Weekend of Fishing ...

May 18, 2017

Camper was loaded and we were off to Premier Lake ...

for the holiday weekend ...

to go camping and fishing ...

We arrived at the park and first of all we launched the boat ...

then made our way to the campsite ...

set off the boat trailer and then set up the camper and campsite ...

Once that was done ... we walked down to the lake to go out fishing ...

until the rest of the gang showed up ...

We spent the evening helping the other 3 families set up camp ...

 

May 19, 2017

We were up bright and early ... a beautiful day ...

the grilled fired up ... coffee brewing ... it was perfect ...

Mike was in charge of frying up the bacon and cooking the eggs ... 

while I set the table and made the toast ...

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast ...

John ... who was camped across from us ...

was the only one up and he decided to join us for a cup of coffee ... 

while waiting for the others to rise ...

The breakfast dishes cleaned up ... and a few other tasks completed ...

before we headed out on the lake ... to fish for a few hours ...

Returning to the campsite for a lunch-break ...

The fish were cleaned and ready for this evenings meal ...

We did go for anther cruise around the lake ... and fishing ...

It was a beautiful warm afternoon ...

After dinner ... 

all of us gathered around the campfire ...

spending a wonderful evening together ...

 

 

Happy Easter ...

April 15, 2017

Easter preparations with colouring eggs ...

and getting the names sewed ...

on the coveralls for the grandchildren ...

 

April 16, 2017

Happy Easter to everyone ...!!!

The Easter Bunny arrived this morning ... with a few chocolate eggs for me to find ...

Oma baked an Easter Bread for today ...

It's a beautiful arrangement for Easter ...

 

Last Day in Mesa ...

March 9, 2017

Our last day in Mesa was going to be ...

a day of packing and relaxing ...

We attended the line dancing class ... and hanging out at the pool ...

in the afternoon ... then met the guys for happy hour ...

There was a band playing at centre court ...

Mike and I danced a few dances ... 

and when the band began to play a Polka ...

Mike asked Oma to dance ... they had a great time ...

All our friends joined in throughout the happy hour ...

We were having so much fun ... that the band played for an extra hour ...

We decided that we were going to have an easy dinner ...

Oma was springing for pizza ... 

All of us went to go pick up a few things at the grocery store ...

and of course ... the Pizza ... !!! 

 We returned to the trailer ... and enjoyed our delicious dinner ...

 

After dinner we walked over to Bob & Carols' trailer ...

to spend our last evening together with our family and friends ...

We had such a wonderful time ...

You never know we may all get together again next year ...!!!

 

 

 

 

 

   

Oh My ... How Grand ...

March 8, 2017 

We were up early this morning ...

excited for this journey to the Grand Canyon ...

It took us just over an hour to reach our destination ... 

It was going to be a once in a lifetime adventure ...

One that Oma could strike off her bucket list ...

A map showing the area ...

We decided to take the bus tour ... taking us to all the stops ... 

What a magnificent view ... on our first stop of the Inner Canyon ...

We were able to see the snow on the mountain top ...

in the distance ...

Loved seeing this bluebird at one of the stops ...

It was difficult to watch some of the tourists ... taking chances just to get a picture ...

Two people losts theirs lives the week we were there  ... so sad ...

Oma taking in the view ... a perfect photo opportunity as well ...

at Hopi Point ...

Everywhere you looked ... the view was breathtaking ...

There was always someone to take a family picture of us ... 

and in turn we would take pictures of families as well ...

A beautiful keepsake of our time together ...

When we first arrived at the park ... there was snow on the ground ... apparently it had been cold and windy here ... We were fortunate to see the sunshine ...  blue sky ... and by noon time ... it was already quite warm ... We were waiting for the bus ...  to take us to the next point of interest ...

 

Fun in the Sun ...

March 4, 2017

It was another beautiful morning...

Mike ... Dave and Blair ... decided to go for a swim ...

while us ladies were getting ready to head out for the afternoon ...

and evening ...

Blair and Dave have been vacationing for a few months ...

hence the nice colouring of their skin ...

It would take Mike a lot longer to get tanned ...

with his skin tone ...

All of us left in the early afternoon ...

traveling to Queen Creek ... to the Horesshoe Park & Equestrian Centre ...

for the barrel and pole races ...

It was a great place ... lots to see ... and a very exciting time ...

Even though it was getting hot out in the sun ... we stayed until the races were over ...

It was time to gather together ... to head out to our next destination ... for dinner ...

We ended up just down the road ... at the San Tan Flat Steakhouse ...

What an amazing place ...!!!

It was a rustic setting ... all outdoors ... and the place was full ...

First order of business was getting our tables ... then walking over to the San Tan Flat restaurant to order the sociable drinks ... While a few of the guys were busy with the drinks ... the rest of us looked over the menu ... This restaurant is famous for it's "Flat Iron Steaks " ... A few of us at a time went to order our dinners ... inside the building ... we were given a buzzer to let us know when to pick up our meal ...

The aroma of the food was overwhelming and mouth watering ... 

Oma decided to have a Rueben sandwich and a Fat Tire beer ... Most of the gang ordered the steaks ... and my were they delicious ... We had a great time visiting ... listening to live music and even got a couple dances in ... 

It was getting late with more and more people arriving ... so we decided to head back to the resort ... 

The sunsets are so beautiful ...  

 

   

Vacation Begins ...

March 2 & 3, 2017 

Today was the day we were heading south to the sunshine ...

Leaving the Cranbrook airport for Calgary ...

then flying to our destination in Phoenix ...

to spend the week with Linda (Mike's sister) & Dave ...

along with some of our friends from Sarnia, Ontario ...

Linda and Dave picked us up from the airport ...

then drove to Towerpoint RV Resort in Mesa ... 

It was a long day and it felt good to sit back and relax ...

We then needed to get our sleeping arrangements done ... 

The trailer was a little tight ...

for 3 extra people sleeping in the front room ...

Oma and I would share the bed and Mike had an inflatable bed ...

Mike figured it would be too crowded ...

and too warm for him to sleep inside ...

He had scouted out the storage shed outside ...

and decided to make this ...

his accommodation for the duration of our holiday ...

He was quite comfortable in his room ... ha ha ...

He had shelving for all his items ... and all the tools ...

just in case he needed them ...

The next morning ... after a good nights rest ...

we decided to join our friends at the resort complex ...

for a couple hours of Line Dancing exercise ...

Oma joined in as well ... for a few of the dancing ...

 then sitting out when the moves became a little more difficult ...

After our workout ... we walked to Joan's residence...

for a lovely luncheon and cool fruity slushes ...

We had a great time ... 

_______________________

Oh yes ... Mike slept well also ... although he woke up on the floor ...

in a flattened air bed ...

Apparently the brand new mattress had a hole in it ... 

Mike and Dave went to exchange the damaged mattress ...

and got things back into the shed ...

The guys came and joined us at the complex ...

and we all had our loungers reserved by the poolside ... 

Enjoying our time visiting with everyone ...

 

After dinner ... the gang from Sarnia came over ...

for an evening of reminiscing about our schooldays ...

and telling stories ... oh my we laughed so hard at some of the memories ...

Of course after a few sociables ... Mike thought he better get his CPAP ... (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)

set up for the night ...

A few of our friends were interested in how this device works ...

Sooooo ... naturally Mike would put on a demonstration ...

It was hilarious ... even though the gang was asking questions ...

they couldn't stop laughing ... as Mike was talking with the mask on 

...

Now our friends know how it works ...

We had a lovely evening with all our friends ...

and they loved having Oma there ...

 

 

 

 

 

   

Our Last Day Together ...

December 28, 2016

It was a beautiful morning ... the sun was shining ... and it warmed up a bit ...

This was our last day for the family to be together ...

Craig ... James and Ella were going to visit their other grandparents ...

and Rob and Cindy were flying back to Vancouver Island this evening ....

Sooooo... some play time was in order ...

Cindy wanted to try out the snowshoes ... we hiked around the field ...

while Nathan was pulling the kids on the tube with the snowmobile ...

 

 

The kids were having so much fun ...

it didn't matter that they were getting bombarded with snow ...

All you could hear was their screams and laughter ...

 

Ella opted to go for rides on the GT ...

with grandpa pulling her with the quad ...

Finally once Nathan stopped ... and the boys got all the snow cleared out of their gear ...

They gathered together to get a family picture ...

More pictures of all of us together ... enjoying this beautiful day ... playing in the snow ...

Nathan was all packed and ready to head out ...

and another group picture was taken ...

Rob and Cindy were busy for the rest of the afternoon ...

getting packed up to leave this evening ...

 

We decided to go into town for dinner ... picking up Oma ...

to join us for her last visit with Rob and Cindy ...

before driving to the airport ...

One last group picture was taken for this year ...

We had a great time with our dear friends ...

 

 

Christmas Morning ...

December 25, 2016

Early Christmas morning ... coffee was brewing in the kitchen ...

 while the grandchildren were waiting up in their bedroom ... 

for the sign that they could run down and see what Santa had brought them ...

They couldn't wait to check out their stockings ...

the adults (still a little sleepy) ...  were seated on the couch ... 

and excited to watch them ...  as they checked out every item that they found ...

They were also delighted to recieve Nerf guns from a special Santa ...

the war would start after all the gifts were opened ...

and I know that grandpa and daddy will be taking turns ... at taking shots ...

After the stockings were emptied ... all their little gifts were put into a box ... 

to keep everything separated ...

Nathan was the elected Santa ... wearing the official Santa hat ...

to hand out the gifts from under the tree ...

 

 

The first gifts to be opened were from Daigen ... Nixon ... Uncle Ian and Aunt Kendall ...

Craig received a model of a 55 Ford F100 Street Rod ... James received a Heli Ball which hovered above his hand ... and a small wireless speaker ...

Ella received a few Shopkins sets ... 

The grandchildren continued to open gifts and were so excited and thankful ... 

with each and everyone of them ...

Cards and money from Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave ...

as well as Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rob ...

 

 

Ella loved her new pink bathrobe and her own fuzzy blanket ... and hot pink bean bag chair ...

Craig received a Model kit with paint ... brushes ... glue for him to build his models ... and his most precious was his Remote  Control Car ...

James was  over the moon excited to receive his Drone and the Xbox NHL 2017 game ...

 

 

Daddy received lots of hugs and kisses ... 

it was wonderful to see how thankful they were for all their gifts ...

We had given Nathan a mirror for the house ...

 

Even though Mike was not feeling well ...

he would not miss watching the children open their gifts on Christmas morning ...

Mike did open his gifts ...

receiving a new quilted flannel jacket for working ...

Mike was not quite sure on what the gift I had gotten him was ...

he sure had a puzzled look ...

He received a Lund BedXtender for his truck ... 

to keep items from sliding to the from of the box or to extend the length of the box ...

when the tailgate is down ...

Santa also brought him a  new weather station for the house ...

It was a beautiful morning with our family and friends ...

 opening all of our gifts ... and sharing special moments ...