2022 Nov/Dec - Sorry for the radio silence-was busier than I thought visiting family!

Bullhead City, AZ – On the northwest border of Arizona and Nevada, with Laughlin, NV just across the Colorado River – This is home to my sister Cindy and her husband Joe and more recently, my sister Laurie and her husband Jim. This will my new home for the next 2 months.

The moon rise is outside Cindy's front door. The sunset is outside Laurie's front door.

They say it’s a dry heat, but there is something to be said about a dry cold too. Feels colder. Plus, add the gusty winds and it can get down-right chilly at night. Definitely needed the heater on in the camper at night!

Pickleball – What is this craze all about??

Well, Laurie, Jim, my oldest niece Katie and her boyfriend Brians all showed what this most recent crazy is. This is a VERY fun game!! Way less impact than tennis, fast pace like ping pong. It’s a wooden paddle played with a baseball sized wiffle ball. So weird, yet so much fun. Gotta buy me a set of paddles.

Thanksgiving was a feast to be held. Cindy did a fantastic job on the turkey, stuffing and all the fixings. Katie made some awesome homemade apple pie, and I made my fresh pumpkin pie. After dinner, we played contract rummy and dominos, told stories, laughed and just enjoyed each other’s company. The Captain was a nice compliment to the company. What more could you ask for?

Black Friday - Went on my first ride on the 4-seater Razor to Secret’s Pass. Literally a dry riverbed with walls at least 50 feet high. It was tight in some places but was a complete blast. Those Razors are fast and can climb some pretty steep hills and over very rough terrain. I loved it!

I got a new phone!!

Finally!! Those Black Friday sales were AWESOME! iPhone 14 – first time I got the most current model and only increased my monthly bill by $5 – impressive. Let me know if you can see a difference in my pictures now. Check out all of the puppies! Derks LOVES to play catch. He and Jax did some puppy smack down time too...

In-N-Out Burger - I missed you :) Yum!

A donkey in Tractor Supply --- WHAT?!?!?

Is there a doctor in the house?

As of Dec. 1st, my niece Katie is now an official doctor. She defended her dissertation at Northern Arizona University on elk and the foliage in Alaska something, something and the effects of... Can’t say I understood everything she said, but that was the jist of it all. Hahaha.

Laurie must be super proud; she now has 2 doctors in the family!! Congrats on completing your PhD in Ecological and Environmental Informatics Katie and to Christine who had completed her PhD in Biostatistics from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Dec 2020. I love these girls!

Cookies anyone? How about tamales?

We made 6 batches of molasses cookies which yielded about 30 dozen cookies. A family recipe passed down from my grandma Shulfer (Marie) and loved by all who try them. Some very lucky people were recipients of these via in-person or USPS.

Tamales were next – My youngest niece Cara, Laurie’s daughter, helped in the process. 2 pork butts, some secret marinade by Cindy, masa and olives and ta-da - you have some fantastic tamales, 8 dozen to be exact. A few lucky people were recipients of these via USPS and consumed by many in the family in Bullhead City. The love was shared!!

Christmas

Had an early Christmas on the 21st because Cindy and Joe were going to LA for the Rams game on Christmas Day (they kicked butt and won by the way 56-6). Katie and Brian came back in from Flagstaff and Cara was home for winter break from University of California, Santa Barbara. Great gifts all around, tamales for dinner, more games and the Captain. The Sherpa blanket robe was a hit!

Christmas Eve, more great gifts and even more awesome food - turkey, melt in your mouth beef tenderloin and a mean green bean casserole. Cara unfortunately wasn’t feeling well and pretty much missed dinner. That night Jim wasn’t feeling well. Christmas day, the “bug” took its toll on Brian too. I stayed away and had a quiet day with the 5 dogs and warm weather. Lots of facetime calls with Jim and the boys.

New Year’s Eve in the desert?

Headed out to California in my camper along with Cindy and Joe in theirs, somewhere in the desert off of highway 15, between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Great group of friends and family who Cindy and Joe have known for over 20 years. More rides on the Razors – sand dune pikes this time that make you feel like you are floating on air. So VERY cool.

We ended the weekend, doing a total cleaning of both campers inside and out. So much sand and dust...EVERYTHING got washed and cleaned, just like they were new. Aaahhhh!

Check out this little dude. 2 1/2 years old and already learning how to ride a motorcycle. I love the training wheels and outfit. This is Joe's great grandson.

Guess What?

Vicky is going to have her first human companion. Who is it you ask? You’ll have to wait for the next blog to find out. Headed to Texas on January 13th!

Happy New Year Everyone!! I'm looking forward to great adventures in 2023!