See You (mon)Soon!

Some random shots for you today. First of all, IT RAINED! No, really. The funny thing is, it'll say it's going to monsoon for about a week. The clouds dance around us all day,

and the storm comes at us from a couple different directions, but they get here and stop. Especially if Maestro is working. It will NOT rain. The go-kart track will remain open. But last night at 8:20 PST, it hit us. Rosebud & Juju were here for dinner and we were waiting for Bwin to come home from work. Unfortunately, he had to drive about an hour to get here, and the storm was in his path. He's from the Seattle area, and knows what rain is like, but the winds were up to 60 mph and you do have to be very careful not to drive through a flooded area, like a wash. Btw, a wash is kind of like a dry riverbed that takes the water from a storm -- since it doesn't soak into the ground here -- from the high ground to the low. In our case, that's the lake. If you get caught in one of those, you are in serious trouble. Actually, 2 men died the other day near his work b/c they thought their pickup truck could drive through a wash. While we were watching the storm come our way, the power went out and we found a couple of candles to light. It was really nice and quiet! But then came the bad news. Our mesquite tree was down!!!! Poppy and I were really sad!

It may be able to be saved, since the roots are still intact. This was my first official "monsoon" and wow, it was pretty cool. (Bwin made it home safely, of course. He was very smart and avoided the washes.) The lightning was spectacular as we watched it approach over the mountains.

The next photo is for Webster. She requested a current photo of Juju's belly. She's getting a little tired of strangers asking her how much longer she has. When she tells them 3 1/2 months, there's a gasp and a (trying to be polite) "oh my!"

And last, but not least, some more photos from our visit with the kids. Here's Dimples enjoying a ride through the air.

Another pool pic. The kids loved having races across the "beach" area of the pool. Okay, it was Baby's idea and they almost always let him win. They would do this so many times, with Baby saying, "mark, set, GO!" each time.

I got a "kick" out of this stop sign in Oatman --

Here's another cute photo of my 3 kids --

And a very sad Ma3stro and BDE on the morning they left.

Good news! The tree is back up. We'll see if it takes hold. Poppy & Bwin and the Trailblazer put it back into place. Good job!

My next post should be from Cheeseland! I'll miss my friends but I'll be in "heaven" spending time with the kids. Time to finish the post, it's pool time

Hey, I've Seen a Boat!

Well, this week has been pretty busy and I thought I'd share some of it with you.

Monday we had some friends over for dinner before they left for China. Of course, it's not a missions trip since that's illegal. Tuesday I sang with my friend Babs for the Christian Business Women's Club. It was really cool. She has an incredible voice and we had a great time even practicing. It brought back good memories with BFF. Wednesday, I got up early to go for a run, since on Monday when I woke up at 8am (yes, late, I know) it was already 100 degrees. Then I went to a quilt class by the local quilt guild. A teacher showed us how to do a "tumbling blocks" quilt. Here's a photo of the work-in-progress. The rows are on my ironing board, waiting to be sewn together.

By the time I got home, Pool Time had already started, with Poppy, Ma3stro, Cissy, Guatemama, & Rosebud in attendance.

That brings me to today, Thursday. I donated blood and got the coolest blood donor t-shirt ever.

Then, we went out on the boat with Nathan, Babs, and the kids (I'll call them C1, C2, and C3). First, we went to a waterski cove for some tubing. I love the close-up of the boys, C1 & C2, as Poppy circled around.

The burro must have enjoyed the show!


Then we went to a little cove near the golf course where Cissy's hubby (Happy Anniversary, btw), Poppy, and Ma3stro have been hitting balls into the water near the 12th green. Poppy wanted to snorkel & recover some of their balls (pardon my language). C2 really enjoyed that because there were a lot of fish and he is a MAJOR biologist-to-be. Finally, we went to Copper Canyon for some more snorkeling and some cliff jumping. C1 & C3 (their 8yo daughter) showed off their intrepid nature, along with Poppy and Nathan, who wowed us with a swan dive from the 20 foot-ish level. C3 really looks great in this photo -- she looks like she's doing ballet.

Here's Poppy going from the same level. He's thinking, "What should I do with my hands?" Or maybe, "Will I really be paying for this later"? Here's C1, 13yo, going from the 2nd highest level, I'm guessing 30 feet high or so.

After he jumped, he noticed that the others who jumped from the same spot looked scared to death, and he wondered what his face looked like. I told him he could look at the close-up of my shot --

And last, but not least, Nathan's swan dive from 20-something feet. Last fall, he did this from the top. My best guess is that it's at least 45 feet. Yes, he's INSANE. He said his skull felt like it was swollen.

That's all for now. I know I've shocked you by posting twice in one week. I'll probably go back to my lazy posting next week.

Let Me Entertain You

First, let me start with a funny story. Poppy, Maestro & I went to Chico's for lunch after church today (sorry, EO) and I had a cheese quesadilla and the bean dip -- yes, 2 appetizers. Then, just before we were done, Poppy brought me another Diet Coke, which I spilled all over the place! Later that day, after Worship Team practice, we had dinner with friends Nathan and Babs -- thanks for dinner, btw --- at Pizza Hut. As I stood up to greet them, yep, another Diet something all over the place. I explained to the waiter that this was my second mishap of the day, so he brought the refill in a child's covered cup!! That's the funny part, in case you thought you missed it. To add to the merriment, Poppy also dropped a slice of Pepperoni Pizza on the floor (and on his shirt and shorts).

Now, let me entertain you with some spare photos of the kids' visit and a photo of our new Great Nephew.

The kids loved a trip to the gokart track (the look on Dimples' face is concentration) --

These are pix from BDE's favorite fireworks ever!



This was for our impromptu it's a boy party for Juju & bwin.


More random cute shots ---

Here's our first photo of Guatemama and Mumble. He loved the pool. Isn't he adorable? He also loved the quilt I made for him. It was designed by a woman from Guatemala.

Well, that's it for now. We'll be with EO & fam in a couple weeks!

We're Havin' a Heat Wave

Okay, I know that the rest of the country is now sharing the heat --- and they've added that great humidity -- but I thought I'd share some AZ jokes that I looked up when things were warmer here than a mere 115.

It's so hot in Arizona that...

· the birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.
· the potatoes cook underground, and all you have to do to have lunch is to pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.
· farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying hard-boiled eggs.
· the cows are giving evaporated milk.
· the trees are whistling for the dogs.
· you can say 113 degrees without fainting.
· you eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.
· you can make instant sun tea.
· you learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
· the temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly.
· you can attend any function wearing shorts and a tank top.
· you discover that in July, it takes only 2 fingers to drive your car.
· you discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.
· you notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
· hot water now comes out of both taps.
· you actually burn your hand opening the car door.
· no one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car or not having air conditioning.
· your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
· you realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
· a sad Arizonan once prayed, "I wish it would rain - not so much for me, ‘cause I've seen it -- but for my 7-year-old."

On to more important topics, today was the day the kids left. We didn't enjoy that one bit. On the way to the airport, we were talking about the trip and who would be on the plane -- Daddy, Mommy, Dimples, BDE, and Baby. He said, "Poppy on airplane!" Yeah, that was rough. He insisted for the last 45 minutes or so of the ride that Poppy would be joining them. BDE and I didn't enjoy our farewell either, even though we both know that we'll see each other in a few short weeks. Dimples tried to ignore the whole goodbye thing. We had SUCH a GREAT time!!! The kids did really well. BDE learned the back float and backstroke, Dimples swam for the first time without a life jacket or floatie of any kind, and Baby loved dunking himself underwater and "swimming" with Mommy or Daddy holding him. We also had a great time on the boat, and it was fun to see the kids relax a bit more as they became more seasoned boaters. To sum it up, it was really great for us all to be together. I hope we can have more visits like this in the future, and Poppy & I really appreciate that they all took the trouble (and expense) to come down & visit with Neenee & Poppy. I'm sure EO will do some great blogging on the trip, so I'll let her provide the photos.

And I'll add my thanks to EO & fam's for the wonderful reception provided by Herc's parents and La (a note to follow So) upon their arrival home. Wowie wow wow, as Junie B would say.

Oh, and I know that they WILL be coming back because a few things did get forgotten here (note to self --- for future reference, clean up a bit before they pack) -- BDE's pink Hanes, Dimples' Fire Engine book, & the Santas we made.