Last fall we were so busy traveling that we barely had days at home between trips! I wrote about our September trips in the posts  Our “Problems” With Antelope Canyon…      Fourteen Border Crossings in One Day! ,   The North Rim – Finally!  and New Things in Las Vegas!

In mid October we met friends Kent and Pam in Sedona for an awesome, beautiful weekend.   This is a Sedona landmark, the Chapel of the Holy Cross.

We found this special place while hiking.

Randy decided to make his own.

We continued on with Kent and Pam to San Jose for a BSU volleyball game,  football game and some whale watching!

Lets go see whales!

Pam takes awesome pictures!

We always have fun meeting up with Kent and Pam!

Two days later we left for Cabo to spend a great week with friends Darrell and Cindy.

We went on a Cabo Taco Tour! 

We were able to watch baby turtles released to the sea.

Randy and I stayed in Mexico a second week to visit Rosa (in pink).  Rosa is Randy’s dad’s second wife and our friend.  She lives in LaPaz now and we had a great time meeting her family.  

One man speaks no English, the other speaks no Spanish.

Rosa had organized a large family gathering in our honor.  Her family loved Carl so much and Randy looks very much like him.  It was an emotional experience for all of us.

We got home just in time to join friends Connie and Warren in Flagstaff for an alumni challenge football game. The University of Idaho beat Northern Arizona in an overtime thriller.

 From Flagstaff we traveled to eastern Washington for a family Thanksgiving and then a brief stop in Boise for Natasha’s birthday. When we returned to Surprise in early December we were ready for a rest!

January begins “the season” in Sun City Grand.  We usher for events and music programs throughout the year but everything kicks up a notch during the season.

We had Bocci league, golfing, hiking club, Grand Dems and a FunDiner’s group.  We both enjoyed taking classes through Grand Learning.   We started gleaning for the food bank and were blessed with visits from friends and family.

My mother, Beverly, came in late January.  She visited with us in Surprise and then we took off for a week in Mazatlan.   

There were iguana of all sizes and colors!

Painting pottery is one of my favorite activities in Mazatlan!

We paint the basics and the artist makes them beautiful!

Kent and Pam were in Mazatlan too so the five of us enjoyed time together.

We went whale watching again and it was awesome.  We followed a mother and calf for a time.

Then we watched four males competing for a female.  Pam took the great pictures.

Home again,  we started Spring Training volunteering for Peoria Sports Complex, home of my team, the Mariners.

We can attend any game we aren’t working  – for free.

 We were spending a lot of time at the ball park, either volunteering or just watching games. Then spring training came to an abrupt halt.  So did life as we all knew it. 

Initially we were very content to have some down time.    Given that we aren’t trying to work, or deal with not working, or have kids at home, it hasn’t been too hard.  We live in an area of high risk because of age and health related concerns but also recognize that we have it much easier than so many others.  

We had gone from being way too busy to finding ways to keep busy. We are doing some miscellaneous projects around the house, some reading – same as most people. 

And because we didn’t have enough citrus already –  we got a dwarf Mexican key lime tree.

We started another batch of limoncello…

Every few days we have been delighted to check in on three owlets near a community lake.  The parents have nested in the same tree for several years. 

This morning we got more than we expected!  Mother owl had breakfast for the family.  We heard the owlets call to her and watched her fly over to feed them.   Poor bunny.

Randy and I mostly stay home but we do go walking every morning. 

We have had great weather have been blessed with amazing cactus blooms for several weeks!  

Did you know the desert does this?  Enjoy!

We have been amazed at the variety of cactus but haven’t learned many names.

Some look like they belong in the sea!

My personal favorite.  Stay well.