Gene Kelly in our family (i.e., SOREN!)

PROUD GRANDPARENT ALERT!!!

 

Soren's performance at his school play.

We were blown away.  He is such a natural!  He was funny, he moved well, he sang great, he was very engaging with the audience.  

Click on the next photo to watch it here:

 

Happy May Day 🌸🌺🌻🌷

May Day is a day for flowers, sunshine, and love….

May Day has been a special day ever since I was a little girl.  All six of us siblings would make colorful baskets with construction paper and glue.  We would fill our baskets full of flowers from our Mother’s garden.  Then when our Mother was inside our home, we would place the baskets outside the front door, ring the doorbell…and run to hide in the bushes.  

We would wait with eager anticipation for our Mother to open the door.  Every May Day, without fail, she would look right and left and then say in a perplexed tone, “I wonder who rang my doorbell.”  

She would ignore the nearby rustling bushes where all six of her children were hidden. Then just before she closed the door, she would glance down and discover six beautifully handmade paper baskets filled with an abundance of spring blossoms.  

This was the moment that we all were waiting for.  She would exclaim, “Oh my gosh, what beautiful flowers.  Who could have left these for me?”

At that moment, we would all jump out of the bushes.  She would gather us into her arms and give us all big hugs and kisses.  

She would place all our flowers into an assortment of vases, and there our May Day flowers would stay until all the petals died and fell upon the multitude of tables and night stands throughout our home.

Through the years, I have kept the May Day tradition alive.  When our children and grandchildren were very little, I showed them how to cut and glue together paper into the shape of a basket.  And how to fill the baskets with spring blossoms for a special May Day surprise to be left outside the front door.  

For decades I have heard the doorbell ring on May Day, and have exclaimed, “Who could have left all these beautiful flowers for me,” only to be surrounded by our dear children and grandchildren jumping out of the bushes.  I have always showered them with hugs and kisses.  And the spring blossoms would adorn our home for days on end.

This year on May Day, in my heart, I heard the doorbell ring….in memory of all the May Days of my past.

I went outside and I found that our friendly elk, had eaten most everything brightly colored in our mountain property—but much to my surprise, I found that they had left some beautiful May Day blossoms for us!

 

Since the elk had failed to make us any paper baskets to place the flowers inside, we didn’t shower them with hugs and kisses.

Danny does another face plant

Last October, on one of our old standard hikes above our little hamlet of Pine I did a face plant.

Broke my wrist.  

Six months later, we're back up in Pine and did this hike again.

And I did another face plant....in almost the same place on the trail.  

I'm sore in several places, but I don't think I broke anything.

We had decided that after my first fall I should use hiking poles.  So, I was using hiking poles this time, and I think they broke my fall just enough.  All I got was a swollen lip and a sore wrist and ribs.  

Sheesh.  

I have to admit, mom, that I used some bad language.  I'm sorry.

The good news is that we can see steady improvement in my speed and stamina since my heart attack a year ago January.  We enjoyed the two-hour 3.5 mile hike with 400 feet of elevation gain.  Even my fall didn't stop us from enjoying it.  We weren't tired at all at the end of it. 

I've got to keep working at it.  Otherwise, my body will deteriorate and we will not be able to keep ourselves as healthy as we want to keep ourselves so we can enjoy many more years together.

So, tomorrow, we're dancing.  Do something every day.  That's our philosophy.  

 

 

Boots on the ground….on Easter morning

We went on our first hike of the year in the Tonto National Forest—on our favorite trail a few blocks from our cabin, the Pine-Strawberry Trail.

And we wished our children and grandchildren much happiness and peace on this holy day.

It was a glorious way to celebrate this blessed day!

Our bags are packed, we’re ready to go….to our cabin!

It is quite an endeavor to pack up all we will need until November and move to our “summer home.”

As Owen says, “You guys are reverse snow birds.  When it’s hot in the spring, you go north.”  He’s right, we’re headed north to our cabin in the Arizona mountains where it is cool enough to enjoy the outdoors and go camping on the Mogollon Rim whenever we want ALL SUMMER LONG!

Our last morning at Nuestra Casa we rode our new electric trikes on the golf paths behind our home and took this photo as the sun was rising.  It was a glorious bike ride!

It’s gotten warm enough (97 degrees) that the flowers and cacti in our yard in Leisure World are blossoming.

The day before we left for the cabin we found a bird sitting on nine little eggs….nestled inside a pot on our back patio.  She looked well protected by all the thorns on the cacti surrounding her.  We wish that we would be there to welcome her babies into the world. 

Happy nesting little mama!

We (both trucks and all of our belongings that we’ll need for the next six months) made it safely to our cozy cabin in the mountains.  

It will take us several days to unpack, but it feels like home to us as we sit on our back deck and wait for the elk to come by and welcome us home.

Just as I finished writing this, a small herd of elk came by and said, “Welcome home!"

Despite broken arms, family visits, and endless doctor appointments….we always danced

It was a brutal winter.  Thirty-nine doctor appointments in 5 1/2 months. For real….39 doctor appointments! 

In addition to all our annual checkups, we had broken bones, a pacemaker, hearing aids, and more.  Every time we went to an appointment, they scheduled several more tests and followup appointments.  We are thankful that we have good health insurance.  

The problem is that when you get old, you have a ton of doctor appointments and procedures that help to keep you healthy, but you don’t have enough energy to keep on this treadmill.

These appointments and medical procedures took a toll on us.  The winter is over, and we’re both physically and mentally exhausted!

The sweet part of our winter at Nuestra Casa, our home in Leisure World, is that we had visit after visit with our grandchildren, children, and family…. 

November: Candice, Marina, and Stella for Thanksgiving.  December: Kathy for a week, and then Sean, Emily, Soren, and Sebastian for Christmas.  January: Tonia for a week, and Candice came down again to take care of us for my broken arm surgery and Danny’s pacemaker surgery.  February: Paul and Maria. March: Soren for his spring break, and then Owen, Mila, Hannah, Vernon, and Robert for a week.  April:  Sebastion for his spring break. 

Between all the doctor appointments and surgery, we had our lovely family with us EIGHT WEEKS TOTAL this winter.  Every visit was a delight and we have wonderful memories of our time with all this family who we love so very much.

With all the comings and goings at our Nuestra Casa all winter long we still had our weekly date with each other…..our dancing date.    

Dancing with Danny’s broken wrist in a brace….

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Danny and Vicky were dancing….of course!

Dancing a few days after I broke my arm and before surgery to set my arm and wrist with a metal plate and nine screws….we still had our dancing date!

Now we’re both dancing with our arm/wrist braces and Danny’s new pacemaker…..but still dancing.

Our 14 year anniversary since the day that we met….so I’m wearing the same outfit that I wore on that most special day 14 years ago.  I wear this outfit on March 12th every year…and we dance to the same songs every year that we danced to on our first magical night dancing together when we fell in love.

The photo below is a picture of our last dance of the season, before we head up to our cabin in Pine.   Wearing our cowboy shirts, we danced to Marty Robbins singing a set in the early 1970’s at the Grand Old Opry.  My dear Danny had been going to graduate school in Nashville, Tennessee in the early 1970’s and heard Marty Robbins sing these songs many, many times at the Grand Old Opry.

So this last day dancing was in honor of Marty Robbins and all the marvelous songwriters and singers from our youth!

Week after week, all winter long, we wrapped our arms around each other….and we danced!

Up in cowboy country with our Cowboy Sebastian

Sebastian raised the flag on our mountain cabin for the summer, where we’ll live until the snow starts falling in November.  

He was wearing his new birthday cowboy boots that we found for him in our favorite shop in Pine, a totally tacky and interesting store named Moose Mountain.  An odd name since our local herd of elk owns this town, and there are no moose around for hundreds of miles.  We think it should be called Elk Mountain.

He displayed such respect and pride for the flag that represents our glorious country….

Every evening Sebastian requested a cowboy movie, and Grandpa has an endless supply of all the best cowboy movies ever made….Sebastian’s wish came true!

Perfect place for our grandson to sleep in the cabin….up in the loft while watching a classic John Wayne movie with us.

The apple tree in our back forty was in full bloom, with the Mogollon Rim towering 2,000 feet above our cabin.

Note, that the apple tree branches start six feet above the ground.  Only the branches and apples that the elk can’t reach are able to survive.

It will be so hard to leave our sweet cabin when Sebastian has to return home, but we’ll be back in a week and have endless months to explore this mountain rim country….

Patches of snow can still be found in the Rim Country, and Sebastian just had to race to the top:

Since we left our horses down in the desert, we had to pack our bags on our back and use our own legs to go on a hike.  But it was well worth it to see the views from the top of the Rim.  

This is the part of the area that was ignited during the controlled burn of the 15,000+ acre  West Fire above our town of Pine last September.  We were happy to see that the firefighters were able to save many of the stately pine trees when they ignited the dried grass and scrub brush….and they protected our lovely town from the forest fire.

It is also the top of the rim where we hiked two years ago to with Sean, Emily, Soren, and Sebastian….

And hiked a year ago there with Ryan, Rachelle, Ida, Alden, and Wilder….

Then last summer Danny and I camped, hiked, and danced for five glorious days on the same spot….

And today we hiked to this favorite area of ours with our dear grandson, Sebastian….burn scars, but still spectacular!

We have so many loving days up here in Rim Country, and now we have another memory that we will always cherish.  

Thank you, dear Sebastian, for this wonderfully adventurous Cowboy Week that you gave to us.  We love you.