Road Trip! (Phoenix-03-13-16)

In early March we packed up the trailer for a short (one month) road trip. After two days of running back and forth, moving things back into the trailer, we deemed it “packed” and ready to go.  I won’t tell you how long the list of things we “forgot to bring” is. Oh boy..

Our first stop was Phoenix, where we both had appointments at the Mayo Clinic for our annual physicals. We were Very impressed, and glad we made the switch!  I had booked several days at a park in Scottsdale, since I didn’t know how long we would need to be there.  With all our lab results in within hours, we were free to leave the following day!



We spent our few free hours exploring a museum we’d never been to before- the Musical Instrument Museum. The museum had about 7 rooms of displays with instruments and music from all over the world. 







This one contained music from different parts of Canada and the U.S.  Each display had typical instruments from the area, and a video showcasing the music of the region.  Everyone was given a set of headphones and as you approached a TV screen, the audio would automatically play.

Other rooms showcased different styles of music, such as Zydeco, country, and Marching Band.

One particular room displayed music and memorabilia from specific musicians.  Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Elvis and John Lennon were among the stars.  This is the piano that  Lennon used to compose “Imagine”.

Taylor Swift, as one of the most successful musicians in the world, warranted a “double wide” display.

The final room was the Experience Room, where you could try out musical instruments of all kinds.  I liked the banjo and the harp and Paul liked the drums.

Being done a day earlier than we expected gave us an extra day to play.  With temperatures predicted to be unseasonably cool, we elected to beeline straight for Picacho Peak, one of our favorite places to hike.

This  6-7 mile hike is challenging in a fun way, with lots of cables to use when the trail gets really steep, but it’s not a fun hike to do on a hot day.



























This is our 5th or 6th time hiking this trail.  You can hike it in a loop, starting from one of two trail heads (we have done it both ways) or you can hike up and down from the same trail head.  That’s how we did it this time, because if you hike the loop, you have to walk two miles down a road to get back to your car (unless you brought bikes).














This is what we call a “twofer” hike.  The hike itself is fun, and the destination also makes it worth the work.

After a short stay at Picacho, we made our way to Tucson.

Paul Porter's Birthday Bash (02-20-16)

Yep, my husband likes to party, and decided that his 60th birthday was a great time to test the party worthiness of the new house. 

Not knowing anyone in Havasu meant that all of our guests were coming in from out of town, and staying numerous days- more partying for us!

We opened the festivities with a birthday celebration for our friend Marilyn, whose birthday is a few days before Paul's.

Paul's brother and his family were on their way from southern California, and his fraternity brothers kept us updated on their estimated arrival time via Facebook posts.

In the meantime, I got the brilliant idea of hosting a PPPP- otherwise known as a Pre-Party Prep Party.

I invited all my girl friends on Friday morning, and we cut veggies, sliced cheese, made dips, and baked brownies.

Each person set up a work station for themselves..

Not me though, I didn't do any of the work- I organized and assigned tasks...

Lucky for me I have friends who think this is fun!

Feeling left out because they weren't invited to the Hen Party (their words, not  mine!) the husbands insisted on helping Paul with the last minute yard work.

By the time the rest of the guests arrived, we were all ready to party!

The early part of the day was spent relaxing- Paul and our family from California enjoyed the spa.

We spent some time enjoying our daughter, who drove in from L.A. for the weekend:

So much laughter with family and friends!

Everyone pitched in and helped out so much....

That I had a blast too!

The afternoon included a very competitive game of water volleyball (Thanks for the games, Tom and Sue!):

it ended only when those of us playing in the shallow end traded to the deep end and realized how hard it was to play while treading water!

Although we hired a caterer for a portion of the food, Paul chose to do most of the cooking himself- (with help from friends of course) His contributions included fresh tortilla chips...

 Enchiladas, and Chile Rellenos.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to him, Jess and Mike were preparing some Silver Patron for a toast.

Our favorite toast!  Arriba!  Abajo!  Al Centro!  Al Dentro! (down the hatch!)

Once dessert was served, we cleared the back patio for dancing.

I had prepared a 2 hour playlist, so all I had to do was hit play, and get on the dance floor!

We were so glad everyone enjoyed the dancing- even our littlest guest, 3 year old William, 

and Julie, who is sporting a brand new knee, so although she did some of her dancing on the dance floor, she also did some from her chair!

Some of our guests left on Sunday to head home, and some stayed until Monday, allowing us to squeeze in just a little more partying! 

Thank you to all our friends and family who made this weekend one of the best we've ever had!

Finished House Pictures (02-19-2016)

Well, it's hard to believe, but we've been in Havasu for over a year now, and the punch list for the  house is completely finished.  We sure have come a long way.....

The garage has gone from one massive empty cavern...

 To a garage that barely holds our 5th wheel!

It was hard for us to imagine, as the house was being built, exactly what it would look like once it was finished and our personal items "moved in".  Overall, I think we made good choices and everything seems to work well together!

The kitchen is very functional, and with the cooktop on the island, it makes a great place to hang out with friends while concocting dinner:

The Master Suite opens out onto the back patio, near the spa.

It's bigger than we thought it would be, and has plenty of room for a sitting area.

The master bath seems huge:

...and the walk in shower is one of our favorite features of the house!!

The main guest room has already gotten a lot of use:

and having an office that doubles as a second guest room has come in very handy as well:

and finally, the guest bath:

The yard has gone through a ton of changes, and has been a lot of work, but we couldn't ask for a  more usable space.  

The pool is finished, heated, and ready to use.  

 The finished product is a pretty accurate representation of my dream!

Just last week, Paul, with some help from friends,  finished building the permanent fence. There are now 16' gates on either side of the house. Paul made the gates himself, welding together fence pieces and posts.  He has also started (but not finished yet) the wall surrounding the pool equipment.

The temporary fence is now gone and has been replaced with the permanent one, changing the entire look of the yard.

Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done- the fire pit will sit outside the fence so the fencing won't interfere with sunset watching, and we haven't really started any major landscaping, but we've made great progress, so far!