May 2008: Family Vacation

Redtown River Retreat

The last weekend of May my Dad organized a family vacation at Lyndon B. Johnson Lake in Kingsland, TX. Everybody loaded up and met down in Texas for a family get together. We all had a good time ate, laughed, swam and golfed. This was the first time that the whole family had gotten together since my Papa passed away in 2002. My dad and his gang were there, my brother and La Tisha, Dennis and I, Tonya and Heather, Aunt Donna and Wayne, Chris and his girlfriend Veronica. My dad kept us all full with his delicious cooking. We had hamburgers one night, egg noodles another which are kind of a family tradition. My Papa and Grandma always used to make them and my mom too. Then Saturday night was steak night. Every morning we woke up to a country breakfast. Friday morning a bunch of us went to the Legends golf course and played 18 which is another sort of tradition. Exhausted from golf we went back to the cabin a took a dip. Saturday a bunch of us went out on Wayne's boat some stayed at the cabin and relaxed while Dennis, myself, and La Tisha went into Austin to look at houses. Nathan of course kept everyone fishing each day. Saturday night Tonya and I stayed up all night outside at the pool that was a lot of fun. Sunday we all parted with plans to do it again next year. Dennis and I resumed our house hunt in Austin and headed back to Vegas. All and all it was a wonderful weekend. Oh I forgot I did get thrown in the pool once-thanks Nate!


La Tisha Enjoying the Weekend


Kendra aka "The Fish"


Tonya's Big Catch


Dennis Cruising the Lake


Wayne and Aunt Donna Enjoying the Water


Dennis Teeing it up!

Egg noodle Night


Drying off after being thrown in the pool...

Enjoying a Troll on the Lake


Nate Teeing it Up

May 2008: Arizona

Grand Canyon Overlook

Williams, AZ

Well on Tuesday of the Njeru's visit I surprised them with a trip to Arizona. Dennis couldn't make it but I couldn't let the opportunity for them to see some of the beautiful places this area of the country has to offer so the three of us hit the road bright and early Tuesday morning. As we drove along I-40 about an two hours into our journey we noticed digital weather signs warning "Winter Weather Driving Conditions" to my dismay. I reassured my guests and we continued on as I had checked the weather and it was to be in the 70s today. As we drove further the landscape and weather changed. The early morning mist quickly changed from mist to sleet to snow. I figured how much snow can there be after all it's May and it is supposed to be 70. We stopped in Williams, AZ for gas. The attendants there were just as surprised as we were about the weather. Turns out this was a wonderful event since my mother-in-law had never seen snow and my father-in-law hadn't seen it since 1963 atop Mt. Kenya. Moma Dennis was ecstatic and me for her. From Williams we headed North to the Grand Canyon. We enjoyed a few hours gazing at this marvelous hole in the earth and did a short hike. We even stumbled across a family of elk. This was a little unnerving much different than seeing these giants from your car. Moma Dennis took off ahead but Dennis' Dad and I took a bit to observe these creatures at a comfortable distance. We then headed to Flagstaff--we were amazed by the amount of snow on the way to Flagstaff. We stayed the night in Flagstaff where we heard from the news they had gotten a foot of snow and hadn't seen that much snow in May in a very long time.




The next day we visited Native American ruins at Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano north of Flagstaff. It was wonderful to see how well the 900 year old ruins had been preserved and the lava flows from the volcano were beautiful. After spending most of the day there we stopped at a Mexican restaurant which was absolutely delicious for the second time "Casa Bonita" before heading back to Vegas. It was wonderful trip filled with many pleasant surprises. We made lots of great memories and had some good laughs.


Sunset Volcano National Crater


Crater Lava Flows


Wupatki Ruins


Door-Wupatki

May 2008:Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

Well we haven't made a post in quite sometime it has a very busy last month and a half for us. As you know Dennis' parents visited in May. We enjoyed their visit but as always the time was too short. They arrived in Las Vegas on Mother's Day. I had a great time showing them some of the sites of Vegas they hadn't yet seen such as the Hoover Dam. The weather was great not too hot not too cool. It can be a scorcher at the Dam this time of year so that was a blessing. We toured Boulder City on the way and took in the spectacular views of Lake Mead as well as the Black Canyon area. We opted for the grand tour which was worth it. We went 52 stories into the earth and to view the turbines and diverters that power the electrical portion of the dam and handle the water. Then of course we "walked to Arizona" and viewed the outside of the dam and the new highway being built over it which is only for the strong at heart:)

Update

Well Dennis has been pretty busy with work and school this week. Next week he switches clinics but will still be doing his family medicine rotation. I am excited that I have an interview at the VA next month. Since I completed the long application process out there I can now get back to my class. Mostly though I have been torturing Dennis with my chick flicks lately. I love Juno! Today I rented 27 Dresses and will soon add it to my collection. I was quite disappointed since I thought P.S. I Love You (a must see) came out today but turns out I have to wait until next week:) Now if I could just find a girlfriend to go see Made of Honor with me I would be set!

We are excited that Dennis' parents will arrive in LA on Thursday. Dennis is planning to spend the weekend there as well. Our nephew Luke will be two on Saturday so it should be a great reunion. As for me I will be you guessed it working...We also had the chance to chat briefly with Dennis' sister in England who sounded well and his sister Martha back in Kenya. We missed the boys as it was a school night and they had already gone to bed. We are especially keeping them in our thoughts and prayers now. The Njeru's should make it to Vegas sometime in the coming weeks for a stay with us which we are looking forward too. They may not beat the heat as they had hoped. It has been in the 90s for over a week now and it's only uphill from here.



Here's some old pics of of everyone!




Dennis with Ian & Greg




Kim & Luke

Save Lake Mead, Save the Earth, Save Money!!!

"As long as the earth exists, planting and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never stop." Genesis 8:22

Well tomorrow is Earth Day and while we are by no means a bunch of vegan tree hugging commi libs we do try to do our part to help the environment especially living in southern Nevada. There is more than a 50% chance that the once grand Lake Mead fueled by the mighty Colorado River and contained by the immense Hoover damn will be dry by the year 2021. You might say that these are doom and gloom predictions made by the afore mentioned people but as her neighbor I can see that it is possible. You still may not be that concerned after all you live a long way from Las Vegas. Yet Lake Mead and it's subsidiaries supply water to 7 metro areas and maybe more importantly to vast farming areas in California, Arizona, and Mexico. Anyway my point is there are some simple things you can do that save money and save the environment.

1. Conserve H2O: By placing a 1 liter bottle in your toilet filled with sand or rocks you displace enough water to save gallons per day.

2. Paper or Plastic-NEITHER Use cloth grocery bags when you go to the grocery store. We started doing this-admittedly I was a little opposed at first but it has paid off. At some stores you get money back for bringing them and at others you are entered in a drawing for free groceries. At places like Wal-mart you get nothing but peace of mind. One plastic sack takes 20-1000yrs to decompose.

3. Fluorescence-By now everyone has heard about swapping your light bulbs. We did this back in our poor college student days in Stilly and we still are using the same bulbs. Of course we've had to add a few but the originals are still in use. In addition to a long life they will save you money on your electric bill! You say they are expensive...they are getting cheaper and with the money you save, the extended life, and environmental impact there is no comparison. Besides the filaments will be obsolete very soon:)

4. Smart Strip- Want to save even more money...invest in a smart strip. About $30 you plug your electronics/appliances into it so they are really off when they are "off". It's amazing how much electricity is consumed when we aren't even using our gadgets.

5.Recycle, Recycle, Recycle

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike."
John Muir- Father of the National Parks Service

This Earth Day do something for Mother Earth!