January 2013

  Oops – January got away from me.  It’s already February and where did January go?

We went to Dog Show at the Indio Polo Grounds during January. 

It is the second largest dog show in America.  You will never guess what my favorite dog was.  Yep – Look at this adorable Westie!

Some friends of ours, the Sullivans, were showing their young dog. 
His name is Indy (short for Indio) and he is a beautiful Border Collie.

Mike says we are first on the list if Indy ever needs a foster home!

He’s a great dog.

Our annual “Welcome Home” fiesta was a huge success. 
The employees of the resort, fix the food for us and we all get to
enjoy a fabulous Hispanic dinner!

Yes – Believe it or not….Mike and I are taking dance lessons. 
This picture is trying out the Fox Trot.  We really enjoy the lessons
and hopefully, someday we will be able to dance in public   

Mike went on his yearly golf trip to Bandon, Oregon.  He didn’t take
any pictures this year but said that he had an outstanding trip. 
He loves the golf, he loves the poker, he loves the food, he loves the drinks ……..
but most of all he loves spending time with the fellas (especially Marc and Brandon)

While Mike was in Oregon, I went to the Southern California Quilt Show (the Road to California)
in Ontario.  Yes – This elephant is a quilt.  The Quilt Show was better than ever…..
and really crowded – but I loved every minute. 
A group of us girls went on a bus – what a way to see it all!!

This was one of my favorite quilts.  It was so much prettier in person.

I love the applique and all of the different colors.

I can’t say enough about how beautiful Outdoor Resorts in Indio is.

Our friend Steve Peterson sent me this gorgeous shot of the entrance!

What a great place to spend the winter!

December 2012

 As 2012 comes to a close, we remember our dear friends and family.  

You are always close in our hearts.

We have a beautiful white Egret that keeps coming around. 
He seems to love sitting at the top of our palm tree.

We flew up to Portland to spend the holidays with the kids. 
Camryn is giving me a pedicure.  It tickles!!

While in Portland, I was able to attend a "Silvey Family Holiday Reunion." 
These are the cousins from my mother’s side of the family.

I haven’t seen most of them for around 40 years.  We had such a wonderful time!

We really enjoyed staying with Marc, Maria, Camryn and Colby.

Santa is coming – We’re getting excited!

We stayed at Brandon, Karen, Ben and Anna’s on Christmas.

They have just moved into their new home and they love it – it’s wonderful.

Christmas Eve we went to church.  It was beautiful….

A very nice service.

We spent a fantastic Christmas Day with the kids.

Here is our family…. All of us!

Mike and I are back in Indio, California at our New Years celebration.

Our table is evidence of a lot of fun. 
We had our best ever New Year’s Eve Celebration!

We close 2012 with a picture of our winter home.
We live in the most beautiful location.

HAPPY NEW YEAR  AND WELCOME 2013

  November started with a fabulous trip to San Francisco!

My two precious daughter-in-laws gave me a 65^th birthday to remember!!

Pat and I flew north from Palm Springs while Maria and Karen flew south
from Portland and we all met at the airport. 

We had a gorgeous limo waiting to take us to
Fisherman’s Wharf – My first limo ride!!  EVER!

San Francisco was beautiful.  The weather couldn’t have been nicer. 
We took several tours……..through downtown ……
across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito

Isn’t this a quaint little Sausalito building?

Another tour – this time to Chinatown – it was so much fun!!

The TransAmerica Building

The Coit Tower

My two sweetheart daugher-in-laws ….
How on earth did I ever get so lucky to have them?

We took a boat tour over to Alcatraz.  A very interesting self guided tour.

I would recommend it to anyone!!

I wouldn’t have wanted to spend much time here.

Our hotel was right on Fisherman’s Wharf and Wow was it beautiful.

We stayed at the Argonaut.

We all had such a great time.

Our entire trip was just the best ever.  I had a most memorable birthday.  

It was well worth turning 65 for ………..

Back to reality …….. Mike & I drove over to Algodones Mexico to get
our teeth cleaned and checked.  This is the border crossing.

Our lot in Indio is looking very colorful this year. 
We have the most beautiful geraniums.

We had a wonderful surprise visit from one of Mike's best friends
(and the best man in our wedding 45 years ago)
Joe Lewellen was in town for some business and
we were lucky to spend an evening with Joe.

We went out to eat on Thanksgiving with friends.

The food was wonderful…….. but no leftovers!

Finished out this month at a purse party with
Pat and our friend Sharon.

Life in the desert is outstanding.  The weather is fabulous.  Our friends are the best!

I just can’t tell you how much I love it here.

October 2012

October 1^st, we left Sunriver and began our trek south.

We stopped in Reno and enjoyed a great visit with my nephews Scott, Brett,
Brett’s girlfriend Bridget and Brett’s son Troy. 
It was wonderful seeing them all. 
We spent the evening catching up.  Love them all so much.

Arrived in Indio at Outdoor Resorts.  The weather is in the low 90’s –
The sun shines EVERY day!  I love it here!!

We have several Black Swans that have taken up residence in our ponds. 
Black Swans are very rare.  They are huge and slightly aggressive……
but so beautiful to watch.

A spectacular full moon through the palm trees. 
The evenings are wonderful here…… warm, clear and oh so beautiful.

Our friends that we left last spring are all returning to ORI. 
We have so much to catch up on. 

I celebrated my 65^th birthday near the end of this month. 
Wow – I’m really getting old. 
I had the most wonderful day. 
I am so blessed to have the best friends in the world. 

We closed out October with a Halloween potluck …….

Several people came in costume.  Like all of our get togethers – we had a wonderful time catching up with our friends.

September 2012

We started the month with a great Outdoor Resort Indio Potluck (in Bend).  Many of our friends from southern California who spend the summer in the Bend area got together for a wonderful evening.  Many thanks to Bill and Jan Lee for offering their home for us all.

We spent a weekend with Brandon, Karen, Ben & Anna…….took this pic at Buffalo Wings.  We cleaned out our storage items that we keep at Brandons.  It was fun to see just
what we had saved !!

This is our granddaughter, Anna (7) at her soccer game.  What a fun time!

Brandon & Karen have decided it is time to move.  They have sold their house and purchased a new home that is much bigger.  We got to see the inside of their new home (really nice seller let us in)  It’s gorgeous!  I’ll bet they can’t wait!

Cycle Pub in Bend!  It’s fantastic …….. we rented this crazy looking bicycle and drove all over town from Pub to Pub.  You can drink while riding on the “bicycle” because they provide a sober driver.  We had so much fun.  There was Pat, Vanessa (Ron’s cousin), me, Mike and Tom (Vanessa’s husband)  I would recommend it to anyone wanting to have fun!

We drove over to see Marc, Maria, Camryn & Colby and we had a busy weekend.  We went to a Sherwood High School Football game.  What fun and Sherwood won!

Colby had a fantastic time on the gridiron. 
He loves football and is so good at it!

We even had time to take in a Portland Timbers Soccer game.  These guys are so great and they play in a great soccer stadium.  We loved it!

On our way back to Sunriver, we drove through Sisters Oregon. 
The smoke was so bad from nearby forest fires.

Tom & Pat Sims (friends of ours from Southern California) took us out for
a canoe and kayak ride down the Deschutes river. 
We ended at their home located on the river for lunch.

The river was beautiful and the day was wonderful.

Pat, Mike and I enjoying an evening at the Sunriver Brewhouse. 

We end this month with an awesome sunset out the door of
our motorhome on our lot in Sunriver.  Gorgeous!

It was 32 degrees when we got up this morning.... It’s time to head south for the winter.  I’m looking forward to some warm weather.  Indio Here we come!