Cacti, playgrounds, friends and White Tank Mountain

We went to White Tank Mountain today. Mickey had been wanting to go since we first arrived. It was the last place she wanted to go when we were here in January, but since we didn't see any snakes and/or scorpions then, it became her favorite place down here.


We drove to the end of the trails and found a lovely awning covered playground for the kids. They had a great time there and Elly even learned the art of positioning herself to go down the slide safely all by herself.

And there she goes. Max and Charlie liked the twin slides.


Charlie took this picture of me and Mickey as we watched them play.


Mickey took this picture of a bird (cactus wren??) on top of a saguaro cactus. She took lots of cacti pictures but this is the only one I'm using here.



And, as usual, it was in the pool for us when we got home in the middle of the afternoon. We don't even get out to answer the phone. Aren't cordless phones a wonderful invention!!!


So now it's our last night alone with the kids. I'm kind of sad about that - we've had such a good time with them and they've been so good. Sara and Quincey will be home tomorrow afternoon. Then I have to turn the reins over to their parents. On the positive side, it'll free Mickey and me up for a few days to do things we couldn't do with the kids..like go to Paradise Cafe for lunch, visit Scrapbooks, Etc. in Mesa, check out JoAnnes, and the mall, etc. etc. And the kids will still be here to go swimming and play with.

Zoo Park Day

This is how my day started - with three great kids bouncing on my bed.


Elly wanted to keep me company while I dried my hair so I put her in the sink - one of her favorite places to play. And yes, she did turn the water on and get a bit damp.

I don't even mind sharing my toothbrush with her. She did a pretty good job polishing her 10 little teeth.


We wasted no time getting to the zoo - arriving half an hour after opening. The ducks are always a favorite stop. Max let this little fellow eat the pellets right off of his hand. He also enjoyed wearing the Arizona Cardinals hat that Papa left behind in the van.



Posing with the camels - me, Elly, Charlie and Max

We went to a buffet for lunch - great fun. As we were leaving, people at two different tables remarked about how well behaved the children were and one woman said that she had been captivated by the baby's sweet smiles. It's always so nice to hear compliments about your children and/or grandchildren.


When we got home we all got ready to go swimming - Elly and Charlie in their matching zebra bathing suits.


Max blew some big bubbles for everyone's entertainment.


After swimming, Elly cozied up with a bottle and Mickey.


Charlie worked on her scrapbook.


And here it is. I gave her some pictures and she got her construction paper and made a scrapbook, glued pictures and colored paper embellishments in, and created a beautiful first-time scrapbook.

Then, when we were upstairs watching our before-bed video, the doorbell rang. There stood Cath and Clyde with bags of oranges from their tree, and grapefruit from their friend. Charlie had mentioned how much she liked them when we were here in January, so they brought some over for her We cut a dozen of them into quarters and sat eating them while we watched our video. They were sooooo good, much appreciated. We're all looking forward to having more for breakfast.

What a great day!

Home Day

We spent the day at home today - a nice peaceful day with just a few exciting moments. Cath and Clyde came over to visit. They have a house in Sun City and have been living between here and High Level, AB for several years. It's nice to have family close when we come down here too. It was such fun visiting with them. The last time we saw them was at Mackenzie's funeral (her grandson) in early January. Today was a happy visit. She brought her swim suit with her but decided not to go swimming 'until Clyde has his suit too'. So hopefully we'll see them again before we go home next week. Clyde is so funny - keeps us in stitches...and Cath eggs him on. He's a good man - came and pruned our fruit trees. Charlie got very upset when he started pulling the beautiful blossoms off of our lemon tree so we had to explain to her that the tree is young and has to spend all its energy growing strong. He did leave a few of the most beautiful blossoms there though.








We had an 'incident' right after C&C left. We told the kids that we could go swimming now and to go get their bathing suits on. I went to get mine and found the door to my bedroom locked. So I went to the kids room, which adjoins mine, and that door into my room was locked too. When questioned Max said that he did it 'for a trick'. Well the trick was on him because I had to tell him that we couldn't go swimming because there needed to be two adults in the pool to watch the three kids and since I couldn't get to my bathing suit, nobody could go swimming. He was very upset about that. I didn't have the heart to scold him because he was feeling punished enough. It took me nearly an hour to break into my bedroom. I still don't have the doorknob back on the door. But when I finally was able to get in, I got ready to go swimming and everyone was happy again.



We've developed a nice evening routine now that everyone's happy with. We wind down after dinner by watching one of the kids' videos - Charlie and Max take turns choosing which one. By the time the video is over, usually 8:00, they go brush their teeth, I read them a story, and they go to bed calmly and peacefully and fall asleep without spending any time playing or talking to one another. I guess all the fresh air and sunshine is tiring them out. Then Mickey and I get our laptops out and spend a couple hours catching up on email, blogging, etc. Ironically we're usually too tired to do any scrapbooking during our quiet evenings.

Tomorrow morning we're going to the Wilderness Park. The kids love it there, feeding the ducks and checking out the penguins and giraffes and all the other critters. I hope it's not too hot.

Busy Days

Charlie and her Barbie with matching swim suits

Our little lemon tree is in full bloom and the gorgeous scent fills the back yard. It's incredible.

We've had two full days in Arizona now and they've been very busy ones. Yesterday afternoon we spent three hours in the pool - it was so heavenly - but we forgot about the sun. I have a bit of a sunburn but the fun was worth it. The kids were slathered in sun block so they escaped unscathed. The kids love the pool and now that they know that they're not going to sink with their life jackets on, they're insatiable swimmers. Even Elly fights to get into the pool.



Elly was so cute parading around the rim of the pool (followed closely by an adult, with another one following her progress in the pool). I call this picture Bumblebee Butt. She has a regular Pamper on and it got very waterlogged in the pool. As a result she looked like she has lots of 'junk in the trunk'.



She looks like she's on her own here, but rest assured that there are three adults within arms reach. She loves the pool.

Our water baby - sitting in her baby floatie.

Sara went to Las Vegas today to meet Quincey for the trade show so Mickey and I had the kids to ourselves. It went very well - no tears, no missing Mummy (yet) and, best of all, no fighting. We kept them busy and active so they had no problem going to bed. Charlie and Max didn't even stay up talking in their beds after their bedtime story. Hopefully the rest of the week will be as smooth.

We were up early this morning and in the pool by 8:15 for an hour. Then Mickey, Max, Elly and I went for a walk for an hour while Sara and Charlie did some last minute errands. We've been very tired ever since but we managed to revive enough to have another swim with the kids before supper. And then a nice quiet evening watching Bearenstain Bears videos until bedtime.

Rob's Day

Our first day in Arizona was spent mostly in the pool - but more about that later. Today is the 37th anniversary of the day Lloyd and I became parents! But we call it Rob's 37th birthday.

Rob, 6 months old, with his namesake, his grandfather, Robert McCarthy

Our very first baby, Robert Logan MacKenzie was born on March 2, 1972, barely missing being a leap year baby - his due date was February 21 but he began the trend followed by all of our subsequent babies by being over a week overdue. He started big, at 8'8" and 21.5 inches long. I missed his delivery because he was in distress because of being posterior presentation (face down instead of face up) and I was put out for the forceps delivery. I guess it made him sleepy too because when he was finally brought tome and Lloyd after I woke up, he opened his eyes, looked at us, and yawned. We named him after my father, Robert, and Mum's maiden name, Logan.

Rob at 2 years

It's hard being the first child - just ask him. He was my experiment - having no previous child to practice on, everything I did with him was a test of will it work or won't it. I'm just glad he survived my fledgling attempts at motherhood.

Back-yard hockey - age 4

He used to torment the sisters and brother that followed, and one time when my mother asked him why he tormented his sisters so much, he thought for a minute and said "it's my job". He's been a good brother to the six younger siblings though.

Atari - remember them? age 9

19-years old

He's now a 37 year old happily married father of a son and a daughter. He has a degree in Metallurgical Engineering and has been working in his chosen field since before he graduated.

Metallurgical Engineer at work

Rob, Cindy, Brooklyn and Anson MacKenzie - 2007

Rob and Cindy 1998

He's always been a very loving boy who grew into a handsome loving husband and father. A man a mother can be proud of - and I am. Happy birthday Rob.

Off Again

Just a quick entry today. I'm off to Arizona this afternoon for 10 days. I'll be looking after Sara's three kids while she and Quincey attend a trade show in Las Vegas. We decided it'd be more fun to be at our place in Surprise than up here in the cold and the snow. The kids are so excited to be able to play in the pool again and enjoy the sun. Sara will spend the first few days with us and then drive up to Vegas, meet Q there, attend the trade show and then the two of them will drive back to Surprise for the last couple days of our holiday.

When I was talking about this to my friend Mickey on Friday we decided that she should come too. She enjoyed it so much in January. It'll be nice to have another adult there with the kids too. So, we're off in a couple of hours. Hopefully the internet is up and running at the house so 'll be able to keep posting here.

Comfort Food

Isn't it interesting how some foods - mainly from our childhood - have that magical ability to make everything feel better. It could be something our mothers made on a regular basis that we associate with the warmth and safety of home, or maybe a sometimes treat that reminds us of good times.

Our family has some of those comfort foods. Beef stew is one, although maybe I feel that more than my kids do. Mac and cheese is another. My mother used to make baked beans and home made brown bread on Saturdays. Good stuff.

Early on in our child-raising adventure Lloyd and I started the tradition of Friday Popcorn Night. Someplace I have a picture of our two oldest (now 37 and 36 but then 3 and 2) standing on a chair together watching the popcorn pop, waiting for it to be ready. That tradition continued off and on for over 30 years. It's still a favorite treat.

Elly

Now the grandkids enjoy popcorn afternoon. Lately when Charlie goes to Kindergarten in the afternoon Max wants me to put his Spiderman movie on and make popcorn. He and Elly and I then sit on the couch with me in the middle holding the bowl of popcorn and watch the movie and eat popcorn. It's a nice time. One of the many benefits of being these kids' babysitter 4 days a week.