My recently-retired father and soon-to-retire mother are officially becoming snowbirds. They bought a house in Mesa with the intention of trading in their harsh Utah winters for the warmth of Arizona. Unfortunately the house they bought was a foreclosure in need of some renovation. While my dad is an extremely handy guy, he felt like he needed a little extra expertise on some of the projects, so it was Bill the Builder to the rescue! We took a quick weekend trip to Mesa, and Bill and Kent got to work. They tore out walls, built new ones, cute out holes for doors, and spent a lot of time at Lowes. While they were working, my Aunt Margaret and I tackled the horror of the dirty kitchen. We spent an entire day just cleaning the cabinets (fortunately everything else is going to be replaced). While the adults were working the kids basically ran wild through the house (many thanks to Aunt Barbara and Uncle Mike for taking them away for an afternoon, that was a big help and the kids had a great time).
Tearing down... 
... and building up.
Kids, do NOT try this at home
Joshua and Amanda enjoyed dancing around in the big empty living room. 
OK, I realize this picture is kind of gross, but this is one of the games Amanda and Joshua would play. Joshua was pretending to be a doggy. He would bark, fetch, and of course, lick faces.The weekend wasn't all work and no play though. We found time for some fun. The kids always love staying at Aunt Margaret's because of her hot tub and her pets (and because she's always so nice to them). They also got to go to Aunt Barbara's and swim in her pool. Another highlight was meeting Barbara, Mike, Whitney, Abby, and Abby's kids Olivia and Reese at the mall for a ride on the carousel. 
Hopefully Margaret's dogs Navajo and Bo have recovered from our visit.
At In 'n Out
The kids sure do love their "Bumpa Measom"
At the mall: (l-r) Barbara, Whitney, Reese, Kent, Abby, Margaret
Caleb the Tiger Tamer
Grandpa was Joshua's carousel buddy.
Amanda and Joshua on their second carousel ride
Olivia (my cousin Abby's daughter) with Mike (Barbara's husband)
We were also able to get together with Bill's brother Ben, his wife Erin, and their kids Joe, C.J., Camerin, and Tommy in Queen Creek. Many thanks to them for putting together a nice BBQ at the park on such short notice. It was great to visit with them and the kids loved playing with their cousins.
Manly men grilling their manly food
The big boys: Joe, CJ, and Caleb
The little boys: Joshua and Tommy. These two are so cute together!
The princesses: Camerin and Amanda
The Mammas. Forgive me for posting this silly picture Erin. I love your sexy pouty look.
Camerin flying highHopefully we'll be able to spend more time in Mesa. It's only a six hour drive for us, and the many family members there, along with the warmth, will probably make it very enticing this winter.
2 comments:
you could have at least explained why I was doing that dorky look! at least I'm making YOU look good, right?
OK so this is such a cute blog. I am still learning and will hopefully be up to standards soon enough. I think it is so cute your dad is called Bumpa, that is what the grandkids call my dad as well. Such a fun thing to read up on happenings.
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