Camping in Show Low

Our annual camping trip in Show Low almost didn't happen due to Covid. This trip was back in June. Luckily, they opened up a few weeks before we went. It was pretty much the highlight of the summer since we did almost nothing else. We look forward to this trip every year, and I'm so thankful that we at least got to do this.

Ava got to come too, so it was the fantastic 4 for the weekend.

I would've been fine doing just this for 2 days.

There were some fires off in the distance, so the first night was a little smokey, but it cleared up. These fires were over 100 miles away and with the wind, this drifted in. It makes for pretty pictures though. The first night we went to our favorite Mexican food restaurant, Licano's. They make delicious margaritas and chimichangas.

Here's some nice pics down by the lake the first night.

Emily's face is funny. It's the only pic I took of the girls, so it's what I'm putting up. Sorry Em's.

I love waking up to this view in the mornings and hearing the birds.

TWe got up and headed to the lake for a day of water fun. There was some kayaking.

And Dakri rowing while Ryan rested.

The girls got to try paddleboarding.

Noah gave it a shot.

Then, Noah with his girlfriends.

This takes some skill to get all 3 of them standing up.

 

 

We did Gina's frog school, which is where we swim across the lake. No pictures of that. The kids are so much faster at it now. It used to take forever. Now, they are all older and bigger and we are there in no time.

 

At night, we always like to go back down for an evening swim. Well, the kids like to. Us adults like to stay dry and warm.

The next day we did more of that same stuff and then headed home.

Oh, but the channel 3 news was there filming a story on renting paddle boards. So, we were hoping we would get in some of their footage. It aired the week later and this was it. That's us in the background. A drone got this footage. We're famous!

We already made reservations for next year and are looking forward to it.

That's it!  I think I'm all caught up. Enjoy!

Birthdays

 Ok, let's kick it all the way back to David's birthday in June! 

I can't remember for the life of me what we did. Birthday for us are pretty low key anyways. Birthdays in the middle of a pandemic, not so exciting.  We did make him cake! And this was the only picture I took. I'm sure he got some presents and I made him lasagna.

His real present came a few weeks later when he got a brand new Honda Accord. It's a sweet ride and I'm so glad he got himself a car he enjoys. He did tons of research on it and was contacting dealerships all over Arizona. He finally found one in Phoenix and settled on a price. We were going to drive down there and get it, but it was the end of June and they wanted to close the deal, so they drove it up to us!  It was awesome. Talk about service.

Then, came Noah's birthday. We went to Chick-fil-A and brought it to the park. With everything being closed, we can't eat in, so we've done this a few times. It's actually really nice.

And he requested a pumpkin roll for his birthday cake. He got some gifts and had his best friend, Collin, over for a sleep over.

 

 Noah also wanted his room painted. It happened a few weeks after his birthday. But, it went from this awful green to gray. Why did I ever think this was a nice color for a nursery? It looks like the hulk threw up in there.

 Noah picked out the gray and really loves how it turned out. We've since gotten a few pics for the walls and it looks really great. He now sleeps in there. He used to sleep in the bunk beds in Ben's room. Ben's been wanting to kick him out for years. So, it finally all happened.

Emily's birthday was her sweet 16. Yep, sweet 16 and in quarantine. Kind of lame. But, she made the best of it with her best friends. Yes, there are normally 4 of them, but the other one is pretty much locked up during the pandemic since her Mom is high risk. So, she can't come out of the house.

They went to Olive Garden for lunch.

Emily got to drive them! We gave her David's old car, so since she had her permit, she drove them around.

They tie-dyed shirts and masks, because you know, we're in the middle of a pandemic.

They just hung out and had a sleep over. I wish it could've been more exciting, but it is what it is. I think it was still a good birthday.

She got some presents. It's always so easy to buy stuff for her. Most of it was stuff for her car, like a steering wheel cover and stuff. It's cute.

I made her a pumpkin roll also. It's the dessert everyone loves and requests.

Neither of them can keep their eyes open.

And a few days later, she got her driver's license!  Yea!

It's been so weird having her dive, but so nice as well. I think she's enjoying the little bit of freedom and independence. She's a good driver.

 

Ok, so that wraps up summer birthdays! I have one coming up in a few weeks and we are going to be in California. I just pray that nothing ruins this trip. We haven't had a real vacation in a year and it's desperately needed. We all need some Vitamin Sea!

A Visit From Longtime Friends

Ok, I'm going to attempt to catch up here as we are going on a real vacation for the first time in a year and I'm sick of being 3 months behind on my blog. So, prepare for several posts today! 

A little backstory here. Pam graduated NAU and started writing for the Red Rock News, a newspaper based in Sedona. She rented a guesthouse from Stephan. He cuts hair. Pam left Sedona and paper and moved back to Phoenix a few years later, but could never find a hair stylist that cut her hair as well as Stephan. So, when Pam and I were young and carefree in our 20's, we used to drive to Sedona every 6 weeks for a haircut. I know it seems crazy, but we made a fun day of it. We'd get bagels at Einsteins, shop at the Outlet mall, get our hair cut, eat lunch. Yes, a bit much to drive 3 hours round trip to get a hair cut, but we loved those getaway days. Plus, Stephan is the Michelangelo of  hair and worth the 90 minute drive. Plus, it's Sedona, any excuse to go there is a good excuse.

Did I justify that enough? 

Now, Stephan lives in Dallas with his partner Jonathon, who we adore as much as Stephan. John messaged Pam and I saying they were going to be in Sedona and wanted to met for lunch! YAS!!!  They also wanted to drive to Prescott to get a feel for the place, so we made a lunch date! 

I hadn't seen Pam in forever. All this Covid crap has put a damper on everything. It was so great to see her. We got there and it was raining and I didn't have an umbrella in my car and we literally ran into the restaurant after getting a flash flood notice on our phones. It was hysterical. Here's Pam using my sun screen to try to cover her hair.

We had a great visit and it was so nice to catch up. I love these guys.

 

 

Pam was going to stay the night if the weather was crazy, but it was fine, so she made the drive back home. It was a short but sweet visit.

Here's hoping it's not another 15 years until we see these guys again!