"WESTGATE" Entertainment

This past Sunday we were feeling like we needed to go do something. Some friends of ours said we need to go and check out the Westgate area. They said it's got great food and entertainment.

We headed out on an unknown adventure again here in AZ. They have so many unique areas to explore that you just wouldn't have the time to see them all if you tried during a short vacation! Westgate has really cool fountains that dance to music that plays through the speakers as you wander about.
This place was immaculate. Workers were pushing around carts with soap and water to wipe down everything. Tables, columns, chairs. It was really a great place to check out.
We noticed all the palm trees had Christmas lights on them and can only imagine what it looks like at night. We will venture back here at night and check it out.

This photo shows the stadium where the Arizona Cardinals football team plays. It is just a stone's throw away from Westgate. You can imagine what this place is like when a game is scheduled!

We stopped and had lunch at Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville"
The food was fantastic and the restaurant was really cool.
http://www.margaritaville.com/

DH had the jerk chicken. It was delicious! And the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger DW had was Great as well!

We continued our exploring after lunch and ran across Lots of Harley riders. We thought "what in the world is going on here"? Well.............

We ran across a huge Pink fire truck that is on tour for Breast Cancer.

They had a huge turnout and all these big burly guys wearing Biker Jackets and sporting major Tattoo's all walking around with pink on. It was really cool to see. http://www.pinkribbontour.com/

We were even able to get the driver of the fire truck and the Military escorts to pose for a photo. We thanked them and DH said a special "Thanks" to the serviceman for all they do for us. They got bright smiles and said "It's our Honor".
We smiled and continued on our way. That was a nice surprise for us.

As we were getting ready to head for home, we ran across this sign that had all different cities and countries and how far away they were from the spot we were standing.
DH & DW looked at each other and said "Do you think we can make it to Paris?"
We took a big chance coming here to Arizona & we wonder if we will ever be able to make it to France. DW has wanted to go there for as long as she can remember.
"Follow your dreams to pursue your destiny!" - The Harpinator

We leave you with one last photo of Westgate. Definitely worth the visit!!

Trip to Oh-Wah-Tan-ahhhhhhh

We're back in AZ from our recent trip to O-Town MN. We had a GREAT time spending it with our family and friends. We were able to head to the local Steel County Free Fair (SCFF). It's the biggest county fair in the state of Minnesota.

We ran into people from year's past and met family and friends on Friday night at Ye Ole Beer Gardens. This in itself is worth the trip.

We never realized how much the "Yaaa, Sure, You Betcha" is said in everyday conversation. DH & DW looked at each other in amazement every time we heard that........ We actually laughed out loud! Only because people laughed at us due to our accent when we first arrived here in AZ. We've been told that our accents have almost left us completely, but they still hear a little of it in certain words....
We love our roots and if people find our accent funny, by all means, laugh. We know sure ya betcha did don't ya know. LOL! :-)~

We went non stop from Thursday night when we arrived, to Sunday early afternoon when we boarded our flight back to Phoenix. We can't say enough how wonderful it was to see each and every one of you. Thanks again!!!!
Below you will see a few photos we took of our short and quick trip.

Here we are at "SKY-HARBOR" airport here in Phoenix. It's great that they allow you to park your car and have a view of the flights leaving the airport. DH could stand out here for hours watching the planes take off. "HOW COOL"

No trip to the SCFF would be complete without a photo with Steely the Steer. As you can see in the background, the sky was perfect. Not a cloud to be seen. For a second, we thought we were still at home in Arizona!
It's true, you DO get a few nice days in MN!

Here is a photo we took of Fair Square. It's an entertainment area that has a variety of performances happening throughout the day. This picture shows a friend of the family that was called on stage to be a helping hand. We didn't even know he was around till the performer picked him out of the crowd. It was a show stopper to say the least! Thanks for the laugh Gener!! :-)

A trip back to Oh-Town would not be complete if you didn't enjoy a Pizza Pie from Nick's Pizza Palace. This pizza is the BEST in town. DH & DW devoured the whole pizza in Olympic time! Mmmmmmmmmm

Cars, Cars, Cars

With the auction in Las Vegas being only months a way now, a flurry of fine automobiles have graced the floors of DH's work place for a chance to become the new flavor of the auction world. DH helped the Photographer "Tony" with what he could as Tony took the shots.
DH was able to sneak himself into the driver seat of a few beauties to have his mug shot taken. "HEAVEN"

With the smell of the exhaust floating around, several of DH's work mates said, "If we could bottle this smell, we'd all be millionaires".
It's true!
It's amazing to think of putting the horsepower, the smell of exhaust out of a big block engine, and the shaking of the ground as these monsters fire up into a bottle of men's cologne, who would need to work?
Ahhhhhhhhh Boys will be boys!

Happenings

We are starting to feel settled now in our new digs.
We are loving the home and especially the pool. With the warm days and warm nights, nothing beats settling into the pool for a night's swim before bed.
DH has brought it upon himself to update the paint on the block wall in the back.
It's stucco so you can't just roll on the paint hoping it fills all the tiny little areas.
You have to have SO much patience to accomplish this task by using a brush and swirling it as you paint. We've already ruined two brushes! DH has been diligent on making sure this doesn't turn into a 6 month adventure. It is looking FANTASTIC!

Sunday, DH was at it again and was taken by surprise with Heat exhaustion. With a restless night of sleep and hydration issues, DH took his first sick day from work.
Anyone who knows DH knows that for him to take a sick day, it HAS to be bad.....

Tonight however, being hydrated with back still sun burnt, he had enough energy to "SHUCK" some bark off one of our palm trees that has been driving him mad since we moved in.

As we post the blog tonight, it is pouring down rain here as a monsoon has developed and is moving through the area..... SO far so good! :-)

We hope everyone is doing well and we miss you all!

Yup, We're Still Here!

We just wanted to give everyone a quick update on how things have been going here in AZ!
We started moving stuff into the new house early in July then took formal possession of it on July 15.

We were able to move all of the small stuff ourself but for the couches, beds, etc, we hired a moving company. After getting lost trying to find the old house, the 2 guys finally found us. They were incredibly conscientious and polite - DW was referred to as "Ma'am" and DH was referred to as "Sir". It was weird! We're not old!!

But these 2 guys did an amazing job for us and continually told us not to help them! We are just not used to not helping and it was difficult to not grab a corner of the couch or the edge of the headboard!
So we got moved in to the new place and we had our final walkthru at the old place on Sunday after spending time there on Saturday cleaning. Everything was immaculate Sunday morning until DW "pulled an Andrea". DH can fill everyone in on exactly what happened. But everything turned out well and we turned over our old keys to the gracious homeowners.
Here are some pics of our new place prior to us moving in.


And the dogs spent Saturday morning at the "beauty salon" and are ready to take a swim!

Phoebe (the little brown one) loves being in the pool and standing on the top step. She hasn't ventured out to swim yet, but we can see her being a water puppy!
Muncie on the other hand, wants nothing to do with the pool! We ask him if he wants to go in the pool and he growls a warning and runs away! We'll keep working on him!

And above is what an evening monsoon looks like. They really pack a wallop! Monsoons are very isolated storms and thankfully this one didn't roll our way!

"SHELBY" GT500 Mustang

It's a sad day for a "SHELBY" GT500 Mustang. On our way to lunch the other day we came across the "SHELBY" GT500 mustang on the back of a flatbed.

This thing was messed up.

We believe this car has to be at least $50,000 to purchase new. "OUCH"!

Harp update!

The harp is here. "YAY"! DH awoke this morning at 5:00 a.m. in anticipation of having what one would call his best friend show up.
The schedule of the arriving truck from Minnesota was 7:00 a.m.
DH showed up at 6:35 a.m. after driving most of the way through the heart of Phoenix to a High School in Mesa, AZ. When he arrived, the delivery truck from Minnesota was parked and DH saw two drivers he worked with for many, many years waiting for him. The smiles and hand shakes between everyone solidified the bond people have with one another coming from the Midwest.

The harp was delivered in perfect shape as anticipated and was handed off again with smiles and hand shakes.
DH drove away with tears in his eyes because of the generosity of a corporation with whom he spent many years building friendships and relationships. DH had so much respect for this corporation when he worked for them, but has now realized that they do so much more for the community in which he and DW left last year.
We can't thank them enough for everything they have done to allow us to chase our dreams. For that alone we are grateful!!!

DH's family who packed up the harp and made sure it was worthy of the trip decided it would be fitting to send a long a little "present" in the harp coffin.

DH & DW, who fancy themselves to be quite sneaky when it comes to pulling "Funnies" on people, have actually had a "Funny" pulled on them.
When DH & DW first saw this picture a couple of years ago, we thought it would be Hilarious to give it as a gag gift for to a member of DH's family for Christmas. We thought we'd NEVER see it again!
Well, as you can see "The jokes on us"!
DH's family managed to fit this large, obnoxious picture into the harp case before closing the case.
We laughed our butts off at knowing we have to devise a plan at getting it back to Oh-town...... Hmmmmmm....... Anyone have any suggestions??


Here's a photo of the harp settled nicely in AZ.

Oh, before we end this blog, we think everyone should see the "DEVIOUS" photo of DH's family with the monkey picture just before they put it in the "Coffin".

Thanks go out to you all who helped make this possible!!!!!!!