Summer 2020--NM/Colossal Caves in Vail, AZ

We bought tickets to the big island of Hawaii back in December 2019 for July 2020...but to travel to Hawaii this month of this year would require us to quarantine in our hotel for 14 days before being able to actually leave and enjoy the beautiful island.  Who can afford that?!?!  Not us.

This year has been full of huge disappointments so we have tried to make the best of it.  Chris had already requested the time off so we set out visit family in NM and to see our own beautiful state--mostly because there is a lot we haven't seen and a little because AZ is considered a "hot spot" for the COVID-19 epidemic and as such AZ residents are asked to not travel to certain areas like NY or Connecticut.  Funny story as we drove into NM for the 4th of July celebrations:  We all received a nasty text from the state of NM requesting that we quarantine for 14 days in NM and we would be fined $100 for not wearing a mask.  Well, obviously they don't really care about the little border towns down south.  And nobody in Deming cares about what the people up in northern NM say either.  So we were able to go just for the weekend with no repercussions.

Here are a few pics of our trip to Deming for the 4th.  It was the first 4th of July without my mom so my sister and I were put in charge of staying with all the animals at my dad's house.  Which we FAILED at as my dad's little black chihuahua escaped and we have yet to find her.  We felt HORRIBLE but truth be told...he has 6 other dogs.  So hopefully Patitas has found herself a nice new home--she's been pretty miserable since my mom passed.  (She has been listed on every lost animal page on FB so hopefully someone turns her in)

Lola did NOT appreciate being locked up
while we were away from the house:)

Scaredy Cat--she settled down
after a few minutes:)

Darla--the house donkey...

From NM we brought back my niece, Sabey--Tatum's favorite cousin--to hang out with us for a couple of weeks. 

We told each of our kids to pick an AZ destination for the week.  Here is what they chose:
Tatum-Colossal Caves
Max-Grand Canyon
Ethan-Vulture Mine
Chris & I-cabin in Pine and Jerome

First AZ stop:  Colossal Caves in Vail, AZ.  We always enjoy a good cave.  Colossal Caves is a GREAT place to get out of the AZ summer heat.  I actually learned quite a bit on this tour.  Caves are "dry" and caverns are "wet."  So this being a "cave" it was a really easy hike with no slippery areas.  Places like Carlsbad Caverns are "wet" and still growing.  So very informative tour but I personally like the "wet" caverns overall but still a great place to see.  

Sabey & Tatum

LOVE this formation--
It's called "The Witch"
See the large nose AND the cat shadow below?

The Tyrannosaurs Rex

Silent Waterfall

They actually shot a "Sesame Street" scene here.
This is the "Big Bird" cut out they used.

Castle on the hill in Vail, AZ

We would have loved to have gone to Old Tucson afterwards but that was closed so we hit a Chilis on the way home.  Great day trip.

Ethan's Graduation!

How is it POSSIBLE that I have another kid graduating???  How is it POSSIBLE that I will be the mother of a 20 year old Returned Missionary, a College Student, and down to 2 kids at home by the end of this year?!?!  Seriously, NOT COOL!!!

What can I say about my Ethan.  He is a ROCK.  He is a very firm, steadfast, reliable, all around great guy.  He has been our family "peace-keeper" his entire life.  Not sure what our home will be like when he leaves.  It's gonna be hard on us all but most especially his little brother--these two have a very tight-knit bond.  Not looking forward to September right now.

Amongst all the craziness surrounding us, our school managed to pull off a pretty amazing graduation for their 100 Seniors.  They delivered "Senior Signs" to all the graduates along with a pretty cool bag of gifts and goodies:

I thought this shirt was HILARIOUS!

The actual graduation was held in a field out at Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek--a place where they show drive-in movies.  All the parents sat in our cars with our radios tuned into a station while we watched our Seniors walk across the stage live and on the big screen to shake their Principal's hand (if they chose to) and get their diploma.

We could not be more proud of our boy who not only graduated with his high school diploma but also with his Associates in Arts degree from Rio Salado all while maintaining a 3.67 GPA and a job at Burger King.  Ethan has thrived his Senior Year and we can't wait to see what he will do up at BYU-Idaho.

Papa Frank came up for the festivities and we had a great couple of days together celebrating Ethan.  We at dinner at Texas Roadhouse--one of the few restaurants you can actually dine IN at the moment.  They were so great in honoring our Senior.  He even got to sit on the saddle that is usually reserved for the Birthdays:)

Drive-In Style

Ethan & Nikolas "social-distancing"

His FAVORITE teacher--Mr. Burrell
(the science teacher that Ethan was a TA for)

Papa Frank & Ethan

His biggest and LOUDEST cheering squad.

LOVE my boy
(his hat "may" be on backwards...)

Everyone has been so kind and thoughtful to all the Seniors graduating in this pandemic.  These are just a couple of my most favorite gifts he has received.  His Aunt Paulette so graciously stepped forward to make Ethan's Senior T-shirt quilt after I lost my mom (who would have made it otherwise).  He's gonna need this in Idaho for sure!

My dad's dog--Patitas--liked the quilt too!

LOVE THIS!!!
Such a clever gift idea from the Colbys

A few of Ethan's Senior pics from Sarah G:

Mother's Day Weekend

The month of April was...hard.  I lost mom and then my 99 year old grandfather passed away 3 days later.  In the middle of all that, I had my 43rd birthday all while in lock-down.  I was so anxious to get out of the "fog" that when our good friends, the Ellsworths, invited us to go up to their cabin Mother's Day weekend, we jumped at the chance.

It was so great to get out of town and away from everything.  Their cabin is up near Show Low, AZ.  We spent  three days and two nights with good friends, good food, and great hiking.  It was exactly what I needed.

Loosing my mom...

On top of the world going CRAZY, I got the worst news of my life...my mom has died.

On the morning of Friday, April 17th, 2020, my mom got up for the day but fell down.  She was very confused and in and out of consciousness when my dad found her.  My dad, my sister, and my sister's husband got my mom to the ER at the Deming Hospital.  Because of the virus, they could carry her into the hospital but then had to wait outside in the parking lot.  My sister called me to let me know what was going on.  They were trying to "stabilize" her to move her to the bigger hospital in Las Cruces.  Her blood sugar was running high and her heart was slipping into weird A-fib rhythms.  She coded 3 times.  My dad had to make decisions for her FROM the parking lot.  After the third code, he decided to let her alone because her last words to him were, "I'm ready to go home."

Sooo many emotions felt since then.  But I take comfort in knowing that my mom died ON HER TERMS.  Her biggest fear was to grow old in a nursing home while loosing her mind as her mother had done before her.  She wanted to pass quickly AND she wanted to pass IN Deming.  Check and Check.

No one has the perfect childhood and we can all find faults in our parents.  She definitely didn't always love being a mom but at the end of the day, she was MY mom.  I can honestly say that she was one of my biggest supporters in my music career.  She always felt that having a piano in the home was important.  She also paid for my piano lessons for 9 years.  Whenever I wanted to get my brothers mad, I would go and play the piano because it was in the same room as our family TV.  I would start to play, they would turn up the volume, then my mom would yell, "TURN DOWN THE TV!!!"  The piano ALWAYS won.  Music has been the biggest influence in my life.  It saved me from many dark paths I could have chosen and I have my mom to thank for that.

Some of my favorite family pics:

My mom on her Wedding Day:
July 29, 1971

My Parents

That's me with the Mickey Mouse

Me and Travis

There were ALWAYS animals in our house!

This pic was a family joke for years:  My mom would say,
"Look at the beached whale".

Family Christmas Card 1994

Me & Travis again:)

Her Graduation from UNM
Masters in Nursing

My mom and her in-house donkey--Darla

Artwork by Seth Knoop

Her Family Service:  At Anne's home

Her box is just below her parents in
the Deming Cemetery. 

We spent the entire weekend in Deming the weekend of my mother's Family service.  We helped my dad clean out a few of my mom's rooms.  Max had the time of his life with all his cousins--big and little.  Here is what he accomplished this weekend: