Phoenix - Peoria, to Be Exact

Wednesday 30 April, we flew from Houston to Phoenix. We had a slight delay in Houston with a "broken" aircraft, but arrived only about a half an hour late. Bonnie and Grandmother met us at Sky Harbor and we picked up Winnie and the car in Mesa. We headed up to Peoria in the north-west corner of greater Phoenix to spend a couple of days with Maren, Gavin, Finn, and Harry.

Thursday May 1, we drove back into Phoenix to the Museum of Art and spent a few pleasant hours there. They have a nice collection, and the building has become quite wonderful. While in Phoenix we drove around the downtown area, including the capitol. We returned to Peoria and had lunch at the In-N-Out Burger -- always a treat for us deprived Utahns. That evening Gavin feted us with dinner at Pei Wei and we reciprocated with ice cream at Cold Stone.

Friday May 2, The girls went out gathering and I played Wii with Finn at home. He killed me at golf and tennis, but I beat him at bowling -- wahoo! Gavin got away from work a little early and we drove way the heck out west of Glendale to a Brazilian restaurant. Katy had a nice missionary moment with the woman who runs the place. She is currently studying with the missionaries and even had her Portuguese BofM with her at work. We headed back up the 101 to the HUGE Cardinals' stadium (where the Super Bowl was played). There is a lively new development in that area called the Westgate, with shops and restaurants. There we ejoyed the rest of the beautiful Arizona-spring evening.

Kris, Katy, Maren, Finn, and Harry at the Phoenix Museum of Art

Finn relishing being able to touch the art in the kids area

Katy and Harry taking note of the view from an unusually placed window

Lunch at In-N-Out

The gang at the Brazilian restaurant

Finn chose not to be photographed

Enjoying the fountains at the Westgate

They crank up the tunes and turn up the water pressure
for a Bellagio-like experience - very fun

Pop Pop and Grammy watching Finn and Harry
flirting with the geysers in the splash plaza

The weather was beautiful and the evening was so pleasant that it was hard to believe the temperature will soon be in the triple digits.

OXO

D.

Saturday With Frank

On Saturday 3 May, we spent the day with Frank Lloyd Wright -- well, at least with his design. We motored over from Peoria to Scottsdale, to the Arizona Biltmore, built by FLW in 1929. It is in splendid condition and still evokes the feeling of the heydays of Hollywood. We lunched at the California Pizza Kitchen and then drove north to Taliesin West. Lloyd Wright built Taliesin West after falling in love with the desert while spending time in Arizona working on the Biltmore. He bought the land with his fees from Falling Water. Wright established a school there for students who wanted to study with him. He had a great racket going: they had to pay to study there and then along with their studies, they did all the work around the place. They still have a racket going; they charge $27 entry fee for a partial tour. It seemed like a lot to pay, but I have always wanted to visit and, heck, when will I be there again? It was very interesting, but both Maren and I felt that it was rather run-down. It needs a bit of freshening up

The Arizona Biltmore as it appeared in the early thirties

As it appeared on the day of our visit

Katy, Kris, Maren and Harry in the Biltmore gardens

The Biltmore dining room retains much of its original flavor

The logo on the gate at Taliesin West was taken from
petroglyphs found on the site

Taliesin West is one of FLW's best-known works

The arbor along the back of the drafting room

A small pool just outside the "kiva," a windowless room
used as a movie theatre/conference room

Maren and Katy Kathryn, two of the silliest girls in all of Arizona

It made us happy to see these two important FLW designs. We had a great day.

OXO

D.

Mesa With Grandmother

On Sunday 4 May, we went to church with the Youngs and then made Sunday dinner. After dinner we packed the car and headed to Mesa to stay with Grandmother Boynton. The Youngs also made the one-hour trip from Peoria and spent the evening with us. We went to the Mesa Temple grounds to enjoy the twilight hours in that beautiful spot.

Kris, Katy, Maren, Gavin w/ Harry, and Grandmother at the Temple -
Finn doesn't like to have his picture taken

On Monday, we spent the day getting Grandmother's computer needs squared away. She needed a new printer, but her computer was so old that it would no longer interface with newer printers (and it was so slow that the internet was a nightmare). We helped her choose a new laptop and printer and set her up with a wireless system. That evening, the Youngs came to Mesa and we celebrated Cinco de Mayo at the Chipotle Grill. After dinner the troops had a night swim at the Verde Groves (Grandmother's development) pool. The weather in Mesa was spectacular with highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s so the pool was heated and comfortable.

Kris, Grandmother, Maren, Gavin w/ Harry, and Katy
after dinner at the Chipotle Grill

Tuesday 6 May, we ran a number of errands including the pick up of all the computer stuff. Katy spent the day getting everything transferred from the old computer to the new. We had a nice lunch break at Tia Rosa's Taqueria, then returned to finish the computer installation. Tuesday evening the Boynton uncles, aunts, and cousins came over for a visit. Ryan and Chris also helped out with a few computer issues. Those wild and crazy boys convinced Grandmother to climb on Chris's motorcycle.

Katy and Grandmother getting computer stuff sorted out

The ladies at Tia Rosa's Taqueria

Ryan and Chris

That Grandmother is something else!

Wednesday 7 May, we headed home. The trip home was beautiful. Utah was fresh and green after (and during) a spring rain storm.

The Beck sisters (plus Kris and Lynna, Raye's daughter) as we were leaving Mesa
L to R: Lynna, Raye, Donna, Kris, Carol, and Bonnie

We had a wonderful time in Texas and Arizona. Thanks to the the Gibbs, the Youngs, and Grandmother for making it such a great trip, and thanks to Bonnie for running the airport shuttle.

OXO

D.

We're Off to the Southwest

My finals are finished, all my grades are in, and tonight Katy has her last final. So, tomorrow morning (Thursday) we are off to Arizona to visit Grandmother Boynton and the Youngs. Kris's aunt, Donna Norton, is riding with us -- we are driving to Phoenix/Mesa in the Pilot. With gas prices as they are, it would probably have been just as cheap to fly to Phoenix.



Friday morning, VERY early, Kris's aunt, Bonnie, will take us to the airport for our flight from PHX to Houston to visit Debra Sue Darling Gibbs.



After enjoying a lot of what Houston has to offer, we will hop a Southwest flight back to Phoenix and spend a week with Grandmother and the Youngs. We are excited to see Grandmother and can't wait to pinch Finn and Harry's little buns. (Maren, we are excited to be with you and Gavin, too!)


We may get a chance to post to the blog, but if not, we will make a full report when we return. We will miss you and will be checking your blogs for all your adventures.

OXO

D.

Rescued by a Long-Lost Cousin

One cold winter day, shortly after we returned from London, Brother Marble, our next door neighbor, told us he could hear water running in the back yard at our house. Thank goodness for his good hearing. It happens that the back yard faucet had burst and water was gushing everywhere including into the window well.

Because the original back yard faucet was covered by the construction of our deck, the landscaper suggested that it would be easy to connect a faucet to the sprinkler system, and we thought the back corner of the house would be the best spot. When the sprinklers were turned off, the faucet would be nonfunctional. Well, due to a series of miscommunications, the sprinklers were never turned off in the fall while we were in England, and after several hard freezes, the faucet finally blew.

We called our regular landscape guy, Arturo, who came by and said he would return the very next week to move the faucet. Well it has been nearly a month and we can no longer reach him on the phone - his voicemail box is full. So Kris called Khunis' and they won't return the call either.

A couple of days ago I went to Home Depot to get a fresh tank of propane for the grill, and as I was leaving the owner of the truck parked next to me approached. I noticed a sign on his truck for sprinkler repair, so I greeted him and asked if he could help me. He responded positively and gave me his card: Stefan Bandley. He asked for my name and when I told him, he said that he had Taylor relatives. It suddenly clicked and I knew immediately that he was my cousin (recently deceased) Julia's grandson. A long-lost cousin!

The end of the story is that he DID come and made the necessary changes to the system today, moving the tap far from the house. So we are back in business with the sprinklers all ship-shape and Bristol-fashion, ready for summer watering. To celebrate, I went to IFA and bought some fertilizer and applied it to the grass. If it storms as forecast tomorrow, the lawn should green up nicely. If the storm fizzles, I can turn on the sprinklers. Wahoo!

Stefan moves the line

The former corner-of-the-house location
is visible in the rear of the photo

Here's the new guy all ready to go

Stefan went to Provo High and graduated in '99. Isn't that when you graduated Maren?

I wish I had something more exciting to share, but this may be as good as it gets this weekend.

OXO

D.

It's Almost Spring!

It was several degrees above normal today, possibly as high as 80 degrees in SLC, but in the low 70s here. It was so pleasant that we had our first al fresco dinner of the year. It was delightful and foreshadows many such evenings to come.

Katy is silly as Kris keeps her eye on Winnie, who is ever-hopeful

OXO

D.

Katy's Birthday

Yesterday, Sunday, was Katy's birthday. She started the day by speaking with stake high councilman, Jeff Ringer, at the Provo Peak 8th Ward. Kris and I went to listen and she did a great job.

Homemade spinach pasta with homemade marinara sauce is Katy's favorite and she helped me make it. The family all came, joined by Todd and Courtney. After dinner the cousins dropped in for some cake, conversation, and some reunion planning. The binkers played hard and eventually ended up downstairs, enthralled with Disney's Enchanted.

Katy preparing her talk

Homemade pasta is labor intensive, but delicious

Some of the diners filling their plates

Happy birthday to you! (great cake Kris - chocolate w/ cream-cheese frosting)

An impromptu reunion-planning session

Clara didn't like the flash

Clara, Holden, and Sasha with various levels of hair-growing success

The binkers snuggled up, watching a DVD

It was a lovely afternoon/evening and we missed Maren, Will, and their families.

OXO

D.