The Lusty Month of May…..

From the musical Camelot—and our love story!

Fifteen years ago in May we went on our first date….eleven days later were engaged!

And we lived happily ever after….

Nuestra Casa gets a facelift

Nuestra Casa, our home in Mesa, is in the middle of a vast desert.  In fact, the entire Phoenix metropolitan area was once a desert filled with scrub brush, creosote, tumbleweeds, rattlesnakes and scorpions.  Man has tamed the desert, but the desert is winning and having the last laugh, due to a decades-long drought.

For this reason, all of the Southwest, including Arizona, has needed to cut back on its water use. In fact, Arizona is using less water than it did 60 years ago, despite a massive population increase.

One way that Leisure World has decreased our water usage is to water only golf fairways, not the grass surrounding the fairways. This has affected us, since back of our home Nuestra Casa is a vast expanse of the golf course.  Hence, the grass behind our home has been slowly dying the last few years.

Eight years ago when we moved here we planted gardens….and now our beautiful cacti and blossoming gardens totally surround our home.  It has become a virtual Garden of Eden.  

This  Garden of Eden is now surrounded by dead grass!

But since we live in such a special community, the Leisure World amazing landscapers had a solution.  They installed four water bubblers on the edge of our property….

They spent a few weeks watering the area of dead grass, to let the nearby grass roots rejuvenate….

Then these hardworking men cut out the area of damaged grass, and yesterday they installed sod!

Doesn’t it look beautiful!

It’s simply wonderful to live in such a friendly, well-run community. We love it….and now we once again live in a Garden of Eden!

Our last wonderful day with our dear grandchildren…..Ida, Alden, and Wilder

Model airplanes and bicycles, cactus starts, pond walk, flying our flag, feeding the fish, swimming, frosting gingerbread cookies, and so much more….all in one day!

First thing Wilder said to me on our last morning together was to hurry outside….he had found that my favorite cactus flower had a blossom!

Alden and Wilder completed collecting all the cacti starts that they are taking home….to grow in the Pacific Northwest rainforest.  All the starts that I collected for Wilder last year have thrived under his tender loving care!

Even before Grandpa got up, Wilder was working on his very complex and intricate model airplane, the Memphis Belle, and Alden was busy constructing his model bicycle.  (Alden had already completed putting together his airplane earlier in the week.)

Our pond walk….

Ida tucked the flower that Grandpa had picked for her into her braid.

They discovered a large turtle in one of the ponds….only it’s head is sticking out of the water.

Alden replaced our old frayed flag with a new one for us.  He wanted to keep the old flag.  We are happy that it will have a good home.

Feeding the fish….

Our grandchildren have turned into “fish” this past week!

Alden and Wilder had helped us find the perfect birthday gifts for them….a tool set for Alden and a WWII backpack for Wilder. 

Ida and I had fun looking for a possible birthday gift for her 17th birthday….we want to get her something special, since she is such a special granddaughter!

Ida made their lunches for the trip home tomorrow, and I made eight breakfast sandwiches, since we will be leaving very early for the airport.

Alden and Wilder packed up their cacti starts.  It will be fun to watch airport security when they look at this box on the X-ray machine. Hopefully the TSA Officers won’t reach inside the box, or they’ll get a handful of prickles!

Christmas in April….frosting gingerbread cookies together!

…and eating chocolate chips!

Ida made Grandma and Grandpa….in matching outfits!

These are amazingly beautiful and artistic gingerbread cookies!

Our grandchildren brought loving handmade cards and their family’s gifts to us for Christmas, Grandpa’s birthday, and Valentine’s Day.  Such thoughtful and useful presents too!

I have come to depends on the balms that Rachelle and her family make at their Fireweed Farm Store.  They keep my skin moist and soft….and my Danny says I look more beautiful each year.  I don’t know if that is due to the nourishing qualities of the balms or his deep love for me….or both.

As you can see, one of our gifts was the Nutcracker video.  So for our grand finale to this most wonderful week with our grandchildren, we watched Ida dance in her dance studios production of the Nutcracker. 

She is a joy to watch….so graceful and beautiful.  It seems as if  she feels the music in her soul as she floats across the stage.

We aren’t going the let these children go home tomorrow unless they promise to come back VERY soon to visit us again.  We’re glad that it hurts us both so much to see them go….because the reason we are so sad is because they’re fun and we love them so very much!

Blasting off my next year with a surprise birthday party!!!

Everyone but me was in cahoots in planning and putting on a marvelous surprise birthday party for me.  I guess it all started when I mentioned last winter that none of our children or grandchildren would be around to celebrate my birthday with me this year.

Mila and Owen decided that they would organize a surprise party for me.  Since it was to be a surprise, they couldn’t celebrate my birthday ON my birthday or after my birthday.  So they decided on BEFORE my birthday....they knew I would never expect a surprise party then.

They decided to celebrate my June birthday in April.  So they planned this surprise party to be when we brought Ida, Alden, and Wilder up to the cabin this week to visit them and see their new cousin Gideon.

And this wasn’t just a surprise birthday party…..IT WAS A BIRTHDAY BASH!!!

There was confetti raining down upon me and singing as I entered the cabin….

Noise makers….

“Sombreros” and a #1 Mom badge for me….

Balloons….

And more balloons everywhere….

A Happy Birthday banner and hugs….

Loving and beautifully made birthday cards from everyone, big and little….

Cousinly love….

My favorite candy—chocolate covered cherries….homemade by Hannah!

Love and good cheer from my love, my husband….

Cuddles from our sweet smelling, precious, littlest grand baby….

A delicious birthday breakfast made by Ida, Owen, and Mila….

My Happy Birthday lemon and berry cheesecake made by our dear daughter, Mila….

And birthday cupcakes for the children frosted by Hannah….

Thoughtful, loving presents….

From our grandchildren….

Needlepoint crafted by Hannah and a glass “shark’s tooth” treasure that she found…

.

A family bible for my Danny and me….

Baby cuddles….

A box from Owen filled with gratitude for me, his Mother—with notes and photos of memorable times from his and also Mila’s past, including things that he wished he had said and shared with me….

Truly, a box filled with treasures that I will read often, and keep all these thoughts and messages in my heart forever….

Mama and baby cuddles….

Loving goodbyes….

This was a birthday that I will remember forever.  Thank you to all of you who surprised me with this fabulous family birthday party.  You may have surprised me with my party, but you DID NOT surprise me with all of your love that surrounds me and my Danny every moment of every day.  

We are truly blessed by this love that we share with all our children, grandchildren, and family.