Old but new boat

We were so excited this past weekend to try out our latest toy. Dan purchased a beautiful old bayliner boat from a friend for a real steal. He spent hours and hours with the help of a good friend fixing it up and getting it lake ready. I was quite nervous when we dropped it in for the first time because I thought we might re-enact the titanic- but lo the heavenly day- it floats! It didn't blow up and it didn't sink and it went fast and slow when you wanted it too. This was the first time I've ever driven a boat so Dan was making me do all sorts of things out of my comfort zone, like going in reverse and steering through narrow passages. One time I was driving kind of slow, we were cruising along and Dan suddenly decides to plummet head first in to the deep blue. He said he wanted to test if I could quickly turn around and come back for the brilliant overboarder in time before another boat comes along and squashes, Maysa had to raise the flag for that one. Probably theres laws against a 3 yr old raising the flag... hmmm, I made him drive after that, I mean after my mini heart attack. We found out the steering is out of whack and it needed more coolant and something fixed on the impeller but everything else is working fine. Hopefully it will continue to purr as we are excited for many more outings to the lake. We took it as for as you can go on either ends of the lake, we also toured it through the "Little Venice" homes no wake zone so we got a grandiose view of all the rich pro baseballers homes. We love the Parker strip on emerald cove, I know I talk it up too much. But what can I say, my kids like it better than disneyland! Our good friends from Vegas were there with us and we all had so much fun, they have a boat too so we did alot of tubing, skiing and swimming, sand castles and of course hottub and karaoke at the poolside bar. So I've got a load of pictures to dump, but won't post too too many. Just almost too many :)

We are quite proud of all the work we've done, lots of buffing and cleaning too, it was a mess when we first bought it.



Here's Dan with that satisfied grin he's been storing 10 years. What is it with men and their toys...


This was so cute, on our 10 mile journey to the dam Maysa just tuckered out from all the rocking and swaying so she lied down in the front of the boat and was out like a light.




I don't know whats better than cruising on a boat looking at all the fun lakeshore sites that cars don't get to..


The kids liked the tube but the water is still a tad chilly this time of the year. ELena got up on skis and stayed on but didn't get a picture.
Work hard, play hard, thats us, ce la vie.

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.