Family
Heartfelt updates about family milestones and everyday moments. From taking Mazie to college and annual visits to the Renaissance Festival to Swedish‑pancake breakfasts and VR outings with the kids, this category celebrates togetherness.
Lost Dutchman State Park
We visited Lost Dutchman State Park and hiked the Treasure Loop Trail. There is a story hear about a lost mine that brings some intrigue to the Superstition Mountains. There are even some documentaries about it. We did a good 2.5 mile hike with 480 feet of elevation. It was a warmer day, Sunny at 80 °F which seemed to hit Tyler and I the most.
We hiked the trail up and took a bit of a break for photos before heading back down the loop. The landscape was very pretty the entire way.
When we were visiting Sedona today we stopped at Tlaquepaque and revisited a spot from the last time we were in Sedona. We remembered a photo we took on the Summer of Love and Mazie and I recreated that photo from 13 years ago. She sure has grown!
Day 27 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Pompasetting
Mazie gave me a showing off look. Seemed equal parts sassy to me. 😊
Grand Canyon
We took a weekend getaway to Flagstaff, AZ and today we visited the Grand Canyon. It was Tyler’s first time here, Mazie’s second but the first she will remember, and my 3rd time and Tammy’s 4th or 5th. We hadn’t been here in the winter before and I can report that the Grand Canyon is cold in February. There was a dusting of snow around that made the place even more scenic.
We only had the day so we spent a few hours on the South Rim and visited the Visitor Center, the Village and drove along the rim and took photos from various places. We did the Trail of Time hike, or walk, along the rim.
As always the Grand Canyon is spectacular and an amazing natural wonder. Tammy and I agreed that the next time we come it is going to be with a permit to go down to the bottom of the canyon and spend a night or two there.
Mazie and I at The Grotto Cafe after our hike in Cave Creek. The Grotto has an amazing outdoor patio space. It was Lucky’s first attempt at joining us at a restaurant and she did well until another dog showed up.
It was Tyler’s birthday today and we decided to get a really cool Minecraft themed cake to celebrate. Lesley’s Creative Cakes did an amazing job on this creation!
It was a little confusing to figure out how to cut into it, but the main cube was delicious Red Velvet cake.
There was plenty of cake. Cake decorators probably know this but I was surprised that the more decorative blocks were actually Rice Krispie bars.
Most importantly Tyler loved it!
Tyler got Mario Kart Live for his birthday and we’ve already had a ton of fun playing it. We setup a couple of quick tracks and it is really fun to have a game that is played both in front of you and on the Nintendo Switch.
Driving to Tucson for the day and introducing the kids to some country music with Hank Williams Sr., Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and even The Cactus Blossoms. Tyler declared it “not modern” and I fully agreed. 😊🎶
Day 6 of the February Photoblogging Challenge: Sport.
Wasn’t a lot of “sport” options today but Tyler likes to wear Bayern gear nearly everyday. ⚽️
Tammy, Mazie and I were looking for a long hike today so we drove to Lebanon Hills Regional Park and hiked the Voyager Trek Loop for 5.4 miles. It was Lucky’s longest hike and she did great.
Trail selfie, with my silly looking scarf.
It was very pretty out. This was our first time hiking in Lebanon Hills but definitely will not be our last. We definitely want to retun in the summer.
We had a John Hughes movie night with my brother and his family with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. There is more swearing than I remembered, or at least you notice it more with a 10, 12, and 15 year old watching. Mazie still liked it. 🍿
Tyler completed his LEGO® Nintendo Entertainment System™ project in just three days! He got very focused on it and worked through all 2,646 pieces. The finished project is very cool. The cartridge slides into the console and presses down just like an original Nintendo does. The controller feels normal sized in your hand and the cable disconnects.
The TV was a big part of the project and it operates like a track that you turn a handle and it moves. Mario is on a slide and bounces around on the course as you move it.
Here is the scene before going into the TV.
See console done and beginning.
Tyler is making great progress on his “biggest ever” LEGO® project. The Nintendo Console, Super Mario Bros cartridge and the Game Controller are assembled and look cool!
I took the top off to show how the cartridge action works.
The kids are starting their biggest LEGO® projects ever. Mazie is building the IDEAS Grand Piano with 3,662 pieces and Tyler the Nintendo Entertainment System™ with 2,646 pieces. These will be awesome when finished! 😲
Tyler tonight shared his favorite YouTube gamer Mr. A-Game’s birthday, which was a little surprising to us that he knew that. So Tammy asked him what her birthday was. Tyler failed the test. 😬
Tyler and I made the first Christmas cookies of the year.
Family game time this afternoon. First Five Crowns which Tyler won. Then a game of Blokus that Mazie won (Yellow) and for the first time played all of her pieces, with bonus for the single piece last!
Tyler and I have been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and we roped Tammy and Mazie in with us. Today all four of us played at the same time and we got an Animal Crossing family photo around the fire! Left to right: Tyler, Tammy, me, Mazie. 📸
Tyler and I are playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons together and we are using ACNH Exchange to get good prices for Turnips. I’m using it as an opportunity to introduce him to spreadsheets and basic financial concepts. 😊💰
