Trixie's Travels...

Ice Skating

It was a moment to capture -

my family doing an activity together other than bowling.  Being in the festive mood that we are, we decided to go ice skating.  The potential of "mature" ankles going out was a definite concern but we were willing to give it a shot.  

We met up with my brother, my sister-in-law and his daughter at a man-made rink in town.  

The brother and sis-in-law are newly married, a little over a year, but the way that they act with each other you would think that they are "old" married.  My brother is always messing with her; she is a saint with great patience.  

But look at how cute they are...

they were going around the rink holding hands - if Hot Rocks and I were to try that, it wouldn't be pretty.  One of us would be tugging on the other going in the wrong direction or something of that nature.  

 

Aunt Kat holds herself so lady like when she skates...

her hands and fingers even have that polished look as she floats along the ice. Then her ankles were about to cave in so she came over and took pictures for me while I whirled around the rink a couple of times with Mem.

My niece, Bug, is with my two older ones here and she is pretty stinkin' cute.

When all four of the cousins are together they have a good time and are always messing around.

 

My brother, Hurricane, is a force to be reckoned with.  You never know what he is going to do.  For years at Christmas, he would give all of us some sort of gag gift toy.  You never knew what you would end up with but then he married a very sensible woman and that all stopped.  (Thank goodness!)

He keeps the nieces and nephews guessing as to what he is up to...

I wonder if Sis was thinking she would be shot across the rink at this point. The look on her face is one of uncertainty. "Should I trust him?  Should I keep holding his hand?  What is he planning?"

She found it much safer to stick with Mem.

 

We do not have an ice rink readily available where we live so it is a fun thing to do when it is here.  We all came away with our ankles in tact, no big bruises, cuts or abrasions so I think it is safe to say that we had a good time and look forward to it again next year!

 

 P.S.  For you local yocals, on Wednesday's your skate rental is FREE!  So you save $5.00 off of the total price....just a little FYI.

Christmas Traditions

In my Shakespeare class today, the kids and I were talking about Christmas traditions - those things that you do year in and year out; some are quirky little things, some reach out to others while some hold a special meaning to them.

This particular tradition holds special meaning for the girls and I, each year we go to San Francisco and see the SF Ballet perform The Nutcracker.  It started off as something that their Auntie did as a Christmas present for Sis, my mother-in-law and grandmother (in-law).  I was very pregnant at the time and could not have sat comfortably for the performance without being a complete distraction to those around me.  I did take Sis the following year and we have gone ever since, that was 6 years ago.  

Mem wasn't allowed to go until last year, I needed to know that she would sit still AND quietly for the performance before I let her near the War Memorial building.

There is even tradition within the tradition.  We have gone to the same restaurant every year before the performance too!

I try to get tickets to the family performances.  The sponsor that year has cookies and a beverage for everyone at the intermission.  There are little gifts that are given at the door to a designated amount of children.  The coolest thing for the girls is that they can have a photo op with some of the dancers..

This year we were there early enough to take pictures with both sets of dancers.  You have to be quick though, they do not let you lolly-gag - it is a one shot shop so make it a good one! 

 

 

I LOVE doing these things with my girls.  I didn't do this type of stuff with my parents.  These are times that I pray that my girls will look back at and have fond memories of, good laughs and know how beautiful they have made my life.

 

Yep, they are beautiful and I think I will keep 'em and hopefully we will be able to keep this tradition going for many years to come!

 

 

Wildlife Zoo, AZ

My sister has lived in Arizona for about 10 years now and we have gone to the Wildlife Zoo about three times over the decade.  When you first walk into the Zoo there is a gift shop that has these "sweet" looking American Alligators swimming around.  This particular one had been swimming around with his grub for quite some time.  

 

You could view them from the inside of the exhibit as demonstrated by Sis.

 

 

We found out that they are fed frozen mice - still creepy if you ask me.

 

 

Isn't this tiger beautiful?  I love the way he just lays there with his legs crossed basking in the sun.

 

 

This vulture was a riot.  I have to, at this time, mention that the sight of Hot Rocks made the animals do very STRANGE things this day.  As soon as the vulture saw my husband, it hopped down off the perch and 

 

and started to dance around in circles in front of him.

It's wingspan was incredible and it would bring in it's wings and then extend 

 

them out while going around in circles.  It made about 4 rotations in front of him before it flew back onto the perch that it was at beforehand.  

 

Don't they inspire you to go snuggle up to that special someone?

His eyes were so hypnotizing.  The shaded lines on the picture is the fence that I couldn't get out of the picture.  Hot Rocks and Pook were standing at the fence when all of a sudden the lion charged the fence.  The girls and I had just turned to walk to the next exhibit when it happened, but it sure startled the boys! 

The rhino was no exception to the weird things that were going on either.  We were standing at the fence watching it walk around and as soon Hot Rocks walked up to the fence, it started to look straight at him, flinging his head up and down.  I had no idea the animal magnetism that my husband held.

 

 This is him getting a good chuckle out of the whole thing.

 Isn't this the sweetest face EVER???  I didn't get to close because I didn't want to get spit on....

it obviously wasn't in the mood to spit though, rather, he wanted to gnaw on something....

The giraffes are a favorite.  Mem was able to spend quite a bit of time petting them and  

feeding them.  The tongues on these creatures are not only long but soooo SLIMY!!! 

Beware of this next picture!!!  It is not for the faint of heart and you might want to put your hand over your kids eyes if you don't want to have to explain this right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have to give a little background on "WHY" this picture was taken.  My youngest daughter, Mem,  calls this "romancing".  The animals are romancing, thank you, Viva Pinata! for Nintendo DS  and they have romanced ALL THREE TIMES that we have gone to this Zoo.  Obviously, the Zoo is not having a problem with these very prolific tortoises.

 

This was one of the creepiest things we saw.  It reminded us of Medusa but in reality the snakes were just cuddled together.  Their bodies were under the water lilies. 

In the petting zoo, there are about a dozen tortoises that were all sitting under a heating lamp in their little barn when I had walked up

I found the designs on their shells beautiful but noticed that

when it was time to eat, they all came a "runnin' ".  They could devour a half of head of letuce in about 2-3 bites - veracious appetites.

All the kids were feeding the animals in the petting zoo and if the goats or deer weren't getting enough food 

they started to nibble on your shirt or pants!  The edges of all of their shirts were wet when they finally made their way out. 

The flamingos had moved since the last time we were there.  They are in a much bigger exhibit area. 

Mem wants one of these lovely peacocks, but they are so noisy!!! Beautiful but noisy - I think I will keep admiring them from afar. 

 Hmmm....I wonder where we will be next?

 

 

Tonto Natural Bridge, AZ

On our travels in the gorgeous state of Arizona, Karrie had been told of this amazing natural bridge.  When we left in the morning we had heard that there would be potential showers, there were showers alright and it was COLD! Here we are in our little sweatshirts, short sleeved shirts and the wind is blowing through our clothing.  So much for those nice temps in Phoenix - they don't exist in Payson during the late fall, early winter!

Looking down from the side of the bridge, this is a little of what we saw below.

 

It was so HARD to decide on what pictures to post, the colors were breath-taking and you could take pictures of all kinds of leaves but I am sure that others would find it boring.  I thought it was fun just to scope out different views of where the leaves had landed.

I made them climb onto a rock that was in the middle of the little pond to take this photo shot.  They were so accommodating all day, Little Cheesers!

Underneath the bridge, were all these incredible cave like forms.  We even saw a few bats hanging around, literally!

The observation deck down below allowed you to look straight up at the very small creek that ran off the bridge...

 thus creating all this other beautiful colorful plant-life below.  These were growing from the rocks that the water was hitting.

So many shades of green existed on the 4 huge rocks below the creek....

 mosses, little waterfalls,

 and my super fun family!  My sister took AMAZING pictures here

 and this little whipper snapper was still acting like she was gonna rope the first thing that crossed her path!

 This leaf was had grown upright on the branch and was waving to us as we wandered nearby.

 Pook is all about exploring and finding little nooks to crawl up to, into to or around to.

 So many leaves, so many potential pictures....

Karrie was taking a picture from straight on when I snapped a few of these.  I am glad that they didn't pay any attention to me.

It was a gorgeous place but we had more gorgeous places on the list!

 

Fossil Creek, AZ

Fall is my utmost favorite season EVER!  The air gets a little crisp and oh, the fall colors just warm my heart.  The thought of a fire in our wood-burning stove, homemade soup and being bundled up in all sorts of sweaters is a little bit of heaven on earth for me.

The weather was rainy and cold as we trucked down 8 miles of dirt, I mean mud, road in my sisters vehicle.  Our shoes were caked in red mud but the colors, oh the colors, were so worth it.  

The water was like glass even though it was raining.  

The leaves of the trees that edged the creek spoke in the wind that whisked through the valley.

 

 

Strength of the water was only seen when it hit the rocks.

 

Ropes hung from the trees that leaned over the creek.  We assumed that those were left overs from the summer fun.

 

 

The season seems to leave so quickly, but I think it is that way because I can anxiously await it again the next year and I have never been disappointed when it arrives.

Rollin' into Rawhide Wild West Town and Steakhouse

We were back in the saddle again with my sister, the fabulous Stamp Girl of AZ and off to Rawhide.  Hot Rocks had skipped out on us to go back home for the weekend, to serve the great U.S. of A.  

Searching out new things to do in Arizona, which seems to be our home away from home, we ran across this place.  We are always up for a little country cook-out!

Arrival brought us up to what looked like a huge fort and inside it contained all the works for an dusty ole' wild west town, complete with gun fights,

jails, and a sheriff.  They were swearing in my girls for extra help that day.

They were whisked away into the setting sun by a stage coach

and found themselves panning for a little gold.

The highlight for Mem was the burro ride.

She ended up riding all three...

and after finishing up her ride on the last one, she informed me that she would like a burro for her birthday. I thought to myself, "Sure, I'll just run right out and get you one." but I didn't say it out loud so that she can still keep dreaming about it.

She loved just watching the burros when it wasn't her turn.

We finished up with the activities in the town and hopped onto the mule-driven hay ride to the cook-out area.  Can I just tell you that having a place to have a cook-out is like my dream and that pot gets stirred every time I go to something like this...I just wanted to share that.  Maybe....one day!

Anywho, we arrived at the cook-out area and we were all handed a cowboy hat and bandana.  We were much obliged and put them on even, though the cowboy hats were a tad small for the adults.

O.K. maybe a tad small for the older kids too.

I mean look at her - look at that totally AHH-Mazing woman.  Life wouldn't be half as full without her!

 

Our dinner was wonderful and marshmallows were already waiting for us on a stick ... ready to be roasted up.

My kids are master marshmallow roasters.  They would bring them back to my sister and I perfectly bronzed and crispy on the outside.  Yum - makes me drool just thinkin' about them!

The picture doesn't help either.

The evening ended with a little two-step and everyone jumped in.

Sis was all over it like a fly on cow poop!  She loves kickin' her heels up.

All in all, we had a great time and we came home with our own customized brands that were made for us by a third generation blacksmith, Devin.  He was a right-nice gentleman and very good at his trade.

Now, it is time to rest my boots until our next adventure.

 

Happy Trails!

 

 

A Visit to Knott's Berry Farm

I hadn't been to Knott's Berry Farm since I was a young child...so a minimum of three decades.  All I can remember is a ride with bears, well since that time, it has changed quite a bit.  

 

On our way down to Arizona, we decided that we would go have a little fun at Knott's Berry Farm, because of the wonderful generosity of the park.  They were honoring any retired or active military with a free pass not only for those that had or are serving, but also for a guest.  That is pretty hard to pass up!

It seems that no matter where we go there is always one of our kids that is starving ~ the kind of starving that if they don't eat something right away they will suddenly turn into dust and fly away with the wind.  It is so good to know that I have satisfied and continued the life of my daughter...

There is a roller coaster called the Pony Express and I didn't think that we would ever get Mem off of it...

She was throwing her hands up and making circular motions like she was lassoing something in the sky.  She was hooping and hollering like there was no tomorrow.

 

Pook liked hanging out with the ladies...

but that was only momentary as he and Hot Rocks had a date with the Rip Tide.

It is one of those rides that would, without a doubt, make me throw up.  I can say that with full confidence.

We watched their feet

and then their heads

turn around backwards

and upside down

 

The girls and I were safe, on the ground, enjoying the view from a far, completely ready to see if the boys were going to lose a shoe, a wallet, or maybe even throw up.

It didn't happen and I was glad.

Do you like the teacups at Disneyland?  Are you one of those people that like to go around and around and around, only to utterly squish the person next to you?  I'm not, but my girls are

and I am glad for them because I think it would be fun to be able to squish the person next to you and not throw up on them.

Can you tell that I have a stomach problem?  Roller coasters or rides that toss me to and fro ...well, we just don't agree very well.  It is much safer to just take pictures!

They like to go on the swings too.  

 What is a theme park without some type of carousel and some cute little girl to ride on it?

We were only a couple of hours away from closing time and we finally made it over to the Camp Snoopy area of the park.  

The lines were short everywhere in the park, making it a very worthwhile adventure for the day!  

 

Next stop...ARIZONA!

 

 

Farmer's Market

For the past few weeks the kids and I have been going to our local Farmer's Market.  

 

 

We have had a blast looking for and at all the produce that is available.

 

 

It is so fresh.

 

 

The flowers always bring a smile to your face and you can't seem to only pick one type!

 

 

 

 

We use this bread to make our panini sandwiches for lunch.  It is so good that we can't wait to get another loaf the next time that we are at the FM.

 

 

The tote that the kid's got me for Mother's Day is perfect for our Farmer's Market outings.  It has come home packed each time!

 

 

This has been our last stop each time ~ she is out of Pinole and her tarts are divine!  

 

 

We always stop to chat and see how she is doing that day....I think we have tried almost all of her tarts ....  you should try one too! 

 

 

Here's to the local Farmer's Market and the fun that they are to this family!

Come to Arizona and Go to These 2 Places!!!

Yes, the kid's and I LOVE these two places - there is no doubt about it.  They are a must see if you come to the Phoenix area. 

The first is Heard Museum.  It is so kid-friendly, it is silly!

The outside grounds of the museum are gorgeous ~ even if you can't make it into the museum...I highly recommend just stopping by to see some of the sculptures outside of the museum.

At this very moment, they have an Allan Houser exhibit going on through August 22, 2010.  An exhibit of his paintings, drawings, sketches and small sculptures are on display.

What makes this sooo cool is the Desert Botanical Gardens has a coinciding exhibit of has large sculptures on display in the gardens through May 31, 2010. 

There are 18 of them throughout the garden!!!  We didn't realize this when we went on the Garden Flashlight Tour!

The Sonoran desert is so amazing.  No matter how many times we come here, there is always something new that we haven't experienced. 

The setting of the sun never ceases to take my breath away.

The cacti seem to get more beautiful.

 

and no matter how many times I see these buildings on the DBG grounds, I imagine what it would be like to be able to live in one.

 

On the flashlight tours, there are stations that are set up with various exhibits that pertain to desert life.  A must for kids because they are all the creepy crawly things that live in the desert! 

A craft station is a bonus with my kids...

Did you know that the Agave plant is aka the Century plant and that after it blooms it proceeds to die.  It doesn't live for a 100 years but it can live from 7 - 55 years. 

This is one of the blooms...

Beautiful!

We only found a few of the Houser sculptures on the trail that was marked out for us...

 

I love art in the DB Garden - it is like a scavenger hunt with my kids.  They need to keep it up.  I also thought it was a brilliant idea that the Heard Museum and the Desert Botanical Garden had complementing exhibits.  For our family, it really reinforces what we have learned and you get see things in a different light.

We interrupt this life to go to Arizona at the drop of a hat........

Hello everyone. 

Nice to see you again.

We have been busy around here moving to a new place, figuring out how we are suppose to operate in the "country" life, doing construction and trying to find boxes that contain our possessions somewhere on the property. 

At least we were trying to do all of those things until Hot Rocks received orders to be in Arizona for military training a few days ago.  So here we are in Arizona, while he is in training for the week.

So what does a coffee girl do when she is thrown all outta whack?  She looks for new coffee hot spots.  Within the first hour of being here, I got on the internet and found new spots ... 11 of them were written down.  They are all over the place - Scottsdale, Tempe, Phoenix, Cave Creek and Gilbert. 

I have to downsize my cup so that I can hit more than one in an hour. 

Our first couple stops were in Scottsdale.

I tried Sola Cofee Bar. 

This place was just plain YUMMY!  They use beans roasted by Cartel (another place on my list).

I always love a good chalkboard wall.

The next place I tried was Echo Coffee.  

This place was recently opened and I have to say that it was pretty tasty too.  They roast their own beans and that is always a plus when you have a good tasting drink!  I bought a pound to see how it brews at home.

Since the kids amused me with my coffee fetish, they got to go to Auntie's and do one of their favorite things.....

Bet you can't guess what that is????? huh????

Oh yeah, for hours!!!!

My dog doesn't swim, he just looks handsome.

More to come....be back with some more coffee updates and other miscellaneous things!