Road Trip

One cannot be married to a Flocken without hearing about family picnics. Marie would pack up a lunch (which included coffee in a thermos) and off they'd go in search of a good picnic spot. Yesterday, two of the Flocken Children got together with families and went in search of a picnic.

Our original intent, was to stop by Sandie and Jim's and then head off to the Grand Canyon. Our original intent  was also to leave at 6:00 - not 8:00. The Grand Canyon will be here for a while longer I guess.Sandy and Jim live in Camp Verde which is very close to Sedonna AZ. 

Sedonna is one of the most beautiful places on earth. God was in an especially good mood the day he created Sedonna. The orange earth, covered with the greens of trees or plants is more beautiful than what I have words to describe.

 My photo does not do a good job capturing the beauty of Cathedral Rock in Sedonna (bad settings). This was our picnic spot yesterday. The weather is about 20 degrees cooler than down in the Phoenix Valley and the streams delighted the kids. We had a great time and a wonderful picnic.. (we forgot to pack the bread for Sandwiches, but the Macaroni Salad Sandy made for the Fourth and Cheese and Roast Beef were all delicious. While I took pictures of our crew, eating lunch, I remembered the old photos I've seen of picnics past and I'm pretty sure, Herman, Marie & Anita joined us yesterday.

Here are some photos of this wonderful day.

 

 

Before I go, I'd like to mention some changes in road trips since my kids were young.

"He's on MY SIDE of the seat!!!" has been replaced with " It's MY turn to pick the movie!"

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July 4th!

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th! We had a great barbecue. Our fireworks were courtesy of Mother Nature; Quite a storm with Lightning Flashing almost constant.  We had a great day.

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Pool Fun

With MUCH encouragement from her sister and cousin, Izzy is jumping into the pool. I worried she'd jump ON to her little coaches, until I downloaded the photos.  She came pretty close to smacking herself on the side of the pool!.  

Izzy loves all things Disney, including the little mermaid... ESPECIALLY the Little Mermaid. I was amazed at how she was swimming head down and how fast she was doing it at only 2 1/2. Lyndsey smiled and told me she practices in the bathtub. I'm pretty sure she was talking about Izzy keeping her head down.

Paul has big plans today for either the Grand Canyon or a water park in Sedonna. I'm pretty sure with a big BBQ planned for tomorrow, and no shopping done, we may be doing that on Saturday.

Have a good day everyone, and thanks for taking the time to read my blog today.

The Best of Plans

We started the day with the best of plans. Going to the AZ Science Center. One of the exhibits I was sure the kids (including Lyndsey and I) would LOVE is the Humans and Animals Grossology exhibit. We presented it to the kids in such a way they HAD to love it. They did.

After nearly two hours we made it out the door with a few stops to make before heading off to the city. I had to stop and pick up my monthly (almost all of them) prescriptions, we need to pick up an inexpensive stroller in case Izzy got tired and we planned to stop in next door to Toys R Us and see Pappys at work.

By the time we reached the corner, we'd decided to cut those plans in half.. Just get my meds and we'd be off. Within another mile, the kids asked at least 5 times how long the "Museum" would last and they could come home and swim.. Plans changed again and we decided to run a few of the errands I had, and get an early start in the morning. When we stopped in to see Paul, after picking up my meds, he said he had the day off tomorrow and wanted to do something FUN.. like the Grand Canyon..

 So, maybe Lyndsey and I will go to the children's exhibit sometime on our own.

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Home Sweet Home Again

Conner; you are so so so cute! 

Last night, my last night in Southern CA, I Babysat Conner and Madi for Rob and Carla. Living in AZ, I don't get this opportunity often and I could almost "pretend" I lived close and this was no big deal.. I also found myself over there with NO camera... I ended up using my cell phone. It was a magical night. Conner, usually not one to want a lot of time with Gran, was my little buddy. I took Makayla with me and Madi and Makayla and Conner all spent some time in the pool. Rob and Carla's backyard seems especially designed for Children. A beautiful pool occupies the right side of the yard, with "Conner's own little pool" (the spa). A magical Weeping Willow, that offers comforting shade  in summer's heat, covers the left side of the yard. A thick carpet of grass covers this side as well.  Children's toys dot the yard beyond a large patio, perfect for large family gatherings.

Sitting with my feet in the water, listening to Conner's laughter and Madi and Makayla playing was, a step into Madi's magical land where, she might be taken away by Sharks or Pirates. "Let's pretend" starts most of Madi's sentences when playing. It was GREAT.

I brought Lyndsey, Makayla , Izabella & Sophie home with me today and I'm looking forward to a week with four little girls running or laying around. Shrieks of laughter, dotted with cries of outrage reach me back here in my office. As long as my door will close occasionally this  week, I'll be fine.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog today.