Trip to the Grand Canyon

Josh and I are walking to get on the Grand Canyon train.  A nice shot of my backside I could  live without. :)

We got on the train in Williams, Arizona.

They put on a gunfight show before we boarded the train.

This is an old engine we saw. The railroad buys up any kind of train car that anyone else is getting rid of and they either restore it or they use every part on it on their existing trains.

Our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon from the train.

The Grand Canyon Depot.  Notice the kid on the bench.

No explaination required.

We were close to the edge and my husband was flipping out.  We were fine.

Me and my honey

This was a funny and brave little squirrel we saw while we were eating lunch.  It had very short ears and its tail was not fluffy at all and it seemed to be very fat in the body.  It also was eating alot of grass.  It darted out in front of people as if to say "This is my home and you are intruding".

Then we had an actual train robbery.

This guy was the sheriff.  He came on the train right after the robbers.

We arrived back at the station.

It was a great day and we had such a good time.  Hope all is well with all of you.

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We went to the Grand Canyon yesterday and it was awesome!! Incredible!! Breathtaking!! There just aren't enough words to describe it.  Very soon I will be posting pictures and sharing our experience. 

I have a request.  If you are following this blog, could you please indicate so by being a follower?  I like to know who is here. I miss everyone so much and it would just be great to know you are here!

Thanks! Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Lots of Books

Today we raided the library of all their books on the Civil War.  We are studying it indepth.  We are also studying the history of Canada, Mexico and the United States.  We should be able to work it all in this year. :)  I seriously don't know how people homeschool multiple kids.  Those mom must be absolute geniuses!!  I struggle to educate one!

Joshua liked Master Club last night but we would have to purchase a shirt, book, etc. just like AWANA so we aren't sure he will continue with that. If we were going to be here for the full year or longer it would be an easier decidion. It is also a very very small group and they don't really do much.  He did go to AWANA again tonight and was very anxious to get there.  Since he already had his shirt, book, and bible we didn't have to purchase anything.

We lowered the price on our house this week.  I am considering renting it out at some point but it is not something I really want to do.  I don't like the idea of others being in my house and possibly tearing it up or doing things that would need repaired before we could try selling it again.  I am hopeful we won't have to do that but every month that goes by means more money flying out the door that we will never see again. 

The weather was BEAUTIFUL today! We had a high of 76 and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I took the dogs on several walks which I really needed to do. I am going to check out the YMCA's here to see about aerobic exercise classes.  That is where the Arthritis Foundation has their classes.  It has taken me awhile to find out because people don't like to return phone calls here.  Maybe they are outside enjoying the nice weather. :)

Hope the week has been good to you! Blessings all!

Living in Someone Else's Home

We are living in a condo that is fully furnished.  It has linens, silverware, pots and pans and it even has a junk drawer.  The people that own it appear to have just packed their clothes one day and left.  There was soap in the soap dishes and cleaning supplies under the sinks. It really is a perfect set up for us.  It feels like we were meant to be here.  Having said that, it is also a very strange feeling to be living in someone else's home and using their things.  I brought some things with me that I just couldn't live without, like my crockpot and my Pampered Chef Chopper.  I am so thankful that this house has everything!! I feel a huge obligation to take exceptional care of everything because it does belong to someone else. I am so glad Joshua is not a destructive child.  If he was I think I would be packing alot of stuff in boxes! 

We have neighbors that are quite interesting.  Our neighbor lady with the cats, who I shall fondly refer to as the Cat Lady, likes to sit on her porch and chain smoke and talk loudly.  Many times she is talking on the phone.  Her porch is only a few feet from our front door.  Now that the weather is nice I would love to have our front door open.  When the Cat Lady is on her porch smoking and talking, it is quite unpleasant.  Sometimes my husband sits in his chair which is near our front door, and sprays Febreeze at the screen door to counteract the smell of cigarette smoke wafing through the door.  Too bad there isn't anything you can spray to cover up loud talkers that use foul language. :) 

Then there are the neighbors that live upstairs.  Well I don't really know who lives upstairs exactly.  I have probably seen at least 20 different people go up and down the stairs to the two apartments up there.  What I do know is at times there are extremely noisy people that have small children running back and forth at 5:30 am.  They can be very noisy but at other times I don't hear a thing.  The condo seems to be very well insulated.  If I am in one room I can't hear what Vince is saying in another room.  Oh joy,,,,,the fun of living in a condo!!!

My guys have been doing Geocaching.  It is like Letterboxing but you use the GPS as a guide.  They really have a good time with it.  They found a couple of traveling ones on the way here.  They have deposited them in the Phoenix area.  It was neat to see where all they had been.

Joshua went to a church program tonight called Master Club.  It is similar to AWANA.  This church used to do AWANA but this year they changed.  He is hoping to make some friends.  He told me, and I quote "I am not shy, I just don't like to talk to people that much".  Ok, well I don't really know how to respond to that. I am just trying to find things he likes to do. I am trying to find a chess club.  I have located a couple of Homeschool groups but they don't seem to do much. I am still looking.  I think the good ones are probably not public. "wink"

That's about all from the West. Hope you are all having enjoyable weather wherever you are.

Sunshine

It has been beautiful here as the temperatures begin to drop.  We are supposed to see 80 this week.  We are able to have the door open at night.  Our neighbor smokes and insists on doing it outside her front door which is about 5 feet from our front door.  Vince sits in a recliner and sprays Febreze at the screen door so the smell doesn't choke us all. :)  Other than that, I love where we live!

We ventured out yesterday to a grocery store called Food City. It was in a part of Mesa we had not been to yet.  We found very good prices on some things but once again we were met with extreme rudeness by the hispanic/mexican population.  It was apparent that the store caters to them, which I think is great.  I just don't understand why they are so rude to us. Joshua has mentioned it several times.  He said "everyone else here is really nice except them".  It has made him think that all hispanic/mexican people are like that.  I explained to him that that wasn't the case but I understand why he thinks that.

We are going to take a train ride to the Grand Canyon on Saturday.  It will be about a two hour car ride followed by a two hour train ride.  After that, there are shuttles you can take into the park to various points of the Grand Canyon.  We are excited to finally be exploring the area. 

We aren't surrounded by mountains like I thought we would be. Phoenix is huge and there are huge roads everywhere.  I don't really care to drive there if I don't have to. 

We are finally in the groove of doing school. They have great libraries here but they are all closed on Sunday. That is a big adjustment because Joshua used to go to the library on Sundays alot.  All of the libraries are also closed on Monday except for the main branch.  In Delaware they let you be on the computer for 3 hours and here you can only use the computer for 1 hour each day.  So, yes, there are things we have to adjust to.  One of the biggest adjustments is the bicycle lane.  Most main roads have a designated bicycle lane.  It is on the right side of the road but it gets tricky when a right turn lane begins to appear because the bicycle lane moves. 

I have heard alot of people come here for the winter but I haven't seen alot of people.  I know I won't miss the snow at all. :)

Goodbye for now! Much love to everyone!

Finally Settled

Bet you thought I wouldn't do it? Well I did!  We are finally settled.  I would be lying if I said it has been easy.  It hasn't. There are things I would do differently and will do differently the next time we move.  The first couple of weeks were especially difficult.  There was a language barrier and we were dealing with culture shock.  Since then, we have moved to a much friendly area called Mesa.  If you ever come this way, I would suggest bypassing the area known as Tolleson.  I could have dealt with the language barrier.  It was the rudeness that came with it that I had difficulty with.

Our dogs are learning how to NOT bark at everything that moves.  It has been hard for them because they were so used to a fenced in backyard.  Before they only barked at the birds that happened to fly in.  Recently, as I was scolding them for barking, I noticed that all three of them were in a semi-circle in front of me like three toddlers being scolded.  I had to suppress a laugh.  Even though their barking could get us kicked out of our new place, the way they all looked staring at me with their sad "we didn't mean to do it" eyes, was hysterical.

Hubby loves his job but it takes between 45 minutes to an hour for him to commute.  He doesn't seem to mind it.  The job isn't exactly how it was presented but except for a little boredom, six months will go by fast. 

J seems to like it here.  We went swimming this week and had to wear sunscreen because the temperature was still in triple digits.  They are forecasting 80's for later this week and that will be nice.  It is a dry heat so it doesn't feel nearly as miserable as Ohio does at that temperature. 

He also went to AWANA this week and really liked it.  Another nearby church used to have AWANA but changed to a different program this year and he wants to check it out this week too.  I hope he is able to make some friends.

Finally found an orthodontist to take over his braces.  I thought $4500 was alot of money until I found out they charge $7500 here.  By the time we are finished we will probably have over $10,000 invested in his smile.  Thank goodness he won't be playing any contact sports.  :)

I have been trying to find the nearest Aerobic Swimming classes.  People are nice here but they don't like to return phone calls.  The warm weather has helped with my pain but unfortunately it is still there.  Some days I am able to do what I have to do and some days I can't. After I had surgery in April to replace the bad artery, I am glad I came to the realization that I will never be like I was before all this happened.  I had to learn that I have limits now whether I like it or not.  I learned that it is ok to say no. I didn't cause this and there is nothing I can do to fix it.  I am continuing to try to lose weight but my family is not as supportive as I wish they were.  I realize I have to do it whether they do or not. 

We are going shopping for birthday gifts for Anita and Gregory.  I miss them so much but I am so happy they are out of harm's way.  I don't know that I could have gone to Arizona if they were still in that horrible situation.

J is going shopping for Halloween decorations later. He wasn't going to go Trick or Treating until the Orthodontist said they would pay $2 a pound for all candy turned in. Now he can't wait to go!

We are living in a two bedroom condo and it is just the right size for us.  We haven't had alot of showings on our house but I pray that will pick up.  If our house does not sell before it is time to leave here, I plan to move back for a little while. We will have accomplished our goal of avoiding the winter. 

I was diagnosed with Allydonia right before we moved.  It certainly explained why the past couple of winters have been so difficult for me.  I am glad I won't have to deal with the extreme cold.  I have to admit that I do miss seeing grass.  The condo complex where we live does have grass and I like that but grass is hard to find everywhere else. 

Well those are my thoughts for today. This is totally new for me but I will try to keep it interesting. I really miss everyone.