Fishing and Other Important Matters

We just sent off some family members who have been staying at our house for a week. And what a fun week it was! I have the sunburn to prove it.

Steve is Hubby's older brother, and he lives in Bentonville, Arkansas with his lovely wife, Amy, and their two boys, Ben and Mike. We visited them last December and had so much fun that we decided they had to return the favor by coming to see us. The boys spent about twenty-one hours of each day in the pool while we adults enjoyed the air-conditioned house.

Thursday meant a trip down the Salt River in tubes. Though I used sunscreen, it apparently wasn't enough. I'm ready for it to stop hurting any day now. We took a picnic and ate under the trees after our three-hour trek down the river. It was so much fun! And we were able to avoid most of the profane-shouting youngsters who were drunker than skunks. We picked up another brother, Brian and his wife, Julie, from the airport after their trip to Mexico before all convening at The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It's still my favorite place in the world to eat.

On Friday, we dropped Amy off at the airport so she could spend the weekend in Utah for a family reunion. The rest of us headed north just past Payson for some fishing. Grandpa Mick even met us there so he could fish with his boys! After several microscopic minnows were caught (and most of them released), we headed further up the road to Snowflake for the weekend. The town triples in size during this annual Pioneer Day weekend of festivities.

On Saturday, we watched a parade, visited the Arts and Crafts Fair, ate BBQ in the city park, saw lots of neat old automobiles at the car show, and cheered on the boys basketball alumni in a game against each other. Hubby and I then attended his 10-year Reunion, and it was a real treat to meet some of his high school friends, fellow nerds, and basketball buddies. Later that evening, while Hubby played ball with his high school team, we roasted marshmallows in the backyard and watched the city fireworks. What a great day!

Pioneer Day celebrates the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24th, 1847. After several hundred lives were lost and countless stories of faith and perseverance came into being, many towns in Utah, Idaho, and Arizona still celebrate this annual holiday. We trek to Snowflake every year just for such a celebration.

We returned home to The Valley on Sunday and Monday (I went home a day early in case I got called for work). After picking up Amy at the airport, we enjoyed lunch at Dilly's Deli before spending a lazy day around the pool.

Tuesday resulted in a flight from Mesa to Phoenix in my airplane, and I was able to take some very excited people with me! It was so much fun! Thanks goes to Hubby for playing taxi so we didn't waste three hours getting back to my car. That evening, we went to the Visitors' Center at the Mesa Temple before grabbing our last dinner at Pei Wei.

At 4:30 AM on Wednesday, I drove the family to Mesa-Gateway airport for their flight home to Bentonville. Then, I unashamedly admit, I came back home to sleep for a few more hours!

We had such a nice visit with Steve, Amy, Ben, and Mike. And it was great to spend time with more family in Snowflake for such a fun weekend. We are lucky to be related to an incredible group of people.