Memorial Not Quite Weekend

While most people celebrated Memorial Day on the weekend from Friday to Monday, we did things a little different.

We wanted to go camping, but since there is pretty much ONE good lake around here, we knew it would be packed to the max. So we decided to avoid the crowds and go from Monday to Wednesday. So much better! There was still plenty of people there but the throngs of families and teens were gone. Most of what was left were older retired couples so it was quiet and the kids could ride their bikes without fear of getting hit by crazy drivers.

Monday started off rough with a dead battery in the RV that needed replacing. After we got the RV started, a pipe in the sink decided to burst! There was water spraying out into the RV so what do you know... another trip to the store to replace that. We got it fixed and go figure the generator that would power the fridge and air conditioner on the way up wouldn't start! ARGH! We decided to forgo getting that fixed since the RV could still drive and that was most important.

We left around 5pm (we wanted to be there at 2!) but the 1-1 1/2 hour trip took us over 2 hours! Something was pulling power from the battery as we drove so the brand spanking new battery died THREE times on the way up there! Thank God Gabe thought to bring the portable car charger and we were able to make the trip. Talk about a horrible way to start a vacation!

Tuesday was a great day. We had a late breakfast and then dessert from the shop there. Dessert after breakfast is perfectly acceptable on vacation. :) The kids had been begging us to go swimming so the beach was our next destination. Gabe took the kids to the water while I stayed in the shade with Noah.

Lake in the desert with mountains as the backdrop.

Noah fell asleep so I folded a towel and put him on the picnic table. That gave me a chance to actually READ! Yes, read a book! I rarely make time or get to read.

After swimming, we headed back to eat lunch and start on dinner. The kids rode their bikes and relaxed a little in the air conditioning of the RV. When dinner was done and cleaned up, we went for an evening walk. It was a little later than I wanted so I didn't get the good sunset pics I was hoping for.

The last minute before darkness set in.

We spent the next morning packing up and getting everything ready to leave. It was much hotter that day but I wanted to go on one more walk/bike ride. It was a quick walk and I got some cute photos of the kids on this really tall and steep bridge over the lake.

The next photos were taken from the top of the bridge.

Our shadows. From left to right, Alena, Christian, myself, and Gabe (holding Noah).

Yes, my husband babywears and I love it!

Where the sunset picture was taken from the previous night.

Once we were ready to go, we strapped the kids into their seats and they were all out before we could even start!

We were not moving yet and I did adjust Noah's straps before going. I wanted to get the picture in case he woke up.

I'd say after a rough start, our mini vacation turned out pretty good! And the RV made the trip home without any problems!

Beauty Surrounds Us

We've lived here in Arizona for a little over five years and I love our scenery. At times it can be somewhat "ugly" if you're looking at the surface. It's not very colorful except for a few short months during monsoon season. There is mostly dead weeds, small shrubs, cacti, dirt, and everything seems to be a shade of brown.

But open your eyes and mind a little and look past that and you will see beautiful mountains, clear blue skies, and small wildlife. If you look a little harder you will find plenty of colors in the birds, bugs, small plants, and desert flowers.

The other week when we had snow, I wanted to get a good shot of the mountains because they are just so beautiful when covered in snow. I'm not sure I did them proper justice but I tried.

I really like the flag that appears as if it is in the middle of nowhere in the above photos.

These were taken on the west end of town at the edge of the base. I then moved to the south side of town to take the next photos. I went as far as I could until I hit a dirt road and there was nowhere else to go but down a walking path.

Seriously, so beautiful.

Sunset on the Lake

Growing up, my family would take family vacations in Canada. We would stay on a little island in the middle of a lake. I loved it. And every year I would take a sunset picture as it was setting over the lake. You could get some of the most beautiful pictures!

Well, since we were staying at a lake for a couple of days on our vacation, I took full advantage of the beautiful sunset. I may or may not have taken 69 different photos of the sunset on our first night there. I also took some on the second night but that sunset wasn't quite as colorful.

Here are my favorite photos of the first night's sunset. One of the reason there are so many is because I was experimenting with all the different camera settings and taking them from different angles.

And here are a few from the second night. I was also experimenting with the panorama setting on my camera. I did not capture the full 180 degrees on some (which is a bummer because they were really good photos).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this one. Just wish I had gotten the full 180.

Just a few pics, right? Hah! I hope you enjoyed them as much as me. Now the question is... which do I get developed and hang on our wall?

Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

Has it really been a week since I've been on here?! Whew! What a week it has been!

First off, my parents flew in on Saturday afternoon and we picked them up in the RV. Then we took off for the Grand Canyon. We left our house at approximately 115-130 and didn't arrive at the GC until after midnight. The word tired would not even describe what we were. Not to mention, it was frigid cold at just 38 degrees!

Early the next morning (too early), we woke up, made and ate breakfast, then got ready for our day at the Canyon. I think we finally left the campground and got on the shuttle around 11.

The Canyon was beautiful, majestic, amazing, huge, colorful, etc etc. There's so many words you can use to describe its beauty. We ended hopping on another shuttle that took us to the Train Depot and El Tovar Hotel. We saw more amazing views and even got to watch the train depart from the station!

After being at the Canyon for five hours, we were wiped out. The kids were quite the troopers. They walked all day, had no naps, and never complained! We took the shuttle back to the RV park and made dinner. Right after dinner, we ended up seeing two elk running around the campground! They were on the other side of a fence, so the kids and I crept up to within 50 yards of them and I was able to get some great shots of the two.

Monday morning, we were off to my mom's aunt's house just north of Phoenix where we stayed for the night. We ended up finding a hole-in-the-wall Flinstones camp and restaurant that we of course, had to check out. They had a whole Flinstones Bedrock village in the back! We had a blast and the funniest part was the kids finding an old golf cart that was made to look like a Flinstones era car. Gabe touched the gas pedal to see if it would work, and it did! There were no workers around so Gabe and the kids took it for a spin. I just about died laughing at them. The kids loved it!

The next morning, we headed home right after breakfast because the kids had swim class at 330 and then Gabe, Alena, and I had piano lessons at 630. AHH! Tired would be an understatement of how we were all feeling.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were fairly relaxed. I took my parents to the Copper Queen Mine and took the tour there. Of course, I forgot my camera and didn't get a single shot of it! oooh, I could just kick myself for that! The mine was a freezing 47 degrees and our tour guide had actually worked in the mine until it was closed down.

Well, that's our week. I tried to keep it short for you guys. The kids were sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go. Christian was hugging them and saying "Don't go! Don't go!".  :*( 

Grandpa's got the chicken nuggets!

Alena and Grandma on the Ipad.

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On the road again...

Beautiful

The picture doesn't do it justice.

Here we all are!

Stunning

The Colorado River at the base of the Canyon.

Doorknob of the Train Depot.

The coolest bike EVER!

aww, they're kissing!

Metal slide on a 95 degree day = not a good idea!

A walk-thru snake.

The cart Gabe and the kids took for a spin.

My Great Aunt's restaurant.