Happy 42nd Wedding Anniversary!

While in SLO on vacation, my parents celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary on July 6th.  We were camping at Lopez Lake on that day, and I posted a picture of our dinner that night to commemorate the event. 

As a surprise to my parents, I had a photo taken with my brothers.  Our studio session was a hoot as my younger brother Dan was quite a character.  Here are two of the better shots.

Long story short, my parents loved it.  The first picture is the one we had made into a wall portrait.  My brother Ken is celebrating his 5 year anniversary since his stem-cell transplant, so we wanted to make sure his LIVESTRONG bracelet was in the picture. You can just make it out in the bottom right corner.

Samour Summer

The Samours have been busy vacationing and enjoying their summer.  I'd like to share some of our fun with you.  I must apologize because it will not be in chronological order.  We spent 10 days on the east coast (check for updates and pictures later) and are currently in California.  Unfortunately,  Rob can't be with us the whole time because someone's got to pay for our excursions, so I'm blogging today to share with Rob our most recent experiences. 

Sienna and Spenser tent camped for the first time at Lopez Lake.  They did amazingly well, never got bored, and seemed to soak in and enjoy nature, which pleased their Papa to no end.

Camp set up begins.....

Spenser learns from the master...

Sienna helps too!

Camp Sienna and Spenser!

Waking up in the tent.  We survived!

Papa and Papa Rose celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary with our help.

Campfire time

Samours love SMORES!

Spenser catches his first fish, and it's a beauty!

Notice how much the pole is bent at the top!

Sienna was successful too!

Wishing We Were at the Wizarding World

This was supposed to be the summer we went to Florida for the first time, to witness the story of Harry Potter coming to life in Universal Orlando, and experiencing the balmy and blue beaches that the Florida coast has to offer.  Unfortunately, the dismal state of Arizona budget again cursed our plans.  It's not a good idea to book an expensive summer vacation when riffed from a teaching position.  You really can't spend money when you're not sure there will be any coming in.  The good news is that I'm not riffed, (but really too late to continue those summer plans), but this fire me then rehire me business is getting ridiculous.  I'm hoping next year will be the first year that the district doesn't repeat their mistakes. 

Today is the grand opening of the Wizarding World.  Since we couldn't be there, I've been watching The Today Show's coverage of all things Harry Potter.  Here are some pictures of this new park.  Just imagine pictures of the family in them!
  
 (Just picture me or Sienna holding hands with Daniel Radcliffe!!)


You know how much we like to meet celebrities.  Here are some of the other awesome cast members.  Wish I was in this picture!




Hagrid's Hut and Dumbledore's Office, two places I definitely want to visit.



There is really no reason to fret.  Our summer is not lost.  We are headed to the east coast tomorrow to visit family, sightsee in NYC (including the Late Show with David Letterman), and get some beach time.  Then we will head to the west coast, to visit other family, again get some beach time, and go camping.  Aahhhhh, ain't summer sweet!!!  And Harry Potter will just have to wait to see us...........................maybe fall break?

More Sedona Sights

Well I heard that our favorite follower really enjoyed our Sedona pictures so I thought I'd get busy posting more pictures and adventures. After getting a lay of the land on Saturday, we returned to the same site, Bell Rock, for a family hike. Before hitting the trail, breakfast was in order and we found a great greasy spoon; the Blue Moon Cafe. As a side note, blue moon is my favorite beer, so stopping there was just meant to be. Want another sign that it was meant to be? The view from the front of the cafe looked like this,

And the view across the street had this,

Yes the vortexes were calling us!

With a backpack stocked with granola bars and water, we hit the trail.  Rob, being the great Dad he is, volunteered to wear the backpack, pink flowers and all.

We ventured back to the wedding site and trekked past, to trails and elevations unknown.  Along the way we stopped for photo ops and using the handy timer on the camera, were able to snap the whole family as long as there was something to set the camera on.  Here we are at our first family vista,

And here are the kids smiling at another scenic spot,

And another scenic spot....

It seems like wherever you looked, there were images to be kept.  Sometimes I was the photographer, and other times it was Rob.  Here are some pictures Rob took as we rested for a bit.

To Spenser, Sedona was just one big jungle gym!

Let's pause a minute and enjoy the view.......above and below!

After a great day of hiking, we went into downtown Sedona to shop and sightsee.  Spenser's smile turned into a frown on this leg of the trip.  He would much rather romp in nature's playground than shop.  So we kept that part of the excursion fairly short and this is the last picture taken before we hit the road for home.

Hope you enjoyed our journey through the red rocks.

Visited a Vortex Lately?

A wedding invitation and a mother's day weekend getaway finally drew us to visit Sedona Arizona.    Rob had been there before, but without me for some reason.  So I was excited to experience the red rocks once and for all.  Apparently, Sedona is a very spiritual and mystical place because all three types of hot spots, or vortexes, exist here.  Long story short, vortexes are believed to create positive, negative and neutral releases of the Earth's energy.  They also evoke balance, a heightened sense of awareness, an awakening of the spirit, and even divine intervention. (I got that from the brochure).  Vortex or no vortex, the beauty of the area is undeniable.    

The wedding was at Bell Rock, which is a designated vortex area.  I would call this a destination wedding, without seating, centerpieces, or decorations.  I guess the ultimate decoration is everything around you.  We kept that in mind as we hiked 1/4 mile up the trail in our wedding bests.  Luckily I did not fall in my high wedges, but others weren't so lucky.  

 

Bell Rock is located behind us, as well as some other wedding guest.

Here we are near the ceremony site.

Another view of Bell Rock.  Maybe we're right in the middle of the vortex!!!

Here is Sienna among the red rocks.  Isn't she adorable?

Wedding clothes aren't going to stop Spenser from wanting to climb!

We enjoyed the wedding and surroundings so much we planned on returning the next day in proper hiking attire.  But I think I'll save that for another blog. 

DC Comes to AZ

The big news for us this weekend was the long awaited and l - o - n - g overdue visit from my younger brother Daniel.  He was in town promoting Tennis Warehouse at the National Club Tennis Championships in Surprise, Arizona.  So he made the hour drive from Surprise to Chandler on Friday night to finally see our house and then go to dinner.  Of course I had to take some pictures to commemorate the big event and here they are!

So I guess now that he's visited his big sister he can cross that off his things I must do someday if I ever get around to it list.  (Actually, he has visited me in Arizona before, but that was when I graduated from ASU back in 1997).  The next day I drove to the Surprise Tennis Complex to visit him doing his thing.  His 'hit it to win it' court was a popular place.  The players lined up and took two shots, hoping to hit tennis warehouse merchandise strewn about the court.  Luckily I got merchandise without having to 'hit it.'  I guess it  is all about who you know.  And these days I'm glad I know/love Danny Castro!  Thanks bro!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to our many followers (ha ha) and hope you're eating a great meal today. We started our Easter with Mass and will have turkey and ham and the fixings later for our Easter meal. As the pictures probably portray, Sienna and Spenser are older now, so there is no need for easter egg hunts, easter egg baskets, or a gluttony of candy.

Here we are at 11:00 Mass at St. Andrew's, held outside on the grass under a tent. Father Joe presided over Mass today, so it was a treat to see and hear him again. He is always entertaining.

And here is a picture of Rob with the kids,

 

HAPPY EASTER!