Peoria to Mesa and Back Again

After and early walk, breakfast, clean up and packing, we headed to Grandmother's in Mesa. Arriving here, Kris discovered that she got away from the Youngs without her hanging bag. So after lunch, we headed back to Peoria to pick up forgotten items. So Maren, Gavin (working from home today), and Beck all got to say hello to Grandmother. We drove north to the Pinnacle Peak Road so Grandmother could see the Phoenix Temple. It has been an intermittently rainy day today in the Valley of the Sun, so the sky was quite dramatic. We headed home, made some soup, and ate supper. As evening descended, I went out in search of a few groceries. The sun set was lovely.

 We made sure Grandmother saw Rod's Instagram feed

 The southern sky was dramatic

 Boynton/Beck/Taylor girls checking out the Phoenix Temple

A double rainbow in the light rain in Scottsdale
on our return trip to Mesa

The stormy day made for a terrific sunset

No firm plans for tomorrow, but we will keep you posted. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Sunday in Peoria

I went walking early enough to see the sun rise. When all were ready we went to church where Harry was presented to the congregation post baptism. Kris and I came home after Sacrament Meeting just in time see that the roast was done and close to being over-carmelized (burned). So we went ahead and finished dinner so that it was ready when everyone else returned. After dinner we drove north to see the finished Phoenix Temple. I have watched it going up for a couple of years and it was good to see it finished. It turned out well and the grounds are beautifully planned and will be lovely when the plantings mature in about 5 years. This evening Maren and I went for a walk along the Skunk Creek arroyo and we are now ready for Downton Abbey.

 Good morning Arizona

 Centennial Ward building

 Goin' into the chapel

 Harry is presented to the congregation

 Walking tall

 Phoenix Temple

 Breezy and cool

On the arroyo trail

Tomorrow (Monday) we will head to Mesa to spend some time with Grandmother. We will post our activities from there. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Harry's Baptism

It has been a busy day, starting at 8:00 with Finn's soccer game. Then at 10 and 11 Harry and Beckham had soccer matches. We had lunch at Paradise Bakery and then rushed home to get ready for Harry's Baptism. With just about an hour to turn around, I dashed to Costco to get supplies for Sunday Dinner. Harry chose Firebirds Mountain Grill for his celebration dinner.

 Fenstermacher and Momma

 Plenty of chairs

 The grandmas: Nada and Kris

 Harry hits a warm-up goal

 Let the games begin

Beck killing some time at the playground before his match

 A little pep talk before the game

 Some people seek shade, even if it is clear up on the sidewalk

 After a few minutes I was joined by others in the shade

 We eventually reached critical mass on the shady bench

 Lunch at Paradise Bakery

 It was Harry's day

 Friends and family

 The Youngs

 These guys did well

 Scriptures and journal

 Dinner with the Youngs and Taylors

A fun day!

Not sure what tomorrow holds, but we will keep you posted.

OXO

D.

Chinese New Year

Today started with a walk at dawn. The morning was filled with creating a SNAP blog post, and the afternoon was spent on errands getting clothes for Harry's baptism. This evening we went to Rio Vista Park for the Arizona Chinese Lantern Festival. It was a day late, but the festival was in honor of Chinese New Year. There was food, including Navajo tacos (it is Arizona after all). We chose the wrong thing: Panda-Express-like combo, but really lousy! Nothing is as disappointing to me as a missed opportunity for good food. The festival featured lots of stuff including entertainment and float-like lanterns. When darkness fell, they were quite dramatic.

 Sunrise over the arroyo

 Nice to be up for the sunrise

 You don't see microwave towers like this in Orem

 Beckham headed to pre-school

 Dickie blogging for SNAP

 Headed into the festival

 Color everywhere

 We joined with Gavin's family

 I loved these dragons

 Koi

 The boydiboys with pandas

 Dragons, imagine!

Encore de dragons

Tomorrow with be a full day so there will be more. That, however, is all for now.

OXO

D.

Let the Adventure Begin

The day we knew would come at last, came at last. We are in Arizona on the first leg of our spring trip to the southwest. The journey was great with only one stop for gas. The new little CRV got 30 miles to the gallon! The trip took 9 hours which is only one hour longer than the trip to Reno. Who knew? I was unable to get all my Fitbit steps sitting in a car all day, so I headed out for a walk as soon as we arrived. The weather is perfect and it was a great walk just at sunset. Some of Gavin's family came for supper provided by Maren: fajitas.

 The Vermillion Cliffs near Navajo Bridge

 This is what makes Arizona possible

 Hey that's me

 The Arizona Canal

 Clouds and contrails

 The genial hostess

 Those are the Young cousins

 Ed and Nada Young with Kris and Gavin

These guys are worth the trip

More to come, but that's all for now.

OXO 

D.