New Years Eve / New Years Day

We went down to Rustler's Rooste for New Years Eve dinner. Bobbins had a lot to drink, so the next day was recovery. We lit up some sparklers on New Years evening. Most of the day was spent watching football. I did two pool's this year, which was quite fun. I really enjoy it.

We had planned to go to Pasadena for the Rose Parade, driving Mike's RV, but it didn't work out logistically or financially.

Saturday Night with Bobbins Family

With Bobbins' brother Mark and family in town, we went out to her parents' house Saturday night for dinner. In the pic below, Hutch is holding Ruby and Tip. Which one is older? And of course Uncle Paul is always the cool uncle.

King Cake

Bobbins makes a king cake, with a baby Jesus in it, for Mardi Gras, and this year Edward got it. He was more excited to eat cake than to get Jesus, while TF was too exhausted to eat his piece.

New Years Eve

 K Dawg and I went shooting at Shooter's World in the afternoon. I had a gift card from my birthday to use. More expensive than our usual site, obviously, but still a good time.

That evening we started a new tradition of eating at Ruster's Rooste. We miss the old Northwood's in Pasadena, CA, but the Rooste is an admirable fill-in.


Edward was content with the choice.



Poppy met us there from work. It was cold & rainy, which eliminated fireworks later on at home.

T Day at the Compound

Not sure what happened to the other photos, or if Bobbins took any, but we had a nice Thanksgiving out at her folks' house. Mike and his kids came over from CA. My mom and Coach came out with us. These are the only two other photos I could find:

T Day Hike

Went out to Dreamy Draw with friends for our annual Thanksgiving morning hike.

Mom's Day Gifts

St. Patty's Parade

We decked out in green and headed downtown for the little St. Patrick's Parade. I forget where Gaia was and why she didn't come with us. The kids got some toys & candy and I got a McSally sticker from the US Senate candidate herself.

New Years Eve

The kids wore their new jammies from Grandma and Aunt Katie and stayed up late with Julia. Bobbins and I went up to the Schaefers to hang out and play games with Jess's siblings and their significant others. It was a nice evening. We were home before midnight.

Bobbins' Family in for Thanksgiving

Bobbins' sister-in-law Nadia with three kids and brother Mark with four kids came to Phoenix from California for Thanksgiving. We snapped this shot of the grandkids in front of the New Build before Mark's crew arrived, so it's not everyone. The plan had been to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the New Build, but it was not finished in time.

Veterans Day

For Veterans Day this year we headed to Yarnell and the Shrine of Saint Joseph of the Mountains. This is a hand carved Stations of the Cross in the rocky mountainside of Yarnell. The 2014 fire destroyed some of the buildings but the sculptures all survived. Though it was tough to corral the kids, we did the Stations, then had a picnic lunch in the shade.

I had intended to hike out to the HotShots Memorial State Park, but it takes a while to get there by shuttle and hike all the way out. Instead, we found a hike near Wickenburg that wasn't too bad. We had to go off trail to get home quicker, which was a challenge for the girls, but we all made it in one piece and home in time for Bobbins to make her babysitting date.

4th of July at Our House

Mostly hanging out, swimming and BBQ-ing, with Nana T & Pop as well as the Schaefers over. Fireworks show in the street at night.

Happy Easter 2017

We had the usual 9am Mass, then brunch (by Nana T, with Pop) at home with an egg hunt.

Valentine Kids

Happy Year of the Rooster

I took the kids out to a Baptist mega-church in Chandler for a Chinese New Year celebration. It was free, including food, and they had a great program. They had over 600 people! The gym where the food was served was packed. We had to leave at 8 and only saw half the program, which included martial arts, dance, singing, an orchestra, and a custom drawing (at left) done on stage live. Despite the distance out, it was a lot of fun.