AZ II: Sunday in Tucson

On Sunday we traveled from Mesa to Tucson and settled into Lowe's Ventana Canyon Resort. It is a very posh place where they charge for everything! For example, WiFi in the room was $11.00 a day and a small box of cashews that we thought was complementary, was actually $10. Being a confirmed tightwad, I dragged the laptop down to the lobby where WiFi was free and we avoided any further contact with the minibar.

That evening we gathered at "Rat Hill," the home of my cousin Allyn and her husband Hugh Thompson for supper and visiting. Her great Spanish-style home sits at the top of a hill overlooking Tucson below. Hugh is a very fine amateur sculptor and his work is displayed in their beautifully-landscaped desert garden. We visited, ate, ate, and visited. Before we left Utah, I made an iMovie and DVD of all the Hansen slides I had recently scanned. We played it for the cousins, but it was hard to get through it because they continually paused the DVD to identify people in the pictures. We had a great evening.

Ventana Canyon Resort is Frank Lloyd Wrightesque

The view from Allyn's Rat Hill

Great sculpture in a beautiful garden

Chris Christensen, Kreg and HB Calder, HB's partner
Norma and her children

Kreg and Kelly (background) HB and Gloria (foreground)

Millie, Polly, and Stephen

Anne, Kreg, Chris, and Stephen

Hank, Peggy, and Cameron

Stephen, Ann, Kreg, Kelly, Millie, Kris, Cam,
Heidi, and Anne ready for "grace"

Tamales, chili chicken, and other southwestern delights

Colette, Stephen, and Ann tucking in

Kelly providing instructions for the next couple of days

These cousins are loads of fun and it was great to be together.

Look for further adventures in subsequent posts above.

OXO

D.

Annual Visit to Arizona - Part One

We are in the midst of our annual pilgrimage to Arizona to visit Grandmother Boynton and Maren and family. This year, as an added bonus, we also had a Hansen cousins' reunion in Tucson (see the next post that will follow above).

On Tuesday 20 April I arrived home from my last finals to find Kris essentially ready to go. We were twiddling our thumbs waiting for morning to leave so I suggested that we take off and drive as far as Beaver. Kris thought that was a bit rash for me, but agreed and we were off. Our trip was marked by weather of every sort from snow to dust storms. Arriving in Phoenix the following day, we stopped at Maren's so I could meet baby Beckham before proceeding to Mesa.

Arriving in Mesa we found Grandmother very ill with what seemed to be flu. We put her to bed and did our best to nurse her along. On Saturday I drove back to Peoria to see Finn play soccer while Kris stayed with Grandmother. She was worse by that evening and we took her to Urgent Care where they gave her some meds. That night her fever broke and she seemed much improved. So on Sunday we left Winnie and her in the care of her sisters, Raye and Bonnie, and headed to Tucson for the Hansen reunion.

The haboob (Google it) on the Navajo
reservation north of Flaggstaff

Harry, Maren, and Finn in Peoria

Beckham and Harry

The Young boys

Finn is an enthusiastic defender

Finn keeps his eye on the ball

Introduction to Smash Burger after the match

We are back in Mesa and I will try to get a few Arizona posts cranked out before we head to California.

FYI: When we arrived back in Mesa from Tucson today, Grandmother was actually worse, so we made her go the emergency room where they discovered she has pneumonia. She was admitted and will stay until she is well enough to come home. She will be fine but could certainly use your prayers and positive thoughts.

Watch for more posts from Arizona.

OXO

D.

The Green Hills of Home

On Saturday, 17 April, I joined the Hastings for a hike up the hills above 11th Avenue in Salt Lake City. I spent my junior-high and high-school years in SLC and this was all East High territory. As I mentioned in a much earlier post, most of our recreation took place in Utah County rather than Salt Lake County. So in spite of this area being home for several years, I had never been on this hike. When I saw Anna's post last year about a similar adventure, I expressed a very strong interest in going along should the hike ever be repeated. The invitation was extended and I was on my way.

It was a beautiful day and the hike was wonderful. Our destination was Twin Peaks which turned out to be a perfect goal. There were beautiful views of SLC and the mountains and valley beyond, and the air at the top was cool and fresh (OK, windy). The main trail was good but shared with hundreds of bikers. We broke loose from the main trail and pushed up the steep inclines to the summit where we ate our snacks. When we returned to the car we all had wobbly legs, but were well rewarded for our efforts.

We returned to Provo where Tucker passed off some scouting requirements by grilling for us all. It was a very enjoyable day.

The two humps in the distance are the Twin Peaks

SLC spread out below us

Trekking along the trail

Anders and Clara make the assault on the summit

Steep going

With all that stuff around my neck it's a wonder
I wasn't choked to death or garroted

We did it!

Twin tops

The Hastings, Salt Lake Valley, and the Oquirrh Mountains

Snack break with the Wasatch Mountains behind

Snacking in the hollow of a rock out of the wind

The first hint of spring

The cub-scout chef and his brother

Clara was pleased to be there

After the hike, everyone was STARVING!

What's next, a canyon hike?

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Happy Birthday to Katy Kathryn!

Kathryn Taylor
City Wall, York, England, 1988

Katy, this post is to wish you a very happy birthday. You know how much I love you -- I still have a list. I hope that this milestone in your life will be joyful and that there will be many happy returns of the day. You just go right ahead and have a great day and remember how much I love you. We will see you in person very soon.

OXO

D.

Faux Easter

Since everyone was on her/his own last Sunday, we had Easter dinner today. You know the drill: leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, gravy, mint sauce, and asparagus. It went down well. We missed Rob and the boys who were dining at Courtney and Todd's with Bill and Whitney who were in town for Grandma Hastings' birthday. We were joined by Katiana and Jeremy Goff, and their two beautiful kids, Lexi and Landon. Katiana is the Brazilian girl who lived with us during 2001-2002. She and Jeremy live in Highland. Mia Wai and Chelsea Gibbs were also on hand to share the traditional meal.

It was warm enough to eat outside

Same as last year and the year before and . . .

Emily, Jayson, Phillip, Jeremy, and Katiana

Kris with the Goffs

It was a nice evening and it was good to see Jeremy and Katiana and their family. We will have to keep in much better touch.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

An Historic Event

Last night was the first time in seven years that the entire "Dinner Group" has been together. Starting with the Ostergars in Brazil, then the Freestones in Mexico, the Boyntons in Italy, and the Christophersons in Brazil, someone has always been missing. Vern and Jerry are here briefly while their visa is being processed, then they will return to the MTC in Brazil for one more year. Everyone gathered at their home for a nice supper. We were also joined by the Delgados, from Mexico. He is an Area Seventy and they are staying with the Freestones. Everyone tried intermittently to converse in Spanish and the result was somewhat reasonable. The tables were divided so there was one member of every couple at each table; that way no news was lost.

Since I had just finished scanning my slides, I put together a DVD for the occasion. Unfortunately, the Christophersons don't have a TV, so we tried a computer, but that didn't work out well either. So we had a showing later in the evening on a miniature computer screen without sound for those who will not be at Ostergars next month when the DVD will have its gala premiere.

Phil, Hermano Delgado, Rod, Jerry, Kris,
Allen, Sharon, and Stephen

Vern, Ann, Stan, Liz, Hermana Delgado, and Nancy

Vicki was caught in a Christian-service loop
and arrived a little later

Dealing with a difficult and delicate cleavage dilemma

"How do you turn on the sound?"
Where are the children when there are tech issues?

It's always marvelous to get together, but was particularly nice to be at full strength again, if only for a moment. These are wonderful friends and we have all been blessed by this enduring association.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Easter 2010

Happy Easter! It has been a great weekend. Conference has been inspiring and motivating, and the pagan part of the celebration has been very fun. Saturday after the second session, the family gathered here to hide plastic eggs filled with goodies. When those had all been found, we dyed our real eggs before Phillip and I headed off to the Priesthood session. The women and girls stayed behind and ordered Chinese food from Janet.

Easter dawned bright and white! There were 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground. And today, for the very first time ever, the two of us learned what an Easter basket without chocolate looks like. Kris and I had a lovely Easter lunch of lamb chops after the Sunday morning session of conference, and we are now ready for the final session.

The mommies hiding eggs

Off and running

Ollie celebrates success

Max did OK, too

Meg sang and danced her way through the day

It was a smaller group this year -- the Hastings
were cramming in some more of Southern Utah

Ollie and Lizzy get some help from their moms

An Easter surprise

No chocolate this year

It was a small crowd for Easter dinner

The larger family group will gather for a belated Easter dinner next week, but this was a very nice weekend for us. I hope you all had a great weekend. too.

That's all for now.

OXO

D.