Simmering Summer

We've had a great week! Heather flew in 6/26, and we had lots of fun that weekend. All the kids were here for a BBQ on Sunday, along with Megann, Taylor, and our friends Peter and Kathy, from Florida. Peter makes the most amazing Hungarian marinated meats! Monday Heather and I went to Phoenix for a couple days- hotter than Hadies, but we stayed at the Papago Inn and Resort, which is a neat little hotel. It was built in the 60's, I think, and still has a very retro feel. The courtyard is so lovely, full of vines, trees, an aviary and a pool. The staff is really friendly and the beds were fantastic! It was only $50 a night, and so worth the price.

We celebrated Heather's birthday this week, then had another get-together on the 4th. Just the kids, and we were able to watch the fireworks from our front yard. I am so grateful to live in this wonderful country! God Bless America, and the men and women that serve and protect us.

I was able to attend the mini-reunion of our high school class, it was great fun. There were about 15 of us there plus a few family members. We met at Goldwater Lake, and spent a great 3-4 hours just catching up and hanging out. Julie Hutchins Kyer and I went up together, then she took me for a ride on her new scooter! We went for a spin around the Prescott plaza- during the 4th of July it's full of people, artwork, crafts and all kinds of booths. I didn't have time to actually wander the plaza, but it was fun to be downtown for a few minutes and enjoy the energy.

Such a Slacker!!

Boy, I've been a bit of a slacker lately, at least in writing the blog. I went to Mom's for a week, took her to the doctor to get her thyroid meds back in sync and just visit a little. She's feeling a little better, but still had a bit of the cough she's had for a couple months. It was getting hot in Maricopa, and the plan was for her to go to St Johns for the summer. I was hoping she'd wait for Debbie to come down on Wednesday, but the heat was motivation to leave earlier, so by the time I left on Saturday she thought she'd leave Monday. Then, on Sunday morning, she got stung by a scorpion, in bed! Several times, 2-3 times on the index finger she was using to flick away whatever was crawling, and twice more on the shoulder. Talk about freaky! She's OK, but was in a lot of pain for several days, with plenty of nausea to make things worse. Hap checked on her Sunday evening, and Debbie and Kim left Monday evening to get her. They drove the motorhome up to St John's for her, so now she's out of the heat. She's doing fine now, thank heavens.

Last week the weather changed, and I couldn't move for most of it. Between the bucking barometer and being tired from the trip- I was flat on my back for days. Oh well, like Annie says- Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow!

Jared's been working for David, and adjusting to the heat. He seems to enjoy the work and spending time with Nic and David. Heather is coming into town the end of June, can't wait to have the family together for a while!

Chillin'

Gina is a big basketball fan, and of course Nic, Jared and David are happy to join in. I'm watching too, more or less. The Suns are a fighting team, and it's been fun to watch them in the playoffs. Brutal at times, Steve Nash keeps getting beat up, but just keeps playing hard and winning games. Tonight we're watching Boston beat Orlando. Oh well,there's really not much else on Friday nights.....

This week has been great, having Jared home. He's helped me in the garden, and gone on several jobs with David and Nic. His little dog Rocky is settling in with Cara, and Chica is gradually getting used to the newcomer. She had a seizure yesterday though, but that's not surprising. She tends to have seizures when a new dog first comes around, then once she gets used to them she's fine.

The wind has been awful! There have already been several fires along I-17 freeway, and with no rain and lots of wind, I expect it to get worse. The flowers were beautiful this spring though, and I'm so glad we had lots of rain last winter. All in all, life is good right now.

Thank you Veterans for your service to our country, and God Bless America!

Bliss

We are all home! I flew in last Wednesday, spent the night in Phoenix and had lunch with my old friend Emma Jo. I haven't seen her in some time, so that was really great. I stopped by St. Francis cemetery and had them help me find my great-grandfather William Pike's grave. We finally found it, but there is no headstone. That makes me sad, but now that I know where he is, I plan to ask my sibs and cousins to help change that, and put a headstone there. He's been invisible for 80 years, it's time to honor his memory a little.

David and Jared drove cross country with a U-haul trailer and a puppy, but they had a really good trip. They were dodging tornadoes throughout the midwest, but the Lord was with them and they had no problems... Until they hit the Arizona border on Sunday, and nearly got blown off the road by the wind. The freeway was shut down between Winslow and Flagstaff, but they were able to take highway 87 south and come in from Camp Verde, so at least they didn't get stuck. Good thing, because I-40 was closed down from 10:30 am to 7 pm~

Right now we are watching the Suns play LA, hopefully they'll win. Nic, Gina and Jared are all hanging out watching the game with us, sheer bliss for a mom. The only one missing is Heather. She's lonesome out in NH all by herself, but she loves her job and it's just not time for her to leave there yet.

Timing is everything

Well, this is the last day in Concord. The U-haul is packed, all my bags are packed and I even have only 3 oz. bottles, neatly stuffed in a plastic bag for inspection at the airport. We've had such a great visit, and I hate to leave. Time flies so fast when we're on vacation.

Saturday we left by 9 am in order to get parking and good seats at the graduation. It started at 11, and of course had all the pomp and ceremony that a proper graduation ceremony requires. The current Secretary of the Navy spoke, and was actually pretty interesting. The whole thing was long, but there were a lot of graduates, so it's to be expected. Afterward we went to eat at Barley's, a great restaurant in Concord.

Sunday we went to Portsmith, NH and Ogunquit, Maine. The weather was beautiful, with a nice little breeze. We got off the main street in Portsmith, and found an old section of town named Strawberry Banke. Many of the houses were built in the late 1700's, including the home of Daniel Webster, which is still a private home. Many of the homes are open to the public, but not all. It was awesome! We wanted to get to Maine before dark, so we didn't stay long, but Heather and I went back on Monday and spent hours there.

Ogunquit and Perkins Cove have a gorgeous walkway along the Atlantic ocean, which travels several miles. We didn't go that far, but we did go far enough to take some great pictures. The ocean was so blue! I'm so glad David could go this time, it was almost perfect. If Nic, Gina and Dakota were there the picture would be complete.

Tomorrow there is a 100% chance of rain, tears from heaven I'm sure. Jared is adjusting to the idea of moving back to AZ, but the weather reflects the mood as we all separate. I can't wait for the family to be all together again.