Rob & Julies 50th Anniversary

The Rec.1 Ballroom was the "place to be" last night. Friends and family gathered to celebrate Rob and Julie's 50th wedding anniversary.

Atti's dance moves were controversial at times

Christmas supper

It was a full house for Christmas supper at Sandi and Tito's house this year. 

Tito did an excellent job carving the turkey.

Yvonne, Sandi and Tina took care of everything else.

The boys got along...

The adults were somewhat civil...

Home made desserts were enjoyed...

Friendships were forged...

And everyone had a great time.

It's unanimous, the best day ever!

Remote controlled helicopters

Remote controlled race cars

Pickleball and Pooltime

Night before Christmas

Letters to Santa, high hopes, worried about that naughty list.

complete with milk and one cookie

Busy week with the kids

Our activities with the kids continue to dominate our time here in Leisure World.

Saturday afternoon was spent watching the Duttons at a nearby theatre. Not a peep out of them for the whole show. They loved it.

Duttons Julio

Duttons Music

Monday afternoon at the pool.

Thank God for Seves magical metal gloves. We haven't had any problems with monsters and wild animals since he started wearing them.

Seve adopted this puppy when its owner walked by our place.

Get some sleep little guy, tomorrows going to be a big day.

We wrapped presents...

and decorated the golf cart for the annual Christmas Parade.

Yvonne, Milton, Atti and Seve take part in the Christmas Parade along with at least 50 other participants.

Damien, Tina, Mya and Evan took part in the parade too.

Hot dogs for everybody and then Santa made his appearance.

Santa gave Mya a present,

and then Evan got one too,

and then Milton

and Atti

and last but not least, Seve

OOPS, why won't my golf cart fit into the garage???

Christmas visit

We're going to have our hands full this Christmas.

Gramma:  Hey Seve, look at the airplane.

Seve:        That's not an airplane, that's a bird.

Gramma:  But there's lights on it.

Seve:        Some birds have lights.

Gramma:   Really!

Seve:         Well, that one has.

For the time being, Milton is keeping busy reading

 Atti is sketching something secretive. You'll see it later he says.

and between arguments, Seve is just having fun.

Aquaman (Milton) loves to dive to the bottom of the pool to retrieve stuff. Funny how things end up in the deep end and need retrieving.

Yard birds

These two birds are becoming permanent fixtures at our house in Leisure World.

This Hummingbird has been sitting on the same branch of our Mesquite Tree for three consecutive winters. It gets very agitated and will charge at other birds when they fly nearby.  Every now and then it will flash it's brilliant ruby-red throat feathers.

and this Northern Mockingbird constantly pecks away in our yard and it always returns to the same spot on our garage roof.

Crazy Rabbits

Rabbits were scarce when we arrived a month ago. Now they're everywhere!

These three were up to no good.

Viv & Herman visit

Viv and Herman drove down from their Alberta home to visit us. While in Arizona they also hooked up with Viv's son in Tucson. He was in Tucson qualifying to fly a Learjet for the BC company he flies for. 

No visit to Mesa is complete without a stop at the Mesa Market and Swap Meet

Goldfield. The name says it all for this Western Ghost Town less than 30 minutes from our house in Mesa

If you can't pay for your supper in Goldfield they keep your boots and nail them to the ceiling.

Every hour there is a shootout on main street.

Pickleball Progress

I checked out the new courts today and they look pretty good. Workers have painted the white lines and some posts are in for the nets. The grand opening is tomorrow and it looks like the club organizers have kept their word to have it finished and playable by November 15th.

New Pickleball Courts

At last! 

Leisure World Contractors have finished the new tennis courts and are finally starting work on converting two old tennis courts into Pickleball courts.

They've managed to squeeze in eight new Pickleball courts into the space that only two tennis courts previously occupied. This photo shows the first coats of acrylic paint being applied. The net will be centered in the red zone, the dark blue area is the actual playing court and yet to be painted are the aprons surrounding each court. White lines will further define the courts and playing areas. The fences keep the ball inside the court and the old folks from wandering in (or out) during a game.

Here are a couple Youtube links to watch.  The first explains the basic Pickleball rules, the second shows a men's game in progress and the third, a women's game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAL_Au2S9Kk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kPvYrBEre0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3_jy3G_kY0

Amy visits

We are back in Leisure World and everything is just like we left it. The skies are still blue and the weather is still perfect.

New Yorker Amy flew in yesterday for some R&R and to resume her daily pool ritual.

Another spectacular sunset.

On the road again....

We left the lake early this year. We wanted to spend a few days in BC visiting with Joel and his family.  

 South of Revelstoke BC we took the Galena Ferry to cross the Upper Arrow Lake. The mountains look surreal at this time of the year.

Fall colours everywhere.

Milton and Atti are in school now and they love it.

After school Gramma took the boys to the playground

Seve will not be outdone by his older brothers.

After 5 days of helping out with the new house construction and various other activities it was time to head south towards Arizona.  In Utah we arrived at our hotel room early. The Zion National Park was only a 15 minute drive away so we spent what was left of the day hiking up to the Zion Canyon overlook.

Lucky for us the Zion Park had just reopened after the recent US Govt Shutdown. 

Lead the way Yvonne! We're only 500 feet above the Virgin River down below.

The late afternoon sun provided some dramatic lighting.

This guy watched us as he ate his supper. 

Our side trip to the Zion National Park was well worth it. The 12 mile scenic drive took us through a mile-long tunnel and numerous stops at viewpoints, one being the Zion Canyon Overlook. There was a narrated tour available but we didn't have the time. Maybe next year.