MamaFoxx

So Hunk and I decided to take another trip, albeit a short one.  Hunk has become a big fan of the History Channel's American Pickers TV show with Mike, Frank and Danielle.  I too watch the show but have not seen as many episodes, but I was still quite pumped about going to Iowa to see their store.  Decided to be gone only Thursday and Friday as I need to be home on Saturday for Adenaline practice, but that's okay.  In order to make the most of our trip we decided to leave Wednesday afternoon after I got off work at 2:30.  As Lewis luck would go, I had hunk get the oil changed on our car and have the mechanic check a slight noise under the hood.  $650 later and a new serpentine belt and alternator, we were on the road once again.  I should mention here too that I did have to do my traditional scolding of hunk between 494 and merging onto 35W, that it would be a long 2 days for him if he didn't mind his manners on the road while driving MY car.  As ...

Today was not quite so hectic.  Got to sleep in a bit, showered and went down for the continental breakfast.  After breakfast we all took off for Piatt Castles in West Liberty, Ohio.  I thought we would just go through one of the castles but did go through both, and am glad we did.  They were both very interesting homes built by two brothers who were both very rich and interesting people.  I had gone through one of the castles when I was a teenager and I think that is what influenced me to love the Victorian era so much.  The homes were mostly furnished with original furniture with so many rooms we weren't even able to go through them all.  One of the descendants still lives on one of the properties but in a much more modest home. After the castles we went back to Urbana to grab some food.  Ate at Wendy's but the food really wasn't that great and very disappointing even for fast food.  After lunch we went to visit Uncle Vance and Aunt Ginge...

Well, another trip for Hunk and me.  This time back to my previous "home" of Ohio.  A few weeks ago my Favorite Oldest Son wanted to know if we were going to the annual Kauffman reunion in Urbana, Ohio.  I had given it a bit of a thought, but after he mentioned he wanted to go, then it made me want to go, if for nothing else than to add Megan's and Alexa's names to the Kauffman "Book."  The "Book" is a large homemade notebook with the names and dates of births, deaths, weddings, and other info regarding the Kauffman family going back to my Great-great-grandfather.  Unfortunately, the only relatives I really "know" who might be going would be my Uncle Vance and Aunt Ginger, their son Rick, and my Great-Grand Uncle Philip.  The last few years the reunion has been held at the Ohio Caverns.  I've been through the caverns twice, but that was many, many years ago, so think we will go through them this year.  But now I'm ahead of my stor...

What a day.  Had breakfast in hotel.  What a busy place.  Had to wait our turn to get a table and chairs.  I sure do hate that.  Anyway, found a brochure of a little town called Brunswick about 1-1/2 hours north of here.  The brochure talked about seeing pecan farms, Laura Ingalls Wilder home, pecan pie and other amenities.  Off we went.  Turns out the person who made the brochure forgot to tell the people in Brunswick tourists would be coming.  The "town" was only a few blocks long and looked more like a ghost town than a tourist trap.  I know pecans aren't in season but thought we might find a cute little restaurant and get a bite to eat, along with that slice of pecan pie.  The closest thing we got to a meal was a ham and cheese sandwich that Hunk and I shared, along with a bag of chips and a couple of Fig Newtons from the Casey's gas station.  It was such a sad, sorry little town.  We queried the lady at Casey's where ...

Hunk and I finally decided to take a road trip.  This time we are on the road to Kansas City,MO to see if the Twins can finally win a game.  Got up this a.m. without an alarm, as we are on vacation.  I did a shortened "walk/run," only 20 minutes, showered, finished packing and we were on the road by 8:15.  Did make a stop to see Kristin and Patrick. He let us borrow a Sprint "thingy" so our computer would be wireless on the road.  Wouldn't want to miss keeping up Fish Wrangler and Cafe Restaurant.  Thanks to Patrick for thinking of us.  Also, thank you to Alexa for her sweet (jelly) kiss this morning :).  Good to see Kristin was feeling much better also after her bout with the ickies last week. Trip was pretty uneventful.  Ate lunch in Clear Lake at Wendy's.  I know, not very original.  Made several pit stops at road side rests just to stretch our legs.  The best rest stop was in Missouri, just over the State Line.  We h...

Can't believe it's been almost three weeks since Arizona.  So glad to come home but right back into the thick of things again.  Everything has been such a whirlwind around here.  I can hardly remember what has happened since we came home.  I do remember last Saturday.  Kristin and Patrick had a birthday party for Alexa's first birthday.  Her real birthday was on the 3rd (Wed) but that wasn't a good time to have a party.  We did get to babysit Alexa on her birthday but we kept the day low-key as far as we were concerned.  Saturday was a different story.  Kristin went all out for the party.  She invited all of the Lewis clan (Kathy and Jim weren't able to come), Patrick's mother, brother and wife, and sister, Jeannie and Susan with her boyfriend Roger, and two of Kristin's friends, Sara and Kristin.  Jeannie brought the main cake, which was very girly and I brought the smash cake, an owl.  She got lots of nice gifts including muc...

Monday:  Last day.  Woke up at 6 a.m. Arizona time, took shower and got dressed.  Hunk and Michael slept in.  Hunk was the next to get up.  The three of us went to breakfast at our favorite place and had the usual breakfast.  Michael needed to get to the airport around 8:30 for his standby flight home.  After dropping Michael off we decided to check out some stores at a local mall.  Had lunch at King's as Hunk wanted fish.  Very nice restaurant.  I had coconut shrimp and Hunk had cod (I think).  Mine was very tasty but Hunk wasn't too crazy about his food.  I ended up sharing a couple of my shrimp with him as they were so big and I couldn't eat them all.  After lunch we went to the airport (about 4 hours early), but we didn't know what else to do.  We had all ready checked out of our hotel.  Returned the rental car and then made our way back to the airport.  Checked out a couple of stores at the airport afte...

Sunday:  Good to sleep in today.  Breakfast, then off to Diablo for daily newspaper.  Then I asked if Hunk wanted to go to Home Depot, since we hadn't gone there yet this week and he quickly responded with "sure."  Upon walking through the doors Hunk was met by HD personnel and he commenced talking.  I on the other hand headed for the garden department.  Saw lots of plants that I would love to take home with me and quite reasonably priced, but unfortunately they would not survive the brutal Minnesota winters.  I did however, purchase a barrel cactus in a gallon container.  How will I get that home is a good question.  We bought a box and bubble wrap and I plan on bundling it up and carry it on the plane.  It has tons of needles sticking out of the top of the cactus that I don't want broken and they're very brittle.  We've decided to call the cactus "Here Kitty, Kitty" as Homer and Sam love chewing on my plants; we will see how much ...

Saturday:  Up as usual, back to eggs for breakfast.  Game today was at 9:30, again playing an undefeated team.  I guess the temperature was only in the upper 70's but it sure felt a lot hotter than that. This game started out slow until the third or fourth inning when the opposing team got a couple of runs, but we fought back and eventually went one run ahead.  Unfortunately, due to some untimely plays, we ended up losing the game 6-4.  Even Michael got to pinch run, but they got him out at second.  The guys played hard and I was proud of all of them.  Went back to Old Scottsdale after the game to pick up a few souvenirs and have lunch at David's Burgers.  Michael called after he had cleaned up at his condo and said he was bored, so we picked him up and back to Old Scottsdale. Then took a drive out to Paradise Valley.  I think a lot of wealthy people live out there.  Beautiful homes and homes built up in the mountains.  Very enjoyab...

Friday:  Morning wake-up as usual, though did change breakfast and had Raisin Bran instead of eggs.  Made our morning rounds to Diablo Stadium to get the daily newspaper.  Not looking forward to today's game as it may be their last.  They need to win two games in order to continue forward.  First game was in Mesa at Hohokam Stadium, home of Chicago Cubs.  Boys started out strong and stayed that way.  Unfortunately, Michael is officially done being catcher as his hand is still quite swollen and purple.  Perhaps he will be able to run in a future game, but for this game he coached first and third bases.  Game ended 8-7 in our favor.  The Cardinals like to make things close but this time they eeked one out.  Took team pictures after the game.  After the game we had a bit of time to kill.  Picked up Michael after he cleaned up to go shopping in Old Scottsdale but before that we were able to go inside his condo and check it out...

Thursday:  Today was a day of up and down.  Today I woke up to the sound of rain, not wanting to get up and glad I didn't have to.  Breakfast was the same as usual, but yet more of a treat, as I actually was hungry for breakfast.  I'm not normally a breakfast kind of person, but for some reason this morning I was.  I ate all my toast and bacon (Hunk didn't get to have my second slice of bacon today).  By the time breakfast was over the sun was starting to pop out and rain showers were dissipating.  As Michael's first game wasn't until much later in the day, we decided to go shopping in Old Town Scottsdale.  We soon discovered the stores didn't open until 10 a.m. so decided to check out Diablo Stadium instead, as that is the headquarters for this tournament and also the place to pick up souvenirs.  Picked up a t-shirt for myself and Hunk got a baseball cap; what a surprise, I know.  By this time we were able to go back to Old Town.  ...

Day began uneventfully.  As usual, woke up around 6 a.m. before alarm went off.  Had breakfast at hotel restaurant.  Visited there with members of a 60+ baseball team.  Apparently, they were from Chicago and were preparing to go home.  Nice to talk to someone so close to home.  None of us really like Arizona.  Met Michael around 7:15 at his condo, which is really a single family home that this guy from Arizona owns.  He actually stopped by while we were waiting in the car.  He apparently owns three homes and rents them out to people visiting Phoenix.  As we had a few minutes before we needed to leave for the first game, we decided to fill up on some gas.  First station was a local one that didn't take credit cards only cash.  We had the cash, but preferred to hang onto it for a while longer.  So on to the second station where we thought it would take my card, but charged $.45 to use it...so decided to gas up later, and wen...

Monday, 10/18:  The "rooster" went off at 4:30 a.m. this morning; unfortunately, I was awake at 4!!  Things went well; got dressed, let the dogs out and even washed last night's dishes.  We were out the door at 5:30 with Michael showing up just as we finished loading the car.  Now on to the airport.  I can't believe how many people are up and moving at that time of the morning.  I know, I start work at 5 a.m., but I didn't realize there were so many of us up and about.  Getting through airport security was okay, especially since Hunk and I don't travel much. I mentioned to at least two people that "I bet you can't tell we don't travel much," and they just smiled; I guess we were pretty obvious.  Fortunately, the people at Southwest were all very kind and patient.  Hunk and I had regular tickets for the flight but Michael had standby.  Although standby tickets are a wonderful thing;they have their problems too...because our flight was o...

I thought this would be a perfect time to try my hand at a blog.  Karen, I enjoy reading your weekly comments in your blog; it makes me feel much more involved in your and John's lives.  Of course seeing the photos of Megan is also a treat. And Dawn, I enjoyed your blog of Spain and being involved in your adventure in another land. Time went by much faster while you were gone, and I didn't have to bug you so much with my 20-questions conversations.  I  have never thought of myself as writer, though I envy those who can put pen to paper, or in this case fingers to keyboard. So here goes...I wanted to document my trip to Arizona, short though it may be.  Ultimately this is a record for me, myself, and I; but you're welcome to join me or not on my Arizona vacation. PRE-VACATION:  Sunday, 10/17/10, 5:40.  I have finished the laundry, cleaned the litter boxes, fed the dogs/cats and recharged cameras and phone.  I have given Dawn my to-do list for t...