Thirty-Seventh Anniversary

When Lloyd and I unwrapped our Christmas present from Sara and Quincey we found a pair of lobster plates, a set of lobster crackers and forks, and a butter warmer. Sara then told us that the gift also comes with a lobster dinner flown in from the east at a date of our choosing. We chose to have the dinner delivered to us on our 37th anniversary on March 27. On March 26 Sara created a bit of a stir at my office by arriving, 3 children in tow, with a large box freshly arrived from the east coast, containing a cooler in which two live lobsters resided, along with packages of fresh clam chowder, corn on the cob, shrimp cocktail, a lemon, a stick of butter, and a cheesecake. The kids (and my co-workers) were excited to see the live lobster so I had to unpack the box so everyone could see.
All this happened about an hour after we were notified that our offer on the house in Arizona had been accepted and we'd have to leave for AZ that day. So I cooked this delicious anniversary dinner for lunch the day before our actual anniversary. No matter - it was an amazing meal and fueled us up for the long drive facing us. Thank you Sara and Quincey. Oh, I forgot to mention, the meal deal also included a pot to cook the lobster in!

A Very Good Reason

I have a very good reason for missing the last few days of posting here. On Wednesday noonish we found out that our offer on a house in Phoenix was accepted, but the inspection had to be done within a week. Have you ever tried to get a flight anyplace during Spring break??? It's just not going to happen. So, Lloyd and I enjoyed the lovely lobster meal Sara had flown in for us from the east coast for our 37th anniversary, for lunch, and at 5:00 we headed out, by car, for Phoenix - a 25 hour drive (5000 miles round trip).




We stopped in Lethbridge for half an hour to visit our newest grandson, Alexander Lloyd MacKenzie, and then kept on going to Great Falls, Montana, where we spent the rest of the night (8 hours of driving).

On Thursday we drove for 17 hours down the I15 through Las Vegas at night, across the Hoover Dam, and got as far as W...something, a small town about an hour north of Phoenix. We saw some gorgeous countryside and I even took a few pictures.

On Friday we were into Phoenix by 10:00 and went to check out our new house (picture above) and meet with the inspector. Then we spent three hours with the pool designer and got the pool designed and ready to be made as soon as the property sale closes. That was a fun experience.

Then by 10:00 Friday night we were on the road again, and managed to get three hours north of Phoenix. We drove all day Saturday, up the Hwy 89 this time to see different scenery - it was absolutely amazing. We stopped Saturday night in Butte, Montana. Sunday morning saw us on the road again through the mountains. We stopped to stretch our legs in Great Falls and headed for the border, where we got stuck in a 3 1/2 hour wait. It's not a good idea to travel back to Canada at the end of March when all the snowbirds and spring breakers are heading home. Luckily I had a couple of scrapbooking magazines with me so that helped pass the time.

By then it was too late to stop in Lethbridge to see baby Alex again so we drove straight through, finally getting home at 11:10 last night (Sunday). I sure wouldn't want to make the trip that fast again...but it was a good trip and we got a lot accomplished while we were down there. I can't wait to go back, but maybe we'll plan ahead a little bit, use Air Miles and fly down.

I can't seem to figure out how to place the pictures and text precisely where I want them so this will have to do. Top picture is me with Alex, next is our new house in Surprise, AZ, then Lloyd with Alex and Kenny. I'll post more in the next few days.

Cupcakes

This is Emily's contribution to Easter dinner - yummy cupcakes - chocolate and marble with candy, coconut, cherries, chocolate chips, sprinkles - everything delicious. They were a huge hit.

A New Addition

As promised, Alexander Lloyd MacKenzie was born this evening at 6:15. He weighed 7 lb. 15 oz. Not sure how long he is - Mike gave us the information before there was much information to be had. Kenny seems happy enough with the little brother. We'll be going down to Lethbridge first chance we can to welcome Alex ourselves. These picture came courtesy of Avril's sister Afton.

The Youngest Cousins

Five of our kids, their spouses and children, plus Lloyd and me, (25 people in all) got together for Easter dinner today. Lots of food was eaten, lots of noise and commotion was tolerated, and lots of pictures were taken. This picture is one of our three youngest grandchildren (until tomorrow, that is, when Mike and Avril's 2nd son is being induced). These sweet babies are James Quist (3.5 months), Aidan Woolf (8 months) and Eloise Hardwicke-Brown (9 days older than James)...such sweet little people.

Expressions

This is actually yesterday's picture that I forgot to download last night. Lloyd and I were taking care of Aidan for an hour or so. I see quite a resemblance between grandfather and grandson in this picture, apart from the blue eyes that are so predominant in our family.

Twilight Shadows

I didn't take any pictures today so looked through my computer files to come up with this all time favorite. I wish I could take credit for this picture but I can't. Daughter Sara took it a couple of years ago. It's my two oldest grandsons playing in the waterpark in Fort McMurray at twilight. I love the silhouette effect, shadows and sparkly water here. The boys were really having a lot of fun.