Thanks for all of the positive comments regarding my FIL's article about his and Sarah's Spring Break trip to Hong Kong. I apologize that I could not provide a link to the article in the AZ Republic as several of you requested and it is still not available as of today.
I just received an email that USA Today Online picked up the article and although it doesn't have the nice picture like the AZ Republic, it does have the text. So for those who are interested, here is the link and enjoy!
USA Today Article.
Thanks for stopping by and have a safe and enjoyable week!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
In The Paper!
Tracy was so excited to see today's AZ Republic newspaper. She quickly went to the Travel section and searched the pages. She was so excited when she found the article that her Dad had written about his recent adventures over Spring Break with our daughter Sarah in Hong Kong!
I had no idea that he had submitted an article, so I was sure surprised when I saw it. He did a great job capturing the wonderful time they had together. Papa, as our daughters call him is a pretty cool guy and they sure enjoy spending time with their grandparents. I sure hope Tracy and I are as cool for our grand kids when we are blessed to have them.
Hope your weekend is going great and thanks for the visit!
I had no idea that he had submitted an article, so I was sure surprised when I saw it. He did a great job capturing the wonderful time they had together. Papa, as our daughters call him is a pretty cool guy and they sure enjoy spending time with their grandparents. I sure hope Tracy and I are as cool for our grand kids when we are blessed to have them.
Hope your weekend is going great and thanks for the visit!
Monday, April 15, 2013
Exhausted!
I can't believe that it has been a week since I last posted, but I can tell you that it has sure flown by. We live in a cul-de-sac and have adopted the tradition of having neighborhood get togethers several times during the year.
Well it was our turn this last weekend and I couldn't believe the amount of work that went into preparing for the event. We planned to spend most of the time outside since the weather has been wonderful, so that meant that I had to get the yard in tip top shape.
Our lot is over 3/4's of an acre with grass, fruit trees and lots of dirt, which becomes a constant battle to keep on top of the weeds. I took Friday afternoon off and mowed, raked, weeded and trimmed trees until I thought I was going to collapse.
Everyone showed up at 4:00pm on Saturday and we had a great time visiting, playing horse shoes and ladder golf. It was great to catch up with everyone, but I was sure glad when the group started heading home about 8:30pm. Of course I forgot to take any pictures of the big event, but it was fun none the less.
Tracy and I both commented that we don't know how people who entertain regularly do it, but we are good for another four get togethers before it is our turn in the roatation again.
We did get great news this weekend from our daughter Sarah who applied for an Art Scholarship through ASU and was selected to receive $3,000. We encouraged Sarah to apply, even though it included a long application, letters of recommendation and her art portfolio, which all took some time to put together. She was concerned that she would be one of many who applied and probably wouldn't have much of a chance. Well, that was not the case and we are so proud of her!
That along with her Regent's Scholarship from ASU should enable her to finish up her last two years without incurring any debt or needing to apply for student loans. We didn't do a very good job of planning for our daughter's education, so we have been so blessed that they received academic scholarships!
That is it for now, I noticed that we have another new follower, but they did not identify themselves, so I can't welcome them aboard by name, but thanks for joining us, whoever you are.
Thanks for stopping by for a visit, I hope your travels are safe and enjoyable!
Well it was our turn this last weekend and I couldn't believe the amount of work that went into preparing for the event. We planned to spend most of the time outside since the weather has been wonderful, so that meant that I had to get the yard in tip top shape.
Our lot is over 3/4's of an acre with grass, fruit trees and lots of dirt, which becomes a constant battle to keep on top of the weeds. I took Friday afternoon off and mowed, raked, weeded and trimmed trees until I thought I was going to collapse.
Everyone showed up at 4:00pm on Saturday and we had a great time visiting, playing horse shoes and ladder golf. It was great to catch up with everyone, but I was sure glad when the group started heading home about 8:30pm. Of course I forgot to take any pictures of the big event, but it was fun none the less.
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| Still undefeated at ladder golf |
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| Wish that was a picture of my shoes! |
We did get great news this weekend from our daughter Sarah who applied for an Art Scholarship through ASU and was selected to receive $3,000. We encouraged Sarah to apply, even though it included a long application, letters of recommendation and her art portfolio, which all took some time to put together. She was concerned that she would be one of many who applied and probably wouldn't have much of a chance. Well, that was not the case and we are so proud of her!
That along with her Regent's Scholarship from ASU should enable her to finish up her last two years without incurring any debt or needing to apply for student loans. We didn't do a very good job of planning for our daughter's education, so we have been so blessed that they received academic scholarships!
That is it for now, I noticed that we have another new follower, but they did not identify themselves, so I can't welcome them aboard by name, but thanks for joining us, whoever you are.
Thanks for stopping by for a visit, I hope your travels are safe and enjoyable!
Monday, April 8, 2013
Great Weekend/Small World!
Tracy and I had a wonderful weekend at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. We were able to spend what will probably be our last local camping weekend, in our favorite spot in the park.
Although it was warm and the wind kicked up in the afternoon, we were able to keep cool by keeping the door and windows open and by running our fantastic fans.
On our way to the park, we saw what appeared to be a three foot rattlesnake crossing the road. Needless to say, there was no off the pavement hiking this weekend for Tracy, which was fine by me.
Sandie, of Where Are The Dixons Today? said that their friends Ginny and Mickey would be camping in the park and that we should look them up. Sandie described their rig, so we planned to locate it once we arrived.
Low and behold, we backed into our spot and looked directly across the street, to see a rig just as Sandie had described it and a personalized license plate that read "Gin Mic", could it be them?
Sure enough it was and we had a great conversation with them about their six years as hosts at McDowell Mountain Park, including following the fire that threatened to destroy the park many years ago. What a great couple with lots of wonderful life experiences, it is no doubt to us why Sandie and Jim enjoy their company so much. We hope to connect with them again on one of our future trips.
Warm and windy here today, a wall of dust is heading up from the south and we are glad that we are back in our sticks and bricks for the week.
I have been enjoying reading the blogs of Al and Kelly, Rene and Jeanette, Trent and Teresa, Rick and Paulette, George and Suzie and others as they make their treks toward Canada. Safe travels to you all and thanks for sharing your adventures with us.
Thanks to all of you for stopping by, enjoy your week and be safe out there!
Although it was warm and the wind kicked up in the afternoon, we were able to keep cool by keeping the door and windows open and by running our fantastic fans.
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| View from our site |
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| Lots of wild flowers |
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| A coyote lurking...do you see him? |
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| Oh the sunsets! |
Sandie, of Where Are The Dixons Today? said that their friends Ginny and Mickey would be camping in the park and that we should look them up. Sandie described their rig, so we planned to locate it once we arrived.
Low and behold, we backed into our spot and looked directly across the street, to see a rig just as Sandie had described it and a personalized license plate that read "Gin Mic", could it be them?
Sure enough it was and we had a great conversation with them about their six years as hosts at McDowell Mountain Park, including following the fire that threatened to destroy the park many years ago. What a great couple with lots of wonderful life experiences, it is no doubt to us why Sandie and Jim enjoy their company so much. We hope to connect with them again on one of our future trips.
Warm and windy here today, a wall of dust is heading up from the south and we are glad that we are back in our sticks and bricks for the week.
I have been enjoying reading the blogs of Al and Kelly, Rene and Jeanette, Trent and Teresa, Rick and Paulette, George and Suzie and others as they make their treks toward Canada. Safe travels to you all and thanks for sharing your adventures with us.
Thanks to all of you for stopping by, enjoy your week and be safe out there!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Excellence...Really?
We are excited to be heading out this weekend to camp at McDowell Mountain Park for what we hope will be a good amount of exercise along with some rest and relaxation.
As many of you may remember, I purchased a Thetford 27 gallon portable tank to use for our grey water back in February. Since purchasing it, I haven't gotten a chance to use it. I was out getting Iris ready for this weekend and noticed that the rubber strap holding the hose in place had already disintegrated and the hose was hanging out about 2 inches.
Although this is not a big issue and I was able to fix it with a bungee cord that I had from another project (see Tracy, good thing I save these types of things) I just found it odd that in two months, things are already starting to fall apart.
I visited the Thetford Website and this appeared on their flash page..."With over 40 years of experience, our family of companies has a global reputation for excellence. Thetford is a name you can trust, and a company you can count on." Hum, don't know that I can contribute to their "global reputation for excellence"...just say'in.
So hopefully nothing else will fall apart before I get my first chance to use this new tank this weekend.
Thanks for all of the nice Birthday wishes and I really do like my new TV Ears...thanks Tracy. Hope you are all doing well, thanks for the visit and be safe out there!
As many of you may remember, I purchased a Thetford 27 gallon portable tank to use for our grey water back in February. Since purchasing it, I haven't gotten a chance to use it. I was out getting Iris ready for this weekend and noticed that the rubber strap holding the hose in place had already disintegrated and the hose was hanging out about 2 inches.
Although this is not a big issue and I was able to fix it with a bungee cord that I had from another project (see Tracy, good thing I save these types of things) I just found it odd that in two months, things are already starting to fall apart.
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| Broken Already? |
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| Fixed! |
I visited the Thetford Website and this appeared on their flash page..."With over 40 years of experience, our family of companies has a global reputation for excellence. Thetford is a name you can trust, and a company you can count on." Hum, don't know that I can contribute to their "global reputation for excellence"...just say'in.
So hopefully nothing else will fall apart before I get my first chance to use this new tank this weekend.
Thanks for all of the nice Birthday wishes and I really do like my new TV Ears...thanks Tracy. Hope you are all doing well, thanks for the visit and be safe out there!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
A Wonderful Day!
Yesterday was my Birthday and it was sure a great one. The day started out with notes from my wife wishing me a happy day throughout the house and even in my car. She even had a balloon waiting for me on the workbench in the garage when I returned home from work.
I had many great Birthday wishes from family and friends through Facebook along with text messages and Birthday cards.
The day finished with dinner and dessert at Oregano's. Tracy and I both agreed that we ate way too much, but we managed to eat an entire cookie and ice cream, just couldn't resist.
Tracy bought me a new set of TV ears, which is actually a gift for her as much as it is for me. Let me explain...the older I get, the louder the TV gets and Tracy gets tired of listening to my reality and cop shows. So this enables me to hear everything, while keeping the house perfectly silent for her. It is a win/win.:-)
Thanks for all of your input about my conundrum regarding the name of our blog. We received everything from it doesn't matter, be happy to add 50+ to the title. I need to take a closer look at it, but I kind of like the 50+ idea. Thanks again for all of the great responses!
We continue to enjoy this wonderful weather and can't wait to get out camping at McDowell Mountain Regional Park this weekend. It is supposed to be in the 90's, so we may be giving the AC a workout.
We hope your week is going well, travel safely and thanks for the visit!
I had many great Birthday wishes from family and friends through Facebook along with text messages and Birthday cards.
The day finished with dinner and dessert at Oregano's. Tracy and I both agreed that we ate way too much, but we managed to eat an entire cookie and ice cream, just couldn't resist.
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| Yum! |
Tracy bought me a new set of TV ears, which is actually a gift for her as much as it is for me. Let me explain...the older I get, the louder the TV gets and Tracy gets tired of listening to my reality and cop shows. So this enables me to hear everything, while keeping the house perfectly silent for her. It is a win/win.:-)
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| Got my ears on! |
We continue to enjoy this wonderful weather and can't wait to get out camping at McDowell Mountain Regional Park this weekend. It is supposed to be in the 90's, so we may be giving the AC a workout.
We hope your week is going well, travel safely and thanks for the visit!
Monday, April 1, 2013
Conundrum!
I hope that you and your families all had a safe and
enjoyable Easter weekend. Based on your
blog posts, many of you enjoyed some wonderful Easter meals and probably ate
way too much, just like I did.
Well it’s hard to believe that I started our blog over a
year ago after enjoying your blogs for many months. When I started the blog, I figured I would get
it up and running and would probably shut it down after a few months. I have to
say that I have enjoyed it so much and have made contact with such great
people, that I would find it very hard to stop my blogging activities now.
Here comes the conundrum…When I named our blog “Adventures
of a 50 year old!” I really wasn’t thinking about what would happen when I
turned 51. Well that day arrives
tomorrow and I am not sure what to do with the title of our blog, if
anything.
I know that several people have their 29th
Birthday for many years, so maybe I just leave it alone and celebrate 50 for the
next few years. I also thought that 50
could stand for the entire decade, for which Tracy didn’t agree. So, I need your feedback on what I should do,
if anything to address this conundrum.
Thanks in advance for your ideas and I want to wish many of
our Canadian friends God speed and safe travels as they start to make their
trek back to Canada over the next few days and weeks.
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