Merry Christmas!

this video has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas but just try watching without smiling and laughing the whole way through. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

favorites for the time being

View from the Outside

We are so excited to share this blog with you! Our first guest bloggers, our dear friends Joe and Courtney, are here sharing our wonderful adventures we had together on their visit here in early November. Enjoy the story filled with fun, excitement and big words in many languages.

Words (about the) Warm, Witty, Wise, Wonderful, Worry-less, Welcoming Wheelers

Describing our experience with the Wheelers carries all the gimmickery and pizzazz of a tourist commercial; describing scenic vistas looking over desert landscapes, informational mini-lectures on the flora and fauna of the Great Southwest, cultural immersion into the “real” Phoenix that exists outside the golf courses and retirement complexes. But what gets missed is that which fuels this whole endeavor: the hospitality, energy, and Midwestern charm of Gabe and Shannon Wheelier (French, pronounced “Wheely-a”)

Interested? You better be.

1. Upon arriving to their cozy, homemade handi-work filled apartment after a 7 hour trek from Los Angeles, Courtney and I were treated to a smorgasboard of gourmet beers personally selected by Gabe & Shannon.

2. Gabe was kind enough to invite me to play with his rec league soccer team, making for a mini-reunion of the infamous Blue Jay soccer team of 2000. You think soccer is boring to watch? Nope! Not when Courtney is accompanied by a fascinating and insightful conversationalist like Shannon. BFF’s

3. Late night stomach rumbling? Not a problem with Gabe in the kitchen, whipping together a gourmet pizza much to our enjoyment.

4. Perhaps we felt like we are at home a little too much in the Wheeler residence? Courtney and I slept like hibernating grizzly bears in the comfortable bed in the guest room.

5. Shannon led us on a private behind-the-scenes tour of the garden where she works, wow-ing us with her acute knowledge of all things desert-related, and further convincing us that she’s going to be nominated for Arizona Teacher of the Year, 2009-10.

6. Gabe & Shannon then treated us to an evening of Western-style entertainment. We dined at Cave Creek Coffee Company, sidled on over to guzzle a few Pabst Blue Ribbons while watching the cowboys lose to the bulls at the rodeo, and continued the evening at Greasewood Flats, an off-the-beaten path saloon where we made fast friends with a wayward New Zealander.

7. The following morning, Gabe & Shannon took us on a hike, where we were further exposed to desert plantlife in its native habitat. You haven’t hiked until you’ve hiked with the Wheelers: virtually every “What’s that?” question does not go unanswered, and it makes you feel all the more “present” in your surroundings as you hike along

8. Beer Fest? Yes please. We met up with Jesse Frey, another high school classmate, his partner Kristen, and a couple of their friends, and enjoyed an afternoon posing as beer aficionados. We hate to admit that all the beers began to blend together about halfway through…

9. To finish our well-rounded weekend, we tested our intelligence as 9 of us went to compete in bar trivia. We handily took 4th place despite having about twice as many people as the other trivia teams, but at least the nachos were amazing, AND we learned some new country codes.

10. Our amazing weekend was capped off with a delicious breakfast of sourdough pancakes and fruit prepared by Chez Wheeliers. Our morning conversation was a flurry of inside jokes, fond memories, and gratitude for the time spent together.

So, there it is, folks. Go to Tempe and spend time with the Wheelers: you’ll be sure to live life to its fullest and come out glowing after all that hospitality and love is showered upon you during your stay.

(This message paid for by the Bureau of Cambodifornia Tourism)

Turkey Travels

Things have been so consistently busy here that we don't seem to be able to blog as often as we'd like so you probably won't even notice our hiatus but we're setting off to get to know the road between here and California a little better.

We are setting out to camp on the beaches of California, experience a biking wine tour, and indulge in turkey dinner campfire style. I'll miss the turkey comatose, family and friends, and football but we are excited to celebrate Thanksgiving and travels together.

We are wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving and safe travels; we hope to get in touch with you all soon!

We love and miss you

cool weather, down comforter, scarves

These are the things bringing me joy the past few days. I think our fall weather has finally arrived. Last week we were still getting into the 90's and it wasn't feeling very fall-ish. But I'm in full fall mood swing and baking everything pumpkin that comes my way.

Last night I made a pumpkin pie with ice cream, it is very delicious. I've also enjoyed many pumpkin cookies, pumpkin coffees, and soon pumpkin muffins. The thing I learned this weekend about cooking with pie pumpkins is this:

If I were on iron chef and the ingredient was pie pumpkin I would loose because it would take me the entire time to cut the darn things open and pick up the seeds off the kitchen floor.

Enough said. My favorite season has arrived in AZ!

Dia de Los Muertos

The Garden had their Dia de Los Muertos Festival this past weekend and we decided to check it out. We were not disappointed. The Garden was filled with great music, tons of crafts, family altars and a whole lot of colors. It is very interesting to see a different cultures celebration of something we tend to shy away from. Death is embraced in the fullest and there is definite beauty in their sculptures, carvings, and altars. I found it interesting that skeletons, skulls especially, are viewed as beautiful. The only time you really see skeletons in mainstream is during Halloween and they are used to frighten. The skulls used in the Dia de Los Muertos celebration are used to express a variety of emotions but for the most party they are happy, often smiling. I would suggest checking out a Dia de Los Muertos Festival if you ever have the chance.

Welcome Heinrich Paul Ward

We have a new nephew that we cannot wait to meet some day!

happy healthy henry

with a package of love on the way

14 days, 2 sore knees, and 6 toenails later...

...here is our grand canyon story.

Hiking in on gabe's birthday I had to try and do something special that involved little materials and even less weight. So many of you contributed to this "grand" birthday experience and that is what made is so special. Gabe received over 20 birthday messages throughout the day and the toughest part of our entire trip.

Our first day, hiking down, Hermit's Rest trail was more of a challenge than I ever imagined it to be. I knew hiking the canyon was going to be difficult physically but I had no idea what it could do to your mind. The second day, while walking on blister covered feet is when I realized; this canyon does two things to people.

1. she will chew you up and spit you out

2. she will chew you up and swallow you whole


I was definitely feeling her chew but was hoping I could hold on to the edges of her throat and pull myself out of this place.

While we were in the depths of it though, these thoughts seemed to fade more and more with each passing hour. The views you get from being with in the canyon are incredible. The walls, sky, river, and ever changing colors of all of these things left us speechless many times.

We spent 3 nights in the canyon and met more people than we expected along the way, each on their own planned journey. One night we were able to sleep under the stars, the other nights rodents came out too early in the evening for us to feel comfortable with not setting up tents. Each night those rodents made sure to make their mark one way or another though.



We were able to sit and relax in cool water twice during the trip which was a huge bonus surprise. Gabe did an awesome job planning this trip, we ate well, had a great route and made great memories with great friends.

I'm glad we all were able to go with option number 1.

Grand Canyon Teaser

Here's a little sample of the canyon, more to come...

Midwest Treats

Is it really the middle of September already? I'm sure I'm not the only one feeling this way...

Gabe posted on our adventurous august and September has proven to be just as fun. Labor Day weekend we were able to spend time in ND with family and friends (we always love being able to do that). Gabe was in Brent and Angie's wedding as a groomsman and I was able to sit back, relax and take in the great weather and company. (I was able to go running one morning as well and let's just say the first thing out of my mouth about ND landscape isn't going to be that it's flat any longer).

We got a behind the scenes tour of the Dakota Zoo from Grandpa Jim Gorgeous Snow Leopard -- Jerry I think?

Gabe was put to work -- lets just say it's a good thing we don't milk cows for a living

I tried to get a smooch-eroo from this beauty but it didn't happen

Thankfully I was successful with this handsome one :)

This is Simon, Jim and Kathy's new kitten, he is so stinkin' cute!

And another cutie niece of ours, getting her birthday present a little late -- oops!

And of course it wouldn't be a trip to ND without shooting something, pretend or not. Gotta love the target practice Scheel's provides, we had to try our hand at it. Again probably good we don't depend on these skills for our survival. I definitely would be the gatherer!

North Dakota in its beauty

august 2009 - an august for the ages

I must say that this August turned out to be the busiest time in our lives, ever. It started innocently enough, a couple months ago. But, as the weeks went on, August became a monster. It's easiest to look at it as weekends, as our weeks simply consisted of preparing for/recovering from the weekends.

August started with Shannon returning from spending time with family back in MN. She returned to Phoenix the first weekend in August. The next weekend brought a trip to a familiar location, Aravaipa Canyon. The education department at the Garden planned a "working vacation" to this refuge in the desert. The weekend was filled with good conversation, great food, and amazing scenery. Two notable "firsts" took place this weekend:

The first sweat ceremony for Gabe

The first ever River Ladder Golf

The weekend after our second trip to Aravaipa we headed north to the Mogollon Rim for some camping and backpacking. Shannon took part in an "all girls" backpacking trip but didn't have to show up until Saturday morning. So, we decided to head up to the Rim to camp on Friday night. Although it was a short stay, our spot was very much enjoyed. There were all sorts of flowers, bugs and sights!

The weekend following our adventures on the Rim brought two of our best friends, Lindsay and Jared, and our trip to the Pinalenos. This was our first visit to the small mountain range south of Safford and was well worth the 4 hr. drive. My passengers can attest to the curvy, roller-coaster of a road that gets you there, but truth be told, I enjoyed the drive!

We came in on the 366 and stayed at Shannon Campground

After this dream of a weekend, we were scheduled to have a weekend at home. Not that it was void of plans, but a weekend at home nonetheless. Plans changed as Shannon was asked to host a weekend trip offered by the Garden. The weekend experience was held at Hart Prairie, northwest of Flagstaff. I was invited along as a volunteer and very much enjoyed the setting and environment. Their was plenty of fresh air, birds, and talk of aspen trees and elk.

In a single word, August was amazing. It not only brought us to parts of Arizona that we had never been to, put us in situations not yet encountered, and tested our abilities to keep our lives in order, but it helped to increase our appreciation for our life, our friends, and our love.

dream

We all have moments in life where it feels like we are dreaming. There are also those moments in life that we wish we were dreaming or we are so thankful that we actually were dreaming. Last weekend I gleefully was living the life that it feels like you are dreaming.

On thursday night when I walked through our door, getting home from yoga, I was greeted by this face.
Ms. Lindsay Mangan, my dear elusive friend whom I rarely see because of her unique field biology jobs. My wonderful husband cooked up this dream for me. I was surprised and in for the weekend of a lifetime.

Gabe's dear friend flew in as well and the four of us were on our way to funness for three full days. We traveled southeast to Mount Graham where we stayed at Shannon Campground :) at about 9000 ft elevation. It was beautiful and full of great adventures and storms. We even saw a bobcat and got hailed upon, two highlights that I don't come by too often.

This man that I love is better than what I could come up with in my dreams.