11 November 2013

What are we going to do, no more golf since the weather has gotten colder? Well, we will have to come up with something to do where the weather is warmer.

And we did!  This is the month the Crofts and Russells have been waiting for. On the 8^th of November we rode together to Salt Lake City and boarded a Delta flight to Orlando, Florida. That night we stayed at the Marriott Suites. It was late but we were hungry so the group of us went to dinner at Denny’s.

9^th November early we boarded a bus chartered by Fun For Less Tours and off to the Everglades for the day before traveling to Cape Canaveral port. The trip to Wild Florida was an unexpected treat. We scooted over the Everglades in an air boat. Saw the birds, alligators, and beautiful waterways. We walked through an animal collection before we were back on the coach.

 At 4:00pm we turned off our cell phones and stepped aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship. This was the Crofts first cruise and so they invited Dorthy’s two brothers to help with the adjustments. That evening we were underway. Walking along the deck to the smooth sway of ocean travel, breathing warm air, makes one so glad not to be in Idaho in the winter. 

10 November early morning we were docked at Cozumel, Mexico. The FFL party were off to the ruins on the island. Dawn, Dennis and I were shuttled to the Sand Dollar Adventure scuba dive school. After 15 minutes of instruction we were in the water. What a mistake with Dawn…..she loved it and as soon as we got home she signed up for scuba lesson so she can dive as a certified scuba diver. That afternoon we spent shopping for boots for my wife. We found them at the same boot shop where Steph got her boots in February and sold by the same clerk. Dennis, Dawn and I ended the day with lunch at Tres Amigos.

11 November after traveling all night we docked at Belize City, Belize. From two miles out to sea all the passengers were tendered in on boats to shore. Once we set foot on the dock Anita from FFL set us up with a tour bus and away we went to Altuna Ha ruin. After a 45 minute ride and lecture of our wonderful guides we arrived and it was hot and humid. Real jungle and real green! This is what it is all about …warm weather and beautiful blue skies walking around ancient Mayan temples. David Christensen read out of Alma as he addressed us atop of a Mayan Pyramid. He was wonderful and funny.  Back in Belize City we waited for a boat back to the Dream.

12 November we arrived early morning at Roatan, Honduras. I was up early and walking around the top deck. Today was special for all of us. I was scheduled to dive with Anthony Key’s resort. Dawn and Crofts were off to a local grade school. We have photos of all the activities and memories that we will never forget. I was delighted in the two tank dive on the reefs five minutes from the dock at Anthony Keys. I will never forget the giant groupers, green turtles, parrot fish and the fast moving needle fish. The reef was one of the best I have seen. The coral and fish were so beautiful.  It was a perfect day, then back on board to get underway to Costa Maya.

13 November upon arrival at Costa Maya we prepared for an adventure by traveling to Chaccoben ruins. The bus ride was great. The roads were great and in no time we had arrived at the ruins. Our Mayan guide (female) was animated and enthusiastic in handing out information about the ruin. THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE! I was so impressed with the magnitude and beauty of the restored ruins. Everything from “The Tree of Life” to spider monkeys, it was great. Costa Maya is a new town in the middle of the jungle with 1000 inhabitants there to serve the tourists. Totally tourist! There were shops everywhere. Dawn and I found a jewelry shop “Diamonds International” with tanzanite gems reasonably priced. She picked out a pair if sapphire blue ear rings and we had to hurry to make it back to the ship before departing.

14 November was an all-day boat ride back to Cape Canaveral. However, the food, entertainment, exercise room and good company were so enjoyable, the entire trip was such a treat. We had such fun with the Crofts and their family.  Another unexpected adventure scheduled by FFL was a brief stop at Cocoa Beach, Florida. We walked along the sand and had lunch on this beautiful beach. It was a restful stop before taking a 2 hour bus ride back to Orlando.

We arrived early evening at the SLC airport where we met up with Crofts two girls who dropped off their car to shuttle us home. We made one stop in Ogden for dinner before our uneventful travel home. Thanks Crofts for taking your car to Salt Lake City. We will never forget this wonderful trip.

There was little time to prepare for Thanksgiving once we arrived home from our trip. Fortunately the weather has been good and we have been able to finish up outside before winter. I was able to get the Christmas lights up before the snow fell.

We had planned on replacing our car this fall. So we dropped in the Honda dealership and found out we could trade it in for a decent return towards a new car. In one day we drove home in a new Honda CRV. Sizing down and yet still retaining the features we desired.

We had to fill in at the temple for the Herbests who subbed for us. It takes a lot of our time but so worth it. Yesterday I met Laron Shumway and Bob Christensen, whom I had known in high school. Also, I met Yale Harker the son of Irene Harker my great aunt. I had not seen him for 50 years. Finally, I met David Fuller from Mackie, ID. He knows Isabel Rosencrance from Shelley, ID. Isabel is the one girl in high school every young man would want to date. Woody and I plan on meeting her in the near future.

Dawn and I getting ready for the summer athletic events in our life, first the three sisters (Holly, Steph and Robyn) are competing in a Boise Ironman in June. Holly will swim 1 ¼ mile, Steph will ride 60 miles and Robyn will run 13 miles. Wow, this is tough. Then Dawn and I are committed to run the Warf to Warf 10K in July with Robyn. We are running the Green Belt all winter just to keep in shape.

Finally, Thanksgiving has come and gone. We ate at Julia’s with Woody, Val, Ben, Julie and Will. We had a wonderful meal an played cards afterwards. Then had to get home early because Julia and Woody are leaving Friday for Bullhead City, AZ to spend the winter, they are leaving us behind. We will meet up with them in January.

That’s it! 

Dennis and Blaine at the Everglades

Carnival Dream

Diving Cozumel

Dawn's New Mexican Boots

Altun Ha ruins in Belize

Mayan Aristocracy

Beautiful Raotan Honduras

Roatan School Kids

Anthony Key Resort dock

Grouper, Big Grouper!

Costa Maya

Chaccoben

Costa Mayan Storm

Cocoa Beach Florida

Friends under the coconut tree!

Ben and Julie Walters cooked the turkey

What can I say! Thanks!

Dawn in her running gear next to our Christmas decorations

The new Honda CRV

10 October 2013

Fall is here and in full bloom. The leaves on all the trees have changed color. Our neighborhood is full of old growth hardwood trees, therefore coming home from the YMCA each morning is a treat. First we enjoyed the colors of green to yellow and now orange, now we are driving through piles of leaves on the streets.

We took a day and drove to Palisades Lake and on up to Alpine, Wyoming. There was a light dusting of snow on all the mountain foliage.  The Snake River running through the canyon made the landscape beautiful.

At home we are preparing for the winter months. I have put away the camp trailer and the little VW for the winter. Also, in the back yard we have planted many strawberry plants and put them away for the winter.

The month has been unusually warm and beautiful. We have had a chance to golf several times at Cedar Park, Shelley and Heise.  I sneak away and Woody and I have golfed at Sage Lake and Sand Creek. I also golfed one day at Pinecrest in Idaho Falls but it was very, very windy that day.

The flowers have hung on to the bitter end. Now that all the days are below freezing at night there are no survivors. No more having to mow the grass but there are still plenty of leaves to pick up.

We had our eyes examined this month. It has been two years since we had them last examined. Not much change but a slight increase in cataracts. We also had our teeth cleaned. That is about it for medical treatment. We continue to frequent the YMCA nearly every week day and often on Saturday. We also get a chance to ride our bikes while the weather is still permitting.

I must say Woody has been incredibly creative in remodeling his basement. He finished the upstairs bedroom with remarkable style. New bed and furniture he built himself. Now he is finishing the downstairs. I had to include the Capapella head board.

Now the trip we have all been waiting for: Santa Cruz family vacation. Julia, Dawn and I packed up the Toyota with the bikes racked behind and headed for Salt Lake City. We met with Josh and Danielle and visited with Angie Byetheway while in Layton. Then we visited Holly and Jon and kids in their new home. The first night we went to dinner at Taco Loco. It was so nice to stay with them in their new home.

The next day (15 October) we were on our way at 6:00am meeting up with Josh and his family on our way to California. Caravanning together we traded kids whenever we stopped. Our first stop was in Wendover where we had breakfast at McDonalds, then Elko, NV for a quick hike while Josh slept a bit. We found a hobo camp along the railroad tracks. Lastly, that day we stayed in Reno at the Sands Regency Casino Resort. The first time any of the kids had stayed in a hotel. We went to Circus Circus that night after dinner and played at the arcade. Wow, what fun. Josh broke the bank with his jackpot doing the “Light Jump” . They cashed in their tickets for their prizes. Daz got a stuffed tiger he calls “Stripes”. We watched the floor show from Argentina areal act and the hula act from China. Fun times.

The next morning we arrived at the Lau’s home at 10:30am. Shortly after that we drove to Santa Cruz. That was tough fighting traffic but fortunately we all made it at the same time. Wayne, Josh and I all driving separately.

The Santa Cruz house was comfortable and the weather was terrific. Dawn and I got to ride our bikes to Cal Univ Santa Cruz and also from the home we stayed at to Capitola with Robyn. It was great. The meals were great and I kids were having so much fun they collapsed at night. Then up early to start over again. On Thursday we went to Monterrey, CA and spent the day at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. We had a great day of fun and another great dinner with dancing to “The Rubber Band Man”.

Our big day came on Friday when we went to the beach to surf. Wayne had wetsuits for all. Dawn and I, Josh and the kids got into the ocean on boogie boards and surf boards attacking the waves. The dolphins were everywhere in the surf. The girls and little kids picked up sea shells along the beach. Julia walked along with them in the sand. What a day! Everybody had fun that day!

It was hard to leave but traveling back to Reno was again difficult through the congested corridor of San Jose and then Hwy 80 all the way to Reno. We stayed at the Days Inn motel, not quite so nice but had a nice meal at Carrols. The next day we caravanned home with Danielle, Josh and the kids. We left them at Wells, NV and we made it all the way back to Idaho Falls, Id at 9:00PM. Julia had to help me drive from Rupert since I have a hard time at night driving. She has had cataracts removed from both lens and does fine driving at night.

The last week of October has been extremely nice weather so we played golf at Cedar Park free of charge. It is such a delight playing there because we always get apples off the Macintosh tree on the 7^th hole.

Today it is raining and getting much colder. We are looking forward to our cruise in November back to the Western Caribbean. 

VW away for the winter.

Strawberry plants away for the winter

Camper away for the winter

Last of the fall plants

Fall color at Palasades

Snake River Canyon

Moose tracks on Cedar Park GC

Fall golfing

Dinner at Reno with the Russells

Hobo Junction in Elko, NV

Josh's jackpot jump!

Circus Circus areal act

China girl twirling hoops

Now we are at the ocean in Santa Cruz

Wayne and Kesler surfing

Dax on the boogie board

Shore birds

Kids at Butterfly park

Grandma and grand daughter Robyn

The boys

Butterflies everywhere

The beach house and the boys

A day at the aquarium

Sage in the water! 

Hanging out at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium

Surfer Dudes

Lunch is always good at the beach

Three generations!

Having too much fun!

Dawn riding up to CUSC

09 September 2013

The  beginning of the end of summer. September began as a warm and wonderful fall season and ended as a cold and wet fall month. In between the beginning and the end we had quite and enjoyable time.

The Nash kids were still here and Tara was on her way to pick them up. Gussie, Fran and Ami spent the summer with granny Julia and grandpa Woody and grandma Val. They were kept busy with the grand kids. Now that they are gone there is time to recover but now we are missing those little kids.

Dawn and I spent time at the Eastern Idaho State Fair selling tickets for an ATV sponsored by the YMCA as a fund raiser. We joined Julia and Woody for fun and food. I particularly liked the heavy pull competition of the draft horses. Wandering through the Art Barn and Antique Barn is always enjoyable.

Then the rains came! We had a few very wet days but no complaints we need moisture. The temperature was warm and no need to irrigate the grass. This gave us time to put in a strawberry bed in place of an overgrown garden spot. Also, time to pick up the last of the apples from under the tree. This year was a bumper crop and I had to pick up huge piles of apples. Now that the weather is changing I put away the hot tub and camp trailer for the winter. We are still enjoying the last of the fall flowers since we have not had a hard freeze yet. (I have insulated all the big windows with plastic anticipating the temperature dropping below freezing).

We were able to golf a few times before the fall changes to winter. While we were at Cedar Park near Ririe we picked McIntosh apples off the tree near the 8^th green. Along with the apples we got from Julia’s back yard, we have canned apple sauce, apple butter and dehydrated bags of apple slices. This was a bid apple year.

Some of the other projects we completed were: worked at the Community Soup Kitchen, caulked the downstairs shower, Woody completed remodel of his basement and finally finished his jeep (looks good!), the VW brakes finally adjusted, continue to do Indexing for family history, we now have a 4:30am shift at the Idaho Falls temple for September and October.

We are now planning a family reunion in California the middle of October.  More to come!!

 

Nash Kids at Tautphus Park Zoo

Golfing at Cedar Park

Making apple sauce

Potato harvest at Taylorview farms

Woody finishes his US Mail - Army jeep

Draft horse pull competition at the EISF

Dawn with Robot Man EISF

Cake decorating at EISF

Soup Kitchen workers

Rain in September

More apples to dehydrate

The new strawberry patch

Winter is coming so cover up!

The last of the apples under the tree

Fall flowers