MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ARIZONA!

Happy holidays everyone! We don't have any snow yet, but you never know! Actually, we turned on the heater last week when it reached 67 degrees in the house and use it in the mornings and evenings. As you can see, we got the house all decked out in ornaments, and lights on the house and the palm trees we're standing by. Now we are just waiting for Santa to get here.

Last week we took a trip to Yuma and then over the border to Mexico to see what kind of prescription drugs we could get. I wanted some Clairinex for itching and ointment to send Raymond. It was amazing, every other building was a pharmacy or dentist or doctor. And they would all stand outside asking if you need dental work or medicines. Then we spent the night at the Marine Corp air station in Yuma. They have an inn there and right across the street was their shopping mall and down the street was the NCO club. So we had a fun time and then went back home the next day.

So, that's all for now. We hope anyone who reads this will have a wonderful Christmas and that 2010 is a year full of happiness and good things. We miss Alaska, especially our family there and hope someday we'll get back up to visit. Bye for now, Love, Vicki and Ed

Brittany's and Buddy's Wedding, Oct.23rd

Top left-Erin, Hannah, Jessie, All stepsisters' Toni's kids. Chris, Mom Ponce, Dad. Brittany, Buddy, and Ponce's brother and family.
Bottom left- Toni's Aunt Fran, Toni, Jackie, My Dad, Ken and Grandma Mary D., Toni's Grandma.
Raymond's Birthday was today-he's 29. When he turns 30 next year and 55 for me. I think that will be a getting old mark. Yuk! Well, I went to my step-niece's wedding. It was all the way over in Mesa, so I went to my Dad's and road over with them. It was a very nice wedding with a beach theme, because that's where they really wanted to get married. The amazing thing to me was all the women dressed in black. I thought I would be the only one. I borrowed this dress from my mom so I didn't have a lot of choices. Jackie, my step mom, Toni, my stepsister, and her two daughters plus some others all wore black. The reverse is true for funerals now; no one wears black-go figure. We all had a nice time and all the stress from the last months was over in about an hour. Brittany and Buddy are wonderful young people and perseverance and luck it will last a lifetime. Bye for now, Vicki

Beautiful Utah

Here we are at Bryce National Park-again! I think I could go there over and over and not be bored with its beauty. As you guessed, though, it was a bit chilly that morning. At our campground it was in the low 20's at night and our last night it was 12 degrees (burrrr...)
We did have a relaxing time on our trip, with lots of campfires and good food. Ed and I do all the cooking for our friends that own the Panguitch KOA while we are there. They are wonderful people and let us keep our 5th wheel trailer at their campground all summer for free. That way we could go there every month for a little getaway.
Our truck is finally getting broke in with 56,000 miles and our gas mileage is between 19 & 20 mpg, but still sucks with pulling our 40ft. trailer-oh well! My car broke down the other day to the tune of $600. We were driving it and it started to die. We limped home where it wouldn't start again. So called the tow truck and took it to a Subaru dealer here. The battery had a bad cell and when they took it out it started oozing everywhere. The alternator wasn't working right and over charged it. So we got those 2 things, plus the belts were horrible and my windshield washer motor died, also new wiper blades. The nice lady in charge took the cost of the wiper motor ($98) off our bill. If that's a way to get us to come back in, it worked. They even washed my car.
I've been keeping busy working 4 to 5 days a week and doing yard work and some fun fixer-upper things. We sit out on the patio almost every night and are really enjoying the cooling temperatures. Well, that's enough rambling for now. Take care everyone, Love, Vicki & Ed

A Little Bit of Nostalgia

This was taken when I was 19 years old by my first husband. I can't believe I ever looked that young! I scanned this and am going to print it and frame it for my son's birthday. This has always been his favorite picture of me.

On another note, we're going to Panguitch, Utah next week for 7 days and do some more sight-seeing that we've missed, and then bring down our 5th wheel for the winter so we can use it here. Hopefully, I'll have some interesting pictures to post. Well, bye for now and I hope everyone is doing well and are enjoying their lives. Love, Vicki & Ed

Touring Hoover Dam by Motorcycle

This is what the new Hoover Dam Bridge is looking like right now. We took a day trip there to see the progress. Not only are they doing the bridge, they are also adding 10 miles of new road (2 lane each way divided) and a couple of miles on the other side. The roads have numerous smaller bridges because this is not a flat surface. We had a good time and sweated off a few pounds since it's still hot down here. It is cooling off a little though. It's about 100 daytime and low 70's at night, which is really nice. And that's it for now, Vicki and Ed P.S. Make sure to enlarge the picture by clicking on it-it's very impressive!

For All You "Guy" Guys

We went to Cabelas' Sporting goods store last week. This has to be one of the most impressive stores I've ever seen. Not only did they have every conceivable hunting, camping and fishing item ever made, there was areas filled with animals in their natural settings. In one alcove there was amazingly big elk, mule deer and mountain lions chasing them. Most of them were caught in Arizona and some were atypical along with typical and there were a few record ones. Another area had a little Africa setting with a lion, elephant (giant) rhinoceros and a couple of others. Then as you can see they had a huge mountain with all kinds of animals on it. Also a walk through aquarium and other birds, fish and more animals spread throughout the store. A country store was upstairs along with home items, all with the outdoor theme. And even furniture! Ed said we could have easily spent $10,000 there. They have so much neat stuff. There was a new pick-up inside with one of those truck tents on the back with camping gear spread out around it. All around the outside of the store was all kinds of boats and there were awesome tents assembled and stuck on the outside walls. I could go on forever, but you get the idea. All's I got to say that if you're ever in Phoenix and love the outdoors, go to Cabelas'. Bye for now, Vicki & Ed

SEAN HANNITY'S FREEDOM CONCERT

This last week was an eventful one. On Sunday night my Mom and Jack (step dad) took Ed and I to see the Freedom Concert that benefits fallen soldiers' children by raising money for their college tuitions. The tickets were all sold out when my Mom checked into getting them, so she entered a drawing for free tickets and actually won! It was only for 2 tickets, so Mom asked if she could have 2 more for us and they said yes.

It was a great experience. We like Hannity, and he and Oliver North both spoke of American freedoms and the other things that have been going on in our government. And there was some great entertainment too. First was Lee Greenwood, who sang several songs topping it off with his famous one "God Bless the USA". Everyone stood for the whole song, singing and waving flags. I had a hard time singing because I was so choked up with emotion. (that probably was a good thing!) Then Rich Little came on and did some great impersonations. He did John Wayne, Jack Nickolson, Ronald Reagan and Johnny Carson being Carmak. After that a singer I had never heard of came on. His name is Michael W. Smith. He is a christian contemporary singer. And has 22 albums released. He was awesome. He also sang several songs and came out for an encore. Then actor Jon Voight came out. He's one of the few actors who's not a liberal and not afraid to say so. He gave a very inspiring speech. Next was Charlie Daniels and his band. They played like there was no tomorrow. When he did "Devil went down to Georgia" Sean Hannity did the singing and it was alot of fun. Then Oliver North came on and talked about the Freedom Alliance and what it does for military families. He brought out some college kids that parents had died or been badly wounded and they told about their college grades and opportunities. At the end was Billy Ray Cyrus who also did several songs too. The last one was "Achy Breaky Heart" and Hannity sang with him. All in all it was a very patriotic night-one that reminded us not to take our freedoms lightly.

Then the next morning my Mom and Jack picked me up at 3:45 am and we went to Cliff Castle Casino. It was and hour and half drive north of here. Ed gave me some gambling money and I had a really good time. Jack and I ate breakfast and did some bowling . My mom's favorite keno machine was gone, so she played a different one, but was not happy. I took home $50 and was excited about that. When I got home I found out our air conditioner was broke. Not good, it was over 100 degrees. Thank God we extended our home owner warranty another year. They came out this morning and it was a coolant leak. We only pay $49 for a service fee, so that took care of my winnings! Oh well, All's well that ends well! And that's it. We miss all of you out there, bye for now, Vicki and Ed

OUR NEW BEST FRIEND IS GONE

We had Bentley for a year and a half. He was Ed's mom's dog and she couldn't care for him, so we did. We had walks every morning and night (until it got too hot), we discovered he had an obsession for squeaky toys (he never had one before) and he liked to lay on your feet or as close as he could to you. He never begged or barked and he always made sure he had one of us in his sights. In our minds he was the best dog ever.

Last month he developed pneumonia and we discovered he had an enlarged heart. Being sick accelerated it and his heart was pushing on his trachea so he was always coughing and had a very hard time breathing. His heart also made liquids in his abdominal cavity and he felt full, so he never ate and went from 13 pounds to 10 in just a few weeks. We had to make the decision to put him to sleep. I don't think we ever had a more difficult one. So he's in doggie heaven now, and there's a big hole in our hearts. We miss him a lot. Ed and Vicki

The Yard From Hell-2 pictures worth 2000 words!

Back in Panguitch

First, let me clarify that by saying we
are only visiting our 5th wheel in Utah. We'd like to be there this summer because right now it's creeping up to close to 110 degrees! We didn't want our RV to melt down here in SunCity West, so now we are trying to get up there once a month for some cool weather and a good night sleep under covers. We're heading up there again on July 12th for 4 days and we can't wait! that's it for now-Bye

VACATION TIME!

For 10 days our family visited us from Alaska. My son, Raymond and his girlfriend, Amanda also spent time in California and they went to a Dodger game and also Magic Mountain amusement park. We got to have my grandson, little Raymond with us the whole time. We all had so much fun and even the weather cooperated and wasn't to hot. Of course, we went to the zoo, where little Ray spent most of the time in the petting zoo. He had to hug every baby goat and deer and tried to feed them but got swarmed and just threw the food before he got attacked.

We all got to take the little guy to miniature golf and let him push the gas in our golf cart. And we spent alot of time in our new pool playing and just goofing off. The great-grand parents were ecstatic to spend so much time with him. Great-gramma Richey had him while we played golf twice and went out. She had new toys and playdoh for him. I was so happy for my parents because they got a chance to really enjoy him. Raymond, Amanda and little Ray also all went to
a DiamondBacks baseball game. They had a great time and we saw them on TV a whole bunch. Of course I didn't think of recording it!
There also was a get-together at my dads. (more great-grandparents) and everyone saw little Ray for the first time. He was very good and we were so proud of him. We took in a movie too. The new Star Trek movie. It was awesome! As soon as it's a DVD we're going to get it. I think that's all of it. Their last night here we went out for a few drinks and played some pool. Well, I guess that about covers it. It was wonderful for everybody and I can't wait till we get more visitors. Bye for now, Love, Vicki & Ed

We're ready for summer!

Hi everyone! As you can tell from this picture that we got a pool. Actually, little Raymond and big Raymond and Amanda (his girlfriend) are coming for a visit tommorrow, so we got the pool for the little guy to play in. We are all really excited, especially both sets of great-grandparents. It should be lots of fun. I'll make sure to let you know how it went.

Also, you guys can probably tell that Ed and I are still very healthy! Darn it!

Last week we took 4 days to take our 5th wheel travel trailer to Panguitch, Utah where we spent the last 2 summers. We are going to keep it there for the summer so the heat won't ruin it. And we hope to get up there a few times to get out of the hot weather and visit our friends . Well, got to go, I've still some cleaning up to do. Enjoy that wonderful Alaskan weather family and friends up there. Talk to you all soon, Love, Vicki & Ed

"Mary's" Tree

My Dad and his wife, Jackie were kind enough to donate a naval orange tree in Mary's name for our yard. Hopefully we will get many oranges from it in the years to come. Thanks for the sentiment you two. Love, Vicki and Ed

WHAT'S UP NOW

I know it's been awhile since I've been here, but alot has been going on. First of all, this is the new me! I still don't know if this is the job for me, but it gives me something to do and it's extra spending money to buy stuff for my favorite grandson. How do you like that clock? It was my Aunt Dot's (who passed away recently) and she gave it to me. It is from the late 1700's and has a gong that takes along time to get used to. And I mean ALONG time! The pictures I put around it are of my great and great-great relatives.

Ed's mom also passed away on March 11th. She had been failing badly and went fast, which was a blessing for her. So we have been getting all her stuff organized. Luckily it isn't much. Now officially Bently is our dog. It's like having a kid all the time. Thank God my Mom and Jack don't mind watching him now and then.

The good part is we have most of our freedom back. It seems weird sometimes and alot quieter now. Mary was very hard of hearing and always had the TV cranked up and the oxygen machine going too. .

I think that's all for now. Happy Easter Everyone! I'll try to be better. Bye, Vicki and Ed

GO CARDINALS!

I never thought I would be able to wear my Cardinals jersey without hearing derogatory comments. But guess what-me and about a million other Arizonans are all digging our jerseys out of the closet and are wearing them with pride. They finally look like the team that we thought they could be. I have to say that during the game with Philadelphia I didn't think we would win until the last play was over. I was so excited and Ed and I both had tears in our eyes when the final whistle blew. Phoenix is so jacked up. Even at work. people are wearing jerseys and cars have those goofy Cardinal flags sticking up. Win or lose, I'm very proud of the way they never gave up. So, all I can say is GO CARDINALS!