Wonderful Visit With Family

 Our son Korey and his wife, Cathryn, came for a visit in March. We picked them up at the airport in Phoenix on March 19th. We didn't know there was highway resurfacing happening, and several miles of the interstate were closed. That caused us a 50 minute detour. We're so glad we live in Yuma. Phoenix traffic is a nightmare.

We got back to Yuma in time for a tour of the resort, supper and game night. Sunday morning we golfed here at our park. It was quite windy, but at least it was warm.

After lunch we played some shuffleboard and bocce ball.

Monday we toured the Territorial Prison State Historic site in Yuma. The prison was in existence from 1876 until 1910 when they ran out of room. It was then moved to the Phoenix area where it still exists today. For four years from 1910 to 1914 some of the prison buildings were used to house the Yuma high school students. The school teams became know as "the criminals" and they still use that name today. Their mascot is rather scary looking!

On Tuesday we drove back to Phoenix to attend a Milwaukee Brewers Spring training baseball game. They played the Chicago White Sox. It was a close game, but they lost by one run. We still had a good time.

We went out for dinner and then dropped the kids off at their hotel. They had an early morning flight on Wednesday, so stayed in Phoenix that night. We drove back to Yuma. This was the first time they visited us in Yuma, and I think they liked our new surroundings. Hopefully, they'll be back for another visit soon. It was great to see them and spend some quality time together again.

On March 18th, the resort hosted a going away party in the parking lot of the north hall. There were over 1100 people in attendance. The theme was Mardi Gras, and all the tables were decorated. We were served a complimentary jambalaya dinner with all the fixings and King Cake for dessert. We also received free wine, beer, soda and water for the evening.  A photo booth was available with free pictures. We sure appreciate that our resort gives back to its residents.

In March we drove to Palm Springs for the day to visit with Bob and Marilyn. Kevin and Bob worked together for a number of years at the dealership in West Bend, Wisconsin. Bob and Marilyn have since moved to Minnesota to be closer to their children and grandchildren. They rented a condo in Palm Springs for a month. It was great to spend the day with them.

As we were driving through Palm Springs, the scenery was gorgeous. The San Jacinto Mountains still had snow at the top, but down below were palm trees. So beautiful!!

We wandered around the downtown area for a few hours. Kevin and Bob are admiring the thirty foot Marilyn Monroe statue.

There were several statues of Hollywood icons around. Lucille Ball always made me laugh!

This piece of art was really amazing. It is made of many stainless steel discs. Depending on the angle you look at it, it appears solid and then see through. Very clever!

We had our last New Kids dinner of the season at Cynthia's place. She loves to take pictures.

On March 27th, Kirk and Laura hosted a pancake breakfast for a large group of friends. The food was delicious, and fun was had by all.

We attended a St. Patrick's Day party hosted by Bob and Karen Duffy. They put on quite a spread with corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes and various salads and desserts brought by the guests. We certainly are never hungry down here :)

It is not uncommon to see roadrunners on the golf course. Once in a while, they venture up closer to the houses. This guy was just on the other side of the fence of our backyard last week.

I finished up some woodcarving pieces I have been working on this season. The three Santas are ornaments. The hummingbird is a trivet or hot plate. I'm happy with the results.

I also made this wall hanging from a wood pallet. I had seen the saying online, and really thought it fit well with our lifestyle. Cathryn's mother Sharon made the Cricut stencil for me, and our friend Brad made the wooden frame from the pallet. I stained and painted the wood, and painted on the stencil. It was not as easy as I thought, but I'm happy with the end result. Thanks so much to Brad and Sharon for their help with this project!!

As you can see, March was another busy, fun-filled month at our resort. The people here are wonderful, and that makes for a great community. Many of them left at the end of March. April 1st was a mass exodus. There are still quite a few people here, though. We continue to golf in the early morning as it is getting too hot to golf later in the day. I'm also finding time to do some quilting again, which makes me happy. 

Next week our Arizona remodel project is supposed to start. It's already been postponed for three weeks. Things around here happen at a much slower pace than we are used to in the Midwest. We'll just have to be patient and see how it goes.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!