Fun in the Sun

We're sitting here watching Little Miss Sunshine after a busy day spent outdoors in the hot Arizona sun. It's been fun.

We have Lloyd's niece, Beth and nephew Mark, here with us now enjoying a week of R&R.


We spent the morning on the golf course - it was Beth's first time playing golf, but Mark is one of Lloyd's regular golfing buddies. I, of course, golf only when I'm coerced into it. We played best ball so it was fun and fast.

Lloyd gave Beth a few pointers in stance, stroke, and hitting the ball before we started our round. She's a quick learner.


Mark let her drive their golf cart sometimes, which added to her enjoyment of the game. Lloyd and I were in the other cart just ahead of them.

Beth and I left after nine holes and went to the Paradise Cafe for lunch while the men played another 18 holes, with a lot more competition and drive than when we girls were playing.

Beth and I wasted no time getting into the pool when we got home. It was soooo nice. It was a hot day and the water was warm and buoyant.



We were soon joined by Beth and Mark's mother and stepfather, Cath and Clyde. Then Lloyd and Mark came home and joined us.



This is Clyde - he's a lot of fun - crazy and loving and fun to be around.


Our nephew, Mark. He was the last one in the pool, and after he was in for awhile the wind came up and chilled the air considerably and he didn't want to get out because he knew he'd be cold. Tough up Mark!


Cath and Clyde had fun clowning around in the pool. It's so nice to have them over - they have a place in Sun City but the're not always in town when we come down here.

We ended our day by going to Macayo's Mexican Kitchen for dinner - so good. Tomorrow will be another fun day.



This one's for you Mickey - prickly pear in bloom.

On The Road Again

Thursday afternoon Lloyd and I headed out on a road trip. He has a seminar he has to attend in Las Vegas next Thursday and Friday so we decided to drive to our place in Arizona for a few quiet days, and then head home via Las Vegas.

We're using Lloyd's Dodge Laramie for transportation. This is the first big trip for the truck so we'll see how well it performs. So far, so good. It's a very comfortable truck with lots of power.

The drive from Edmonton to Phoenix is very beautiful, once you get south of Great Falls, MO. We weren't expecting all the varied weather though.


We wanted to leave the last vestiges of winter behind us in Alberta, but unfortunately we kept running into it. This picture was taken in southern Utah. The clouds were low and seemed to cut the mountains in two.

These unusually colored yellow mountains were in the Panquitch, UT area. Here's an interesting link Lloyd found about this mountain, called Big Rock Candy Mountain. Interesting stuff.
http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/geosights/candymtn.htm





The first place we ran into snow was in the mountains south of the Bryce Canyon, UT area. It seemed the farther south we went, the colder it got, but I think it was because we kept getting so high in the mountains. It wasn't so bad when we got to lower land.

These beautiful red cliffs were peppered with caves and holes. They were really beautiful but in most places there's no place to pull over and take some proper pictures



We were able to stop at the Glen Canyon Dam (Lake Powell) in Page, Arizona. It's a spectacular site. The gorge is just beyond the swirly rock formation.


You can see the cars driving across the Glen Canyon Dam.

The scenery for the next 25 or so miles south of the dam was incredible, scary and beautiful. I'm glad Lloyd was driving though - it's a rapid descent to the bottom of the plateau to the desert floor of the Navajo Nation Reservation.

We hit snow again in Flagstaff when we were at an elevation of 7000 but it disappeared as we got down off the mountains again - a very up and down day both in climate and elevation.

It's nice to be here in Surprise again. The air here is incredibly sweet - I love the smell of it. There's always something in bloom. I'll rest for the next couple of days and try to get rid of this cold.

Can't Wait For Spring

The last week or so has seen considerable melting of the snow cover here in Edmonton. It's not fast enough for the kids though. Their north-facing back yard is still mostly knee deep in snow. It was warm enough today that they just had to be out, and if Charlie and Max were out, then Elly insisted on being out too.

Their toys which have been buried under the snow all winter are being rediscovered. This year the car is just the right size for Elly.

If it has wheels Elly needs to push it, pull it, or ride in it.

The swing set still works - Max rediscovered hs 'airplane', although the landing is cold and icy.

Someone (not mentioning any names here) took the top off the sand box a few days ago and the ice melted into a lovely pool of mud. This was Elly's first stop in her re-discovery of the back yard.


And the slide still slides, if you don't mind landing in the snow.

The kids were cold and wet by the time they finally decided to go inside, but they really enjoyed themselves out there. Maybe by this time next week the snow will have all disappeared. One can only hope.

T-Shirts

My daughter Sara is always buying clothes for her kids - I've never known kids with so many clothes. She has a good reason though. Her kids are her models for her portrait studio samples and products. Every holiday and season change has her making new display models for the photo gifts her company produces, as well as portrait samples.

This is Elly waiting in the front of the studio/store while Max gets his Easter portrait done. You can see the ceramic tiles they made and incorporated into the floor. That happy couple is Sara and Quincey in 2002.


But lately the little girls have been wearing the cutest t-shirts and I don't think they've been used as display models. Here are some of them.



Elly's expression makes a lie of the sentiment on the shirt.

Charlie's shirt is very appropriate for her personality.

Looking like she needs a hug

Every schoolkid's sentiment.


And my very favorite one, worn by Elly...




It says "I still live with my parents - for now"

Kids clothes are a lot more fun now than they were when I was a kid - as far as I can remember anyway. There was a fad in the late 1950's that I vaguely remember having fun with when I was 9 or 10. Back then pop bottles had cork liners in them that could be carefully removeed without breaking the cork. We used to take the cork out and, holding the front of the bottle cap against the front of the shirt, we'd press the cork back into the cap with the t-shirt fabric in between. It held them really well. We thought they looked great but it must have bugged our mothers. Those bottle caps had sharp edges that poked tiny holes in the t-shirts. But we were kids and we didn't care.

April Fools Day

Here's the kind of fog I'm living in...I didn't realize it was April Fool's Day until this evening. Too bad really because I could have really messed with Charie and Max's minds today if I had remembered. But that probably would have backfired on me anyway because Charlie would have ended up asking me a hundred different questions about why I was tricking them, why do they call it fools? why is it only good on April 1, etc. etc. That girls thinks too much and every thought she thinks results in at least a dozen questions. She's very serious and inquisitive for a 5-year old.

I did kind of get fooled today though. Sara and Charlie had a lunch date with Brooklyn and Cindy (Brooklyn and Charlie are five days apart in age - close first cousins). Not to leave Max out, I told Sara I'd take him and Elly to Panda Hut for lunch. They like it there because there's a playspace there (It used to be a Burger King and the Panda Hut people left the playground there). There were six other kids playing there when we arrived. Max was hesitant at first but finally went and joined them. Turned out one of the little boys name was Max as well. And not just any Max, but Maximus like our little guy.

After they left Elly decided to go in and play with Max. So in she toddled, clutching her sippy cup like a lifeline. It wasn't long before I heard her screaming. I went to the entry of the play area and asked Max if he could help her come out. Well, he did try, but his version of helping was to grab one of her feet and pull. That just resulted in more screaming. So I had to do it - swallowing my pride for the sake of my poor little grandbaby, I got down on my creaking knees and crawled into the structure that is made for skinny little 3-foot tall mini-people. I got to Elly, grabbed both feet and pulled her through the tube to where I could grab her. She hung on to me (and her sippy cup) for dear life. Have you ever tried crawling on arthritic knees in a kids tube holding a crying 16 month old baby? Don't. Ever. Try it. When I got out, finally, I looked around and there were people at three tables watching me. Needless to say, my dignity remained behind me at the mouth of that trap they call playland. We left as soon as I could get their coats and boots back on. Nice way to fool old Grammy, Elly.

And I didn't even take any pictures.

Spring Thaw

If there's anything good about this long cold winter we've endured, it's that it's showing signs of letting up, finally. The past two days have been lovely and warm - just above freezing - and sunny.




This is my favorite time of year - spring thaw. The ice and snow are finally melting, leaving little rivers and mini streams that are so fun to play in, for kids, that is. When we were kids we'd get our rubber boots in and build dams and create waterfalls in the fast-running rills of water at the end of the driveways and sides of the road.

I couldn't let 20-month old Aidan miss the fun. His mother, Amy, was getting him ready to go to the toy store anyway so I grabbed my camera and went out with him. Amy really didn't want him to get wet, but I didn't want my little grandson to miss one of the rites of spring. It wasn't too bad - he just got his shoes and the bottom of hs pantlegs wet.

Doesn't he look like he's having fun!

The Love of My Life

Today is our 38th anniversary. We are just spending the day together, going out to dinner, and enjoying one another's company. We don't need a big celebration to prove the strength of our love. (Although if the kids want to plan something big and fancy for our 40th we wouldn't argue :)) Today I've put together a list of facts about this man I've been with for so long because I think I know him pretty well by this time.



1. He is the youngest of 4 kids, born on October 24, 1949.

2. He grew up in rural New Brunswick, mostly in the town of Harvey Station.

3. He started driving when he was 9 or 10 – the farm farm tractor out of necessity.

4. Likes his toast slightly burned.

5. Has recently overcome his fear of flying, as long as he’s on a direct flight that doesn’t last more than 4 hours. Luckily there are direct flights between Edmonton and Phoenix.

6. He enjoys taking long road trips with me.

7. He played hockey throughout his life and used to dream of playing in the NHL

He was the goalie in High Level in 1976

8. He can cook a mean burger an enjoys barbequing

9. Lloyd loves being a grandfather and wishes he had more time to spend with the kids

Teaching Nathan the game

10. Lloyd has never liked his name – if he had the choice he’d name himself Mike. (Our second son is Mike)

11. He and his buddy Eric were in the Army Militia during their high school years.

12. Has worked with the First Nations of northern Alberta/BC for over 38 years, on and off

13. Still misses his big brother and mentor, Bert, who passed away 10 years ago.

14. He loves to golf and would like to live where he could golf year round. He organizes a yearly MacKenzie Family golf tournament and has outfitted a lot of kids, in-laws and grandkids with their own clubs.

15. He wishes I was a golfer too, but I just can’t get into it. Maybe I should teach him to scrapbook.

16. He is a better housekeeper than me. Has often said that if I could earn what he does, he’d gladly quit his job and stay home and keep house and raise the kids.

17. Is very generous with everyone and spoils me more than I deserve.

18. Is an expert wheeler-dealer and always bargains down the price of any vehicle he is trying to buy.

19. He has the most beautiful blue eyes and passed them on to each of his seven blue-eyed kids and most of the grandkids.

20. His once-thick dark brown hair has thinned quite a bit over the years and has become more grey than brown, but it’s still curly. We're having fun growing older together though.

21. His great-great grandmother was a Cherokee.

22. For a couple of years in the early 1990’s he was a customs officier at a couple of border crossings between Alberta and Montana.

23. He spent 2 years as a missionary in Southern California back in 1969-70. We got engaged the day he left and didn't see one another for the next two years. We got married two months after he got home.

24. His olders sisters still torment him with chants of “did you get the chickens watered” from his days on the farm.

25. The worse Christmas present he ever received was an accordion from his parents when he was 12 or 13. It was just so not cool. He made them take it back and get him a transistor radio, which was the coolest thing for a kid to own back then.

26. He doesn’t like reading instructions. His motto is “if all else fails, read the instructions”. It makes putting things together and figuring things out very frustrating.

27. He likes high tech gadgets – GPS devices, BlackBerry’s latest, big screen HD TV, TouchSmart big screen computer that doesn’t require a CPU box, satellite radio for his vehicle, etc.

28. His taste is music is varied and eclectic – anything to rock, easy listening, blue grass, country western, folk. He likes it all and has downloaded thousands of songs to his ipod and computer.

29. His favourite TV shows are The Office, CSI and House. His conversations are sprinkled with lines from Seinfeld. "Always Jerry"

30. He and his sister Joyce left New Brunswick when he was 16 and came out west to Edmonton to live. He was followed a few months later by his mother and sister Cheryl, and still later by his dad. I came out two years later. As they were getting ready to leave home (a 3-day/3 night train ride) their mother sewed money into the lining of their coats.

31. He loves the Atlantic Ocean beaches that we became familiar with when we lived in Nova Scotia. A particular favorite is Taylor's Head where my family homesteaded several generations ago.




32. He'll tell anyone who asks that the happiest day of his life was March 27, 1971 when he married the girl he had been in love with since he was 15. And the feeling is mutual. Happy Anniversary Lloyd.