Family Vacation

Each year it gets harder and harder 

for everyone to get together for a family vacation.

This year we were happy to squeeze in 8 days all together.

We started in Phoenix.

In Phoenix, there were cacti everywhere.

The song that kept going through my head was:

Roadrunner..... 

the coyote's after you.

Roadrunner.....

 if he catches you you're through.

Early in the day we went to the famous Heard Museum.

It is known worldwide for its exhibits of Native peoples art and culture.

A current exhibit at the Heard Museum featured LEGO bricks.

And that's where the kids spent a lot of their time.

They had exhibits built out of LEGOS that were truly inspiring.

That afternoon we all went on a horseback trail ride.

Even Sarah got to ride a horse all by herself!

All the horses seemed to be large breeds with easy going temperaments. 

We rode up and down rocky, sandy, hills

and even spotted a coyote.

Ranae was right behind me.

And Alex and Kevin were behind her.

Matthew and Brian were right in front of me.

And little Sarah was all the way at the front behind the lead horse.

It made me a little nervous.  

But she wasn't nervous a bit.

Every horse that we rode was sure-footed.

Except mine.

  

She tripped several times.

And once my saddle started slipping to the side,

and the guide had to stop and help me shift it back to the top.  

The trails were at times narrow and rocky.

But I didn't get a picture of that because I was too busy holding on.

The rock formations were so unusual.

Nothing like Florida.

We made it back.

Safe and sound.

We absolutely loved it.

And would do it again.

Afterwards we had a BBQ meal on site,

and headed back to the hotel tired and dusty.

Yippee and goodnight.

A wedding and the zoo.

We went to a lovely, fun wedding on the east coast this weekend.

The daughter of my great friend Mary had found the love of her life.

The are the sweetest couple and so happy.

Weddings are such a joyful event.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Zoo on the other hand was an accident.

An afterthought.

A spontaneous exit off the main road on our way home.

As soon as we drove in this ostrich came right up to our window.

He pecked at it for a few minutes.

And that alone was worth the price of admission.

We couldn't stop laughing.

Next were the lions.

And their cage was made out of chain link.

WHAT!

That wouldn't keep out a goat!

We kept our arms and legs inside the car

and tried not to threaten him by starring. 

The lioness hunters were looking longingly.....

.....at every animal as if it was dinner.

And the vultures were just waiting for something to happen.

Preferably something that involved death, and subsequently, their dinner.

The giraffes were lofty.

And the rhinos went anywhere they wanted.

I mean anywhere.

The zoo turned out to be a great excursion.

I would recommend driving through a zoo.

We had so much fun it makes me wonder

what billboard will get us off the highway next.

Swimming

For  a long time,

Sarah's goal has been to swim the length of our pool.

And today was the day.

Way to go Sarah!

The Beach

Summertime.

Beach time.

First Timothy at the Vet

What's a shot?

Jump Rope Camp.......and my first attempt at adding a video.

Jumping for joy in the summertime!

Our 25th Anniversary

For our 25th wedding anniversary,

Brian and I decided to check out

Cabbage Key.

We reserved this cute little cottage.

The only way to get there is by boat.

And since we don't have one, we took the ferry.

We were both impressed with the quiet.

I guess you never realize how much traffic noise

there is in town, until you are far removed from it.

Inside our cottage were hundreds of shells lining the walls.

On closer inspection we discovered that couples had written

their names and anniversary dates on their shells.

What a great idea!

We found a shell on Cabbage Key and made it our own.

So if you are ever in the little cottage,

look to the left of the window...

and there it will be.