December 17 - Phoenix, Arizona

Rose at Arizona Science Center

Our decorations 

Campground pool (yes it’s heated) and hot tub (also heated)

Pickleball court 

Rose saw Karissa again - we met her 2 years ago.

She did her extensions and it only took 6 hours.

Rose put together most of this 1,000 piece puzzle.

Big accomplishment 

Star party at Lost Dutchman State Park 

We returned to the Ghost Town at night 

Ghost town (that’s Ken, we didn’t see any ghosts)

Jenn’s second cousin passed unexpectedly. He was living in Phoenix so we were able to attend services. It was great seeing cousins but wish it would have been under better circumstances.

It was a great week! It’s still odd listening to Christmas songs with the car AC on, palm trees in sight, lovely sunsets, and lots of sun. Rose says that she misses the snow and is tired of the sun. I know that Ken doesn’t miss moving the snow (but he does miss his tractor). 

Rose had a 6 hour hair appointment for new extensions. I delivered lunch to her then ran errands and did some shopping which was fun to do. 

Rose and I went to the Arizona Science Center this week and spent most of the day there. She enjoyed her first trip to a planetarium and there were lots of hand on activities. A few days later we got tickets for a Star Party where she was able to look through telescopes and see the moon, Saturn (which totally looked fake), and other stars. It was very cool and she was very excited. 

Our campground hosted a pancake and sausage breakfast this morning so we attended that and met some new people.  It was held at the clubhouse where Rose also completed a 1,000 piece puzzle. She had been working on that for days. And of course there was one missing piece. Don’t you hate that? Apparently there were several puzzles out at once on the table and therefore that piece is likely in one of the many puzzles they have. 

We attended Christ’s Church of the Valley in Mesa East Valley for the second time and it was a lovely service. Rose enjoys the kids church as well. 

It was a pretty good week of school but I can sense that Rose is ready for Christmas break. Me too. Now I know a little bit of how teachers must feel. 

We all attended Michael’s memorial service and open house in Phoenix. He was my second cousin who passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack. That was very sad news. I have such fond memories of him at our family reunions in Pennsylvania when we were younger. The service was standing room only and there were such great testimonies of his life well lived. ❤️