Family Visit in Flagstaff

Bob and I, along with 3 of my sisters, spent a week in Flagstaff, AZ to visit my brother and his wife.  They graciously agreed to host us.  The only one who was unable to join us was our sister, Nancy, and her husband.  She still works and couldn't get away.  They'll join us for our family reunion next July.

We all met in Phoenix at the airport and then got our rental car, a Suburban, to drive to  Flagstaff and to use while there.  I was the designated driver.  Susie was our backup driver, but she never had to drive.  Unfortunately as soon as we arrived in Flagstaff the back end of the Suburban attacked Susie.  Luckily it was just a scratch, no black eye.

The first night we exchanged Christmas gifts.  I know, a little early, but we rarely are together at Christmas time so we take advantage of the fact that we mostly are all together.

My brother, Gary, is an avid Alabama fan since he graduated from there, and my sister, Kathy,  is also a fan because she still lives in Alabama. My brother has received several Alabama related gifts over the years.

My sister, Patsy, gave this to Gary.

We each got a bag with our initials.

Here are some displays of our gifts.

Sisterly love with Patsy and Susie.

My brother's wife, Rosemary, fits right in.

Can't do without the electronics.

Just hanging out.

It's great fun to hang out with sisters in the mornings.

The first day we went to Winslow, AZ and had a very nice lunch at the resort there, La Posada.

There was a map there to show locations of guests.  Sioux Center was even on the map so I added a pin to show that I was there from Sioux Center.

Aren't we a cute couple?

Winslow, AZ is famous because of song about standing on the corner in Winslow, AZ.

Susie sort of wanted to buy this Route 66 apron, but since she doesn't really cook much, she decided not to.

Gary and Rosemary patiently waiting for us.

On our way home, we passes a new casino.  I didn't want to go and I was the driver, but I was out voted so we stopped.  We are carefully walking over a very deep abyss covered by glass.  We made it without falling in.

Kathy and Susie both spent about 5 minutes in the casino and were both big winners.   Kathy won $250, and Susie won, $150.  Not bad.  They treated us to dinner that night.  Thanks, Kathy and Susie.

Bob only won $10.  I didn't even try.

Rosemary knows how to create meals with hardly any trouble at all.  She amazes me.  So thanks also go to her for the dinner we had thanks to Kathy and Susie.

The next day we explored downtown Flagstaff.  It's a neat Route 66 town with quaint shops and restaurants.

The treat for the day was a visit by Melissa, Gary's and Rosemary's first daughter, and their family.  It's been quite a while since we've gotten the opportunity to visit with them and it was so much fun to get to know all of them.

Rosemary had worked ahead of time to create a delicious meal.  Actually we had half of the meal for this day and half of tomorrow's meal.  That meant we got the same combo the next day too.  But that was fine with me.  I love variety, lasagna and chicken enchiladas.  Mmmmmm good.

Then we made a trip out to the cemetery to visit Buddy's grave.  His gravestone hadn't arrived yet, but it has now and his place is marked with a very nice stone to commemorate him.  He lies at rest in a very nice location, very peaceful.  

Then it was back to the house to hand out and to watch Alabama play followed by Texas.  Lots of people cheering for both teams.

Patsy always knows how to relax.

Bob had some fun time with Wyatt, playing with dominoes the  Wyatt way.

Sunday, while everyone went to the movie, Butler, Rosemary and I stayed back to wait for Cassie and her kids to arrive.  While we waited, we made some treats.  It was pretty funny because things didn't really go smoothly.  We definitely had a few laughs and a lot of fun.  They turned out delicious though.

Here are Cassie and Isaac.  They look so happy to be there to visit.  We were.

Cassie, her son, Nicolas, and Patsy.  Nicolas is enjoying all his curly hair, almost like a 70's style.

Wyatt joins them in this picture.

When Isaac arrived he greeted us with a magic trick.  So here he is with Bob learning another magic trick.  Isaac is interested in becoming a magician and even having a magic shop.  Bob can give him lots of ideas.

Here are Cassie and Jacob.

Four great boys, Nicolas, Isaac, Jacob, and Wyatt.

Crazy pose

The whole family without their dad, Mike, who had to stay home to work.

The Lowell Observatory was having an open house so we went.  We saw telescopes and explored the skies.  We had hoped to participate in some hands on experiments, but weren't there at the right time.  

This is Isaac moving a huge telescope all by himself, thanks to a great mechanical system.

It was hard to sit for this presentation, but most of us managed to listen to most of it.

They had telescopes set up aimed at a variety of interesting objects.  I got to see Saturn with its rings.  Neat.

When we got home we did some science experiments since we missed out on them at the observatory.  You can do a lot with vinegar and baking soda.  We also did a milk experiment as well as one with pepper.

We ended the day by playing a card game.  Notice Isaac joins us.  The other boys were off doing their own thing, but Isaac likes to play games and hang out with us.

Wyatt with his electronic device.

Time to snuggle up and get ready for bed.

The next day we drove down Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona, AZ.  It's a beautiful ride, very scenic.  Sedona is also very scenic.  We also visited the quaint stores there.

The sisters minus Nancy.

Cassie and the kids.

Bob and me.

My brother, Gary.

There was an Indian craft market at this park.

Cassie and family at Sedona.

This is the quaint place we visited in Sedona.

We said our good-byes to Cassie who had to go back to Phoenix, San Tan Valley, to be exact.  Then we went a little further down the road to Oak Creek Village to eat at the Blue Moon Restaurant.  Outside they had these.  We don't look like we fit into our places. 

Scenery pictures.

The next day we drove to the Grand Canyon which is under 80 miles.  It's just a hop, skip, and jump from my brother's house.  In fact, Rosemary used to take her school students to the Grand Canyon for overnight field trips.  Cool.  We ate at a neat restaurant overlooking the canyon.  We had a view, but it doesn't really show up in the picture.

Since we missed our sister, Nancy, we had a place for here.  She was there in spirit.

If you've never been to the Grand Canyon, you can get an idea of what it's like from the pictures, but you can't really get the amazing effect unless you're actually there.

We walked the Trail of Time.  Every so often there were rock exhibits a certain age starting with very old to less old as we walked.

If you look closely in the center of this picture, you can see a glimpse of the Colorado River.  It's muddy so it blends in with the rocks.

In the center of this picture you can also see the river and a bridge going across it.  It's hard to see.   Click on the picture to enlarge it and maybe you can see it.

The Grand Canyon is an overwhelming place to see.  If you haven't been there, put it on your list of musts.

Our last day in Flagstaff, we went to the health club for water aerobics or went for a walk, exercise day.  Then it was time to pack, etc.  For dinner we took Gary and Rosemary out for a dinner, their choice.  They picked a steak house where students from Northern Arizona University wait tables and perform.  It was great food, great service, and great entertainment.

Some of the decor.

More decor.

Do you remember phones like this?

You may wonder why the Nazi Flag.  It represents an awful time of world history and is repulsive to see the symbol.  But this is a flag that my father had from WWII.  My father was a POW, and we think this may have been the flag at the camp, and when they were released, he ended up with it.  So the fact that my dad had the flag, represents the downfall of the Nazi's.  Some day we may donate it to a museum or something.

After a great visit, we drove down to Phoenix, turned in our rental car, and got on our respective plane flights.  We created many fond memories, and I'm so glad we can all make visiting each other a priority.  Love Love Love our family.