11-30-15

Me: Best Christmas Tree decorators around!

Sweetie Pie Riley putting on Christmas bulbs.

Cutie Pie Kavan & my Handsome Husband helping too! Love them & love Christmas!

11-29-15

Me: It was a mountain biking kind of weekend...

On Friday friends, Jimmy, Mark, Greg & Chris (above photo), myself & many other friends did an ALL day mountain bike ride. Started at 6am & ended at 6pm. 65 miles. OUCH!

There were 170 riders doing the event called "Flight of the Pigs". Don't ask me why it's called that (I don't know). :-/ This was the 20th year & the last year. It started in South Mountain & then took us up through downtown Phoenix to Trail 100 before coming down through Papago Mtn trails & home.

Nick & Heidi having a good time on the ride. It wasn't a race & the event included several stops along the way for lunch & snacks. Bob was out of town so he missed the pain (I mean fun!). :-)

Bob came home last night & today we had a fun ride in South Mountain with friends, Larry, Paul, Steve, & James. Cool weather with sunshine = perfect biking conditions!

11-28-15

Me: Thanksgiving Day goofiness with my nieces & nephews! :-)

11-27-15

Me: Our Thanksgiving Day crew (minus Dean taking the photo & Paul's dad, Connie who was downstairs). This pic was after dinner and we were hanging out on the upstairs patio. The day was the perfect kind of cool to make it feel like Fall.

Carol, Joan, Nathan, Lana, Me, April, David, Rudy the dog, Paul, Jeanne (Paul's mom)

Joan & Dean were amazing hosts! Thankful for bountiful delicious food. We are blessed!

Festive tables were set outside. Notice Rudy & Harley roaming the area.

Speaking of Harley; she really enjoyed her Thanksgiving meal & was polite to eat her plate clean!

Nice that Carol & Paul could have all their kids together for Thanksgiving! We of course missed Bob & thought of all our family in California & in Iowa! Thankful we get visits throughout the year with our distant family (even if not on every holiday) plus frequent phone calls, texting & photos on FB. It all helps to feel closer to family & friends.

11-26-15

Me: Happy Thanksgiving!! :-)

Green bean casserole in the oven & then Harley & I are heading to my sister, Joan's for Thanksgiving. My sister, Carol & her family will be there too. Bob is heading to Chicago. He often works on holidays :-( but even so we are fortunate & thankful for much! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving today & every day!

11-25-15

Me: A day in the Life of Riley…

Playing Play-Doh with me while Kavan plays Yahtzee with Bob

Spelling words on the fridge with Harley & Bob

"Look Bob…I spelled my name!"

Riley loves her baby brother, Keelan!

11-24-15

Me: Harley loves frisbee time on the golf course (we do too). 

Nice catch, Harley! She's still got it. :-)

11-23-15

1st Place

12 Hours of Fury

November 21, 2015

Women's Duo Division

McDowell Mountains

Kata was the perfect partner to team up with for the 12  hour mountain bike race this past Saturday. She is a great friend plus she's fun & fast! Here she is barreling around a corner in 1 of her 5 laps. We each completed 75 miles for a total of 150 miles ridden from 10am to 10pm!

Me navigating a rocky corner. I pushed hard & have needed a couple days to recover my sore muscles. :-/ Super glad I did the event & great that Bob was able to race it too!

Fun fact: Our finish time was fast enough to beat all the women's 4 person teams and we would have placed 3rd in the men's duo division. :-)

11-22-15

Me: Keelan Naabaahii Hobson

Born on 11/20/2015

8lbs 13.3 ozs and 21.5" long.

Parents: Janna & Andrew

Big brother: Kavan

Big sister: Riley

Keelan is Gaelic meaning slender & fair (he has blonde hair & light eyelashes!). Naabaahii means warrior in Navajo. I haven't met baby Keelan yet since he was born when we were away camping. Excited to hold my newest great-nephew on Monday!

11-21-15

Me: Home Sweet Home for the weekend!

Joan & Dean joined us for camping at McDowell Mountains on Friday night. We had a nice afternoon walk in the desert.

Then we started the campfire, cooked supper & relaxed at their campsite. Joan & Dean just got into camping (recently bought this nice camper from friends). Since Dean's retirement this year camping has been a good activity for them! Hopefully we can do some other trips with them.

Absolutely enjoyed the view of 4 Peaks & Weavers Needle. Yes, we enjoyed s'mores too! :-)

11-20-15

Me: Made these Rice Krispie bars + another pan for our cooking party. I have a 1/2 pan left so I'm packing them up for our weekend of camping. Leaving today for McDowell Mountains (only a 40 minute drive). We'll be racing mountain bikes on Saturday & hanging out in the desert the rest of the time. Have a wonderful weekend!

11-19-15

Me: Bob's view on his work trip this week…

San Juan islands departing Vancouver.

Idaho with snow capped mountains!

Harley's view this week…

Heart Hill in South Mountain. A favorite hike of ours!

11-18-15

Me: Too many cooks in the kitchen?! :-)

Not at all…my sister, Joan (L), my sister, Carol (middle), my sister-in-law, Emily (Janna's mom) and I had a cooking party at our house today. All the meals we cooked are being frozen for Janna & Andrew to use when new baby arrives which is any day now!

Riley did her own cooking with Playdough. Those look like some yummy pancakes! ;-)

It sure was fun to visit with my sisters AND use our kitchen & about every Pyrex dish I own. Yay! I think we made about 12 + frozen meals. I made Chili (thanks, Pat for the recipe) and as a group we made meatballs, goulash, hamburger patties, beef stew, beef stroganoff, and spaghetti meat sauce. Emily provided ALL the hamburger meat (straight from HOEGH farms in Iowa). She flew it down frozen in her suitcase. Great afternoon!

11-17-15

Me: By 7pm I was on the couch in my PJ's & Sock Monkey slippers. I'm ready to watch The Voice! Don't tell anyone, ok?! :-)