Car Trouble

This morning was interesting. We were both ready to head to work when out of the blue, our Envoy wouldn't start, not even a click from the engine!
DH, being the mechanic he is, was at his lovely maiden's beck and call.
He popped the hood, removed bracing, covers and shrouds that protect the battery area and off we went to the nearest auto parts store to get a fresh new battery.
DH installs the battery only to discover that the cover for the battery won't fit.
The parts store gave us the wrong battery!
After many expletives from DH, we returned the battery for the correct one. With a few turns of some wrenches, some more expletives and a bloody knuckle, with the turn of the key the Envoy sprang back into life. Off to work we go for another sunshiny, warm, beautiful Arizona day!

Birthdays!

Some overdue news regarding an early arrival!
DW's older brother and his lovely wife were expecting their 2nd child to be born around May 12. Well, the baby had other plans!
He decided to make his rather speedy entrance into the world just in time for the snowstorm in northern MN on April 26, 2008. He almost didn't wait for the doctor!
Jonathan Thomas, it turns out, wanted to be here in time for his mother's birthday which was the next day! What a Birthday present for her!
Mother and baby are doing wonderfully and have been home for one week now.
Here's a picture of him.

Older brother, Alex-soon to be 3 years old, is adjusting to his new brother and wants to help constantly!
And DH's brother's son recently turned 1 and is doing Great!
Lots of Birthdays all around and we wish everyone many more Happy Birthdays!

"AMERICA'S GREATEST PAST TIME"

We were invited to attend a Diamond Backs Baseball game today at Chase field here in Phoenix. When we first arrived in Phoenix last August, DW got tickets to attend one of the games. We thought it was great.
Today was no exception. Brett & Patty (who we met through mutual friends) invited us. Brett had the tickets and a parking pass that allowed us to park right next to a walkway above street level to cross right into the stadium. It was "SWEET". We didn't have to deal with all the "NORMAL" people meandering the halls stopping and going and stopping and going.
We had lunch in a semi private area where probably 40 people at most were enjoying themselves. Not knowing what to expect next, we went down a private elevator to the concourse level. We walked a short distance from the elevator to the section where we were sitting. The seats we had were AMAZING! We were 16 rows up from the field. We could see EVERYTHING. Countless foul balls down the 3rd base line came our way and we each had an "avoidance plan" which mainly consisted of ducking down as low as we could to avoid being hit!
We had a GREAT time and look forward to attending many more games with these two wonderful friends of ours. We wish all of you in Minnesota could have been there.
We did notice at looking at the scoreboard that Minnesota won today. "Go Twins!"
Below are some of the photos we took of the game. We hope you all enjoy.

Here is the location of where we were sitting and the view of the field. They were fantastic seats.

Today was "KIDS" day. If you look in the photos above, you can see the line of all the kids that were honored as Little League players today below the large video screen. It was funny because all the little kids exited the field up the rows on either side of where we were sitting. We didn't know this was the case at first, but when we left to get some nachos before the game started and tried to get back to our seats, we had to wait quite some time till all was clear to return.

Here's a photo of the field and crowd.

At one point, we had a fireman meander past us. The gentleman in front was to keep him from falling forward & the gentleman behind was to keep him from falling backwards. They guy in the costume was having a HELL of a time traversing the stadium steps. We kind of felt sorry for him. He looked like he had been climbing Mount Everast when he passed us. Slow and lethargic.
To sum the day up as a whole, this is how it would be. Compliments of the gentleman sitting directly in front of us.
"LIFE IS GOOD"!

Minnesota has sprung to life in AZ!

On one of our previous blogs, we posted photos of some seeds that were sent to us by our dear MN friend, Elizabeth.
All will be happy to know that we have flower growth in AZ from MN!
We can't wait to see how they do in the weeks to come. Thanks again Elizabeth!! We look forward to sending you the blooming photos when they get established. How fun & exciting! Perhaps we can spread some colorful yellow flowers here in the desert.
"DANDELIONS ANYONE"? LOL!

The "HARPN8R"

Today it's official!!
DH has become the one and only "HARPN8R" in Arizona!
DH got his personalized plates today which he has been anxiously waiting for weeks now. Many of you who know DH have known he has been called this for some time now thanks to his brother Charles. A great friend whom we won't mention in this blog but perhaps we should, Oh just check out the Gracious Acres Blog which is a link from our blog home page.
Let's just call him Chet. His name sounds REALLY close to Chet, but actually starts with a "B" kinda like Bah-rette? Hehe!
DH actually got a tattoo of a drawing Bah-rette asked one of the artists we both used to work for to draw.
Long story short, DH has wanted to make sure that story lives on.
Here is the official photo showing the "HARPN8R" Plate. "Thank's Charlie and Bah-rette!" I couldn't have done it without ya!!

Package of seeds arrives in AZ from MN

We received a package from our good friends the Oki's from good 'ole Minnie-Soda. It contained seeds for some gorgeous flowers that Eliz had grown at her house in Oh-wah-ton-ahhhh and she had said numerous times that she would be sending some seeds down that she thought would do really well here in the desert climate.

The types of seeds she sent were a 'Jolly Bee' which is a Geranium hybrid & some 'Jacob Cline Monarda'
DW was so excited to receive the package that DH & DW zipped right out and bought a special planter just to get them started. Here is a photo of the seeds planted and ready to grow!

We were so excited at the thought of having native MN flowers here in AZ that it inspired us to venture out and take some photos of the vegetation here in AZ. Lots of the cactuses are in bloom right now and lots of other plants are blooming with flowers. It's quite beautiful actually.
We know that most people think the desert is a brown, dust bowl of a place, but it's quite the opposite. Here are some photos we took tonight showing the blooms.
Enjoy! We'll keep you updated on the progress of our little seedlings!! "YAY"!!

Here is a photo of a pink flowering bush that we have NO idea of what it's called. Still a beautiful color!

Here's a photo of some flowers DH & DW had at the house in Owatonna. We fell in love with the fact that they had multiple colors for the flowers. I "DH" can't tell you what they are called, but I'm sure when DW proof reads this blog she'll know the name of the plant. Granted, we NEVER had bugs like the one pictured above to deal with. Just dem pesky mosquitos. DW actually killed one of these on our block wall the other night and the back of it was FULL of eggs. As we were watching this "CREATURE" we were actually wondering if it was laying eggs?? "YUCK"

Here is an amazing flower. The colors and look of this makes us think of something you would find at the bottom of the ocean. The color is amazing!

Here is a small flower garden in front of a home in our neighborhood. As you can see it's not much different from a flower garden we had back in MN. Beautiful aroma and colors.

The Prickly Pear cactuses are starting to bloom. It's quite amazing to think something that could wreak such havoc to a person if you mess with it, can actually be quite tranquil at the same time. Again the Desert is quite beautiful in it's own defensive way.

Here's a close-up of one of the blooms.

This one we thought is very unique. The flowers actually seemed telescopic, one blooming and extending from the previous one! We learn something new about the desert every day & this day it was because of our dear friend ELIZ. "THANK YOU"

Here is a photo of a tree that blooms here. They are EVERYWHERE! DH has been mad on many occasions because of this tree. He parks the convertible by one of these trees at work and it sheds worse than anything he has seen in MN. He spent several hours detailing the convertible today and as we took this picture he said a few expletives. LOL! Still it's an amazing color to see as you drive around.

Here is a photo of a different type of Prickly Pear Cactus that looks like a bunch of hands sticking out. DW mentioned it looked a lot like monster hands from the movie "MONSTERS INC." DH thinks it looks a lot like a b'day cake.

Here is a photo of an exotic flower that blooms in MN as well. We don't think it's something that can be planted in the ground in MN, but can be stored indoors till spring. DH knows this is a Hibiscus. DH's family have these in the back yard in MN. Beautiful.

Back in AZ! Finally adjusted back to AZ time.

Well, What can I say? It's been a difficult time for DH to adjust from the time change from Florida to Arizona. 3 hours difference. DH returned Thursday night last week and was pretty much a Zombie when he landed.
It was soooooo great to see DW at the airport and our little guys when we got home that the tiredness wore off for a brief time. DW picked me up at the airport in the convertible and chauffeured me back to our house.
DH retired to bed about 10:45 and was WIDE awake at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning. DH knew at that moment that this was going to be difficult. Living in a Hotel for 3 weeks is not as easy as one would think. Just the loneliness of it all is enough to drive someone nuts.
DH has always been able to handle the travels because of his previous job, but has not spent that amount of time away from home at any given time.
Tonight all is well. First day back in the office and the preparations for the upcoming auctions have already begun.

Next Auction - Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas in the middle of October.

Here are a few pictures DH took during the Palm Beach Auction.

Hope all is well with each and everyone of you!


Here is where I had to stay for 3 weeks. Now before all the comments come about how TERRIBLE it must have been, remember "away from home for 3 weeks"! It WAS a nice place to stay however. "GIGGLES" That was for those of you who live in "OH-TOWN"

For those of you who know DH's family, they have a '56 Buick that resembles a Pumpkin in color. DH was excited to see an old Buick cross the block. It did exceptionally well.
For those of you who know DH's family, an old fire truck was donated to the Village of Yester-year in Owatonna by DH's Grandparents. Granted it wasn't like this, but it did catch his eye.

Here is a photo of a firetruck that was displayed by one of our sponsors. It was absolutely beautiful! This resembles the one at the Village of Yester-year.

Here is a photo of a 1911 Ford Model "T" that went across the block. Again DH's family have a 1912 Model "T" and this caught his eye as well.

Now for the rest of you who are TRULY muscle car fanatics, here is the new Camaro Convertible. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I would jump behind the wheel of this and drive it till the wheels fall off. This was a HOT looking car!!!

Now back to reality. Here is a new Rolls-Royce. Comes complete with a fancy white bow. In looking at this car, it truly takes your breath away. The detail they have taken in the fabrication of this car is truly amazing. This has a stainless steel hood that screams gorgeous.
Here is a picture of the interior. WOW!

Bentley was at the show as well, and DH couldn't help but take a photo of the interior as it was incredible!
DH is ready to settle down now without the stresses of being away from home and will get the blog back to the "Valley of the Sun". Thanks for reading!! Miss you all!