Every time we go to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum it is a different experience, and that is why we love it so much! This time it seemed like it was all about the butterflies. We have had a lot of them this year, even in the city, but it was fun to see so many at a time. Most of them were too fast for me, but I manages to get a few pictures.
Our niece had planned on a small intimate wedding at her community club house, but because of COVID, they had to make a last minute change from indoor to backyard. August in Arizona is hot, so everyone dressed accordingly. The groom’s brother officiated, and made it a fun, quick ceremony. You won’t find Steve or I in any of the pictures because we were lucky enough to be the official photographers. We were so happy to do it, and hope we captured the day perfectly for them.
It was so much fun for the new families to get to know each other in this wonderful, comfortable setting.
We are so happy for our niece, finding and marrying the man of her dreams!
They got married with family rings that have so much meaning! She is wearing her grooms great grandmother’s ring, and he is wearing his late father’s ring. Their wedding was so special, and the perfect setting for the two of them!
We wish them many happy years to come!
On our final day in North Carolina, it was time for our grandson to go back to daycare, so we had a day on our own. We decided to explore Reservoir Park, and just enjoy each other for the day.
After our day of exploring, we went with our daughter to pick up our grandson at his daycare. What a charming place! It is a farm where the kids get to help grow the crops and help with the animals.
It also has separate playgrounds for the different age groups.
Thanks to all of you for your amazing hospitality and hugs and kisses! Well miss you all!
We didn’t get to spend nearly as much time with our kids as we had hope for, but after their super tough month, we were so glad to see them get caught up on life a little bit. We cherished every minute that we did get with them.
Rain or shine, they go outside at daycare, so our grandson modeled his rain slicker and boots for us.
Just being in the same house, and interacting when we could was so refreshing!
I haven’t provided any COVID-19 updates lately, because I thought we were through the worst of it. But unfortunately, I was wrong. I assumed that with the availability of vaccines, that we would see a huge decrease in the number of cases, and that was true for awhile. But unfortunately, we are now seeing new variants of the virus emerging, the current concern being the Delta variant. The vaccine is not yet available for people under 12, so keeping kids safe is my greatest concern.
When we planned our trip to North Carolina to see our son (in-law), daughter and grandson, COVID cases were down, so we booked flights and got excited about our trip, but between then and now, things have changed. Cases are up again, and especially among young people, so we’re really not looking forward to flying.
As our kids were in the middle of their move from South Carolina to North Carolina, they had a case of COVID in their daycare, so their daycare had to close down for two weeks, while they tried to move and work full time. It was tough, but they made it through.
As they were getting settled in North Carolina, their son was in daycare for 3 days, and their new daycare had a case of COVID and it had to shut down for two weeks, while our kids tried to get settled into their new home, and work full time. It has been a tough month for them!
They handled the first week of new daycare shut-down on their own, but luckily, we have tickets to fly out and can be their daycare while we are there! What great timing!
Our grandson loves being outside, so we have done our best to keep him happy.
When we would get too hot outside, we would sit inside and look outside 😃. We would watch the big trucks working in the cul-de-sac across the street. He loves big trucks!
He kicked his animal friends out of their swimming pool.
Helping grandpa with move-in projects.
The weather continues to be beautiful for August in Arizona, so we decided to play Troon North today. We are playing this course for the first time, so we used our 2 for 1 at this course, for a grand total of $55 for both of us! We love these crazy summer rates!!
Everyone at this course was very nice and helpful, and they had a beautiful restaurant overlooking the course. The course is long and spread out, and weaves in and out of beautiful million $ plus houses, which made the views all that much more impressive. This is definitely one of the top courses we have played this summer. It was difficult, but not too difficult. We only sacrificed a few balls. It is an all desert course, which we loved!
We also loved the Boulder fields that the course winds through.
Next stop this summer…North Carolina! But not for golf. Stay tuned.
We played the beautiful Westin Kierland golf course today in Scottsdale. We’re loving our weekday golfing, it’s not crowded, so the game moves right along. We can typically play 18 holes in 3 to 3 1/2 hours, which is perfect! We used our Troon 2 for 1 on this course, so it cost us $20.50 a piece, including tax. Such a bargain!
This was a beautiful course, and it was in great shape for summer! It wound around through a few condos, and it looks like even more are being built as we speak. There was no GPS on their carts, but there were ice chests, and that is the most important thing for summer golf. We followed another twosome the whole day, but the pace was perfect for us.
They have three 9 hole courses at Kierland, and you don’t get to pick which ones you will play. Ironwood was closed today, so we played our first nine on Mesquite and our second nine on Acacia. We really liked both courses. The beverage cart was a bit expensive…a can of pop was $4. Usually you at least get a 20 oz bottle for that price, but no big deal, it was refreshing at about hole 14. Also, there is a lot of sand on this course. I used to hate sand, but I’m actually starting to figure it out 😃. Neither of us had a stellar day, score wise, but mental health wise it was everything we could ask for… relaxing, green, lots of fresh air and just all around beautiful!
It was a hot day for golf, but certainly not unbearable now that the monsoon humidity is finally starting to go away. It’s so nice to be able to play again, and today’s course made it all the better!
