Update from Mom

Hi!
Yes, the scene just below this blog is what greeted Steve & Peggy and her parents when they arrived at Viewpoint on Thursday morning last week. They flew in Wednesday but the next morning it was 29 degrees!! Steve went up to the Center and took this picture and sent it to Sue. I can't ever remember it being that cold down here in the 23 years I've been in this park!!

Thursday morning we drove up to Sedona and knew it would be colder up there so we were dressed for it. We did lots of sightseeing and it is still as awesome as it has always been. Peggy's parents had not been there before so they were thoroughly impressed. We met up with Peggy's cousin and his friend and did the tour. We did the gallery thing and also Tlaquepaque(tal-lock-a-pak-e). My sister-in-law Florence would appreciate this place cause it's where she and Arnold bought beautiful jewelry made by artists when they used to spend their winters in Mesa. We spent all day Friday there and then Saturday morning we drove up to the Grand Canyon. Wow! Talk about AWESOME! I had been ther eabout 13 years before and was still breathtaking. Late that afternoon, we drove to Flagstaff and spent the night there. We drove back to Mesa Sunday morning.

Steve never really relaxes so Sunday afternoon, he started in ripping my deck steps apart. It was a job on my "to do" list and it needed more than I had anticipated. Steve & Peggy went to Lowe's for supplies but couldn't find a match for the 15 year old carpet!! Surprise, surprise. Why wouldn't they still have a match? It took a trip to 2 other stores before we could find something that would work. It didn't match but -good enough. Steve also touched up the marks on the ceiling from a leaky roof in the liviing room, washed my car and cleaned the inside, including the windows, and a few other jobs I can't remember. Peggy took over the kitchen--I don't think I did much while they were here. I didn't even wash any dishes. It was wonderful to have all of them here. I took them to the airport Wednesday morning. Now it's back to reality.

Wednesday evening I went to dinner with my 2 nieces, Vicki & Herb Hobbs, and Barbara & Gene Schuler, who are in the area visiting their father, Wally & Ruth Holt. Wally & Ruth were along for dinner. I hope to see them again before they leave.

Thursday evening I ushered at a Concert and Saturday evening I attended the annual Softball Hamburger Feed. It is one of the highlights of the year that Marland always looked forward to so I wanted to attend. They served 960 people--lots of folks who do not play softball like to attend. There is a dance included but I usually have to leave when the music starts--too many memories.

This next week looks like a busy one according to the calendar and that is good. Oh! I almost forgot the most important part--Andrew & Brody skyped me during the week!! What a thrill to see their happy faces!

That's it till next time. Love, LaVerne

It's me again:

A very important post script: I menstioned that Peggy took over the kitchen but I failed to give credit to Steve for all the cooking he did on the grill. I had marinated thick pork chops for the evening they came and Steve did a great job on them. Then when we returned from Flagstaff we marinated Chuck Eye steaks. I had never heard of that cut before but Peggy knew about them. We found them at Fry's (grocery store) and Peggy marinated them in a special sauce that was delicious-Steve grilled them and they were great. The last evening we marinated chicken breasts and they were grilled and pretty darn good. We ate well and now I am into leftovers and enjoying them. Just thought you needed to know all this. LaVerne