Terrific Tucson

I've never really liked Tucson that much.  I don't know why.  Maybe I associate it with knee surgery and Dr.'s when I was only fifteen.  The age I should have been having the most fun.  Anyway, this is a much better way to see Tucson, at a nice resort.  Phillip had a golf tournament there over the weekend and he invited me to go along.  This is the Omni Tucson National Golf Resort and Spa.  It's truly one of the nicest places we've ever stayed in.

I love how Pioneer Woman takes pics of the hotel rooms she stays in. This hotel is small and spread out.  Above is the sitting area and entryway.  Below is the vanity and that door opens to a humongous closet, like someone could sleep in there comfortably, humongous.

The bath area was pretty much to die for.  On the opposite end was the toilet and shower.

And this is the pool area where I may or may not have lounged and sipped on lemon ice water brought to me by a pool attendant.

And this is the view from our room of the Catalina Mountains overlooking the driving range.

We also went to an authentic mexican restaraunt at the insistance of an overly enthusiastic concierge.  And we're glad she insisted.  This place was great.  A woman makes salsa fresh at your table to your liking, and mariachi guitar playing singers roam around and play at your table.
It was only a 24hr. trip but worth every minute.

So get out of town once in a while and give your marriage a shot in the arm.   Why not Tucson?

Mini Farm

You know the saying "You can take the boy/girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy/girl".  Well, that's my husband.  He may not seem like a country boy, but he is at heart.  He wants to live in the country on a farm, but has to live in the city for his job.  So, we'll bring the farm to the city.  We now have five baby chicks (one died already) and two bunnies.  I'm sure we'd have a cow if we could.  The girls are happy too.  And our dog thinks we got them for him.  He's become a guard/sheep dog.  He has a purpose in life now.  He especially loves the bunnies and tries to get them to play with him.  I keep telling him they're not dogs but he doesn't care.

Emily and Isabelle and I went to the feed store and picked them out.  By the time we got home, they had them all named.   The bunnies are Pepper and Paprika.  The chicks are Nutmeg, Ginger, Cinnamon, Sugar, Cayenne and Curry.   Sugar has passed on. 

They are all cute, but I'm not so sure getting them in the heat wave of August was the best idea.  We (I) have to bring them in during the day so they don't die of heat stroke.  In crates and boxes of course.  Don't think I've gone totally looney and have animals running rampant around my house.

But it's lucky for my husband that I love him so much.

goodbye summer hello school

 I wanted to do something with the
kids on the last day of their summer vacation. I found out it was a free day at the Science Center. So we went there after lunch. Holy Moly lots of people!! We waited in line for about forty minutes just to get in. It was so crowded, this is the only picture I could get. Crazy. So we didn't stay there too long.

I don't know why, but I decided we'd go to the indoor swapmart on the way home.  It was a little scary.  We saw lots of interesting things. And people. Emily had her wisdom teeth out the day before and was feeling tired, so Eli and Isabelle took turns pushing her in the wheelchair.  It was an experience and we had alot of laughs during the day.  I think they'll remember it.

And here they are on the first day of school.  Isabelle is a big 5th grader.  I can't believe my baby is in 5th grade.

But I REALLY can't believe Emily is a Senior.  How did that happen?

I used to be so ready for the kids to go back to school and it was the happiest day of the year for me.  Now I just want it to slow down a little.  Why are they all growing up?  What's the hurry?

CALIFORNIA

This post is about our vacation to San Diego.  Phillip had a conference at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, so the girls and I tagged along for a mini vacation.  The Hotel was beautiful and overlooked the bay.

We were within walking distance to the Gaslamp Quarters, so we headed over there the first night and did some window shopping and had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

The next morning, the girls and I took the ferry over to Coronado Island to spend the day.

 

We wanted to go to the beach on the other side of the island, so we walked the 45 min. or so walk.  Enjoying the beauty of the parks and even the cute little houses along the way.

There's always time for Elvis.   Thankyou, thankyouverymuch.

This is only her second visit to the beach, she wasted no time.

 

 

The Hotel Coronado is lovely and will always remind me of the movie "Somewhere in Time"

I made a horrible mistake that would altar the rest of our trip and days afterward.  I forgot the sunscreen and we didn't stop and get some on our way to the beach.  Idiot with a capital I!!!
Here we are baking and burning to a crisp.  I even fell asleep on the beach for a bit.  The weather was perfect, so deceiving.

After our day on the Island, we all went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner.  It was a first experience eating crab legs for most of us.  Can you see the sunburn has already set in?

The next morning the girls and I got up bright and early and drove up to Disneyland (Isabelle's favorite place on earth).  I love Disneyland too, but not so much in July.  It was packed!  But we were able to ride all our favorites and some of them twice.

 

Isabelle lost her jacket on our island excursion the day before, so here she is wet and cold after splash mountain.  I gave in to that sad face and bought her a jacket.  And then my wallet was much lighter and easier to carry around!

Here I am rubbing ice on my sunburned and crispy lips after I put red chili flakes on my pizza slice.  Again, Idiot with a capitol I.

But for the most part we had alot of fun.  We even had a celebrity sighting.  I didn't get a picture, but we passed Candace Cameron (DJ from Full House) in line while waiting to ride Pirates.  And we also saw Elder Evenson (one of our favorite missionaries) and his family.

kids are fish

Oh to be a kid again.  Swimming the day away (I still do that sometimes for a couple of hours).
I thought I'd practice my still action photography on these two while they were frolicking.  But it was hard because they're really camera shy. 

They didn't want to do any mid air poses for me at all, and they were really grumpy about it too.  It's so hard when your subjects don't cooperate!

But it's ok.  Just look at that water!! Don't you just want to do a cannonball??

A little change

We moved into this house a year ago.  I was excited that there was a red wall because I've always wanted a red wall.  Or so I thought.  After one year of looking at that red wall I wanted nothing more than for that red wall to go away.

And so it did.  It took me a few hours, but the red wall is no longer.
Hello "pebbblestone" wall (kind of a green/gray/tan color). I went ahead and took it around the bay window wall also.

I think it totally changes the whole feel of the room.  Lighter, brighter, fresher.

And if you're good at noticing details, you'll notice I switched the sofas in the two rooms.  I don't know if it's better or worse but I needed a change.

This room has more of a traditional feel now.  Why do I feel the need to change things around?  Some people leave everything in their house the same way for years and years.

I would be so terribly miserable!

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