Going Back

Time is flying by and we only have six days left of school !!!! I know our summer will go by fast and I want to try to be caught up with blogging, so a few pictures of what has been happening..............

Rachel was back to the orthodontist. Things are going

well and her treatment is moving along.

We had all the carpets cleaned !!!

Waffle House breakfast with Rachel.

Friday afternoon lunches with Rebecca.

I finally got Rachel in to the salon to get her hair trimmed.

We celebrated my Mom's birthday.

Rachel went running with me.

Rebecca and her friends stayed after school and had a "baking day"

with a teacher. She had these cute aprons and hats for them.

Lola and I at the vet. She had a seizure and had to go see the

doctor. We are going to watch her and see what happens.

Lola is getting old and frail :(.

End of the season soccer party for Rebecca.

She had the same coaches as in the fall and the team was the

same group of girls.

Rebecca and I planted a few vegetables in the garden.

I think that about catches me up. The last week of school is upon

us and it is a busy week.

Field Day

Last week, Rebecca had field day. It is always a fun day and the kids

love it. We met a park close to the school for lunch and then the

games began.

It was a perfect day and the kids had fun.

I helped out and ended up at the corn hole station.

I liked seeing the different grade levels and how they were so

different when it came to games. The younger kids were way more into

the games than older kids.

They ended with a water balloon fight.

A fun afternoon for Rebecca and so grateful for her school.

Mother's Day Weekend 2017

We had a busy weekend, filled with soccer, tennis and celebrating Mom :).

Saturday morning both of the girls had sporting events and at the same time, so

we divided and conquered. Raphael took Rebecca to soccer. It was her last game

of the season.

Meanwhile, Rachel and I were in DeKalb for a tennis match. She has been

playing on an ALTA team the past couple of months and Saturday was

the final game.  Rachel didn't make the final cut to play, but we went

to cheer on the team.

The tennis complex was huge! So many courts and lots of matches

going on. Our team did pretty well and we ended up with 2nd place.

Great group of girls!

Sunday we went to church and then home for lunch.  Church did a an amazing job of

celebrating all the moms. My parents came over for lunch and we just took

it easy for the day.

Raphael, the girls and my parents gave my so many great gifts.

All the ladies.

And a picture from the late 70s.

It was a good weekend. Thankful I was able to celebrate

with my Mom and thankful for my girls.

Sedona and Other Stuff

Our last two days in Arizona we spent some time hiking and then we drove to Sedona to see what it is all about.

First, we decided to hike Camel Back Mountain. It was just minutes from our hotel.

We made it to the top! The mountain is 2664 feet tall and it was a climb! There are two trails you can choose and we took the "easy" one.  There were some really narrow and tricky parts. I was relieved to make it and the view was amazing.  Coming back down was hard! It took a lot of concentration.

                              Segauro cactus! They grow really tall and the birds make houses in them.

Later in the day we went to a workshop where they make these wind chimes and bells. The area was started by a man Paolo Soleri.  It was interesting to look at and he was a head of the times when he started.

Friday morning we were up at 3:45 to get ready to go on a hot air balloon ride. Neither of us had ever done that and I thought it would be fun to do.

     The van came and picked us up. We drove to other hotels to get more people and on the way,
the owners called and said the flight was cancelled.  It was too windy. It was a bummer.

This was the sunrise we saw as we got back to our room. Should have been watching it from the balloon. So we went back to sleep for awhile and then got ready to go to Sedona.

We drove to a little town of Jerome first and walked around. It is very artsy and crafty. Lots of little shops for gifts and places to eat. The town used to be a mining town and they built it into the side of the mountain, so it winds back and forth.

The Grand Hotel! It was not very grand. We walked up to look at it. The hotel is the very top of the town. In the olden days with the mining business, it was the hospital. We did eat lunch in Jerome and then onto Sedona.

                      We took some time to go see The Church of the Holy Cross.

We didn't do any major hiking in Sedona. We drove around and looked at all the rock formations and landscapes. We did walk for awhile and then it was time to go back and pack up to go home.

It was a fun trip! So different without the girls. Raphael and I had a nice time together and I was thankful we were able to visit with old friends and have some time in a new place.  Arizona was beautiful and I know we will go back again some day.

Arizona

Last week Raphael and I flew to Scottsdale Arizona. We left Atlanta like this

and arrived to Arizona like this .......................

Raphael had a work conference in Scottsdale and we have friends that

moved there a few years ago. We decided to make it into a little vacation.

We landed and got ready for dinner with a vendor that Raphael works with.

The time change from ATL to Scottsdale is 3 hours and it made for a long,

but fun day.

We stayed in the Plaza Resort. It was pretty and very nice.

We had a little duplex kind of room for the week.

While Raphael was at work, I suntanned, read a book, went running,

shopping, met a friend for lunch and a spa treatment and toured around town.

Old Town.

Lots of tourist shops, art galleries, sculptures and places to eat.

I had lunch at the Sugar Bowl. It is the cutest place. Lots of pink and really good ice cream.

An area they call the "waterfront". It was a big canal filled with brown water. But the area around it was filled with shops and restaurants. I just stopped by for a minute to take a look,

I went to Target . I love how all the stores have the Southwestern look,

I was able to spend some time with my friend Ashley. She and her family used to live in GA,

and we were all good friends. We were so sad when they moved a few years ago. It was fun

to meet up and spend time together. And we didn't take a single picture together !

Fruit trees in her backyard!!

We ate at this amazing restaurant,  Sumo Maya. It is Asian Latin food and so good.

The guacamole was incredible! Raphael and I ate there too.

Raphael was finished with his conference on Wednesday, so we took the next two days

to look around Arizona.