2011

Frosty Nights

Last days of 2010 included isolated snow flurries and temps as low as 25 degrees. A bit unusual for Phoenix.

 So, wonder what happened to all the Quail around the building?

Found this young coyote in the parking lot at work.

Happy Birthday Sue

by jdfulkerson

For Sues Birthday we had a nice dinner at Red Lobster.

R.I.P. Pinky

by jdfulkerson

Sierra's pet Gerbil Pinky died Wednesday from old age. We must have had her for at least five years.

Happy Valentines Day

by jdfulkerson

Took Sue out to dinner last night to avoid the Valentines Day Massacre at the restaurants. Nice dinner at Macaroni Grill. Entertainment provided by the server dumping a glass of Tea on the table. We all got out of the way and didn't get wet. I delivered an orchid to Sue at her work during lunch time. Nice quiet dinner, take out from Pong Pong.

Flight to Milwaukee 

J.D. had to go on a business trip to Milwaukee. As you can see, it's a little cold.

 A companion well remembered, we will miss you.

Our beloved Ginger lost her race with time. I have never had such a wonderful dog. She will be missed.

J.D. in Long Beach

J.D. went to a conference for technical communication in Long Beach CA, current home of the Queen Mary.

Happy Birthday Sierra!

 Congratulations, it's a teen.

Last concert for Sierra as a 7th. Grader

Last concert for Band for the school year.

Sierra and her Yearbook

Sierra with the Yearbook she worked on for Seventh Grade. The teacher already told her he wants her back for the 2011-2012 yearbook.

Sierra at the Build it Green Expo

Sierra at the Build It Green Expo. She fell in love with this Chariot scooter.

Tucson Trip

 

 Since I was out of work, Sierra and I took a quick overnight trip to Tucson. Sue had to work Monday so she didn't get to join us. I took Sierra around Tucson to show her the sights. We ate at Egees, Sierra enjoyed the real fruit slushie and the great sandwich. Then we went to the Valley of the Moon in North Tucson. There I met up with an old friend from Scout days. Randy had set up a visit from Richard and Wendy Pini. Authors of a popular graphic novel series in the 1980's and 90's. The photo is of Wendy signing Sierras copy of "A Gift of Her Own". A child oriented book that Sierra has cherished for a very long time.
If you get the chance to visit at Valley of the Moon you will be amazed.
Afterwards we visited my friend and one-time Scoutmaster Luis Romero and his wife Martha. It was a very fast trip, just 25 hours, but a good trip.

Bounty from the garden

Lots of veggies this year, one of the best years for the garden in awhile.

Kara is home

 Kara was brought to her new home on July 24 2011, and seems happy with her new environment. From the Arizona Sheltie Rescue webpage:
Carolina, or Cara as her foster family calls her, is one of the 6 shelties we
took in on June 13th, she is 6 years old, a tri-factored sheltie and of average
size. Cara is initially fairly shy and she takes some time to warm up but is
now coming for attention and starting to display some playfulness with toys
and other dogs in her foster home. Cara is using a dog door and hasn't had
any accidents. She hasn't had much if any leash experience but is coming
along nicely with a harness, so will need some practice and patience to
continue to get used to the idea. She travels pretty well. She had a quarter
sized cist on top of her head that we had removed and a pretty extensive
dental were she lost 19 teeth in all. She is now spayed and current on all
her vaccinations and is microchipped.

Watermelon Rind Pickles

A taste treat I don't get too often. Theresa and Rob found them at a Truck Stop and I enjoyed them. They were a bit heavy on the cloves and cinnamon for my taste, but still tasted good. One of these days I'm going to try out my recipe for them.

 First day in eighth grade for Sierra

Sierra started eighth grade. Band, Advanced Science and Social Studies are part of the new school year. She is already welcome for the Yearbook staff as well.

Flagstaff Trip

We took a trip up to Flagstaff to get out of the heat for awhile. It was also Karas first trip with us. She did very well.

 Mid September odds and ends

Got the garden ready for Fall. Lots of squash, cucumbers and carrots this time. Plenty of tomatoes, some over summered, and some we planted. Now to see what grows.
Sierra finally made pointe in ballet, she is very excited about it, we will now need to go buy pointe shoes for her.
My Uncle Loren Turner died at the end of August in a car accident. I will always remember being a kid and riding in the sleeping compartment of his semi from Colby to Topeka.

It's Fall!

The high may be 103 degrees today, but it is still Fall. Sierra and Sue made Caramel Apples!

 Sierras part in the concert was a scream

Granted, not the best picture. It was taken from video. Sierra had a part in the Fall Concert at school where she had to scream. The entire audience was deaf for a few seconds.

A better photo, still grabbed from video.

Zombie Dance

Sierra was part of a Flash Mob dance at the BooFest in the park. Sue did the costume and makeup for her.
The large group did a rendition of "Thriller" to the delight of the mostly costumed crowd.
Rob and Theresa were in town and got to see the show.
When it was all over Sierra was dead . . . tired.

Thrill the World

 

Sierra at the Thrill the World Global Dance Record Attempt. Over 200 stations around the world danced to MJ's "Thriller" at the exact same time to try for a world global dance event record. Don't know if they made it yet. I will get the video online soon.

State Fair Buds

 

 It was Sierra's friend Collettes first time at the State Fair, They both rode a LOT of rides and enjoyed Fried Oreos and Cocoa Cotton Candy.

Happy Halloween 2011

Sick too death of the Zombie outfit, Sierra goes Rocker for Halloween.

2011 Bathroom Remod

Bathroom remodel as of 11/12/11. On the following day the cabinet, medicine cabinet, and floor tiles were done.

Holiday Concert 2011

Sierra and Collette at the 2011 Holiday concert.

Merry Christmas 2011

This year we bought a 7 foot pre-lit tree. The old 9 foot tree would take a weekend to put up and decorate. This year it took 15 minutes to set up and 3 hours to decorate.
The other new face is of course Kara, spending her first Christmas with us.