"Grand" parents and canyon

What do grandparents and the Grand Canyon have in common?

The flow.....

Grandparents have had the soft and soothing flow of time with their children etch wisdom and patience into their character or the jagged flow of bitterness, harshness and UN-forgiveness leave deep crevasses of dashed dreams in their brows.


The Grand Canyon has had the mighty Colorado River flow through its belly with sand, rocks and boulders carving out deep canyons of varied colors, ever changing over spans of time that we humans can't even grasp.  I remember being there in 88 with Karl and Josefa but don't remember being quite as impressed.  It must have been the heavy concentration of protecting the young children and keeping the peace that distracted me from the awesome beauty of the Canyon. 

Cyenna has amazing observation skills and knows how to jar Opa out of his pessimism.  He so adores her and loves to entertain her.

Driving towards Flagstaff from the Grand Canyon on July 27th.

The Burger King lovers.  They always have the chicken sandwich.  It's a tradition!

We arrived back in Benson on Sunday afternoon.  I was exhausted but thankful that we were safe and that we'll have another week with Cyenna.  

Cyenna visit

We were so happy to see Cyenna come out of that American Airlines jetliner on Tuesday evening at 6PM in the Phoenix airport.  5 hours before, Chris had dropped her off in Miami at the gate and this little 12 year old flew across the country by herself.  Thank God for apps.  I watched the plane fly over the gulf and we were already in Phoenix at our motel when she was over New Mexico.  Our only problem was finding an oversized parking spot at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix in 101 degree heat.  Thank God is wasn't 106 like we expected.  We picked up our security pass at the AA gate and sat down in a bar across from Gate 6 where she was due to arrive.  What a relief to see that almost teenager walk off the plane.

We stayed at a Motel 6 near the airport, which we won't repeat.  It was like "Planes, trains and cars" all night with the UPS port landing planes every hour.  Then it sounded like a train was coming through our room twice during the night along with the usual cheap hotel fare, kids yelling till midnight and women screaming at their boyfriends along with lots of door slamming.  Cyenna and I were able to relax in the pool till 9PM which felt heavenly.

Wednesday morning we were off to Sedona which is always such a surprise.  This canyon, tucked away in the foothills of Flagstaff is so beautiful it really takes my breath away each time.

After driving by Slippery Rock north of Sedona and seeing that it was overcrowded with no hope of a parking spot, we decided to drive onto Williams where we had reserved a spot for Thursday and Friday evening.  It was wonderful that they had the spot open for Wednesday so we were able to park, relax for the evening while Artur did his things with the camper.  After grilled chicken sandwiches and some great blackberry wine, I was able to relax again.  Cyenna was still on jet lag.

Thursday we drove into Williams which was a pleasant surprise because it's the "Rt 66" town.  We did not expect this.  Artur was like a giddy little kid with all the old car signage all around and the vintage signs.  The icing on the cake was the Black Forest cream pie.  Cyenna tried a black cherry cream pie which even shared with me we couldn't finish.  

These slices can feed a whole family.  They sure look good but after 3 bites the sugar hits you.

Even "sweet Cyenna" could not handle all this sweetness!

One month in Benson

To celebrate one month in Benson, I went 5 min. down the road to see Tifani at Alluring Image Salon.  She's a perky little gal who gave me a great haircut and also as you can see a summer pedicure. 

 Tifani is giving me an education about the culture in Benson and St. David.  She goes to the LDS church in St. David but did not fit the image of a Mormon woman that I've had in my head.  She's on her second divorce and is divorcing the born-again christian man who lived in the manufactured home right down the street from us in St. David.  He moved in with his first wife's daughter three months after Tifani left him.  Sound like a microcosm of American right now?  So last week he got evicted and is at the moment a guest of Joseph M. "Joe" Arpaio in Phoenix.  

We're called to be lights in the darkness and there's plenty around everywhere.  So as the book I just finished reminded me of the Chronicles Scripture; "If my people, who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land".  I'm praying for a godly man to come into Tifani's life....not a religious man.....a godly man, there is a difference as you can see from Tifani's adventures.

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Lots of flowers today on our morning walk in the wash.

Monsoon clouds overhead

This is our neighbor's dog Buddie who ventures out with us some mornings.

Chris and Lorraine came over last evening for pizza.  It was a beautiful balmy evening and we were able to sit out in the courtyard without mosquito's bothering us.  Our dog Bear always reminds us at 9PM that it's time to go to bed.  He starts growling at us if we stay up too long.  Strange dog!!

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Good news!  Artur finally brought the RV to the new house from Chris's "parking lot" where it had spent the last few months.  We were afraid it would not fit into the back yard storage area but with inches to spare, Art squeezed in the Dodge.  The only fatality was a nice Yucca plant which we uprooted and as you can see Art "replanted" it behind the wall.  I'll be surprised if it grows again back there but with the monsoon rains, who knows?

Transplanting the Yucca....