May 2008

We started off the month of May in Moab, Utah. I can’t say enough about how much beautiful scenery there is in Utah. We spent two weeks in Moab at an “Off-Roading” rally. About 25 of our friends from southern California also attended the rally. The weather was wonderful and a good time was had by all.

Stoli loves the off-roading. He knows when I put on his scarf that it’s a Jeepin’ day!

After Moab, we headed back to the Portland area. We spent a week with the kids and really enjoyed the time with the grandkids. Some hot days brought out the slip n’ slide and the pool and lots of giggles and fun!

Our motorhome remodel is complete! We had our old tile and carpet removed and new tile installed throughout. We are so pleased how everything turned out. It feels like we moved into a new home!

We end the month back on our Central Oregon property, happy to be here and looking forward to spending some time with our Sunriver friends.

April 2008

What a fun month! Brandon, Karen, Ben and Anna spent a week with us and a great time was had by all. The weather was perfect and we were on the go everyday! We spent a day at Legoland in Carlsbad (near San Diego) The kids had a blast (and so did the adults)

We spent a great day at the Living Desert (the Palm Springs area zoo) We packed a lunch and had a really fun day. Great animals, great weather!

We spent every spare minute in the pool! What a great visit! I hope the kids had as much fun as we had.

We continue to spend our Wednesday’s “Jeepin” out in the desert. This trail led us into a stream (quite unusual for a desert trail)

Our motorhome remodel is going well. We are very happy with our new cabinets and couch, drivers chair and passenger chair reupholstering jobs.

Our weather is fantastic… Clear blue skies….in the high 80’s and low 90’s each day. April is a fantastic month in the desert.

Sadly we have lost two extended family members this month. Mike's very dear uncle - Uncle Bob (from the Bay area) - passed away after a lengthy illness and his special aunt - Aunt Arlene - (from Denver) passed away very suddenly. Both will be greatly missed.

March 2008

The first part of March, I was able to attend the Palm Springs Desert Magic Quilt Show with several of my quilting friends – We had a great time and came home inspired to try some new quilt ideas.

We had a fun Mardi Gras Golf cart parade at our resort – A good time was had by all!

Several of our off-roading trips this month have taken us out into the desert and we have been able to see the desert in bloom. There has been about 4 inches of rain this winter (which is quite a bit for the desert) and this has caused a spectacular bloom of so many beautiful flowers. One of our trips this month took us up into the mountains where we were in the snow – what a contrast!

We have decided to update our motorhome. We began with a satellite dish and two new TV’s. Next, we removed one of our two couches and had a 12 foot long cabinet installed to give us more storage. We added a chair and ottoman and we are so happy with the outcome.

Brandon, Karen, Ben and Anna arrived March 29th to enjoy some of this fabulous Southern California sunshine. (Our weather has been in the 80’s all this month)
We have great plans for this week – Stay tuned and I’ll update you more in April.

February 2008

February has been a wonderful, relaxing month. Mike took his annual golf trip to Bandon, OR with Marc and Brandon. They did get some rain and wind but he always has a great time with the boys regardless of the weather. I have taken two quilt classes and continue to learn new and fun things at each one! I look forward to my Tuesday (quilt with the group day) each week!

Mike went to NHRA Drag Race with some of his buddies – They had a great time!

We continue to go Jeepin’ each Wednesday – The “off roading” bug has taken a great big bite out of Mike! The desert is starting to bloom and should be beautiful this spring.

The weather has been cold this winter (several weeks of 60 degree temperatures) but it is warming up beautifully this month (now we are having several weeks of 80 degree temps) We have been relaxing and enjoying our resort this month.

Janet's step-mother, Pat Gundle has passed away. She suffered for the past five years and has finally found peace.

January 2008

Happy New Year!

We ushered in the start to a wonderful 2008 in Borrego Springs California January 6th, we drove to Long Beach, boarded the Carnival Cruise Ship “Pride” for Mike's brother's wedding. The wedding and reception were lovely - we left to drive back to Palm Springs prior to the ships embarkation to Mexico. We took the motorhome and spent 4 days in Fountain Hills, Arizona at a beautiful County park in the desert. The Arizona desert is very beautiful. Both sunrise and sunset are spectacular.While in the Scottsdale, AZ area, Mike and his buddies went to the Barrett-Jackson Auto auction…..no one bought any cars, they just went to drool. Mike caught a picture of the great Muhammed Ali checking out the displays.

After we left the Phoeniz area, we traveled with our friends to Quartzsite, AZ where we spent 3 days taking in the whole “Quartzsite Experience” Quartzsite is a very tiny town in the middle of nowhere. Every year in January, thousands and thousands and thousands of RV’ers from all parts of the country converge out in the desert for an unbelieveably large gathering and vendor sales exhibition.

We finished off the month with Mike’s annual trip to Bandon Dunes (on the Oregon coast) golfing with Marc and Brandon and the “gang.” I’m sure they are up there having a fabulous time.

December 2007

We started our December with a day trip to the Indio Tamale Festival. Fun and yummy too! We sampled all sorts of tamales…….at the top of my list are sweet corn tamales and roasted pork with pineapple tamales. The dessert tamales were great too. My favorite in this category was carmeled apple, butterscotch and walnut! Fantastic!

Oh, Oh! Now Mike has introduced Pat and Ron to off roading…….we spend time a fair amount of time in the desert and it is beginning to grow on me - It seems the desert takes on a beauty of it’s own. In the picture above you can see the Salton Sea in the background.

Mike had arthroscopic surgery on his knee this month. The doctor called it a “significant” tear in the meniscus. He is doing great - nothing seems to slow him down a bit. We flew up to Portland for a week to spend Christmas with the kids and grandkids. Had a wonderful time. My goodness those kids wear me out…..I must be getting old. We had snow on Christmas and the day we flew back. I returned to Palm Springs with a cold but it was all worth it!

November 2007

We love our winter home here in Indio - we have warm weather and great friends here! Outdoor Resorts threw a wonderful “Welcome Home” party - a good time was had by all!
We took the motorhome to Borrego Springs (about 90 minutes south of here) where Mike went to a two day off roading driving school. He really enjoyed the class and said he learned quite a bit.
We have started our off roading trips with the gang here and have already seen several desert trails this season.
My sister Jeri, her husband Brian and their friends came to our desert area in November and we enjoyed spending an evening with them.
Mike’s sister Pat and her husband Ron have arrived and will be staying in Indio for the next few months. It will be great to have them so close.