Visitors from England: this and that

Sadly, this is the last post on their visit but we are already planning a trip to England when Claire and Rich get married, perhaps next year.  The weather was pretty much perfect so we took full advantage and spent much of our time out of doors.

^ ^ They enjoyed My Big Fat Greek Restaurant last time (not fans of Mexican food) so it was a must! ^ ^

^ ^  Claire driving on the other side of the car AND the other side of the road. ^ ^

^ ^ Nice try Rich! ^ ^

 ^ ^ Easter Sunday ^ ^

 ^ ^ We attempted some family pictures.  Hey! Everyone is looking at the camera here! ^ ^

^ ^ With Carol and Nev's and Andrew's and my anniversary around the corner we treated everyone to a dinner at PF Changs.  Ever had The Great Wall of Chocolate?  You must!  I prefer it cold, the next day. ^ ^

^ ^  A tribute to the best Rugby team.  Come on Rovers! ^ ^

It's amazing how fast two weeks go when you're have a lot of fun with family.

Visitors from England: the lake

Wow!  We really had a wonderful time at Canyon lake.  We warmed Andrew's family that the water will probably be cold but that didn't keep us out of it.  There was enough sun to make up for the temperature.  I think we all wished it was a few degrees hotter but look how beautiful the lake was.  The desert even welcomed us on the way with some pretty spring flowers.  Arizona has such a beautiful desert!

 We did all the usual stuff: take turns on the kayak, eat some snacks, soak up the sun, splash around, collect shells and rocks and I happily recorded all these lazy-day-at-the-lake events.

The trip to the lake really fullfilled it's purpose to soak up some sun and simply spend time on one of the last days with Andrew's family.

What do you do at the lake?

visitors from England: a hike

One morning while Elliot was at school we took our family on a hike.  Having just hiked "A" Mountain on New Year's and remembering the short distance and lovely view at the top we thought this was just the hike for our hiking-inexperienced English family.

 It started out just wonderfully.  Carol was the least enthusiastic at the start but we assured her we would hike the least-steep trail.

 Woops!  We took the wrong turn and ended up hiking the steeper, but shorter side.

^ ^ This is what Carol felt about that! ^ ^

^ ^  Nev was impressed by the sheer size of the stadium behind him. ^ ^

Our inexperienced hikers proudly made it all the way to the top, only to turn right around and hike back the way we came.  Ha ha!  I don't think they understood that the point of the hike was to enjoy the view at the top, but we did enjoy good company the whole way there and back.

^ ^ Too tired to take her fingers out of her mouth but still had a blast! ^ ^

In the end most of us got the exercise we wanted (oh, the junk you eat while on holiday!) while someone squeezed in a little nap.

visitors from England: ghost town

The last couple weeks went by in a quick and wonderful whirl wind as we had visitors from England.  And not just any visitors but our beloved family:  Andrew's parents, Nev and Carol, his sister Claire and her fiance Rich.  Since this was their second visit to Arizona we kept things low-key but still did as many "American" things as possible. 

^ ^ Check out the Superstition Mountains behind us. ^ ^

  Last time we took them to Tombstone and they loved the history and Western feel.  This time we kept things local by taking them to a similar place called Goldfield Ghost Town.

On the train tour we learned all sorts of cool things.  Did you know the Superstition Mountains are the second most visited land mark in Arizona, right behind the Grand Canyon?  Cool, right?!

If you asked the kids what was their favorite thing they did here was the train ride and seeing a real rattlesnake.  If you asked Andrew's family they would have said the swinging saloon doors.  Those doors played entertainer for much longer than I would have anticipated!

 Something we all liked about Goldfield, other than it's close proximity, was how genuine it was in comparison to Tombstone.  We also love how it was fun for everyone!

^ ^ Zara snuggling Auntie Claire ^ ^

Since Andrew missed out (he was at work) we have a great excuse to go back again soon.

March snapshots

March  has been good to us.  Andrew's family have been visiting and we have been cherishing every minute! Their visit also pushed us into getting around to some necessary (and unnecessary) house projects done.  I can't wait to share some later this month!