Let's see...since January what have we been up to?
In February we got final inspection for the garage. Hooray. The work men packed up their tools, cleaned up the sawdust and gave us a gorgeous garage and office!
With the stamp of approval in hand, we gave the go ahead for the construction of the back yard. Nathan and Rock-n-Earth landscape did not disappoint as they delivered an amazing outdoor oasis. (More to be posted on theparkhouse.blogspot.com soon)
In the midst of backyard construction, we packed our bags, dropped the dogs off at the sitter and headed for sunnier weather. Two days before we were to be heading to Mexico (driving to Rocky Point and then continuing further onto San Carlos, Mexico) Balin got word that a job was starting and all his staff were occupied. Translation: Balin had to go into the field and miss out trip to Mexico. At first I wasn't surprised. I actually had taken this possibility into full consideration when planning the trip and was having Balin's mom come just for that reason. (Plus we like hanging out with her!) Then frustration set in. Seriously. I have to go on a 10 day vacation without my husband. Nice. So what does a woman do when she's frustrated and sad? Pray. That's right, the kids and I prayed. We put it before the Lord and I kid you not, He answered our prayers in abundance. Balin had left for Phoenix on Wednesday for a meeting and was planning on heading out to the job site in California on Friday. We were leaving for Mexico on Friday am. On Thursday night Balin called and said, "They postponed the work due to birds. There were too many birds on site and we couldn't work." Oh yeah! God made those birds, and God used them to answer our prayers. Amen! Friday morning we headed to the airport, picked up Susie and met Balin there. We were on our way to sun, sand, ocean and fun!
Except, I forgot to pack Balin's computer chargers. That led to a large amount of stress on his part and a somewhat complicated pick up in Mexico. Turns out another friend was heading down to Mexico and was going through Rocky Point on Monday - so he picked up the computer cords in Prescott and dropped them off to us at a gas station in Mexico. Very cool.
We stayed in Rocky Point Mexico for the weekend in a great resort called Las Palomas. It was very safe and very American, which was both good and bad. We went to the beach everyday, ate good food and just relaxed. One night we went to hop on a Pirate Boat that we had made reservations on but upon arrival we found the gates locked and the office closed. As we were standing around waiting for someone to come and take us out, another car drove towards us. Sam, in his off-handed way said, "Here comes another sucker!" No one ever did come and we eventually went home a few dollars poorer.
On Tuesday we headed south from Rocky Point to San Carlos - through the heartland of Sonora. It was beautiful desert interspersed with small towns along the way. I found it to be a lovely drive which took us all day. We landed in a beautiful condominium complex in San Carlos right on the beach. We woke up the next morning to sunshine and 75 degrees, green grass all around and beautiful flowers in abundance. We spent the next 7 days playing at the beach, in the grass, taking long walks, looking for sea shells and having a wonderful time.
Balin and I are usually pretty good on vacation, though after a bit we can get a little restless for the routine of home. I think around day 7-8 we were starting to get ancy, but we reminded ourselves that life would resume full throttle when we got back so we should enjoy the "now". So we sat back, relaxed and worked on our tans.
After 10 days we headed North towards Prescott, where a severe winter storm was headed our way. We drove home to 12" of snow and 24 hours of continued snow storms. It was a bit of a shock. Balin's brother and family came the next day from Tuscon where they had been enjoying 80 weather and the swimming pool. They were somewhat surprised and probably disappointed at the chilly winter weather. We did enjoy having the cousins play, visiting, hiking and playing with the family from Medford Oregon. They stayed in Prescott for a couple of days and then headed home to warmer weather.
That weekend I headed off to Williams, AZ for a Young Life women's retreat. I stayed in dorms for the weekend with some good friends and had a wonderful weekend. It was a great way to end a lovely vacation!
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