Visit to Taylor, AZ

It had been eight months since we last saw our nephews, so it was time to make a trip to Taylor, Arizona to visit.  Instead of taking our usual route via the 10 fwy thru Phoenix, we took highway 40 thru Scottsdale.  This was a fun drive and allowed us to see terrain that was new to us.  Although this drive was 60 miles longer than our usual route, it took the same time, 10 hours... less mountain roads on the 40. 

Selfie as we drive Hwy 40 for the 1st time :)

We spent 5 days in Taylor with great weather.  Aside from one overnight storm, we had sunny 70 degree weather.  The spring like weather allowed us to do a lot outdoors.  We picked pumpkins and vegetables from our family's garden, went to Show Low lake to skip rocks, walked around the nature path along a Frisbee disc golf course, fed local horses with garden picked carrots, decorated pumpkins, went shooting in the outdoors, enjoyed evening's by the outdoor fire...and played lots with the boys. It's hard not living close to them, but we appreciate the great things that a small remote town in Arizona allow the boys to do.  They are able to play in the great outdoors, amongst tons of lizards to catch, enjoying nature and using their playful imaginations.  

They are becoming well-rounded little boys, and we'd loved seeing how much they have grown!  Here are some photos from our time in Taylor, AZ:

 

Sunset on Hwy 40, Winslow AZ

William & I

Wyatt playing in the dirt

William is ready for shooting

Wyatt with ear protection...so cute!

He hit the target!!

My first time shooting the shotgun...I hit the target too!!

Horse Whisper Jerry - we had just fed the horses carrots from the garden

William and his Mama picking carrots, onions and tomatoes from their home garden

Wyatt cuddling with Uncle Jerry...

...so comfy and perfectly content :)

Beautiful hiking area and Frisbee Disc Golf course

Show Low Lake with the nephews

Happy Halloween

My first drilled pumpkin...tons of fun...easy...and cute!

  The dogs LOVED the pumpkin bits...they couldn't lick the ground fast enough!

Happy Birthday to my Greatest Love!

 

Thirty four years ago my Mother-in-Law gave birth to her first child, her pride and joy, Jerry.   Above is a picture of Jerry at 1 ½ years old, with his mom.   This photo captures a moment in time that is awesome..and I can;t help but admire.  I love the way she is looking at him, just simply adoring him. Like a gift directly from God, made perfectly for her.  The expression in my mother-in-law’s eyes holds the same feelings that I have for her son…now 30+ years later.  As a first born, my husband was his mother’s greatest love.  To know that she and I share the same adornment, love, and pure joy for one of God’s children is a great gift!  I am forever grateful for this man that my mother-in-law birthed and loved like crazy.  Her pride and joy has also become mine.  Happy Birthday to my greatest love, Jerry! 

Fall is Here!

Fall Time - looking forward to the cooler weather, leaves changing color and...cuddling  !

Home Dinner Date

BBQ Dinner, enjoying the beautiful summer night.  Love eating outside!

Luke's 11th Birthday!

Celebrating Luke's 11th Birthday!  We adopted him 8 years ago, when he was 3 years old.  He has blossomed from an anxious dog with behavior issues to being such a sweet, well-tempered dog.  Must be all the love and attention we shower him with :)  I am so happy we found this little pup at the animal shelter.  We love him lots and are so happy that he is part of our family!

Way-Back Wednesday

I have been helping Tutu (my grandma) organize all her photos.  It's great to be able to spend time with her each week and look through photos from the last 60 years of our family's lives.  In doing so, I have come across photos of my dad, which I have never seen.  It's great to see how my dad interacted with my mom's side of the family and how much love every one had for each other.  With my dad no longer here, I am so thankful that Tutu has preserved these pictures and has asked me to help her make sure they live on.  These are some of my favorite pictures we found from way back...

Aunt Janette, Aunt Anne, Papa, Tutu, Dad, Mom & Aunt Linda. 1974

Dad, Aunt Anne & Mom

Aunt Linda, Dad (looking so handsome) & Champagne!

Dad sharing a present he received.  Love his smile here!

Soccer Fever

Soccer is not a sport that I watched or knew much about.   I tried out for soccer at age 5 and remember not liking all the running and ended up crying on the field after 1 lap!   My mom picked me up and carried me to the car; partially to stop my crying, but mostly so I didn’t dirty my cleats that she wanted to return. Wow, the mindset of a single mom!  Looking back, I wish I gave soccer a chance and also wished my mom pushed me to not give up. 

I never gave much thought to soccer until our trip to Costa Rica last year.  After exploring Costa Rica, we ended our trip in the capitol, San Jose, so we could be close to the airport.  On our way to our hotel, we noticed red soccer jersey’s and the country’s flag being sold on every street corner, and locals walking thru traffic, between cars to sell this merchandise.  It wasn’t until our driver told us that a critical soccer game was occurring later that night between Costa Rica and USA.  We got so excited, we started planning where could watch the match to root on USA, and even contemplated looking for tickets to the game.   We decided to go to a restaurant for dinner, suggested by the hotel host, and watch the game while eating.   The restaurant welcomed us “Americans” and offered a free shot for every goal that the USA made.  Sounded fun.  Then we learned how passionate Costa Rica was about soccer.   It’s their livelihood, their everything!  Seeing how much passion they had made me tingle inside.  We decided to eat and leave the restaurant just before the game started…taking shot in front of these grand fans seemed a tad rude, especially since we lacked the same soccer passion.  

Walking a couple blocks back to our hotel to watch the game, we instantly knew when Costa Rica made a goal.  Every car in the town had their radio at full volume, you could hear the announcers yelling “GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLL…” as if it were coming thru a public PA system, car horns were honking for minutes on end, and store owners were jumping and high-fiving.  It was like we were at the stadium.  The excitement was infectious.  We knew this country scored against ours, but how could we resist celebrating the joy with the country we were in?!?  It left a lasting impression on us both.  Costa Rica did win the match, advancing them as a qualifier in the World Cup. Here is a video and article recapping the game and showing the Tico's celebrating.

Now, as the World Cup approached, we found ourselves watching many games and really enjoying the sport.  It was great to watch USA play, to see how far Costa Rica made it, and to watch Germany win!  I never watched the World Cup in the past, but really enjoyed the comradery it brings and happy that Costa Rica introduced it to us!

Reminiscing thru Germany trip photos from 2003 - the new World Cup Champs!

Germany celebrating their win

Museum of Jurassic Technology

Roof Top Garden

Wanting to explore Los Angeles more, I was excited to come across a fascinating museum called The Museum of Jurassic Technology, in a tour guide book.  As I looked at reviews, which varied from “absolutely delightful” to “confusing & creepy”, I was instantly convinced that I had to see for myself what the oddity was with this museum that has been around since 1988.  A review on Yelp explains the museum as such: This odd "museum" is worth seeing at least once.  The entire building can best be described as a single modern art installation -- an oddly disturbing rendition of a madman's visualization of a historical museum.  Faux-serious in every aspect, but completely entertaining.  You'll be talking about it for hours afterwards."

The entrance to the museum is so quant and cute.  It’s an old house that kind of reminded us of Amsterdam homes.  It was a lot smaller than I expected, but very cute and invoked curiosity upon entering the front door.   After paying, we walked in the exhibit with anxiousness and were confused right away.  The exhibits were interesting, but one had nothing to do with the next.  The small trailer park models and the movie with no plot made me feel like I was in a twilight zone. It caused our minds to pause and question reality – which is one reason why we go to museums, to stretch our minds.  One of my favorite parts of the museum was an exhibit by Henry Harold Dalton called Micromosiacs.  This artist created microsope slides of beautiful scenes, created entirely with scales of butterfly wings.  It was simply amazing to see his work and learn how he made the slides in 1829.  My other favorite part of the museum is a tea room deck on the top floor.  After completing the museum, you can sit outside in a beautiful rooftop garden and enjoy complimentary hot tea.  It was a peaceful and enjoyable way to end the museum visit.

Entrance to Museum of Jurassic Technoloy

Going to this museum with no perceived ideas allowed us to really enjoy what it had to offer.  We definitely were talking about the oddities of this museum for several hours.  After the museum, we walked a couple blocks to a street lined with restaurants, and found Public School 310, which looked fun and had outdoor seating.   We really enjoyed happy hour here, the pub food, the ambiance and sharing a table with other patrons.  We ended up spending just over three hours at the restaurant chatting and cracking up about the museum.   It was a very fun day in LA with my number one!   It’s bizarre that I found this museum in a guide book intended for people who are visiting Los Angeles for vacation.  As I mentioned in a prior post, I am yearning to explore LA more often.  After this outing I am even more excited to see what “tourist” things are available in our own backyard.

P.s - Photos and cell phone were not allowed to be used at the property.  Signs were posted everywhere!  But, I was determined to take some photos since it was just so pretty.  I have to say that all the photos in this blog were by me and my nervously shaking hand...I'm pretty proud :)

  

 I was able to snap a quick photo of the staircase to the rooftop garden

Roof Top Garden Entrance

Peaceful and Tranquil Garden

...more of the garden...

Enjoying my hot tea

Beautiful white doves adorned the garden

I love how peaceful this is. I just wanted to do yoga right there!

Snapping quick photo of us before we get caught.  No photos allowed!

Public School 310 for dinner & drinks after museum

Table bottle water feels so European.  Love this pub feel.

Favorite food at Public School 310. Ahi Tacos. $6. FANTASTIC!