Hi Tea

Today (11/16/11) Valley Del Oro threw one of their gala parties. This one was a luncheon affair for ladies only. The ballroom was decorated to the teeth. (Gramma found out today that Glenda, the park Activities director is a Mormon, which may account for experience decorating cultural halls.) Anyway below is a shot of one of the displays.

Of course the hall was done up in pink and hot pink. On this stage the entertainment came on later -- a singer with a guitar, which Becca really liked. He sang "on pitch," which Gramma really liked. He performed for an hour, mixing music with comedy, some a little "blue" which was enjoyed by the some 400 ladies, most with blue hair.

Here is Buffet Becca, going through the line with Vickie, one of the LDS ladies staying in the park as "a winter visitor" with her husband

Here's Gramma, wearing her Hi Tea finery, with Vickie and Becca. The ladies left for the party at 1o:45 on scooter and bicycle and didn't get home until 1:45--my party ladies!

Auswanderers' plan update

As many of you know, our Plan A was to spend the winter "season" here in Mesa, Arizona. In April we planned to go east, doing family history research and visiting friends and family across the USA. We didn't plan to return to Idaho until July (in time for the Rexburg 4th of July parade). And not getting back into Utah until August. However, two major family events have caused us to make plan changes.

Ganon and Heidi are having a new baby! It will be our 24th grandchild--our 11th grandson, we understand.

And Jennifer, our oldest granddaughter, is getting married on March 10, 2012.

So, Gramma and I puzzled over what to do. We knew that we needed to be present for those important family-changing events. We ruled out taking the motorhome into freezing weather and we didn't want to drive the car up there again. So what's left? Flying! We dread flying and all that that entails. But we began research. Have you ever heard of Allegiant Airline? We hadn't either. Amanda had heard about them, known for cheap rates. She was right. The three of us, round trip can fly for about half the cost of Southwest. Howeva, we soon found out why. First of all it doesn't fly to Salt Lake City

The closest we could get is Idaho Falls. Well, that's OK. Amanda's family lives near "IF". Which is also close to our dentist. The pretty good news is Allegiant (pronounced like pledge of allegiance) flies out of a tiny airport near us. See below. So getting to and from the airport won't be too complicated. So why the cheap rates? Well, they don't fly everyday. And on the days they do fly, they only have one flight. And checked baggage is expensive. We haven't actually seen one of their planes. We hope for the best.

So, here's what our, always tentative, plan looks like. We are here at the Valley Del Oro RV Resort here in Mesa. This is our third year here and we are comfortable with the weather, the place, the people and the community, and did I mention the weather. And we are what they call "Winter Visitors" at our ward here, where these folks have made us feel welcome. As an added treat this year, Papa's sisters (Aunty Pat and Aunt Catherine) will be visiting with us for a few days at Thanksgiving. And at Christmas time, Ganon and Heidi's family will be coming to Mesa where her parents have a home. Gramma and Papa are looking forward to a little time with David, Rebecca, Sarah and TJ.

Our flight to "IF" is on February 23. We hope to spend a few days with Emma, Lily, Carson and Macy (and their parents). On March 2, we will drive down to Utah to spend time with the UT families, meet the new grandson, and participate with Jennifer and Sam on their special day.

The Auswanderers fly back to Mesa on March 13. On April 2 our plan goes back to Plan A. We'll try to keep you in the loop.

Trunk 'r Treat '11

Last night (10/29) our Arizona ward (Ellsworth Ward) teamed up with the Pueblo Branch for their annual Halloween celebration. Gramma's iPhone captured the early parking lot scene as they were setting up for the Chili cook-off, which preceded the candy part of the night.

Once again Becca chose to dress up as Walker Texas Ranger. She now has a Walker shirt (a gift from thoughtful sister Amanda) and an actual Texas Ranger badge and a black cowgirl hat. And she sports a sign that says "Walker Texas Ranger" that gets many comments from adults handing out the candy ("I love Chuck Norris," "Why doesn't he just use his gun?"). Papa's sign says "Walker's Prisoner". That sign gets laughs.

Gramma dressed up as an Hawaiian Lady. She sat near our trunk to pass out candy to the trick'rtreaters. She even decorated her car with Hawaii license plates. yuk

Here is our trunk with a big pan of candy. Gramma is not quite sure what is in the lower corner. She was sure she was alone when she took this photo. spooooky

Eventually the parking lot filled with cars and vans with open trunks and bowls of candy to pass out. There were dozens of running, laughing children dressed up for Halloween. Gramma enjoyed visiting with them as they came up to our car. She really loved this little Rapunzel, who reminded her of grand daughter Sarah.

This holiday is one of Becca's favorite. She begins getting excited when the season decorations go up in the stores. Yesterday she was pumped all day. She loves her costume. And the actual event didn't disappoint her. This was the biggest trunk'rtreat we have been to over the years. It is a wonderful, safe event hosted by wards all over the church. We have been to wards in Azusa near Aunty Pat's, Monterey with Meg's family and Aunt Catherine, Provo with Ganon and Heidi's family and twice near Amanda's, but they were indoors because it was so cold--once at a school and once in a barn, don't forget Kailua, and now Mesa. Becca and I visited every vehicle. She knows the routine, "Trick or Treat," she sings out. She happily explains her costume. And says "Thank you" as we walk away. Coming home she was very happy. Her pumpkin bucket was full of treats she had collected. She said to Gramma and me, "Thank you for trick or treat" Good fun. Good memories.

Puss n' Boots

So, today was the nationwide premiere of Puss n' Boots. This is the nice theater about five minutes from our park.

Here's the three of us (in an Amanda-style self photo) in front of the theater

We're glad that we went. It is a little tradition we like when it fits into the budget. It is in an IMAX 3-D format -- real cool. We got our popcorn and pop--arrived plenty early as some of our children tease us about, but for sure Gramma was able to get her favorite seats.

A mini film review:

A lot of positive things:

• terrific animation, including the fur and whiskers

• excellent use of 3D. Lots of sword fighting, spear throwing, etc

• great music--flamingo guitar and appropriate Spanish style music

• Antonio Banderas (Puss) and Salma Hayek (female interest) characters/dialog enjoyable

• I really liked the Jack and Jill characters

•Much fun use of Spanish (to the bar tender "Give me uno mas leche") and cat humor (hang out for the cats was called "The Glitter Box")

Some not so positive things:

•the story line is flawed, I think. There was no real villain nor evil force for the heroes to overcome. Jack n' Jill and the soldiers are sort of bad guys, but not really

•too much lying, deceiving, stealing

•way too much Humpty Dumpty character

• a little too much dancing for me

More baking

Gramma decided that her next baking adventure would be her homemade cornbread

Gramma still has mad cooking skills!

She is like a chef emeritus, coming out for special occasions

The tooth pick declares the cornbread is baked. Getting the new oven was a grand decision.

We included this in a meal with baked beans and turkey franks. So Ono!