Family time in Arizona

Well, how can we go for three weeks and not have the whole family come down, too!  It was pretty wild with 12 of us in the house, and actually 10 of us were really pretty easy, but those two toddlers put us all over the edge!  First, they are not into sharing so much, so if one has something, the other wants it and will most likely either just take it away or push, shove, hit, whatever it takes to get what he or she wants!  And then come the tears and the melt down like you have heard before I am sure!  But two of them???  I was experiencing some serious sensory overload!!  LOL!!  (And as Scott was heard saying:  "Are you kidding me?")

And then to top it off, the weather did NOT cooperate with us, I think Arizona was and has been experiencing some of the strangest spring weather like the Pacific Northwest.  And although it didn't rain on us, well, maybe a drop or two, it was cold....I mean like the average temperature for that time of the year is 89 degrees, and now we had temperatures in the high 50's, maybe some 60's, but with the sun behind clouds and the wind blowing it was down right cold!

However, the kids came to play in the pool, so play they did, much to the chagrin of their parents!  They went from the hot tub to the pool and back to the hot tub.  Now you could count on seeing the parents in the hot tub, but no way were they going into the pool, so they made sure the little ones were staying on the steps!  The cooler weather lasted three days, then finally we had two really nice days of 80+ degrees where everyone got to enjoy the sun and the pool.

           Tristan and Lily getting ready to get into the hot tub at Mirabel!

               Jalen getting thrown in the air by his daddy
                

A New Eatery in Cave Creek

This eatery place is only new to us, it has been around for quite a while.  Scott was intrigued with the sign when we happened to pass it one day looking for a new BBQ restaurant.  So of course he could NOT get it out of his mind and we had to go try it out.  For the "parents" sake, I heated up leftovers and left them home while we ventured down the road to Big Earl's Greasy Eats!

Couldn't resist putting my face in that board!  What a hoot!!  And I can tell you that the hamburger was good!  Not too greasy....the restaurant is actually an old gas station, they have outside seating and a few tables inside.  I am sure we will be back to this eatery again!  As for the BBQ, we ate there, loved the meat, didn't like the sauce so much and did not like any of the sides...like beans or the potato salad.  However we did pick up some meat to take home and made our own sandwiches with the older folks and everyone liked that, although we did put our own "Sweet Baby Ray's" Sauce on the sandwiches.

Entertaining the Kids, big and little!

So what to do when the sun is not out, but we have 6 children that we need to burn off some energy?   We go to Cracker Jax!!  This is a fun place for kids and adults alike.  They have batting cages, a driving range, bumper cars for little ones, go carts for bigger kids, water bumper boats, bungee jumping on a trampoline, not to mention all the arcade games one could ever want to play!

The three older children had a blast with the bungee jumping, they were all doing flips, double flips and bouncing so high, it was so fun to watch them!  Addie, who barely weighs anything (I think her one year old brother may have the same weight as she!) had to have help with the bouncing.  Papa or Lacey would grab her leg and pull her down to hit the trampoline and give her a boost to bounce on up!  Jalen, who absolutely LOVED it last year, would NOT have anything to do with it this year!  Go figure!

Our Favorite Time of the Year in Arizona

Not only do we have the beautiful cactus flowers blooming, but we get to see A Great Horned Owl sitting in a big saguaro cactus with a couple of baby owls!  They are so darn cute!  And for a while Mama Owl sits in the nest with the two little ones, until they get a bit too big and there is not room for her!  So she sits nearby on some condominiums to keep an eye on her little ones.  This cactus was transplanted when they built the condos, but the Owl comes back every year to have her nest.  It is right on the side of the main road going through our development.  She causes quite the attraction, people are out all the time with their big zoom lenses getting close ups of those fluffy little baby owls.  Take a  look...I must admit to taking more than one picture myself, but I did try to spread it out over the three weeks we were there!

This is actually Mama owl and I don't think you can see the babies very well, but there are two of them!

                                                             Aren't they just too cute??!!

                                                          Mama owl keeping an eye on things!

Beauty from the Dessert

When one thinks of the dessert, one thinks of sand, rocks, cactus, dull colors like brown or grey and you might not be so inclined to visit a dessert place.  But let me tell you, it may not be like the Pacific Northwest, but it has its own beauty that can capture one's heart.

This is the Ocotillo with flaming orange/red blooms.  Perhaps it was because of all the rain this past winter, but the Ocotillo's were just beautiful.  The flowers at the end of each branch resembles the bird of paradise flower.

The yucca's were extremely prolific this year also.  In fact Scott hadn't remembered even seeing them before, but this time when we were here, they were all just in full bloom and the white was so white and just stood out so majestically!

This prickly pear cactus is along the side of our driveway.  I was so excited to see it blooming. 

When we arrived we actually had three agave plants that had bloomed.  We have never been home to see the actual flower, only the dried up brown stalk like you see above. 

Can you believe all the buds on this cactus?  This was not in my yard, (darn) but the thing about this cactus is that the blooms only last for a day and then they wilt...but can you just imagine how beautiful this will look in full bloom?  And each flower is probably  4 -5 inches wide...here is a close up from a plant that has only one flower blooming on it...

Arizona and Family time

Scott's parents and my dad came down to spend the last week with us in Scottsdale.  We all had such a good relaxing time.  My dad took walks every day and walked a little further each day.  He so enjoyed the dessert blooms and the fragrance of the flowers.  We all kept a pretty low profile, just sitting around and reading or napping.  We ate out a few times and we ate in a few times.  Our favorite place to eat is at Mirabel, a golf club that we belong to. 

Saturday morning breakfast at Mirabel.  How wonderful does that look to sit outside on the patio and have breakfast?  Sooo nice!!

My dad and I went down to Old Town Scottsdale and met my cousin Rich and his wife Jan for lunch one day.  We had a very nice visit.  They live in Sun Lakes almost year round.  They do head back to Seattle for a short time in the summer.  Rich was my mom's sister, Dorothy's oldest son.  Auntie Dot passed away on May 18th about three weeks after my mom died.

Fun in the Park

Caleb had a baseball game tonight and fortunately there is a playground next to the park.  Addie found a new friend and they were playing on all the equipment.  Tristan mostly likes to be held by his mommy, however he doesn't mind sitting on the bark chips and getting a little fiber in his mouth!!

Tristan did let Papa hold him, but he had to have Papa's hat....he is pretty cute!

We saw Caleb out in the field three times, he played second base and right field, and we saw him up to bat and he did get a little piece of the ball, but got out on first.  I wasn't close enough to get a good picture of him, I will have to get it another time!