Getaway to Torreon-Vernon-Springerville

Being retired is fun! Steve and I decided on the spur of the moment to take a trip to the cabin in Show Low. We left Sunday afternoon and drove the 3 hours. We like to stop in Payson and eat at Macky's Grill. They have delicious hamburgers and we all know that is Steve's favorite dish!

Monday we went for a drive up through Vernon and Springerville. We came back "over the mountain" as the locals say to Show Low, a very scenic drive.

We were driving through Vernon just for fun and we saw an interesting area to our left. We weren't sure what we were looking for. From the road we thought it might be a cemetery. There was a gentleman watering so we stopped and started a conversation. His last name is Applegate and the 3 1/2 acres we were looking at belonged to him. It was his yard. What made it so interesting was he had all these little areas divided by a corner of a white picket fence. These were filled with statues,figurines,bird cages,fountains and flowers. I was just so intrigued that I had to ask if I could take some pictures. He agreed but he did follow me around conversing. i would have taken more but I didn't want to intrude.

We had a great time. Enjoy the pictures!

The above birdhouse was my favorite. Steve was having a hard time figuring out why they had so many birdhouses sitting around with no birds.

The above picture is actually the Gunsmoke town made out of bird houses! It is awesome in color but I wanted to try the sepia since it is an old western town. LOL!

After we left Mr. Applegate's we saw a few young elk grazing on some lush grass.

If you double click on the pic you can see the elk better.

Vernon with Craig's Family

In preparation for my parents 60th wedding anniversary celebration, yes I said 60th, my brother Craig and his family came to Mesa, Arizona a little early to spend additional time with family and each other.

Being that it was July and that translates to hot here in Mesa we decided to head up to our cabin in Show Low, Arizona to take a break from the heat for a couple of days. Unfortunately my parents could not join us as my mom has a difficult time breathing in the higher elevation. Craig,my nieces Miranda and Hannah,my nephew Josh, Craig's girlfriend Tracy,her son Cameron and her daughter Chasity accompanied Steve and I to the cabin. We had a relaxing time in the cooler temps,some good food and even better company.

One of the things I wanted to do while there was to make the drive to Vernon, Arizona about 20 minutes outside of Show Low on the way to Springerville. I wanted to take the drive as my friends and neighbors, Teri and Reggie, have some property in Vernon that I wanted to visit.

As we made the turn onto Vernon Road heading towards their property I glanced to my left and saw this wonderful old windmill in a fenced vacant lot. I had my camera as did Craig. I mentioned on the way out we should stop and take some photos of this windmill.

We climbed through the fence to take pictures. Craig came up with some great photo ops and I followed his lead. I think these pictures are some of the best I have ever taken. Everyone patiently waited in the cars while Craig,Hannah and I did our thing.

It was a beautiful day with cloud cover that enhanced the photos.

This photo reminds me of something I would see in Panaca,Nevada my mother's hometown.

The writing on the windmill said "The Aermotor Chicago.

We all took a turn climbing up the windmill. Craig took the photos of me with my camera.

Hannah is very photogenic!

This was Craig's idea and I had to copy it because I knew it would be a great picture.

A Beautiful Morning

It was indeed a breathtaking sunrise this morning! I luv everything about our home. One of the times I enjoy the most is the mornings.

My dogs Cutter and Piper are eager to bolt out the back door to see what has happened in their world while they were sleeping.

My horses always great me with a nicker which basically says;"It's about time you got up to feed me!" Then they begin to pace in hungry anticipation. I feed them,water them,brush them,fly spray them and yes I shovel manure. I happen to love the smell of hay,horse and manure!

My African Grey, Kya, sings,talks and whistles the most in the mornings. She is also awaiting her smorgasbord of seeds,fruits and vegetables.

Occasionally as I am rushing back and forth I take the time to look up and really SEE the beauty that surrounds me. One such occasion was this morning and it sent me running for my camera. I am truly greatfull for this beautiful world Heavenly Father has created for me.

A beautiful sunrise!

Santannah waiting for me to feed.

Psynna a little jealous that I was taking Santannah's picture. She is a diva!

Cutter loves to play ball in the morning before the heat sets in. He found this one in the arena this morning and we played several rounds of fetch.

Cutter really wants me to throw the ball again and Piper just wants to go in the house because she is hot!

King of the Hill

Who says only kids like to pay King of the Hill?

Yes, you can tell that I have retired because I have the time to snap these pictures while I am feeding the horses in the morning.

Rhonda Retires

I started working as Steve's dental assistant in January 2001. Steve and I were actually divorced at that time and I was working for TRW Systems Federal Credit Union at the TRW site in Mesa. I enjoyed that job but I needed more hours and better pay.

Steve had wanted me to come and work in the dental office for awhile but I had always refused. I had a couple of reasons why I had not accepted his offer:

1. We were divorced and I wasn't sure how well we would work together. No brainer, right?

2. In the past I had been known to have a weak stomach when it came to surgery and blood.

Examples:

Like the time Brinton split his head open running through the church while I was decorating for a young women's activity. On the way to the doctor's office I had stopped at the stop sign and opened the door of my Volkswagen to vomit into the street. Brinton asked me why I "throwed up" and I explained I had a stomach ache.

There was the time Steve was stitching up Brinton's eye or Trey's thumb and I was laying in the hallway in the dental office trying not to throw up and feeling faint.

The worst was when my cousin and college roommate Lisa fell and split her chin open. She had it stitched and when it came time to have her stitches removed I went went her to the infirmary for moral support. The next thing I know I wake up lying on a gurney in another room and I could hear Lisa and the doctor talking and yes, laughing, as he was removing her stitches.

Now back to my story. I think you can see why working in the dental office might not have been my first career choice. However, Steve made me an offer I could not refuse and I started as his dental assistant. Turns out we worked well together. I found that I enjoyed working with Steve. He is a maverick and you are never bored working beside him. He is a general dentist who also does, orthodontics,endodontics,oral surgery including implants and well you name it Steve does it.

I also saw a different side of Steve as we worked side by side. I saw how generous he is,how compassionate he is, how fair he is and how devoted he is to his patients. I began to truly realize what a fabulous dentist Steve is. One of his implant reps likes to refer to him as a "Rock Star"! Needless to say seeing Steve in a different light by working with him contributed to our getting remarried. In essence, this was the best job I ever had!

As time went on I ended up in the front office and I learned that aspect of the business. When Brannon came into the office I became his front office "girl friday". I have enjoyed watching Brannon grow with his practice. He is also a wonderful dentist with great skills who is

kind, compassionate and fair. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

Steve retired the first of May 2011. I planned on continuing to work for an undetermined time. I wanted to be there as Brannon transitioned taking over Steve's patients. Not long after he retired Steve came to me and said that his retirement wasn't really retirement if I wasn't retired. He suggested it was time I also retired. July 14th 2011 was my last day working at the dental office.

My life now is to be continued....................

I had posted a picture of the awesome rock Steve was given by the office when he retired but I wanted to post it again along with photos of my retirement gift from the office.

This is what you get when you retire after being a dentist for 40 years!

This is what you get when you retire after having worked in the dental office for 10 years!

Thanks Dr. Duffy!

I think they complement each other quite well in our front yard, don't you?

A side note. My first day as a dental assistant Steve was extracting every upper tooth on a young woman and delivering a full upper denture. He said; "Come on Rhonda, you are going to assist me with this." ..................I did not get sick!

"We Thought You Was A Toad"

Trivia anyone? What movie was the line :"We thought you was a toad" featured in? It always struck me funny!

Anyhoo (as Aunt Martie would say)the other evening I was trying to get Cutter Boy to come into the house. He wasn't coming even with the promise of a cookie which pretty much gets him every time. I flipped on the outside light and saw that he was chasing something around and around the inside of his wading pool. I had a suspicion what it could be so I grabbed my flashlight and Hannah (she was visiting) and went out to take a look. Above is what we found swimming in Cutter's wading pool. The toad has since been back on several occasions. They are poisonous to dogs so we just bring Cutter and Piper in so Mr. Toad can hydrate.

The answer to the trivia question is "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou".

SPORTS WITH COTE AND BREXTON

Life has been busy and I have not posted events in a timely manner. I want to post some of our activities even if they are out of sequence.

I have to say that Brexton was our most improved athlete this year. It wasn't that he couldn't play as well last year but this year he truly wanted to play. With Brexton that makes all the difference. The photos below are of one of his t bats. Nice hit and scoring after successfully running the bases. Way to go Brexton!

Now at the games we would have a various assortment of cheerleaders. I wish I had a picture of my mom and dad as they were able to attend a few games this season. That means that my mom was feeling much better after some pretty serious health issues.

Nixin has been to many games to cheer on her brothers!

Cote played flag football and baseball at the same time. He was a busy young man. I don't have any baseball pictures to post but I want to point out that Cote was the only player from his baseball team to be asked to play on one of the ALL-STAR teams. We were all very proud of his accomplishments. Below are some action photos from a flag football game. He is the one in the yellow socks and hat right in the middle of the action!

Cutter, Piper and the Golf Cart

As you know I loved my two Queensland Heelers Rowdy and Cowgirl. They were the best two dogs. One thing thing they didn't enjoy was riding in the golf cart. Rowdy would ride in the cart when I was dragging the arena because that had to do with the horses and she felt that her sole purpose in life was to watch over the horses and keep them in line. Cowgirl didn't want to ride in the golf cart at all! She had better things to do like hunt chipmunks,rabbits and squirrels!

When I brought Cutter home he was 11 weeks old and I decided to initiate him to the golf cart immediately. I wanted him to enjoy going for a ride. Piper was four months old when I brought her home a few months after Cutter. I immediately put her in the golf cart. Well, I got my wish,both Cutter and Piper LOVE,LOVE the golf cart. In fact they are extreme golf cart enthusiasts. If we go for a ride they feel they absolutely must be going too. If they wander off my unfenced property (which they do occasionally as they are pups in training) I just turn the golf cart on and put it in reverse so the backup beeper starts and they both come running to beat the band! Works every time! If you leave them behind they whine,cry and are broken hearted. They are ready to go for a ride in the two pictures above. Don't they look happy?