The Grrrrrrand Resort!

Dan works for a really great company. Every year Frito lay hosts a big party for the drivers at the Arizona Grand Resort. We get to stay overnight with the whole family and enjoy a fancy banquet at the Rustlers Roost. They hand out the yearly awards and safety bonuses as well. Dan was in the top 4 for unloading the most cases. Most people don't know how physical Dan's job is. Picture those really long semi trucks. He might unload 3 or 4 of those in one day! So far he has booked 85,000 miles with Frito Lay in Arizona, they didn't count his hours in Canada! The resort has a big waterpark complete with waterslides and tube rides down the lazy river. The weather was A plus as usual. This is our second year coming here. Here are some pictures.




This amazing water structure was just huge, the picture does no justice.



This isn't as fun as it looks ...... really.............. :) Palm trees, 85 degrees, tubing down a nice peaceful river...


We know, we know we are geeks beyond measure. Every time we go on vacation we break out the all the hawaiian gear. I don't know why we do that, we love holidays and wearing hula shirts just makes us feel fantastic. The great thing is Phoenix is similar to Hawaii in some ways and thats why we love it!! You can laugh, we won't care!



Dan's birthday was also last weekend. He wanted me to make grasshopper pie and enchiladas just like his mom makes. So I did. Lucky guy I spent the entire day cooking! He is worth it, Dan is a extraordinary husband and father, he is constantly making sacrifices for us and we are so grateful to him. The grasshopper pie was so good we decided to make 2 more!

Easter Pageant

I wanted to write my thoughts about the easter pageant this year. We unfortunately didn't bring our camera because I heard that you were not allowed to take pictures. This year our whole family went. We arrived on the temple lawn at 6pm, thinking it started at 7. So we couldn't believe all the seats available. We got a row right up close at the end of the first section. Then they announced the program starts at 8. Oh well, thats okay. Because when we first sat down of course there is a bit of choas with 5- 10 thousand people milling around bringing picnics in and finding seats. But it was strange how I felt the spirit so strong in those first few minutes. The speakers were playing beautiful music and "My soul hungered" was playing at that particular time. Everyone was smiling and laughing, people were eating and socializing and there was a general beautiful peaceful feeling. I had to hide my face for a minute to try and control the tears. It was amazing. The two hours went by quickly, we had brought a cooler full of food so that kept the kids happy, and Dan. We were able to talk to some of the cast that walked by in their beautiful extraordinary costumes. Then one of the cast members came by carrying a lamb. He let the kids pet it for a while. That was really nice. We talked to some of the ushers and went for walks. It finally started and I still find it shocking how quiet 10 thousand plus people can suddenly be. You could not hear even one kid. They all sat on their parents laps with their eyes wide. The program summarizes Jesus Christ's life, death and ressurection. The most spectacular scenes for me are when he is crucified and the lightning and thunder roar all around you. Then the scene where he is ressurected and the disciple runs as fast as he can to to the tomb to see if its true. Then of course at the end when Jesus is lifted on the pedestal so it looks like he is an angel coming right out of the heavens. Now there is no other feeling that compares when you watch that. I noticed a little bit throughout the program that the picketers were watching too. Maybe they started to realize how useless their signs were. Anyway, how blessed we are to live in one of 2 places that put on this spectacular event every single year. It was a wonderful opportunity for us to help our kids strengthen their testimony of Jesus Christ. They will tell you how much they loved it. I have attended every year that we've lived in Arizona. We will go as a family every year. Its an amazing experience every time!/

www.easterpageant.org

Flowers and Spring

I really love spring. In Arizona it means the hot weather is starting. Not burning hot like July, but hot. What a profound difference a couple of months has done to my flower garden. Every day I look out at my backyard and can't believe my eyes. My flowers have done some serious multiplicity. Anyway, I included the before and after picture. The first picture Maysa is playing with Grandpa on the lawn. But take notice of how poor and pitiful the petunias and snaps look compared to the next picture.

Our little slice of heaven...

For spring break we went to emerald cove. It is a little rv resort along the colorado river next to Earp California. It is a 3 hour drive, which is quite nice. It is always hot and sunny and beautiful there. There is a mile of sandy beach, usually we are the only ones on it. The kids spent most time in the pool because the river was still a bit too cold at the time of the year.
One thing that is kind of funny, Dan took the kids up to Mt. Lemmon two days before to go sledding, there was tons of snow! Snow... beach... spring break what else!



Dan convinced the kids to give him a mud foot massage. I did not volunteer for that. :)



Dan says this boat will have to do for this year.... Next year we'll get that dream boat with tubes and skis and fun stuff..... hmmmm I am just as happy to be a beach bum sitting on the shore reading my books while the kids play in the sand.



The kids really love coming here, we love staying in an rv, it is such a luxurious and comfortable way to camp. Actually I'm not sure you can even call it camping. This is a membership only resort but we are allowed to bring friends or family whenever we want. And you'll get 3 nights free in a rental RV trailer so long as you listen to their sales presentation. Let us know if you want to come with us sometime, we would love it!!