C'mon Trigger, get goin' for Connie!

Bob on his lil' pony!

This is looking up in to the top of a carousel ride that we were on while in Old Tucson. What a wonderful day to share with our friends, Bob/Connie & Corky, and my brother Mike and sis-in-law Ricki. We were having such fun that the operator gave us an extra long time. We were the only ones on it!

Ok, I promised more pics and I'm holding to my word. While away for the winter it gave me tons of time to do what I like to call "me shooting." No schedules to meet, no late nights in front of the computer editing, just plain ol' out in God's beauty to do what I want with my camera.

I hope you enjoy what I'm about to post. They are in no particular order, just a few of my favorites.

Back at It!

Well, my sweet husband was kind enough to share his cold with me. Unfortunately, he got over his in a couple of days and mine has held on for over a week. It has landed in my left ear and sinuses. Hopefully it will vanish soon.

We have been busy putting in our garden. We have our potatoes, onions, radishes, lettuce, carrots and one surprise veggie already in. Will wait a bit longer for the green peppers and tomatoes.

Our weather has been wonderful. I love spring in Iowa! Pat mowed for the first time yesterday. The yard looks lovely. Our trees are starting to bud out. Our Redbud is a little late this year. I'm praying it didn't get too much cold and snow from the winter. I love that tree. It came from Pats mom and reminds me so much of her. It is beautiful and gives me comfort.

While reading the latest post from LaVon Baker, the sadness of missing them returned, but I know that we'll meet up again one day, either in this life or the next.

We went to our first HOG (Harley Owners Group) meeting last nite since our winter return and it was such fun hooking up with the friends that we hadn't seen in a few months. There is a lot going on in the chapter this spring and summer, so we'll be plenty busy. Lots of fun rides, doing things for charity and just enjoying our bikes and friendships.

Our summer is jam packed with things to do. Jenna (granddaughter) graduates this June, and since this is her last year to play high school softball we have vowed not to leave the area until districts and state tourneys are over. I can't believe that next fall she will be off to the University of Iowa. She is the last of the original first 5 grandkids) Where does the time go? That only leaves our two youngest granddaughters still in school. They are almost 8 and almost 9. Guess we'd better savor the years with them before they grow up and are gone. I can't believe we are about to sit through our 5th graduation ceremony. Feelin' kind of old about now!

I promised LaVon I'd start adding pics and I'll do that just as soon as I remember how. Help LaVon!!! Ok, I think I have one added. It is a beautiful sunset in Sedona that I took just a few days before our departure from AZ. I'll add more later. Now I must go workout on my Wii. The kids got it for us for Christmas and I rock on that thing.

Long time coming!

Hi, it has been quite a while since my last post, so thought I'd better do an update. We had a great summer in 2009, went to a lot of our granddaughters high school softball games, rode the motorcycle with friends, worked on the house and enjoyed our family. As of 12/26/09 we headed back to our beloved Sunscape RV Park.

Our winter was especially good because Mike and Ricki joined us this year. They live in VA and Mike is my brother. They had a spot that was just kiddie corner across the street from us. So, with Bob & Connie Roberts down the street, my family across the street and Corky around the corner and a couple of streets over, we had quite a wonderful group to hang out with and go out on the bikes with.

The weather this year was not quite as warm and dry ans last year, but it was still a heck of a lot better than an Iowa winter. We managed to put several thousand miles on the motorcycle and many many miles on our bicycles. Spent several lazy afternoons by the pool and went to some of the good movies that were out. Experienced a very bad dust storm and survived it! We went over to CA a couple of times to visit with Pat's oldest brother Johnny and his wife Paula. Johnny was facing heart valve replacement and we wanted to have a nice visit with them (which we did).

We left AZ on 3/18/10 headed for CO and a week of skiing. Our trip to CO had a few scary moments after leaving Albuquerque. The weather was really bad (snow & icy), and we were in the mountains. It was what I call "white knuckle". God got us through it and in to Colorado Springs for an overnite stay before heading on to the Denver area. Once we got the trailer parked at a friends, we were able to visit with them and do some catching up. The next morning (Sunday) we headed up to the mountain for the week.The snow was perfect up in the mountains and we had another great time. No injuries, just fun.

Our trip back to Iowa was a pleasant one with pretty much sunny skies and light winds. We stopped in Council Bluffs to visit my 91 year old uncle (still going in to his business every day) and 86 year old aunt. Then on to Granger, Iowa.

We love being on the road and are discussing the possibilities of becoming full-time RV'rs. Have a wonderful summer and I will try to post more soon.

Travel Updates

It has been several days since we pulled out of AZ and I have thought it was time to let you know what has happened since then. After we had our round of hugs and good-byes on 3/4, we finally hit the road. We decided to go up I-10 and cut across going towards Payson and on up to Albuquerque. The ride was really pretty when we got up in the mountains. There was even snow along the roads and in the ditches. We had lunch in Payson.

Stayed overnight in Albuquerque and then headed on for Colorado Springs. Got there Thursday afternoon. Setup the RV and then went for a drive over to Manitou Springs. Parked and walked the street looking in some of the shops before going to TX Roadhouse for dinner and back to the trailer to call it a day.

Left early Friday morning heading for Denver. Dropped the trailer off for the week, before heading up to the mountain.

Arrived at the condo Saturday around 4:30 and just relaxed for the evening. Sunday we hung out, swam in the pool and played Wii until around 11:45 p.m. when we called it a night.

When we were coming out of some of the mountains near Payson we had a horrible vibration when the brakes were applied. Pat thought it felt like brake pads or rotors. As it turned out it is rotors and all four are being replaced at the Ford Dealership in Silverthorne. Pat dropped the truck off before we went up to ski this morning (Monday). The slopes were great and we had fun. I took one nasty fall (my first in 3 years), and I’m kind of sore, but will survive. We will be going back for more fun tomorrow so hopefully I’ll be able to get out of bed in the morning…lol.