Vacation Part IV: Arizona

-
Friday evening we arrived in Phoenix, Arizona, at the home of Steven's mom and her husband John. There, we found Steven's brother Brian and his family. We were also soon joined by Steven's sister Karen and her family... and Andy and his family who had driven part of the way with us and then stopped somewhere along the way... It was fun to see most of Steven's family. We missed his brother David and his wife, but they were unable to come. That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner, and then watched the lego Batman movie on a screen in the backyard. That night, the adults checked into a hotel leaving all the grandchildren with grandma Kathy and John to watch over.

Saturday, the adults returned to the house to make sure the kids were ready in time for the drive to Cottonwood to attend Steven's Grandma Maureen's 90th birthday celebration. We were saddened to learn on our arrival at Kathy's house, that Grandpa Ray (Maureen's husband) had a stroke early that morning and was in the hospital. Maureen decided to go ahead with the party that so much expense had gone into, and that so many people had come great distances to attend. Kathy went early with Brian, Kendra and our John to help set things up, and the rest of us followed, arriving in Cottonwood around 12:30.

Steven enjoyed seeing cousins and other relatives that he hadn't seen in a long time. We enjoyed a great meal, and listened to Grandma Maureen reminisce about old times. We talked, took pictures, and then returned to the car for the trip back to Phoenix.
Kathy listening as Maureen tells stories.

Steven's cousins Stephanie and Joscelyn.

Steven with a 1st cousin once removed, I think.

Kathy made these cute table decorations

Joe, Kendra, cousin Rory and Megan

Steven made a great impression on Brian and Kendra's son Finn.

Steven with another cousin once removed, John Hansen
(who might know my parents from Nauvoo...)

Angela enjoys her cake

Josh and Peter eat cake

Grandma Maureen with her descendants on Kathy's side
That evening, Steven and I and his siblings and their spouses all went out to Applebee's for dinner. It was fun to have some adult time to catch up.

On Sunday we attended church and enjoyed a quiet afternoon at Kathy's home. That evening we loaded the car, said our goodbyes, and took the kids back to the hotel with us for the night. We awoke super early Monday morning (4am Colorado time... 3am Arizona time) for the long (13 hour) drive home.
Megan and Andy
Kathy (and Karen in the background)
Brian
Kendra
The siblings: Andy, Steven, Karen, Brian (David not shown)

Grandma and her 13 grandkids

Steven with his girls (Abigail, Renee and Kaylee)
Angela and Hannah got into the mix too...

The big boys: Peter, John, Ryan and Joshua

So now we're home again. As much as we enjoyed seeing family and visiting the beach and all, it was nice to be home again and to sleep in our own beds.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Talk about Gratitude

-
I recently told my bishop that I enjoyed giving talks in Sacrament Meeting, and it is true. I didn't expect, however, that I would get an email from a bishopric member on Thursday last week to say that his talks for Sunday had to leave town, and would I be willing to speak? Here is the talk that I gave on Sunday, May 27th, 2012: For my topic today, I was given a talk which was given by President Monson in 1992, entitled “An Attitude of Gratitude”. In his talk President Monson begins by telling the story of the 10 lepers. I would like to share it with you. In Luke 17 we read: And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And when he saw them, he said unto them, “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went,
Read more

How Clean is Clean Enough?

-
Image
How clean is "clean enough"? I realize this question is loaded and the answers are very individual, so for a moment, think about yourself and your home and consider, for you, how clean is "clean enough"? What is the difference between a "quick clean", a "daily clean" and a "deep clean"? At what point do you consider your home "clean enough"? Does "clean enough" mean having a clear path from the front door to the other rooms in the house? Is it having the clutter picked up and the floors vacuumed? Must it be dusted every week, every month, or at all? Is it a quick swipe on the surface to remove the dust or crumbs? Is it a scrub with disinfectant? Is it clearing tables and desks, or delving into cupboards and drawers, purging and organizing?    Does it depend on the day of the week? Is "clean enough" on a weekday the same as "clean enough" on a weekend? If not, is it more clean, or less? Is there a
Read more

School closing, Josh adventures, Back pain relief...

-
On Wednesday school was cancelled all over the Denver area because there was a credible threat that an 18 year old woman with a fixation on the Columbine shooting would attack a school. Apparently she arrived in Denver and bought a gun and then vanished, so they shut down everything just in case. (They found her body later that day... She committed suicide. More info here .) John was frustrated that school was cancelled because one acts are coming up (they are this week!) and he needed the rehearsal time. Instead, John took advantage of the free day to go to School of Mines to check out the campus and talk to someone about getting his admission deferred. I got a ride to my book club, and both of us were home again before Josh and Peter rolled out of bed. Early in the afternoon I took Josh to Children's Hospital to see a cardiologist about his seizures . They did an EKG, but the results were normal. He doesn't have a heart murmur or anything else they could identify. I still thi
Read more