Apples in Arizona?

Labor Day Weekend in Tucson.
Nice to see the house is still there. And with a little work, the yard still has the natural desert look. Notice the transplanted ocotillos (the tall plants) look green and healthy.






Now on to fun times with the kids.
7 yr old can now ride a bike! It seems the trick is taking off the pedals to learn balance. After that - put the pedals back on and 'it's easy"!
















5 yr old is in kindergarten now!
















The girls, ages 3yrs old and 18 months.
















The boys love washing the car. Water and more water!





























Pool time at Kevin's house.






























Notice I caught the jump in mid-air here.














A trip to an apple orchard. Yes, they do grow apples in Arizona.
















Some sampling along the way.

















How does this one taste??
















A little too sour??















To end the weekend, another amazing Arizona sunset.....

The Last of Summer

Summer is my favorite season. In fact, I can not imagine why anyone would prefer any other season. In Utah, Winter is far too cold. Spring is only a little better than Winter. And Fall just means Winter will be here soon.

Before the summer is completely gone, here are a few photos from the past few weeks.
















Suzy& Casey's new place - it's near his work and gives them a lot more space.















Claire even has room for her little swimming pool.















Quinn was not really interested in swimming.















The next weekend was the annual Yellowstone trip. The weather was great and the animals were very cooperative.
Warning: These photos may be disturbing to some viewers.

Buffalo - okay, a bison.
















Elk - from the wrong end.
















Bear warning!!

















We saw not just one grizzly bear....

















but here's another grizzly bear. This one is guarding a half eaten elk. Not only was he here in the evening, but the next morning, he was in exactly the same place. Great view from across the river.
















Hiking the Yellowstone is always amazing!


How I hate to see the summer go.....
















Coming next on this blog.... Labor Day in Tucson.

Jill's Shower

Here comes the bride....















with bows and ribbons that were removed immediately after this photo was taken.


















It was fun to get together with family and friends for Jill's bridal shower.

Here she is with Joanna, Suzy and Quinn.













It was fun to see the video of Jill and her fiance and see them so happy!

Great food, games, and gifts!
Thanks Joanna and Janelle for a great party!!

26 miles across the sea....

..... Santa Catalina is waiting for me.

Even though I grew up in So California, I had never been
to Catalina. . . until last weekend. I don't really know what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The little town of Avalon was like a cruise port with cute restaurants and shops, charming little street and houses, and lots of boats. Even the boat ride from Long Beach to the island was nice - saw at least 3 groups of dolphins along the way.

It took about an hour to get to Catalina on this boat.














Postage stamp size beach.
















Even smaller and rockier snorkeling beach.
















The popular mode of transportation on the island is golf carts - even if you have kids. Is this really what this seat was intended for???

















Nice walking trails to see the sights.



























Notice the golf carts on the streets, not on the golf course.















Charming houses.









































Interesting tile artwork everywhere.
















Boats and more boats.















Notice the dog with yellow life vest.
















Pelican waiting for his next meal.
Maybe he's waiting for the dog to fall off the boat. : )






























Catalina - A nice day trip!

What city?

My work travels took me to a new city last week.
What city has sandy beaches and big skyscrapers?














Did you guess it?
Another hint....















It's Chicago.














Lake Michigan on the edge of the city.

Other Chicago highlights.









































My question is: Why is there a huge statue of Marilyn Monroe in front of the Chicago Tribune building. Any ideas?

Explosives

So many fun things to do in July.

In Tucson, they cancelled the usual fireworks show due to the extreme fire hazard there. But don't worry - we had another fun explosive activity in Kevin's backyard. All you need are bottles of diet soda, mentos candy, some friends and family.

Here are the results. Get ready.....














Get set.......














GO!!!!!!




























The kids just got a little bit STICKY!

Also, while the boys were camping, the little girls spent some time at Yaya's house
















Back in Utah, the Farmington Days run is always fun.
This year Suzy and Casey and kids were here to join us.





























Suzy and I walked the 5K with strollers. We didn't come in last!



















Claire had fun getting candy and other treats at the parade.















Quinn is getting so big!














And July is not over yet!