December 2013

What a beautiful ORI Christmas tree this year…….

At Outdoor Resorts, we have an annual toy drive at Christmas time.  This year we donated 100 bicycles, (all with helmets) and hundreds of presents to the Indio Fire Department who distribute them to needy kids locally.  We have a big party (admission is a toy) and a lot of warm fuzzy feelings at giving to the kids.

Mike has a new car!  Well – not really.  We have friends who went home for the holidays.  Our friends are the organizers for the ORI “Topless” group.  (Convertibles)

Our friend asked Mike if he would lead one of their runs and Mike could use his car for the run!   Well – WOW!  We drove our friend’s BMW on a fabulous day trip to Temecula, CA.  What fun buzzing along in the sunshine in this great little convertible!

FUN – FUN – FUN  !!!

Off roading in the desert, we came upon a well-kept little cabin- in the middle of no where!  It had a concrete “house” – no roof, doors or windows, a clean little patio, even a little cactus garden with a solar light, and an American Flag.

The evenings are beautiful…..and a little cool – but I guess it is winter.

Christmas is finally here.  Mike is having fun with the ribbons and the grandkids!

We spend The Christmas holidays with Marc and Brandon in the Portland, OR area.  We had so much fun.  The grandkids are growing so fast.  

Our entire family all together for Christmas.  What a great crowd. 
(Colby – I can see in the picture that you are taller than me  L )

We want to wish all of our friends and family a Happy and Healthy New Year!

What kind of great places will we find on our travels in 2014?

November 2013

 We started out November in St. George, Utah…….at a Jeep Rally.

My favorite part of Jeeping is the beautiful sites we have seen in the desert.
I especially love the slot canyons.

They are cool, calming, restful and oh so beautiful.

We found this slot canyon southeast of St. George in Nevada.

This big fella just watched us pass by……He was very close.

The winds have hardened the blowing sand and left these unusual formations.

On the last day of the rally, Mike led 30 Jeeps on an incredibly beautiful trail.
We drove through the waters of the Virgin River 28 times.

The day was so beautiful and we had a great time.

We are back at ORI now.........

I finished this quilt this month.  I love it – It is one of my favorites!

The black swan has returned……He is in our pond this year.

He is so beautiful.

We had a tree decorating evening……with a visit from Santa.

Our resort is collecting bicycles and toys for “The Spark of Love”
So far we have collected 100 bicycles for needy kids in the Coachella Valley.

A Jeep off roading trip took us to these ruins – It must have been where the miners lived back in the gold rush days.  There were two graves and mine sites nearby.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with some of our great friends.
We enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at the clubhouse early in the day.
In the evening, friends came over to our place for sandwiches and
apple pie with ice cream….. YUM!

We want to wish all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas.
Our hope is for everyone to spend the holidays with the ones you love.
We wish for health and for peace………

October 2013

 Yes – California was calling me and it is beautiful….warm and sunny here!

Can you believe it?  Yes on rare occasion, I drive the motor home……I’m driving
our home down the highway.  40 feet of motor home, 15 feet of Jeep and
5 feet of towing mechanism.  YIKES!  It gives me a real appreciation of all
the driving Mike does! 

Indio Here we come!

Days after we arrive in Southern California……..Our refrigerator goes out!

Bummer - Bad Luck!

Mike works miracles…..He replaced our electric, gas, battery motorhome refrigerator with a residential electric fridge.  Below the fridge is our furnace making finding a fridge that would fit difficult……..but we found one.  Mike and our neighbor Kim Hansen removed the old fridge, and installed the new fridge…..all through the door!
(no removing the windshield like most folks have to)
I love my new refrigerator!

With all of the sunshine and 90 degree weather, my nasturtium seeds came
up in just days.  They love the sun!

We got everything set up in Indio and then we took off for 11 days. 
St. George Utah – an incredibly beautiful area.  The weather is cooler
than Indio but still sunny.

When we get to St. George……..Our washing machine goes out!

Bummer – More bad luck!

But we got a new Washer / Dryer in just a matter of days.

Mike’s back has been bothering him for quite a while…….It is getting worse and so we go shopping for a new mattress. (This is becoming an expensive month)  Found a great one in St. George so we had it delivered the same day the new washer came.  I am glad to say that after only five days….Mike’s back is much better!  The new mattress was a good thing!

We are in St. George Utah for a Jeep Rally.  Great time with great friends. 

There are almost 200 people at this rally (95 Jeeps) with trail runs going out every day.  This was a trip where we crossed a beautiful waterfall.
The fall colors and awesome scenery make this such a beautiful area.

We celebrated my 66^th birthday with our outstanding friends.  

Another day out on a trail shows us amazing views.

I know I’ve said this before but here it goes again – Utah is my favorite state!

The red rocks and incredible mountains.......

What a great fall we are having.

September 2013

September started beautifully…. We made a day trip to Kah-Nee-Tah RV
resort to spend Saturday of Labor Day Weekend with Brandon, Karen,
Ben and Anna and their friends.  Warm - Sunny - couldn’t have been nicer!

Back in Sunriver, the deer were enjoying the beautiful weather.

Mike and his friend Perry were able to take in an Oregon State Beaver
football game in Corvallis, OR.  The Beav’s won!

We made a trip to Vancouver, WA and stayed with Brandon and Karen. 
We went to Ben’s football game.  Anna is on the Gymnastics team
and is becoming quite the performer!

We drove up to the Dalles (on the Columbia River) where Karen’s dad lives. 
Karen introduced us to “Letter Boxing”.  It’s very much like geo-caching but
easier for the kids.  It was much like a treasure hunt.
 In this picture, we stopped in Mosier to do some letter boxing
and for an ice cream cone!

And of course in the Dalles local pub for a brewski at the end of the day!

Next day Ben had a baseball game.  Gee Whiz – These kids keep busy!

I made a quilt to hang over Anna’s bed in her newly recolored bedroom!

We were so happy to see Tom and Linda West in Bend. 
Spent a few hours visiting!

Remember that beautiful sunny start to September? 
Well – the weather changed and now it’s rain.  Time to leave Central Oregon.

We packed up the motorhome and headed to Marc and Maria’s to stay
with Camryn and Colby while Marc and Maria were out of town.

Colby had a “Fun Run” at his school and we went to watch  (in the rain)

Camryn plays soccer for a Portland Team and we went to two of her games.

(in the rain)

Colby had a football game (also in the rain)

We also went to a friend’s football game (once more in the rain)

This is how much we love our grandkids!

Did I mention that it poured and the wind blew and the lights went out briefly. 
I hear Indio California calling my name…….It is saying "Janet – Come to the sun !!"

This morning – we are on our way! 

August 2013

We started our August with a trip to Cabo San Lucas Mexico with Marc, Maria, Camryn and Colby.  What a great vacation!!  I LOVE MEXICO!!

We had an outstanding room…. on the second floor and 

right on the Sea of Cortez.

The weather was hot but the cool breezes on the beach were wonderful.

We went jet skiing, went swimming in the pool, took a water taxi, spent
a day on a sail boat, ate on the beach .... which reminds me – the food….
Oh the Food!  It was fantastic!!

On the sail boat we saw some sea lions on a rock, basking in the sun.

Dinner on the beach……good food and lots of fun!

We had a wonderful time!

Back in Bend – back to reality…..
we went to a Bend Elks Baseball game

Mike really enjoyed the “Bend Brewfest”
Lots of Beer!!

We had a visit from Colorado – Cathy Watson.  We spent the day
with her seeing the sights of Bend

A beautiful day of kayaking with Steve and Linda Pederson
The mountains don’t have much snow this late in the summer, do they?

Great day……just stopped for lunch on our kayaking
trip at Sparks Lake.

We finished our month with a visit from John and Sharon O’Connor from
northern California.  We had a great day visiting with our friends
from ORI.  We are going to call Bend “ORI North”

July 2013

 As July starts, our trip with our 10 year old grandson – Colby, comes to a close. 
What fun and great memories we have made.

Unfortunately, the Giants were on the road while we were in the area……
but we did get to take a great tour of Giants Stadium. 
Colby is a great Giants fan!

AT and T Park is beautiful.  It’s right in downtown San Francisco
and also right on the waterfront.

The Fourth of July, we went to another Oakland A’s  baseball game. 
The A’s beat the Chicago Cubs in a close 1-0 matchup.

These baseball games are so great.  I’ve become a fan!!

Back in Sunriver, we met up with our son Brandon and his family. 
Our two grandson’s from different families are great buddies and love to
spend time together.  Colby and Ben had an awesome
time at the Sunriver SHARC center!

After we returned Colby to his parents, we headed to Vancouver, Washington
for Mike to serve his jury duty.  He was selected for a jury and we were
fortunate to spent those 8 days with Brandon & Karen. 

While in Vancouver, we were able to see Anna (8) perform with her
gymnastics team.  Those adorable little girls are very talented.

One day we went out on Marc & Maria’s boat.  The weather was fantastic. 
We pulled Camryn (13 – on the left) with her friends.

Next was the “Fox Family Campout”  our annual family get together. 
2013 was at Belknap Hot Springs just east of Eugene, OR.  We ate a lot,
drank a lot, and played a lot of games! 

Face Painting and Balloon tying!  A great time - Fun Times for everyone!! 

Mike and I with our two sons, our two daughter-in-laws and our
four grandchildren.  Every one of us had an awesome time!