8.31.08: Last Minute Tuscon Trip

Vince's sister, Jackie and her husband Will invited Vince and I down to their house in Tuscon for a quick overnight getaway. We gladly took them up on it!!! We were ready for a break from the heat and knowing that Mt Lemon was only 20 mins or so from their house, we couldn't wait! For those of you that haven't been to Tuscon, it really does have a bad rap. Like any city, there are beautiful areas & not so beautiful areas. Jackie's home (vacation home) is on the north east side of the city, in the desert along Sabino Canyon, just at the base of Mt. Lemon. Yes, that's right, Mount Lemon....as in mountain. Not like a little hill or like Camelback mountain...like a real mountain....with a ski lift, forest, snow, cold, camping, views, and like 30 degrees cooler than the desert below!

So, we packed a cooler of yummy food to cook there and drove down to Tuscon that evening. About 30mins after we got there, the rain started POURING! I mean drenching rain. We LOVED it!! We cooked a feast for 20, even though there were only 4 of us! Chicken, steak, shrimp, salad, pasta, rolls, everything you could imagine. Oh and some wine, of course....for Vince and I. After gorging ourselves for a few hours, we hit the hay.

The next morning Jackie, Vince and I went to breakfast at a cute little place while Will did some little home repairs. Then we headed up the mountain. It was about 50 degrees at the top, it rained on us, we got fogged in, it was cloudy, the sun shined, we saw rainbows...couldnt ask for anything better. At the top, we tried to ride the ski lift, but they had just closed it for the day :( So we went on a hike to find wild rasberries. We only found a few, but they were delicious!!! After tons of pictures, some warm coffee, and soft homemade cookies at a local restaurant, we headed back down the mountain. All in all it was a perfect 2 days in Tuscon!! Thanks to Jackie and Will for the invite! We need to do it more often!! :)

8.23.08: Happy 6th Birthday Drake!!

On Saturday, we celebrated Drake's 6th Birthday with a yummy rib dinner, courtesy of Vince, and fun with family & friends. During the afternoon, Drake had a kids birthday w/ his school friends at a local gymnastics center. They got to pretend they were mini-Olympians. Sounded pretty fun!! That evening, Vince's family...Mom, VJ, Christina, Sarah, Justice, Jackie....and some of our friends came over for some good food and delicious drinks!! The boys decided they needed to take their shirts off for dinner...very cute..hence the reason for the tummys!!! Drake gots LOTS of presents and had a wonderful birthday!!

8.18.2008: KENNY HAS A HOUSE!!!

So, I am a little behind on this posting...

For those of you that don't know....Kenny closed escrow on his first house back at the end of June. It is in the Mountainaire area of Flagstaff. (Which as some of you remember - that was where his house that he rented a few years back was.) This house is MUCH better! Haha! I will not elaborate on that one! :)) Anyways, back to the house! Vince and I went up there to visit Kenny & Nicole on our way home from Vegas last weekend since we hadn't made it up yet.

The house is SUPER cute! It is a 2bd/2bath house. The main living area is upstairs, along with the master bedroom and bathroom. The living/dining/kitchen area is all one big room which is perfect for entertaining! Fireplace in the living room w/ hookups for a flatscreen TV on the mantle. The second bedroom & bath is downstairs. He has a "shed" that is actually really nice out in the backyard...which he hopes to someday convert to a gameroom type area. It is outfitted with a wood-burning stove, cable hook-ups, electricity, etc. Very cool extra area! Cute backyard! Cute deck/patio! He is at the end of the street so has no neighbors to one side.....except the horses that come up to the fence (very Durbin-like). Pretty, quiet area!

Also, I need to mention all the special details that went into this house that make it REALLY cool! Hardwood floors, really nice paint colors, high end light fixtures, antique looking door handles & knobs, granite counters, huge dark wood trim everywhere, lots of windows, stainless steel appliances, awesome master bath w/ a dual showerhead shower. All great upgrades that he really lucked out to find a place already with!

So, I took some pics, as usual, to share with everyone! He is lacking in the furniture department so far (as you can see in the pics), but that is normal when you first move in! CONGRATS Ken!!! I LOVE the house!!

8.09.2008: Chargers vs Cowboys

First game of the season!!!! Whooohoooo!!!

Chargers played the Cowboys & won!! Even though it is only pre-season, the boys looked good. Hoping for a great year this year!! 9 of us went & seemed like we all had a good time! It was Drake's first game too. We are converting him to a Charger fan. :) Not that it is hard....couldn't think of a better team to root for!! Haha!!! :)

07.14.2008: THANK YOU MOM & DAD!!!

Did I forget to mention that I have the most wonderful parents in the world???

THANK YOU MOM & DAD.....

for making this houseboat trip possible...AGAIN....as well as for most of the last 30 posts of activities that I have written about so far!!!!

You are loved & appreciated by many...especially us!!!

Thank you....
:)

07.14.2008: Houseboat Trip - Day 4

Day 4...time to go home. :(

When we woke up in the morning, there were 2 men climbing on the big rock in front of the boat. They were, what we thought, stealing bird eggs. But they ended up coming over to our camp and Dad went to talk to them...they were doing a documentary on bird poop...or something to that effect! Haha! I didn't catch all the details....

Scott & Dad took advantage of the glassy water and got a couple good rounds of skiing in. Kids, yup, swam. We cleaned up, sunned some more, procrastinated on the whole leaving thing.

On the ride back to the marina, we took advantage of emptying out the fridge....which also meant emptying out 2 bottles of wine that were not drank...yet! Some of us went up top, while poor Scott stayed downstairs and drove...and finished off some of the wine we had. YYYUUUUMMMMOOOO!!!! What a way to end a great weekend!!!!

We CANNOT wait for next year!! :)

07.13.2008: Houseboat Trip - Day 3

Day 3 brought more relaxing, sunning, swimming, etc.... The boys perfected their Baywatch routines....the slide got lots of use...those that didn't want to slide, just jumped off the top of the boat....more waterskiing, more SeaDoo-ing...more GORGEOUS sunsets!!!! The evening was a little more uneventful....even though when Mom & Dad took Brent, Gina & Bill back to the marina, they were told a HUGE storm was coming in. We buckled down, put everything away, got a drink and waited....and waited...and waited. We were almost looking forward to something exciting happening, but glad it really didn't. We got another great sunset, and a relaxing evening watching the kids...do what they do best....SWIM!

Never a dull moment!!!!