Sunday, June 27

Catchin' Up!

Wow, I haven't been in blogosphere for awhile so it's catch-up time.  In the last eleven days, Leanna, Jared and grand-kiddos left for Turkey, Otto and I are grandparents to a new boxer pup, we had out of state visitors (Jamie and DeWayne), celebrated Father's Day and it's officially 'hot season' otherwise known as summer in Phoenix with temps well into the 100's!

After finally skyping the kids last week and seeing them in Turkey, visiting with Jamie and DeWayne as well as catching a few of Dylan's baseball games and celebrating Father's Day, Otto and I headed out of the heat  to enjoy a weekend of camping and fishing in Northern Arizona.




We left Phoenix, and 108 degree temps Friday afternoon and snatched the last campsite at Pine Grove just South of Lake Mary and across the FSR from Ashurst - two favored fishing spots up north! 



Ken and Bea were able to join us and once we set up camp, the boys were off to fish and the girls, well, we read and slept!  It was Polo's first camping trip and as you can see from the pics, he did just fine!


The weather was perfect, we couldn't have ordered up a more beautiful weekend - 80's during the day and 40's at night, we were even able to have a small campfire as long as we had a bucket of water handy and the fire was small.  Wish I could say the same for the fish, they were rather uncooperative and didn't want to leave their comfy homestead and take a trip to our frying pans!  Well, bad fishing aside, it was a great weekend!


Ken caught a chair, Otto caught a fish, but it got away and I got taken hook, line and sinker, literally lost 'em several times!  We played poker, golf, holey board, the name game and Yahtzee, we fished, we walked, investigated a marsh and even had time for a nap.


As I was spouting off what a bad day it was after losing my hook for the 'umpteenth' time, Otto quietly said "beats any day in the office"!  Yep, you got that right - I stopped muttering about my luck at fishing, put my feet up, threw my line in the water and just enjoyed the day!


This morning we slept in, had a quick breakfast and headed out for an hour to see if we could snag a fish two, then came back to camp and packed up.  A wonderful weekend getaway, although only a few days, is good for the soul and we all returned renewed and refreshed from the great outdoors!

Wednesday, June 16

Vegas Baby

 The Birthday Cake!

Spent last weekend with family and friends celebrating two very special buds!  Kayla and Michael Simms - they've been buds since birth, attended the same pre-school and K-8th - bound by friendship and love.... okay, enough of that on to the adventure!  Robin and Gina planned a great afternoon pool and lunch party followed by some serious beer pong!  The kids (and adults) had such a fun time, visiting by the pool, then celebrating the two with lunch and cake and then of course, some gambling, a few bars and such and more visiting took place.

 The Birthday Buds

It was great to spend the weekend with family and friends in celebration of two really great kids, well, not kids anymore --- got a chance to celebrate Stephen Simms and Scot's birthdays too.  Leanna flew in to say farewell for now as she and her family get ready to head to Turkey on Sunday, and to what adventures await them there!

Well, here are some pics of the weekend.  Enjoy y'all!
 The Simms Group and Olivito Clan





The Crazy 21 Year Olds  







 Gina, Michael And Larry 
The Boys (And Jamie) at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar!  
Mom And Cheryl
 Scot, Dad And Sharon




Robin Talking About Kayla


Joe Talking About KK and Michael



Monday, June 14

.....Coming Soon!

Spent a wonderful weekend in Vegas with family and great friends celebrating Kayla and Micheal's birthdays!
Stay tuned, pictures will be posted soon -----

Tuesday, June 8

Trust in Christ Jesus

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don't forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4: 6-7

This scripture popped up in my InBox today, and the words 'His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus"  I am always searching for peace and rest, peace with my decisions and actions and rest for my life.  But, I am usually so busy planning, doing and searching that I fail to be quiet and at rest!


When we are at rest God speaks to us, He often tells us His desire for our hearts during this time.  I often fail to stop and pray, be thankful and hear His answer to my prayer which keeps me from knowing peace.  In my constant struggle for a consisten 'quiet time' in the mornings, I have started this mantra as I wake each morning.  'God first' - this prevents me from turning on the radio, TV, picking up my cell phone or even getting dressed until I pick up my bible or devotional, or just sit in quiet and pray!  This has helped me tremendously these past few weeks and has confirmed that I need to put God first in my life and my life will be more peaceful and I make more decisions based on His wants and desires for my heart than my own.

I hope that each of you are taking time to listen to God by not worrying, but by praying and waiting for Him to tell you what He desires of you!


The Peaceful Colorado River