Comment Log - 2015 Archive

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This is the 'archive' of my annual announcements and information for 2015.
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December 29, 2015: Happy Holidays
We were able to spend Christmas with Eric, Monique, Evan, & Azalyn this year.  They drove over from Hanford and stayed the weekend with us.  We ended up just hanging out around the house and cooking home made meals for the family.  On Christmas night, we were happy to have Joe and Karen celebrate with us.

November 9: This 'n That
Mary and I spent a short weekend on the Coast for a "Celebration of Life" for one of her bowling buddies.  Mary wasn't doing very well with her illness but we made it through the weekend.  The weather was really nice and we were able to meet up with Mike and Paula, who just happen to be visiting the same time as us.  

October 20: Bluegrass Festival
The 2nd Annual Kingman Bluegrass Festival was held this past weekend at the Stetson Winery.  Mary & I were volunteers during the festival and camped at the winery in our Travel Trailer for 4 days.  The weather was really a challenge, but when it turned bad they moved the music inside the Event Center at the Winery and kept on going.  It was a real fun weekend, we only had to work 4 hours each of the 3 days (well, I only worked 2 of the days) and we got to camp for 4 days.  We brought Austin with us and she had a great time, she sure seems like she enjoys camping.  I just put a number of photos in the Digital Album.

October 9: Recovery Complete
After returning home from our vacation in August, Mary caught a nasty upper respiratory infection that eventually turned into bronchitis.  She was "out of it" for the entire month of September.  We were able to make the last regular season game at Dodger Stadium on the 4th of October.  Life now returns to normal...

August 24: Vacationing in California
We just returned home from 2 weeks in California, Jamestown to Napa Valley to Monterey/Carmel to San Luis Obispo.  Mary & I met up with Ken & Julie on August 14 and traveled all over northern California and then down the coast.  We were lucky to have good weather along the way, even record highs in Napa Valley.  Photos are in the Digital Album.

August 10: 42nd Anniversary
Mary & I celebrated our 42nd Anniversary this past weekend by spending Sat/Sun in Sedona, AZ.  Did a little tour around town, enjoyed the beauty of the Red Rocks, and had an absolutely wonderful dinner in town on Sunday.  I put photos in the Digital Album.

August 6: Back from Vacation
Mary & I returned from a vacation to Florida 2 days ago.  We were able to spend 3 days at my mom's house and then headed down to Miami to catch the Carnival Breeze for a 6 day Western Caribbean Cruise.  We visited Ocho Rios (Jamaica), Grand Caymen Island, and Cozumel (Mexico).  It was quite a week and when we returned we drove down to Key West for the night and back to Miami Beach after that for 2 nightrs.  We were gone for 2 weeks and had a great time.  As usual, there are a ton of photos in the Digital Album of that trip.
When we got back, the next night we got a call from Ted Murray (someone Jim worked with for 30 years), he was coming through the area and wanted to stop by and say hi.  I invited him to stay the night, he did, and we caught up on 'old times'.
It's nice to be back home, but we're ready for our next adventure (very soon).

July 15: Family Time
After coming back from our Bass Lake trip, we had Mike-Paula-Summer-Madelyn-and Jaylynn up to the house in Kingman for the 4th of July weekend.  I ended up cooking TriTip, Baby Back Ribs, Chicken Kabobs, and Salmon on the grill for dinner.  The kids had a good time and we were able to play with fireworks in front of the house.
When everyone went back to Phoenix, Madelyn stayed with us for the following week.  We had a great time at the house and camping in the Hualapai Mountains with her.  She's always a great kid to have around.
At the end of the week, we travelled back to Phoenix to drop her off with daddy and spent the night...more good BBQ was served by Mike
Now we are gearing up for our next adventure, more details to follow.

June 29: Bass Lake Camping
Mary and I just returned from a 10 day camping trip to Bass Lake in the Sierra Mountains, just south of Yosemite Park in California.  We have been camping here yearly for about 32 years now (starting in 1982, we've only missed it twice).  We were able to see our grandson Evan, Eric & Monique came up to visit on Father's Day...that was very nice!
It's always good to see old friends and relax in the mountains, the last couple of days it was pretty hot there but the lake cools you off.

June 14: Camping in the Mountains
Mary and I just returned from a 2 day camping trip in the Hualapai Mountains.  We took the Travel Trailer up to the RV site they have right outside the park and did some hiking and weather watching.  We also took our youngest cat, Austin, with us...she really seemed to enjoy her time in the trailer.
The trip was a 'trial run' for our trip to Bass Lake next weekend, and it's a good thing we did this.  The day I pulled the trailer out of it's parking spot to get things ready the truck broke down on us...we made a quick run over to Bullhead City and it died in town.  Ended up getting towed back to Kingman so the Ford dealership could take a look at it, ended up being a bad exhaust temperature sensor that shut down the computer and stopped the truck from driving past an idle.  So it got fixed the next morning (the day we were heading to the mountains) and while I was waiting for the truck to get fixed that morning I did some inspections on the trailer and found one of the tires tread separating...so once the truck was back I had to take the trailer down to the tire shop where I bought them and get it replaced.  He inspected the rest and all was good...must have been a manufacturing defect or something.  Anyway, we ended up getting to the mountains by dinner time and the rest of the weekend was quite nice.
A special shout out to a former neighbor and good friend Rolando Quiroga who left us on June 1, we couldn't make it back to California for the service unfortunately.  Our thoughts are with the wife and family during this difficult time.

May 27: Road Trip!
Mary and I took a trip to Phoenix last weekend to spend a few days with the kids (Mike & Paula) and the newest edition to the family: Jaylynn.  She turned 2 weeks old this past weekend and is such a cutie.  We went to the park on Saturday and took lots of photos of the family, many will show up in the Digital Photo Album.
We drove back on Sunday, mostly to miss the traffic but also so I could attend a Patriot Guard Riders (PGR) event on Monday.  We stood a flag line during the Memorial Day services in Veteran's Park (Kingman).  A very sobering and honorable event, with many veterans offering their experiences and loss.
Weather is warming up, summer is right around the corner.  We are supposed to be in the 90s by this coming weekend.  Luckily the weather has been mild enough to not have us run the AC but I think we may have to fire it up within the next few days or so.

May 20: Picking up Speed!
May has been a different month for us, we're enjoying warmer weather and more fun things to do.
Now that the weather is turning nicer, I'm able to spend more time on the motorcycle.  I had the honor to join the PGR (Patriot Guard Riders) by escorting a family to a military funeral service, as well as stand flag lines before the service and during the military honors afterwards.
Last weekend was pretty busy, the 5th Annual Kingman Wine Festival was held on Saturday - followed by Chillin' on Beale Street that evening (lots of cool custom cars parked downtown.
I just started working with a group to create a Community Garden in Kingman, this week we put fence posts in and it should be all fenced in by the weekend...can't wait to plant some stuff and see it grow.

April 28: Spring
April has been a rare month where we have actually (pretty much) stayed at home.  Been getting in lots of walks during the week (at least 3-4 days, 30 mins) and taking short trips to Laughlin to win some of the casino's money.
We enjoyed having the kids up (Mike and Paula) with the grandkids (Madelyn and Summer) a couple of weekends ago, lots of fun!  We also spent the night at Harrah's Laughlin last weekend to enjoy the Laughlin River Run and the ZZTop concert (that WAS lots of fun).  I putt a small group of photos of the weekend in the Digital Photo Album.

March 30: Play Ball (Round #2)!!!
We just got back from a week of Spring Training baseball yesterday.  We watched 6 games during the week (3 Cubs and 3 Dodgers at each respective "home" field).  We were in Phoenix for 7 days and had an awesome time.  The weather was warmer than usual (mid 80s to low 90s) but made for great days at the ballparks.
I'll post some photos in the Digital Photo Album, so check back.

March 6: Play Ball!!!
We just got back from the first Spring Training game on Wednesday (Dodgers vs. White Sox).  We ended up staying in Phoenix for 2 nights, at Mike's house.  The weather was awesome the whole time and it was nice visiting with the kids.
There will be some photos posted in the Digital Photo Album VERY SOON.

February 5: What Happen to the Time...
I was doing my taxes yesterday and realized that I hadn't put an update on the web site since the new year started.  We have been slowly warming up here and it's looking almost like Spring in Kingman!
Mary & I enjoyed a Super Bowl party at the Rio in Las Vegas last weekend, lots of food and drink.  The game was pretty good, too.  I didn't have a dog in the fight, but it was a good game to watch.
This weekend we head for California for a long weekend, Mary is bowling in a Valentine's Invitational tournament in Paso Robles (she never misses it).  Makes for a good excuse to head over and visit.