IT'S A DISNEYLAND BIRTHDAY

Two of my little loves,my grandchildren Brexton and Nixin have birthdays in October. What better place to celebrate than Disneyland! In October 2014 G-Mama,Brexton and Nixin took a road trip to Anaheim,California. Brexton turned 9 and Nixin turned 6. We spent a fabulous day in the Magic Kingdom. 

Of course we visited the Lego store with Brexton the Lego Master where he chose a Lego set. I'm happy to say that I was able to take Brexton for the first time on the Star Tours ride and it did not disappoint! I was amazed that Nixin wanted to ride Space Mountain with us,she did it. She was OK with Space Mountain but didn't like Indiana Jones and all. It was a beautiful day and not crowded at all. We rode 8 major rides in 2 hours! Splash Mountain is always fun and so was spending time in Fantasy Land.  

We spent time in Downtown Disney the night before and visited Build a Bear. Nixin made a pony and we made the bear for Presley who was at home. Brexton got a new outfit for his bear.

Disneyland is a place where dreams really do come true! My dream came true spending time with Brexton and Nixin! XOXOXOXO Love them! 

My Young Women

I am the First Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency in the Boulder Mountain Ward. I am blessed to work with the MiaMaids,Esther,McKenna,Jewelana,Aubry and Cera. We made homemade dog biscuits from scratch and donated them to a local dog shelter.  We all really enjoyed this activity and it was for a good cause. Everyone involved is an animal lover!

Groom Creek Horse Camping

As a youth I belonged to a horse group,Westwind riders in El Cajon, California. We had in house horse shows that I participated in as well as some fun activities. Perhaps my favorite was horse camping at Los Caballos in the Cuyamaca Mountains for a week in the summer. I absolutely loved the freedom,the scenery and the new experiences camping offered us. I was blessed with wonderful parents who indulged me with my passion for horses. My mother is an accomplished equestrian and she shares this passion with me. 

I had not camped with my horses since those Los Caballos days and I was long overdue.  My friend Mary Morrow has done it all. She is an endurance rider and has done a lot of horse camping. Mary has truly help me expand my riding experiences and pushed me to be more adventurous and I really appreciate her friendship. We decided to go horse camping!

In September 2014 we packed up and headed to Groom Creek Horse camp in Prescott,Arizona up in the pines. Mary has a three horse trailer with living quarters so we weren't really roughing it but hey,we were still camping. This was my Arabian gelding,Santannah's first camping experience. The facilities at Groom Creek are extremely nice. Each campsite has one pipe corral and a high tie. Mary has two portable corrals that we were able to set up for her two horses Cali and Starlight. There are lots of nice trails to ride and we did plenty of that over the four days we were there. Santannah did really well.  He was a little out of sorts being away from home overnight and he didn't eat like the chow hound he is but overall I was proud of him.

One of the interesting things that happened on our first ride Santannah pulled a shoe.  Fortunately Mary had an extra boot that fit him so I slapped a boot on him and he rode the next three days with one front shoe and one boot. This episode convinced me I needed to take Santannah barefoot which I did once we got home. That's a story for another blog post. I also had bought Santannah a blanket because I was afraid he would be too cold up in the mountains.  I put the blanket on him that first night and when I went out in the morning he was sweating rather profusely.  Needless to say he didn't wear it the rest of the time.

I hope to do this again!

Arizona Sunrise

Arizona has some of the most beautiful sunrises in the world. Well, that's my opinion at least. I'm outside every morning tending to my horses,chickens and dogs. I just need to look up and this is what greats me. These pictures were taken in September and October of 2014.

Phoenix Zoo Days

Volunteering at the Phoenix Zoo is one of the joys in my life.  I took these pictures in September of 2014  upon returning to the Zoo after my summer hiatus. 

The first picture is of Kitambi our male African lion who just happens to be me favorite animal at the zoo. He is about 4 years old in this photo and magnificent!

The next pictures are of McCleod our male Komodo dragon. I just happened to be at his enclosure when he decided to go for a brief swim.  It was a warm Arizona September day.

There is such beautiful vegetation on the Zoo grounds I snapped a picture of some flowers and the last picture is of our Andean bears, Rio and her cub Luka. I had such a good time watching Luka play in the water on this day and then move off to their favorite tree.  He is such a character and fun to watch. Luka will be leaving the Phoenix Zoo soon for the Dallas Zoo. He has reached sexual maturity and they will be pairing him with a female bear around the same age.  Luka,this female and her sister have been the only live births of Andean bears in captivity in the last three years.  Even though we will miss Luka and his antics it is important to give him the opportunity to breed as this bear is extremely endangered. The Dallas Zoo is building a wonderful new Andean bear exhibit. As soon as it is completed Luka will be leaving us. Then Rio and Luka's father Rosario will at times be on exhibit together and wouldn't it be wonderful if we had another Andean bear born at the Phoenix Zoo!

September Rain

September of 2014 brought lots of rain to the Valley of the Sun. We had two significant storms a couple of weeks apart. One of the storms brought over 4 inches to our area. That is over half our annual rainfall. 

The first three pictures are out in Usery Park.  Steve and I took a walk to see how much water was in the retention area and boy were we surprised! All of the retention areas were full to the brim with water. I have never seen them so full.  The picture with the sign is out on one of the trails.  Those signs are about 6 feet tall.

A beautiful picture of the Superstition Mountains after the rain followed by a photo of my tortoise Volcum, who came out of his hole due to flooding. The last two pictures are of the damage that was done by wind at my next door neighbor Teri's home.  The panels covering her horse pens were completely torn from the ground and flipped onto the backside of her mare motels. 

We were extremely thankful for the rain but unfortunately it did leave damage in its wake.

Grandparents Day

Being a grandma or G-Mama as I'm called is the best! These beautiful children of God just touch your heart and bring so much joy in to my life.  A few random pictures need to be added to my blog every now and then.

Montana loving life!

We had lunch with the Gunnel boys at Grandparents day for their school.

Brexton with his PineWood Derby car "Kragle" from the Lego movie. Harlee enjoying a chocolate fountain with Papa and at her second birthday party! Lastly we have our Gracie. Julie was out of town and Ryan brought the kids over and Gracie came just like this. She was anti clothes at the time!

SALT RIVER WILD HORSES

We are so blessed to live in the beautiful state of Arizona. It is hard for me to believe when I first moved here from California  in 1987  I didn't find beauty in the dessert. That being said,it didn't take me long to discover that Arizona has a beauty that speaks to my soul.

Ten years ago Steve and I moved to North East Mesa close to the Salt River. I ride my horses to the river,we take Cutter and Piper to swim in the river and now we have kayaks to use on the river.

One of my favorite things on this planet is that we have the opportunity to see the wild horses. Steve is kayaking by a beautiful grey stallion who is grazing on the grass growing along the bank of the river. 

I am blessed!

 I love the reflections in the water.