Mesa - Tonto National Forest

We awoke this morning to lovely sunshine and a breeze - not too hot at all.  After a leisurely breakfast with Mom and Daddy we drove up through Tonto National Forest to Tortilla Flats for lunch.  This is a beautiful scenic route through high desert country.  The road winds up the Superstition Mountains past cactus of every imaginable kind.  About halfway up you come upon a lovely surprise in Canyon Lake.

Saguaro blooms

Barrel cactus blooms

We had lunch at Tortilla Flats - a fun little place with money from all over the world tacked to every square inch of the walls and saddles for barstools.  We sat at a regular table.   :)  We followed lunch up with tasty ice cream.

Didn't have any takers on this photo op....

Poor Jackson had no cell phone service up there...

saddles for barstools

the ladies bathroom stall doors...   

we heard that guy didn't pay for his ice cream...

we did!   :)

I have to admit that the drive to Tortilla Flats and back is stunning and terrifying at the same time.  Let me put it this way... the highest speed limit on the entire road is 25 mph - and NO one speeds!  Most of the route is 15 mph. I even went less than that on some of the hairpin turns.  Going up you hug the mountain wall most of the time... coming back down, however, you are on the outer edge of the road and in most places there is nothing but space to your right.  :D  Poor Jackson was riding shotgun because the switchbacks make him carsick and I think about halfway down he was wishing he wasn't in that front right seat!  :)

We returned to our hotel for the heat of the afternoon and caught up on laundry.  We gathered at Mom and Daddy's for a light supper together and stayed there as the rest of the family began rolling in.  Julie and Anna arrived in time to share a little supper with us.  Kerry and crew came in around 8:00 and James arrived around 9:00.  We are now all here!!  Exciting!!

goofing around at Mom and Daddy's

Mama fixing food even on vacation!

Mama bought a puzzle to work on

Anna added to the group

Jonathan and Stephen

looking at photos from Anna's graduation

Tomorrow will be a fun day together, but for now we are heading to bed.

Albuquerque - Mesa

Last night in Albuquerque the smoke moved in - coming over hundreds of miles from the forest fires that are raging in southeastern Arizona.  I was truly surprised at the amount of smoke in Albuquerque considering how far away we are from the fires themselves.  However, around 7:30 the sky got gray and heavy and the smokey smell got over-whelming outside.  I worried we might have a long night with some breathing issues, but we kept our windows closed and the air conditioner running and got through the night just fine.  We did, however, have ash on our car the next morning!

We drove through smoke this morning until just before we crossed into Arizona - then the wind starting blowing and we moved out of the smoke and haze and into pretty blue sky.  We pulled off of I-40 at Petrified Forest National Park to do the Painted Desert driving loop.  But first, we had lunch at the Visitor Center.  I had a yummy Navajo Taco... something I had been looking forward to since last time!  :)

After lunch we drove through Painted Desert enjoying all the stops along the route.  The weather was just perfect - mid 70's (but windy).  The boys and I had been here just a year and a half ago, but for Marvin it was his first time back in decades.   :) 

We were on the western side of the forest fires while at Painted Desert and were astounded to see the huge smoke plume billowing across the sky.  It truly looked like a massive weather front, but was actually the smoke from a couple of hundred miles south of us.  Crazy.  That played a huge part in our decision to continue on via the interstate instead of the scenic route we were hoping to take from Painted Desert.  We had heard that evacuations were underway for communities near the fires and thought that the roadways might be overly congested.  It turned out just fine since I think one of the four of us used a bathroom at every single exit for the remaining 200 miles of our trip.   :}  We certainly needed those good interstate rest areas!   ha!   :)

We arrived in Mesa by 7:00 pm and got settled in at the hotel, ran to the grocery store for supplies for the week and settled in next door to Mama and Daddy.  Everyone else arrives tomorrow.  We will actually have every single one of us here Thursday night - including James.  We plan to take a family photo, for sure!

Amarillo - Albuquerque

After breakfast in the hotel we drove a few blocks down to the American Quarter Horse Museum and Hall of Fame.  This is a lovely, small museum with several interactive exhibits.  Marvin led us through it all telling stories about the various foundation horses and some of the trainers/owners in the hall of fame.  That added an extra special dimension to the museum experience for the boys and me.

'King', 'Wimpy' and 'Leo' - among the first registered AQHA horses

Marvin talking about 'Leo', a foundation AQHA horse

hands on exhibit comparing the size of human lungs to horse lungs

This 'x-ray' screen moved along the horse exhibit showing the 'insides' of the horse.

this was an interactive full size 'diorama' where you could listen to the vet talk to the horse

the veterinarian was so life-like it was kind of freaky!

getting a closer look at a starting gate

out front of the museum with the cutting horse statue

Jackson, Marvin, Jonathan

they had an exhibition going on in the outdoor arena

After the museum we filled up the tank and got on the road toward Albuquerque.  Yesterday and today we have filled up at a gas station with the name "Toot'n Totum".  Apparently, you can drive up to a window and get drinks and other convenience items without having to park and go in.  Thus, the name.  However, we realized there could be other meanings when Jonathan started calling it the Toot'n Poop.  Somehow, that name just didn't have the same 'ring'.  :)

We stopped for gas again at Clines Corners, NM - remembering the story of Mom and Daddy's moving truck breaking down along the highway in Clines Corners many, many years ago.  They had hired a man to drive their stuff back to MO from CA and he just abandoned the truck along the side of the road (with literally every single thing they owned in the back of it) and phoned them to tell them where it was.  At least he called!  Everyone told them not to even bother trying to go get the truck - that certainly everything would be gone... but miraculously, when they got to the truck everything was there!  Clines Corners is definitely a name that we all remember!

We arrived in Albuquerque in great time and are adjusting to the time changes.  (1 hour earlier in NM and will be 1 more hour earlier tomorrow when we cross over into Arizona)  I am struggling with the thought that it is almost bedtime, when in reality, it is not quite 7:00 pm!  Tomorrow we will head for Mesa with some scenic stops along the way.

Norman - Amarillo

We spent the weekend in Norman, arriving at Kerry and Candace's Friday night and leaving this morning.   Friday night we arrived to have yummy BBQ with Kerry while Candace and the girls were at rehearsal for their dance recital.  We enjoyed a quiet evening of visiting and the boys were especially thrilled when Stephen dropped by to hang out.  :)

Saturday morning was again a restful time of visiting, doing laundry (already!) and trying to finalize plans for the rest of the trip.  Then we headed out to the Bible college where the recital was to be held.  We got there early and took our seats.  About 6:00 p.m. the show began - and what a show it was!  The theme was "Heaven" and every single song and dance celebrated 'our future eternal home'.  It was absolutely beautiful and worshipful.  The program listed Bible verses that correlated with each dance routine.  One number even told the story of Pilgrim's Progress.  I am SO impressed with this dance troupe - always have been.  But this was the first full length recital we have attended.

Rachel, Hannah and Susanna all danced beautifully and Rachel even played the hammered dulcimer, including one of my all time favorite hymns, "Uncloudy Day".  Near the end of the program Candace, Rachel, Hannah and Susanna sang "Be Still My Soul" a cappella.  That, of course, is when I sobbed.  Too beautiful for words - and this sappy, proud aunt/sister-in-law just can't take it!  :)  They are going to sing it again in Mesa for the rest of the family and I will be videotaping it.  I want to send it to Jim, for one thing.  It sure made me think of him and Linda...

This morning we enjoyed breakfast with Kerry, Candace, Hannah and Susanna reliving the high points of the recital, then got on the road to Amarillo.  We stopped for lunch at Jerry's Restaurant in Weatherford, OK and had a SERIOUSLY good hamburger and fries!!  WOW!!  Don't know if I can ever stomach a fast food burger again!  They still make their burgers at Jerry's like they did in 1966 - smashed.  Can't fully explain why, but it was quite possibly the best burger I've ever had!

We spent a few minutes stretching our legs at the rest stop just past McClean, TX. I remember this stop from last trip - very unique facility, like a mound - with incredible long views of rugged north Texas landscape.  Jonathan enjoyed the (free) telescopic viewfinder.

Grills at the rest area  (with a sign saying not to use because of a burn ban in effect)

We got to Amarillo, went by a Sam's Club to pick up some snacks, {Donna... Marvin said to be sure and tell you that we might have broken a land-speed record for getting in and out of Sam's Club!! :)}  got Subway sandwiches and checked into our hotel.  Settled in for the night.

Summer is here!

We finished up school last week.  Good thing because immediately following our last day of school 'life' hit and we haven't quit running since.  Things went well this year - at least well enough.  :)  As usual there were highs and lows, but we finished well and next year I will have a Sophomore and a 6th grader.  Crazy!  I didn't get nearly as much posted here about our school year as I intended.  It seems that is always the case.  I suppose part of that is because we are always so busy 'doing' school that I don't get around to 'posting' about school.  I might try to post some this summer about various things we did.  I'll be working on Jackson's transcript, so that would seem to go hand in hand.  :)

Monday, Memorial Day, we met Trish at King's Buffet to celebrate Jackson's 'graduation' from speech therapy.  We definitely felt the need to celebrate his great accomplishment.  He has sure come a long way since beginning speech therapy two years ago.  Every once in awhile we go back and listen to him in old videos to compare and it is amazing the difference between then and now.  Thank you Trish for all that you did!  And we are all going to miss our weekly lunches with you following therapy sessions.  We will definitely have to have some lunches together 'just because'!!

After lunch at King's Buffet the boys and I went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie, taking along Zack and Adrian.  It was good, but I doubt if I enjoyed it as much as the boys.  I may be too old for some of the action/adventure.  I really wanted to see Kung Fu Panda 2 instead!   :)   Then all four boys went to the Truman courts to get in a little tennis practice.  Hard to believe that summer tennis will be starting up next week!  Seems like a looonnggg time since they last played - everyone definitely needs some practice time to brush up on their skills.  

Tuesday I enjoyed lunch with my 'Yada' friends at Ruby Tuesday.  We decided with the end of the school year it was too much to have one of us host it in our homes so we opted for RT salad bar instead.  Yummy and simple!  These ladies are a joy to spend time with and I am thankful for their friendship.  One of these days I will remember to bring my camera and take a photo of our little group!  

Today I am rejoicing because I was excused from jury duty.  Last Thursday I received a subpoena in the mail to appear for jury duty this morning.  The problem is that we are planning to leave for a family vacation tomorrow and jury duty would have effectively put an end to those plans.  Luckily, the judge was kind and recognized that I had this conflict and allowed me to be excused.  I am quite thankful!  Now we just have to get everything ready to go, set up Whitney and Kaleb to take care of things while we are gone and then... head out!  I am excited.  Summer is here!!!

Anna's Graduation Weekend

Anna graduated from high school Sunday afternoon.  Throughout the weekend we had family gatherings and celebrations.  Uncle Charles and Aunt Ilene were able to come down from Iowa to join us.  Uncle Mitch and Aunt Janice were planning to come but had medical issues which prevented them from doing so.  We are still thinking of them and hoping they are doing better.  Even James was able to get a 3 day pass to come home for the weekend.  I know that was the perfect graduation gift for Anna (and for Julie!).

Saturday evening we also celebrated Arayna's birthday with a family dinner and birthday cake.  :)  Sunday morning we met for breakfast at 1000 Hills Lake restaurant - yummy!  We all attended church with Anna at First Presbyterian where they honored Anna as a high school grad.  The graduation itself was held in Pershing building at Truman and BOY, was it HOT!  Goodness!  Afterward we wandered around Truman campus taking photos and enjoying the light breeze (even though the temps were still hot and humid.)  Sunday night we had a lovely dinner with Charles and Ilene.

Here are some photos from Anna's big weekend.  You can see a full album of photos here.

Anna

Anna

everyone except Jackson, the photographer  :)

Anna and Matthew

Julie, James and Anna

Grandma, Anna and Grandpa

the 'guy cousins' - Jackson, James and Jonathan

Aunt Ilene, Anna, Uncle Charles and Grandpa

James and Uncle Charles