October / November: Kanab, North Rim, Halloween, a Wedding, our Anniversary, and Thanksgiving.

So to catch everyone up, the past couple of months have been busy but enjoyable. In October we met up with the Treasures in Kanab. Why Kanab, well why not? For one thing it's about halfway between Phoenix and Springville. It also happens to be two hours from a handful of National Parks. From Kanab we visited Bryce Canyon and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We had a great time hanging out with everyone and seeing the sights. We really made some great memories, like Jordan and his hat, and Ryan and Josh's discovery of "the caves".

Once back home in Glendale we wrapped up the month with Halloween. We didn't have great costumes (kind of the norm with us), but we did carve pumpkins with Russ which has become a tradition. The Lemons were in town for John and Amica's wedding. It was fun to get together and see everyone. The weather was beautiful and it was a great day for a wedding.

We started November out with our 4 year anniversary. It's unbelievable how fast time flies. We are so greatful for each other and our marriage. We look forward to many more.

Jessica came to visit over Veterans Day weekend, Trav couldn't make it because of work. Josh was so excited for me to have some girl time. We had lots of fun shopping, laughing at really old inside jokes and just doing girlie things. With Jess even traffic is loads of fun - that's its own story.

Thanksgiving was funny because we didn't know who was coming until right before. It all worked out though. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house with Russ's help. Brad, Katie, and Spencer made the long drive for turkey, and we had plenty of turkey. We had a great meal, we missed Mom and Dad, but it was great to have all the siblings together. While they were here we did a little bit of everything; a little rock band, a little hiking, a little bit of "rock Frisbee", and of course a little bit of crazy black Friday shopping. We also fit in some movies in too. All in all, it was really great to have everyone here and sad to see them leave.

Arizona State Fair

Fall must be here because the AZ State Fair has rolled around again. Where else can you pet the animals, people watch for hours, ride the "thrill" rides, see some cars smash each other up, eat greasy food, and oh, did I mention get sick from that greasy food? No place, except the good ol' state fair.

This years fair experience was pretty much like years past, except we saw figure 8 racing in the grandstand. Another wonderful event (a cousin to the demolition derby). Several cars race around a figure 8 and inevitably cars will crash in the middle, although not as many as we predicted. The crowd didn't disappoint either as we met our quota for mullets, and trucker hats.

Also new for us this year, was attending the pig walking/ judging. This is all new to me but apparently pigs are quite domesticated. It was fun to watch the kids perform and walk their pigs. Too bad for the pigs though because they were judged on their "market readiness".

That turtles got a cold.

Kids say the funniest things. So there we were looking at this reptile exhibit when we stumbled across to two tortoises and a couple of kids. The turtle's were exhibiting some adult behavior and the kids were trying to figure out just what was going on. The kids had all sorts of ideas to explain the tortoise's behavior, and were sharing their insight.

"It could be a race", one said
the other disagreed, "no, they are wrestling"
"that one has a cold, or maybe hiccups"
"maybe that one is saying gitty up?"

We only caught a few seconds of it on video, we hope you find it as funny as we did.

Balloon Fiesta in New Mexico

We have always wanted to see New Mexico, really I'm not being sarcastic; for some reason this surprises people. I guess we are suckers for the unknown. This years balloon festival, and some other circumstances, were just the excuse we needed to get out of town. Apparently New Mexico is the land of enchantment AND the national hotbed for ballooning. All just trivia until you see it for yourself. It was really amazing, and to think we nearly left town without seeing one balloon.

We spent the first day of our trip in artsy Santa Fe. What really caught us off guard is how old the city was (1607). When I think of really old colonial settlements I think of the East coast. I had forgotten about those Spanish Fathers wandering around the west. While in Santa Fe we saw the oldest Church in the USA and the oldest public building. The area around the Plaza was full of museums, art galleries, and tourist trap gift shops.

From Santa Fe we took a scenic drive down the turquoise trail to Albuquerque. Along the way we stumbled across Madrid, NM. As we drove through town it felt like we had been there before. We soon realized that this was the town they filmed "Wild Hogs" in. We saw lots of bikers and hippies while there. We also happened to time our trip with peak pine-nut season. So we spent some time on the side of the road hunting and gathering.

We then road the worlds longest ariel tramway to Sandia peak above Albuquerque. Unfortunately the town was full of tourists for the balloon festival so we waited in a Disneyland like nightmare line for a couple hours. The view from the top was amazing. Fall colors were just starting to speckle the forest.

That's about the time things went wrong. A storm blew in, that cancelled that nights balloon festivities, and we got stranded for several hours at a train station. It continued the next day with the mornings mass ascension also being called off due to the weather (unfortunately we found it was canceled after we had got up at 4:30 in the AM and got ready). Through it all we met some really nice people; the kind of people that restore your faith in humanity. So we started to pack up and get ready to head home when we had the same idea that comes to us at the end of every vacation, lets just stay one more day. We really wanted to see the festival and had prepaid for everything so... we stayed. And we were really glad we did.

That evening they held the "night glow". This is where they tie down the balloons and once inflated they twinkle and glow all different colors in the dark. By night fall there was several hundred balloons on the field for the show. The operators could then light up the balloons by turning on the torch/flame thrower. We were awestruck by all the balloons glowing around us, and words cannot explain the experience when the announcer called "all glow" and the entire field lit up.

The next morning we once again stood in awe as more than three hundred balloons lifted off with the sunrise. There was just so much to take in as one balloon after another floated skywards. After they launched we watched them dot the sky and drift away into the morning sun. As we left the field that morning we were so glad that we could see the balloons and also so grateful for all our other many blessings.

Route 66

We haven't seen all of route 66 but we have seen the Arizona highlights. Most of it honestly isn't worth mentioning (like Kingman). Sure its a scenic highway but more scenic than others? Not really. What sets apart "America's Highway" is the little (nearly dead) towns that dot it. Once upon a time when these towns where not bypassed by our modern freeways, each developed there own roadside oddities to encourage people to stop, shop, eat, or stay the night. The restaurants along 66 make some people nostalgic and others just wonder how they keep their food licence. That being said we have had the gold standard/holy grail malt milk shake on route 66. This was the milk shake that all other milk shakes are measured against. Simply Amazing. If you ever find yourself in Seligman YOUR LOST, but while your there get a malt.

Along those same lines, there is a restaurant in Williams (by the Grand Canyon) that has a great little place called the Pine Country Restaurant. Maybe the best Huevos Rancheros and homemade pie on earth. It was the thought of that pie that motivated our hike out of the Grand Canyon.

Remember the old Eagles song...

Well, I’m a standing on a corner

In Winslow, Arizona

And such a fine sight to see

It’s a girl, my lord, in a flatbed

Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me

Well that songs the only thing holding Winslow on the map. The whole downtown is dedicated to the Eagles complete with "the corner", two gift shops, and Eagles music blaring twenty-four, seven. We loved it, I have to admit. We took our obligatory picture, and phoned home to tell family we were "standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ" ! Total tourists.

In Holbrook we saw the Wigwam Hotel. Most everyone has seen "Cars", remember the individual tee-pee looking rooms? Yeah, this is where you can find them. They have all sorts of old cars parked around to give it a 50's feel. Some of the cars look like they might have been inspiration for some of the "Cars" characters (or vise versa). The place has seen better days but it was still fun to see. Have you stayed in a Wigwam lately?

In Holbrook there was also a dinosaur themed rock shop. Rocks are old and dinosaurs are old so I guess it works.
So that might be all of the Route 66 that we ever see. These colorful stops make long road trips memorable.

Man VS Wild

Scorpions are one of the creepiest creatures on earth, everyone knows that. What you might not know is that they glow neon green under a black light. We came up with the idea that we should not only spot scorpions, but hunt them! The hunting party consisted of Russ, Josh and myself. As you can tell we were pretty intense about it too!

We headed out to the desert near our home. With black lights in hand we started up the mountain. It wasn't too long before we found a couple of small scorpions. Finding them is really pretty easy but catching them turned out to be more challenging. Luckily, we problem solved and Josh was able to get them into our prepared peanut butter jar (I know, high tech) by grabbing their tail with tongs. After we caught two scorpions we were feeling pretty good about our situation. We also became highly aware of other creepy crawlies there are in the dark, that don't glow under a black light! So we decided to head back to the car with scorpions in hand. All of a sudden Russell yells from behind, "oh my gosh, you have GOT to see this".

We could not believe the size of this guy, he was huge. We were freaking out to say the least. After we all got pictures with the beast, the men tried to figure out how to capture him. The Scorpion however had another idea, and quickly escaped down his tunnel. So that was the big one that got away. But to tell you the truth I'm okay with it. He gave me the heeby geebies anyways.

Tagged

Tagged by Khanh Lemon, The Five



10 years ago I: was a freshman in highschool. I ran cross country, and danced at the Springville Ballet Academy. Nothing really memorable.



5 things on today's "to do" list:
Work on the blog
Clean the house
Go to a work conference
Watch the BYU game
Take a nap?


5 snacks I enjoy:
Anything chocolate
Chips and salsa
Smoothies
Hot chocolate
A perfect peach

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
Pay off our student loans
Become a professional traveler
Invest and save for retirement
Buy a home, with cash
New wardrobe


5 places I have lived:
Springville
Ephraim
Logan
Alaska
Arizona


5 jobs I have had:
Housekeeper
Desk clerk
Bakers assistant
Marketing consultant
Dietitian


I tag: Joelle, Jen, Catherine, Maren


Rules:Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags others and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

A Month of Movies

The problem: Simply to many movies to watch, especially at the theatre.

The Solution: Netflix, we call it a month of movies. At least twice a year we become mind numbing couch potatoes for the entire month. Somewhere in that period of time we begin to understand all the one-liners we have heard people repeating. This month we have enjoyed such classics as: Enchanted, Bucket List, August Rush, Dan in Real Life, Fools Gold, Jumper, etc. All fairly good movies. We also saw some terrible movies, 10,000 B.C., and Rush Hour 3 come to mind.
How cool is it that they put TV on DVD now. We missed most of the Office last year and now after just 3 days, we are pretty much up to speed. If you want to talk movies with us, now is the time, because in another month you will be quoting a one-liner from a movie that we haven't seen and don't understand.

Happy B-Day KT

KT turned 25 today. She handled it much better than I did. I had a bit of a quarter-life melt down on my 25th B-day. All the cards and packages seemed to arrive by mail on the same day. Kt seemed overwhelmed at everyone's kindness and thoughtfulness. We have such an awesome family, thanks.

KT I love you, your the best thing that has ever happened to me. I hope you have a great Birthday.

Labor Day in Flag....Again

Last Labor Day we went to Flagstaff and climbed Mt Humphreys, the tallest Mountain in Arizona (12,637 feet). While on top we noticed a little meadow on the other side of the mountain... Fast forward one year later and we are in that little valley behind Humphreys Peak. The weather called for rain in Flagstaff, but we thought we would chance it anyways (given the cooler temperatures). We spent two beautiful nights in the Locket Meadow campground, where we had a large campsite dotted with pines and aspen.
While I caught up on my sleep, Josh forged new trails through the mountains. On our second day we both hiked up to the inner basin just below Humphreys. The hike was a gradual 2.5 mile uphill climb, we found ourselves out of breath most of the way up. I'm SURE it was all because of the thin mountain air. Once in the upper meadow, we set up the hammock, caught our breath, and took in the view. We never saw Humphreys, because it was always shrouded in clouds. We barely made it back to camp when it started to rain. We were pinned down in the tent for a few hours while some late afternoon mountain showers pounded the mountain. After the storm cleared, Josh proved to be quite the lumber jack. He went to town on some downed aspen and provided us with plenty of firewood. I was grateful for it too because that night it got chilly. On our way home, we went to the Lowell Observatory, just above the city of Flagstaff. This observatory discovered the planet/planetoid/asteroid/celestial body/?? known as Pluto in 1930. We took a tour of the grounds and saw some HUGE telescopes. Pictures of the moon taken from these telescopes where used as maps for the Apollo lunar missions. We really love Flag; its laid back, surrounded by mountains and pines, and has gentle hippie folk. If we make the trip back next Labor Day we will have to consider it an official Bastian tradition.

Gold!!

Team redeem has tasted gold. After a few ruff years it's great to see America on top again in basketball.



Have you seen D-Will and Boozers new look....

Pierre our "Fuzz"

So by now most of you have met the third member of our little family, Pierre. Others haven't had the chance to meet the Fuzz, so we thought we had better introduce him.

The first question everyone ask us is, "so... uhh... why a rabbit?". That's a fair question, especially because house rabbits aren't that common (and not everyone has experienced bunny love). We live in a apartment and wanted a clean, quiet, and low maintenance pet. Our Pierre meets all the criteria. Most people are surprised to hear that he is litter box trained. When we are home we let him out of his small cage to roam the house.

Pierre is a Mini-Rex breed, also known as the velveteen rabbits. His fur is very dense and soooo soft. It really puts all of your dogs and cats fur to shame.

Rabbits are social creatures, but it happens mostly on their own time. He gives you a good nudge when he is seeking some attention/rubbing/ treats. Turns out he has a sweet tooth for cereal, and can be quite a persuasive beggar bunny. When he gets real wound up he will do little wahoo jumps and heal clicks around the house. Some of his acrobatics even seem to surprise him. When he's relaxed he often feels the need to groom us; a large task for a tiny rabbit. He is one little licking machine!

A word about Warfarin / Coumadin

Hey its Josh, I have had several questions about "blood thinners" lately and thought I would dedicate a post to some of these questions. Coumadin is taken to prevent blood from clotting within the vessels. If and when these clots form, everything down stream from the clot starves. If the heart is downstream we call it a heart attack, when the brain is down stream its a stroke.

So why don't people take their medication? Well no one wants to take a pill, its like admitting your sick or have a problem. And then... there is the history of this medication. It was originally used as a rat poison. The logic I sometimes hear is "If they use it to poison rats, how can it possibly help me?" Lets all remember that the "dose makes the poison". To much table salt or even water can cause death too. So this brings up the other reason people don't like to take this medication, the monitoring. This medication MUST be monitored. Many people see their doctor every couple weeks to have a simple blood test and their dose adjusted. This is done to keep the drug in a "therapeutic level" not a toxic or ineffective level.


Some patients try to go on and off their medication. I believe they think they can just use it when they need it. Sadly no one can tell when they are going to have a stroke or a heart attack or a pulmonary embolism. Coumadin takes about three days to start working, and within those three days it can temporarily increase the clotting risk. In addition this medication does not dissolve clots, it only prevents them. In other words once you have a problem it is to late.

I guess it comes down to this, taking this medication is not convenient BUT it is effective. That has been proven time and time again.

Summer Trip To The Motherland

After six months of nearly complete family isolation we took a vacation back to the motherland. Our summer trips to Utah have become a favorite tradition while we have been away at school. We normally begin the drive to Utah at about 6PM and make the 11 hr trip. This is a true test of endurance and a bit of a living nightmare. This time around the stars aligned and we left at noon-ish. I can't tell you how much better the drive was. We had almost forgot how scenic old I-89 is. We made several stops, I read, we took some pictures, and even went on a little hike to horse shoe gulch.

Once we made it to home, (Yes, we still refer to it as home, I am sure we always will.) we found Grandma and Grandpa Treasure there too! Grandpa is receiving treatment (radiation and chemo) at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and is staying in Utah in the mean time. It was hard for all of us to see Grandpa suffer but we were all grateful he had chosen to undergo the painful treatments so he can be with us longer. Even through the pain Grandpa delivered some pretty good one liners to keep everyone smiling.

Once all the Treasure Sisters were together we decided to go to Seven Peaks water park for old times sake. Back in the day when we worked at Dad's hotel we had season passes and would spend several days a week at the water park. It was a mostly cloudy day, but warm enough to swim. My easily sun burnt husband didn't mind the lack of sun. We got to do most of the slides before lightning shut the park down.

Russell flew in to meet us at the Bastian's. It was like a mini reunion. We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon and roasted cheesy hot dogs and made smores. We all enjoyed the pines and the mountains but we all swore off cheesy hot dogs for life. Never read the ingredients on a hot dog package as you eat them. After the Sun went down we put on jackets and stoked the fire. Our home in Phoenix seemed so far away. A jacket in the summer is completely out of the question where the low temperature might not dip below triple digits.

Fun in Philly

I recently returned from a work conference in Philadelphia, and let me just say it was pretty amazing! I was bummered because I had to leave Josh home. I went with some ladies from work and we had a good time. The conference was pretty informative, but the sightseeing was really what I will remember from my trip. I knew that Philly was cool but after spending a few days there, I really grew quite attached to the city. We spent most of our time downtown by the Pennsylvania Convention Center and in the historic district. It was super hot and super humid. Because I am thermally challenged I still managed to freeze in air conditioned buildings because it was soooo humid. Some of my favorite sites include seeing Rocky on the steps, Ben Franklin's Grave, the US Mint, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall.

We took a guided tour of Independence Hall and I have to say that I was awe struck to be in the same room where The Declaration of Independence, and The Constitution were signed. I felt so much gratitude for the fathers of our nation and all the others who sacrificed for our freedom. We really are blessed to live and be free in such a beautiful country.

While I was in Philadelphia I figured I should have a famous Philly cheese steak sandwich. I doubt I could find better! Philly has really given us so much, democracy, the philly cheese steak, and Will Smith.

Philly is the City of Brotherly Love. This was a fountain in Love Park.

The last day we took a tour bus up to New York City. We had six hours to see as much of the big apple as we possibly could, it was a mad dash of sightseeing! We were able to see the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park, the Chrystler building, and ground zero. My roomie Pat and I rode the subway all by ourselves up to Grand Central Station. We walked to the Empire State building and through Time Square; Whoaa and I thought Vegas was sensory overload! I bartered for a knock-off purse, and bought lunch from a street vendor so... I pretty much played the part of a good tourist. We finished our day off at the Top of The Rock, Rockefeller Center to get a good view of this vast and vertical city. I've never seen so many people and so many tall buildings, what an experience. I will definitely be back, next time with Josh in tow.

Monsoon Season

Monsoon season is one of our favorite times of the year. At the end of July and throughout August we get violent thunderstorms and gail force winds. The meteorologist every year argue if this is a true "monsoon season" but everyone else here seems convinced that it is.

The thunderstorms are normally small cells that move through the valley. From our third floor window we can watch these storms zig-zag through the valley as if tracking that Eeyore character from Winnie the Pooh. When these fierce little storms wander over your piece of blue sky find cover! The storms pour down an incredible amount of rain, and put on a brilliant lightning show. We like to go out on the porch to watch them pass. They then leave as quickly as they came. The water left behind is almost instantly vaporized by the standard 110 degree temperatures we have here. The downside of this monsoon season is the increase in humidity!

The other part of Monsoon season is less enjoyable, but no less impressive. We have enormous dust storms that cover the entire valley. The official name for this type of a storm is a "Haboob" which is an Arabic word that is used to describe these storms in the Sahara Desert. They say the sand can go as high as three thousand feet into the air, and I believe it. Think back to the Mummy (the one with Brandon Frazier) remember the sand storm...that’s pretty much it, minus the mummy face.

The Mummy...

Actual picture of Phoenix. Scary huh.

Freedom and Camping

For the 4th of July weekend we decided to beat the heat and head for the pines. We were lucky to grab one of the last campsites in the Upper Tonto Creek campground. This is a beautiful area with lots of pine trees. After we set up camp, we watched the sun set and we listened to the distant rollings of thunder. Unfortunately we were awakened that night at 2:30am by some new neighbors setting up camp. The whole family was yelling and calling to each other, chopping wood and starting a huge bon fire (it was clearly posted everywhere that it was extremely high fire danger and no fires of any kind were permitted!). You know when you have those moments when you think "are these people for real"?! The next morning we overheard other campers grumbling about the new brood next door. I was thinking we could probably round everyone up to vote them off the island, but instead it rained and the newcomers got what they deserved. We on the other hand really enjoyed the rain because it brought even cooler temperatures. On the morning of the 4th we hiked up to Horton Springs, which comes right out of the mountain, so that's cool. We drank from the head water and it was tasty, especially in comparison to Phoenix water! Later we went into Payson to enjoy some small town celebrations and fireworks. That same rain followed us into town and put a damper on the festivities, but the show went on and we watched fireworks from our car. Saturday we packed up camp and made a stop at the fish hatchery (which Josh got a kick out of) before making a the trip home. While we were in the neighborhood we figured we would drive up through Snowflake so we could see the first of the small temples. I don't know what we were expecting, but as it turns out, it's like all the other temples. The grounds were beautiful and there was a wonderful spirit about it. The drive back to Phoenix was scenic and especially GREEN compared to our home in Glendale.

A Little Behind the Curve

Josh and I started our Lord of the Rings adventure by reading the Hobbit. It was my first time into the world of JRR Tolkien and Josh had read it as a boy. Once we finished the Hobbit we were ready to move onto heavier things. We had many road trips planned, which include some of the posts below so we decided to listen to the Trilogy on disk. Although this process is much slower than reading, we enjoyed the narration by Rob Inglis. We have spent many a night hanging out with the rabbit and listening to Lord of The Rings. After we finish each book we watch the extended version of the movie and most of the extras (4 hours long!) pretty intense, we know, but we must see our task through. So now we are halfway through the Return of the King and and feel almost a part of the "fellowship". We laugh at ourselves because we know we are several years behind most fans. We also feel pretty nerdy listening to hour after hour of fantasy books on disc, but we are loving it.

Havasupai Falls: There and Back Again, A Bastian Tale

Upon moving to Arizona we saw a lot of pictures of these gorgeous turquoise blue waterfalls. When we finally figured out that this was Havasupai Falls, we decided we had to see it for ourselves. The falls are in the Grand Canyon drainage on an Indian reservation. It is about a 5 hour drive to the North of us, so we decided to make a trip of it. We were lucky to get permits as they fill up months in advance. The hike wasn't very hard, just long, which made it hard. It was 8 miles to the Supai village in the bottom. This a village that still gets their mail via a horse back rider. It was very odd to be in an isolated village in the middle of the good ol' USA. After the village there was another 2 miles to the falls and the camping area. We spent our 2nd day re-couping and swimming in the waterfalls. The water was cool and a beautiful blue color. Even I took a dip (I normally don't do cold water) and swam in the pool under the waterfall. That night we enjoyed a starry sky from our bug free zone (our tent). The third morning we packed up and set out on the trail just in time to see the sun coming up over Havasupai Falls, it was breathtaking. Coming out was a lot harder because now it was all up hill and we were pretty sore to begin with. The last mile and a half were particularly long, steep and hot! We just kept telling each other when we made it out we would find a chocolate malt somewhere. When we finally made it to the top, there was a sense of accomplishment to look down in the valley and see where we had come from that morning. On our drive home we stopped in the tiny town of Seligman on the old route 66 and found a 50's drive-in that made the best homemade chocolate malts ever. What a trip!

Family Fun in The Magic Kingdom

It has been 7 years since most of us have been to Disneyland and if you could picture it, we were giddy like school kids! We spent two wonderful days between the parks and covered quite a bit of ground for a group of 9. We were pretty impressed with the new California Adventures, and how could we not be? Disney does not disappoint. Some of our most favorite rides were: Space Mt, Indiana Jones, Thundermt Railroad, Screamer, Tower of Terror, Soar in Cali, OK actually they were all great. After two high impact days we took a day off at Coronado Beach and around Sandiego. It was an amazing day and believe it or not the water was a few degrees warmer than the air. Our last day in California was cloudy and a bit rainy, but we still enjoyed Sea World. The shows were amazing and we just shrugged when we got wet on the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster because it was already raining. Thus, we turned around and got right back on the coaster to do it again. Before going home the family came back to AZ to stay with us a couple days before their long drive back to Utah. It was a great family vacation and we hope to get back to the Magic Kingdom sooner rather than later.

Twilight & The Stephenie Meyer Book Signing

Well I have joined the leagues of fans who enjoy all things Twilight. The Twilight book series for those of you who don't know is written by Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon Mother of 3. She is an amazing author who writes gripping literature. I really enjoyed reading the Twilight series and can't wait for the 4th installment to come out in August! We can also look forward to the Twilight movie that comes out on December 12th!!

On Stephenie's book tour she had a stop in Phoenix so I thought it would be fun to go. I was just one of over a thousand people there! I waited for over five hours to get three books signed for me and Jessica, my sister. I actually had a great time and met some really nice people.

Before the signing, Stephenie answers questions from the Audience.

Stephenie in action, talk about writers cramp!

Bastians come to thaw out

It was great to have Brad and Spencer come all the way to Phoenix to see us on their spring break. We know better than most how long that road is. We had a great time and Josh got to go rock climbing with the bros at Camelback Mountain.

Brad and Spencer spent spring break with us

Summers

We had some new snow birds in town. Grandma and Gene came all the way to Glendale to see us. On the way here their flight was cancelled and they spent 6 hours in the airport. On the way home their flight left them and they spent another 5 hour day at the airport! But in between airport disasters we had the best time. I don't know if I have ever been so many places in so few days. It was all we could do to keep up with those two.