Holidays in Arizona

We are told it has been a little cooler than normal this past couple of weeks here in Apache Junction but then this last couple of days it has approached record high daytime temperatures in the low 80's, much different than the Christmas holiday experience back home in Idaho. We sincerely miss family and friends back home but have renewed friendships with friends from last winter here in Countryside Park. This has been an interesting past year for us as we lived for extended periods of time in Arizona, Belgium and Idaho. We never dreamed we would have these opportunities and we are starting to feel like nomads. On Christmas day we opened gifts from friends and family and made calls to all. It was a great time to renew contact with many we don't get to see very often as well as those we are closer to. We are very appreciative of all the gifts and blessings we have received. Lunch was a pot luck affair in the park with a group's table to which we were invited. It was delicious and we made new acquaintances.

Then that evening we went to Chandler to have dinner and games with Dad's cousins, Milo, Ivan, Ruby and Ruby's daughter, Alayne's family at Alayne's home. We had a fun evening.

We have continued to enjoy the pool and hot tub in the park every couple of days, usually in the evening when we are usually there alone.

Last Friday we visited the nearby flea market. As we said last year it is huge and one could browse in there for hours. We bought a personalized redwood plaque to identify ourselves that Dad hung on the front of our motor home.

During the week we visited Dad's other cousin, Norman and his wife Kathy in Mesa. We had just come from his mother, Aunt Eula's home in Chandler where their son, Kevin lives and cares for her. We brought Aunt Eula with us for the visit to give Kevin and his wife Andrea a break. Aunt Eula looks much better this winter than last year. We had a good long visit and went out to get dinner at Taco Bell before returning to home. The evening before new year's eve was our neighbor, Gayle Bramwell's birthday and we went out for Mexican to celebrate with her and her husband, Dick. After dinner we came back to the RV's for cake I bought and decorated with re-lighting candles. We had quite a bonfire and about had to call the fire department before we got them all extinguished. Dick suggested that maybe one candle for every ten years would be better next year.

On new year's eve we watched a couple of movies and listened to fireworks until nearly midnight. On Sunday we went to church (meetings at 1:00PM this year) and then went to Queen Creek to meet with the same cousins and families as Christmas day at Milo and Ivan's home for another delicious pot luck dinner and more games and fun. The following Monday morning Dad went to assist Brother Mason, a former counselor in the Goldfield Ward bishopric, to move. He said it seemed like the entire ward priesthood was there to help.

Yesterday on a shopping trip to a nearby strip mall Dad saw and unique tricycle motorcycle he liked a lot that I didn't think looked all that cool. It had wide rear tires, the back end of an 80's Chevy Corvette and a V8 engine. Dad said he bet it would really kick butt.

Last night we went to a show in the park where a performer named Kenny Miller took us back a few years with impersonations of Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers  and Marty Robins. He did better on some than others but there was a huge crowd and we enjoyed the evening with Dick and Gayle.