Sweet smells

Flowers make my day. I bought this lovely cherry blossom vase in Japan and just love looking at its beauty. I have made a weekly effort to buy fresh flowers. I love how they brighten up the room. After all, it is all about presentation.

Mt. Lemmon Adventure

Spectacular views of Tucson from mid-point

Gorgeous homes along the way

Pushing your body to the limit. Every October they host a marathon and 1/2 marathon all the way to the top. It is one of the steepest runs around.

Wall climbing

Today we decided to check out Mt. Lemmon and the small village of Summerhaven which sits on the summit. This mountain is 9,157 feet above sea level and is home to Tucson's closest ski area called Sky Valley. The drive takes about 60 minutes, and it is just a gorgeous windy, scenic drive all the way to the top. The mountain is busy with visitors, cyclist, hikers, and campers who drive up to ride the sky lift during summer days, visit the observatory, hike and camp. We enjoyed the delicious fudge we bought at the gift shop. The temperature and the views were amazing. We look forward to taking another drive up for a ski adventure. Warning! Be careful with bears.........................

A Me Day

Today I figured it was time to go have a me day, so I made an appointment at an upscale salon and spa only because I had a 50% off coupon as a new customer. This place was nice, it had a full spa, salon, fully equipped gym, and everything you could want in a salon. As I walked in I was offered wine, water, or coffee. Their were apples to grab and it just felt really inviting. I couldn't help but notice that most of the stylist were speaking Spanish. They were very attractive girls and I would have never known they were Mexican until I heard them speak. As my stylist and I got to know each other, I asked where she was from. She said she had come from Mexico 12 years ago. The same for the stylist right next to us when a woman asked where she was from. I am not one to discuss controversial issues on my blog, but with all the media attention on Arizona's SB 1070 law, I found it odd that most of the workers were Mexican and most of the clientele were Caucasian. Hmmm, I thought..........now might some of these ladies (costumers) be in favor of that law. Anyway, I am sure all these wonderful nice employees were legal, but you start to wonder how widespread this is. Mothers are being deported back to Mexico even though their children are US citizens and they attended high school here. There are so many sad cases like this all around Tucson. Overall, I loved this place. I felt so welcomed and pampered. I have surely found my salon and the perfect stylist. I hope she is here to stay for a long time........

The Man of The House

I caught a little mouse in the kitchen today.......................

Ok, so I was born and raised in South Texas and have had my share of rattlesnake encounters, luckily nothing close up. As I was walking out my back patio for a swim, I encountered a small rattlesnake. Rene was in Florida, so I quickly called for the man of the house. Renie grabbed a hoe and we chopped it. The Arizona snakes are out and about. Almost every state has some sort of critter they have to worry about, here it is the Diamond Head Rattlesnake. Needless the say I changed my mind about getting in the pool. The kids said "What if the mama snake is around". My bet is that it probably was close by.

Rainbows

A beautiful semi-circular rainbow taken outside my home.

The Farmers Market

Not sure what Indian Tacos are, should be interesting.

Coffee roasting today, that is where I am headed.

Locally grown fresh fruits and veggies, yum!

Today is such a wonderful Saturday. Rene and I woke up early for a 6:00 am run since the temperatures have been a cool 62 degrees. As Rene worked on the yard, Larissa and I headed to the nearby Farmers Market which sits along Old Spanish Trail road. I love driving down this road along side the Rincon Mountains. It is such a beautiful area to drive or bike. Most Farmers Markets offer locally grown organic fresh fruits and vegetables for a great price. Today we got more than we bargained for. The local farmers had fresh items from fruits, veggies, salsa, breads, tamales, honey, almond butter, fudge and many more goodies. There was also an Artisans alley full of art, jewelry, furniture, etc....These people gather here every Saturday morning. You shop as a man on the corner plays his guitar. I loved the smell of the organic coffee roasting and the feel of just being out in the country around such nice people. I think this is going to be one of my favorite places to visit on Saturday's.

Phoenix Fun In the Sun

It was nice to be around my Hispanic heritage. The sound of Mariachi's playing was music to my ears.

Chase stadium, downtown Phoenix was so clean and inviting.

We had a great time at the game, but were the only one's cheering for the Astros who took the game in the 8th inning. It was so exciting.

The Arizona Grand Resort Water Park. We were waiting for Renie to come down. This thing looked so scary.

The Lazy river

Larissa coming down the slide.

Our road trip to Phoenix was so much fun, we are ready for another one. As I was leaving Japan, I envisioned my family taking many road trips along the surrounding Arizona states. This was one of many things I missed while living in Japan three years. Everything was familiar, we were driving a nice dependable car, English signs, and nice open roadways. The more I think about Renie leaving us in two years, the more I want to squeeze in everything I can. Family vacations will soon be a rarity which of course makes me sad. We enjoyed Phoenix and its nice clean inviting down town area. It was an easy city to navigate in and the food was very good. Unfortunately it was 108 degrees, so our time in the water park was short. The water was refreshing, but I felt like I was going to melt away. We are back home now and ready for the week ahead and soon will be planning a trip to Sedona and The Grand Canyon.

The Dog Days of Summer

http://www.arizonagrandresort.com/phoenix-arizona-resort-tour.php

My BBQ Pitmaster

As the evenings become cooler, we continue to enjoy our backyard oasis, and this means firing up the grill at least two to three times a week. Our built-in pit makes it easy for us to enjoy some delicious fajita tacos and hamburgers. I have grocery shopped at most places around Vail, but find myself going back to the base commissary. It is still cheaper and the meat choices are the best in town. In fact, this is the only place I can find flank steak (fajitas). Most of the shoppers are retirees, and they are a pleasure to be around. The BX does not have much to offer, so I often head for the mall. The snowbirds are slowly coming into town. I imagine the base camping park will be full by October.

This weekend we will head to Phoenix for some rest, water fun and spa pampering at the Arizona Grand Resort. This place looks massive and the best feature is the enormous water park surrounded by lush mountain views and beautiful landscaping. The travel channel voted this place top 10 water parks. Arizona is known for its spas, so I can't wait to check that out. We will also take in a baseball game (Astros vs the Diamond backs). Rene says it is time for me to snap out of vacation mode. Oh well, might as well enjoy and last weekend of summer :)

Biking Country

Gods country, our house is somewhere in there.

I snapped this photo coming out of Renie's school. They were going way to fast.

Living in Japan prepared me for driving cautious around bikers, they are everywhere.

What comes to mind when you think of Arizona? Yes, you got it, hiking, mountains, beautiful sunsets, and biking. Every morning as I drive the kids to school, you can't help but notice the packs of bikers around here. The mornings and evenings are now getting cooler and they are out in droves. I kept bugging Rene to put the bikes back together again, since the Japanese packers had taken them apart for shipping. I was itching to get back on my Cannondale. Yesterday, Rene and I went out for our first evening bike ride. It was awesome. I was getting a bit burned out with running. I look forward to biking some of the beautiful mountain trails here in my own back yard.