daisy: Belvedere Vodka, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, raspberries....so fresh! Our appetizer: Grilled artichoke with sea salt and Paris mustard aioli. I had Grilled Alaskan Halibut with polenta and artichokes, Ken had Scallops and Justen had fish too...but can't remember what kind. Everything was so delicious and we shared so we could taste everything. For dessert we had apple tarts with vanilla gelato and a brownie with caramel custard and vanilla gelato. :)
I called my mom in Ohio to wish her a happy Mother's Day. Dad has Alzheimer's and it is getting pretty rough for her to take care of him.
It was definitely a good day.....not too emotional. Just a lesson for anyone who needs to hear it....mom's just want to know you love them on Mother's Day; don't need presents, just need to know we matter to our children.
As I have gotten older the day has always seemed to build up too much emotion for me. I seem to dwell on how things used to be when my sons were younger and we were all together. Oh, I know, life goes on but that's my point...this day brings all the memories back and the way it used to be.
I recently heard a story about someone's grandma who in her last years could not listen to "White Christmas". It brought back too many memories; her husband was gone, her sisters and brothers were gone. It just became too sad. I understand that.
Anyway, I did have a great day. Bella had spent the night so waking up with a young child is always so fun. She wakes up a bit slowly...only a bit...after about 2 minutes she is wide awake and ready to go; cheerful, happy, full of excitement.
We 'skyped' Josh in Prague and we had a great time together. He looks great. It was so fun to see him. Bella called her mom to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. Jason called to wish me a Happy Mother's day. And about 3 PM, Justen, Ken and I had a wonderful lunch/dinner at Wildflower
I started with a Blooming Daisy: Belvedere Vodka, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, raspberries....so fresh! Our appetizer: Grilled artichoke with sea salt and Paris mustard aioli. I had Grilled Alaskan Halibut with polenta and artichokes, Ken had Scallops and Justen had fish too...but can't remember what kind. Everything was so delicious and we shared so we could taste everything. For dessert we had apple tarts with vanilla gelato and a brownie with caramel custard and vanilla gelato. :)
I called my mom in Ohio to wish her a happy Mother's Day. Dad has Alzheimer's and it is getting pretty rough for her to take care of him.
It was definitely a good day.....not too emotional. Just a lesson for anyone who needs to hear it....mom's just want to know you love them on Mother's Day; don't need presents, just need to know we matter to our children.
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