I've Been Tagged by Laura

Here are the questions I have to answer:

1. Four jobs I have had.
- Grocery store clerk
- School teacher
- Mom
- Chief cook and bottle washer

2. Four movies I can watch any time.
- Phantom of the Opera
- Pride & Prejudice
- Funny Farm
- Somewhere in Time

3. Four places I have lived:
- Phoenix, Az.
- Show Low, Az.
- Tempe, Az.
- Chandler, Az. (and that's all the places I've ever lived)

4. Four T.V. shows I like/watch:
- American Idol
- So You Think You Can Dance
- Super Nanny
- Suns/D-backs Games

5. Favorite Foods
- Chicken salad croissants
- Chicken tacos
- Pei Wei's hot & spicy chicken salad
- Chili's grilled chicken carribean salad

6. Websites I visit daily:
- Sheri's blog

7. Places I'd rather be:
-Sitting on the beach in California or Hawaii.
- Disneyland

8. People I want to tag:
- Sheri
- Kim
- Tricia
- Cathi (why don't you have a blog?)

A Donut A Day

Everyday of this trip the boys had a donut. This is in front of the Safeway in Pinetop as they eat their Long Johns.

Bear Poop

Alex and Michael thought this sign was so funny. It's a store called Surprise Closet that sells Bear Poop.

Righteous Warriors

When I look at these boys I am reminded that they will need to be "Righteous Warriors".

Little Colorado River in Greer, Arizona

A beautiful day to be in Greer and play in the water.

Alex and Michael climbing the tower at Green's Peak. The top was closed so the boys came back down and tried to catch a squirrel that they had seen under the tower.

No Trespassing

This road leads to the "Chocolate River". Yes, those are no trespassing signs. I told them to be careful and not to destroy any property. Another one of Michael's "cabin" experiences is a trip to the Chocolate River.

Michael chauffered Alex around on the Ranger. For the longer trips Grampa or Gramma drove.

After a hard day of fishing and playing Michael and Alex are watching a movie from the best seats in the house.

Here are Grampa and Alex having their fried fish dinner. Michael took one bite but said it didn't taste like anything. Michael is an interesting boy.

Michael says that one of his "cabin experiences" includes a bonfire.

Last night the boys were on a Ranger ride with Grampa looking for wildlife. The Ranger was low on gas. Both boys said a prayer they would make it back safely before running out of gas, and they did.

Grampa's Fish

"The one that got away was this big.

Alex is holding up the fish that he will have for dinner this evening. It's a German Brown Trout (or is it a minnow)?

Yes boys, fishing is fun!!

Alex said this was one of the best spots to fish. Michael is trying to keep from getting bored.

The Adventures of Michael and Alex

Dennis had told us that the best fishing was at Fred's Lake in Pinetop. We went by Fred's Lake and it was closed because of high water temperatures so on we went to Hawley Lake. Alex had fond memories of being at Hawley Lake earlier in the summer and he wanted to "show" Michael around. He told us which side of the lake was best to fish on so that's where we started. We had to wait awhile in the truck because it was raining. Michael had just thrown his first line in the water and waited a few minutes before saying: "This is kind of boring." I would say that both boys were more interested in finding crawdads than they were fishing.

Some of the other fun things we did besides fishing and riding the Ranger: We saw a lizard, wild turkey, sheep, a giant moth, cows, horses, elk, antelope, deer, ground squirrels, chipmunks, jack rabbits, cotton tails, prarie dogs, snakes (Dallin when he was running down Green's Peak), fish?, salmon eggs, worms, crawdads, bluebirds, dogs, muggles in the Forbidden Forest, a dead cow, an Indian burial ground, a hawk, beatles, black ants, spiders, a pig with a mohawk and Shrek ears (Joseph saw this in a cloud formation), rain, Dallin as a black speck running in a field, free food from the inept Sonics in Springerville and Show Low. Dallin cut his thumb and Grampa said he was to young to have a knife and then Grampa cut his hand while working on the cabin. We saw two Equine Dentistry vehicles, we ate at a slow Denny's and we saw a girl in a car wreck that looked like Denise's daughter Rachel. We laughed on the way home as the boys mimicked the characters from Harry Potter in their best British accents. We did puzzles and read Harry Potter. It was a fun trip.

Dallin in a contemplative mood. He's trying to think like a fish so he will know what to do to catch one; but first he needs a fishing pole.

Here is Joseph at Big Lake trying to catch the "big" one. Joe didn't want to leave but it was getting late. We had to promise we would take him fishing again.

Fishing on the West Fork of the White River near Big Lake. Joseph was very serious about wanting to catch a fish. Maybe we will have to get an expert fisherman like Uncle David to take him fishing or at least give us a few pointers.

Joseph and Dallin

It's Dallin and Joseph's turn. The following week, Kim and I brought Joseph and Dallin to Vernon. Grampa was already there. The first thing they wanted to do was go for a ride on the Ranger. Don't worry Mom, Dallin put his seatbealt on.

Besides fishing the boys also enjoyed riding
the Ranger/4-wheeler. On Saturday we went
to see the movie "Oceans 13" and then had
lunch in Pinetop at El Rancho.

This picture was taken on the North Fork of the White River just a few miles from Hawley Lake. James caught a fish but it really wasn't worth the effort as it was only a few inches long.

Maybe the fish just weren't hungry for salmon eggs or power bait. Grampa was very patient and helped the boys untangle their lines, etc.

Fishing at Hawley Lake with Adam and Jared A.

We had so much fun with Ben and James last week we decided we wanted to have a mini-vacation with our older grandchildren, two at a time. This week it's Adam and Jared. Jared had been fishing with Grampa on the Black River where he caught many fish. This trip to Hawley Lake was a little disappointing because the boys did not catch any fish. On the plus side the weather and scenery were fantastic.

This was a familiar sight on our trip. This is Ben and James in the trailer playing video games. On Saturday their friend/cousin Seth joined them. It was fun to see Gail, Dianne, Seth, Jasmine, Kit, Erik, Amelia, and Tim at the reunion.

This is a picture of Ben and James on their hike with Grampa at the Lambson Family Reunion in Ramah, New Mexico. At one point James was sliding down the rock and Grampa had to step on his hand to stop him from sliding off. Grampa was impressed with what good climbers these two guys were and more impressed with the fact that they never complained. The next day they wanted to go on another hike.

Lambson Reunion Hike

Lambson Reunion

Grampa James, James Hayden, and Ben at the Lambson family reunion, Ramah, New Mexico, June 2007