Tempe pummeled by hurricane-force winds

Tempe pummeled by hurricane-force winds
We had the most incredible storm last night. The lightening was nothing I had ever witnessed before. It was a constant above the clouds, and felt like we were in one of the old war movies with bombs going off. We can say we are used to high winds in Eagar, and they certainly were close in comparison. We had barrels of rain pouring all around us, and our lawn looked like we had flood irrigation. The prettiest thing was the reflection of the lightening in the pool. It was very violent though, and I feel bad that some people were hurt, and a child was killed when a tree fell on him. It was definately a testimony of how powerful mother nature can be. Click on the link/title to see some pictures and more info.

Kandy Korn

Dad's Kandy Korn 2008
I have certainly been nostalgic this past month and I hope everyone bares with me. My Dad has grown several rows and fields of Kandy Korn over the years, and it is always a special event when the first ears in August are ready to be cooked and eaten. I have never found a sweeter, tastier corn than my Dad’s. I have come to accept the fact that I will never duplicate this wonderful treat here. I have always revered this plant, not only because it’s yummy and full of natural sugar (how can you beat that?), but because it holds several memories for me growing up in my little country town. Every summer my sisters and I had the best time playing hide- and seek in the tall stalks, reading in their shade from the afternoon sun, and occasionally sneaking in a quiet moment from a bustling big family. One of my nicknames growing up was even associated with this giant plant, and still cracks me up to this day. My Dad nicknamed me Bob Bob the Corn Cob (wouldn’t that be a great Dr. Seuss Book?), not scooter, or sunshine, or another common nickname, but an unusual one that along with his other one Busy Bee will always be with me. My Dad's other nickname for me was Bob Bob the Corncob because as a baby I had little strands of golden hair growing on the top of my head, and it reminded my Dad of corn silk, and hence my nickname was created.
It's no surprise that my nickname would be associated with a vegetable in his garden. He is the best gardener I know, and I suck him dry with gardening questions. My Dad has always been an inspiration to me, and I still marvel at the amount of produce that he collects from his gardens every year, and the vast knowledge he has. While he doesn’t have a botany degree, I wouldn’t hesitate to put him up against the university botany professors. I learned many lessons growing up from watching and helping him in the garden, like work, patience, and perseverance. I am grateful for my Dad and the passion for gardening he has passed to me. My life would be so empty without gardening and him.

D-Backs Movie Night

Last Friday, all D-Back's season ticket holders were invited for a family movie night at Chase field on the huge mega screen. Our family went and had a blast! They showed Field of Dreams (pretty cool in the baseball stadium), and had $1.50 popcorn and drinks. It was fun and something different to do. There wasn't very many people who showed up, but it was the first time they had ever done anything like that, and I hope they will keep doing it, because we would definately go again.

I have been tagged.

Rules: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current goals, 3 current obsessions, and 3 random facts about yourself.

3 Joys: 1) My Family and Friends 2)My Garden 3) My books

3 Fears: 1) That I will never figure out what I am supposed to be doing with my life2) That I will be fat until I die of being fat 3) Being lonely and abandoned

3 Current Goals: 1)Recieve my Master Gardener Certification 2) Finish my book 3) Get Healthy

3 Current Obsessions: 1) Writing my garden hubs 2) All things Gardening 3)Reading

3 Random Facts About Myself: 1) I can be anti-social 2) I love to hike
3)I have too many hobbies

3 People I tag are Mom-Harriella-Angie Ingram

First Day of School

My children started school on the 4th of August. As most parents are, I was looking forward to having some time to myself and a break from the child entertainment and constant "Mom can I...., Mom I want..., Mom I need.... and finally my favorite Mom, so and so hit me! However, my elation truly genuine, the funniest thing happened that day, when I had a lapse of emotional judgment, and cried! No, not just a few tears, but a full on blubbering mess. I don't know who was more shocked at this disturbing outburst, me or my kids. Anyway, this unusual event exploded from nowhere, when Danielle gave me a hug good-bye, before her Dad took her and Keldon to her first day of High School. I couldn't let go, and sobbed like a baby. I tried to explain that it was happiness that the tear filled moment stemmed from, but my smart children didn't buy it. Anyway, despite the morning's moving turmoil, they had a great first day!

Cook out at Haws Park

When I first met Jeff, one of the earliest dates I remember him taking me to, was to a cook out at Haws Park. I thought it was "literally" a park, like a city park. I lived in Eagar my whole life, but thought Jeff had just nicknamed one of the city parks Haws Park. I can't say at 17 years old I was the sharpest pencil in the box. Anyway I dressed up in one of my cutest outfits, spent hours doing my hair and makeup in anticipation of our date. I was indeed surprised to discover that Haws Park was a meadow with a white, wooden fence surrounding the property. All there was then, was an old tire swing, a firepit and a couple of old tables with two chairs and a rustic outhouse directly from the House on the Prairie. All of Jeff's family were there, including gazillions of cousins from the Slade, Bloomfield, Haws families,and scores of children running around playing games in the grass and swinging on the old swing. The matrons of the families, Aunt Sara, Aunt Dorothy, Annamarie, and Kathy were all forming biscuits from dough, while Buzz, Uncle Rudy, and Uncle Harvey were cooking up some hamburger in the dutch ovens. Everyone was so friendly, and made me feel like I was already part of the family. I had so much fun, and was so impressed with how close this family was I knew I wanted to be part of it. My cutest clothes inevitably stained from the dirt and grass,and my hair smelled like smoke, but it was one of the best dates I had ever been on.



After Jeff and I got married the cookouts at Haws park continued for awhile. Danielle learned to help my sweet mother-in-law make biscuits, and hamburger patties, and Keldon learned how to cook in a dutch oven because of those outings. They were also provided social occasions to bring new friends, and I learned that I wasn't "special" and everyone visting was treated the same welcoming way as I had been that first night. We enjoyed many summer outings to our special place nestled at the base of Water Canyon enveloped by tall trees. Those family outings will always be embedded in my memory. Now many of those wonderful people of the first generation I knew and loved so much have passed on. Their families have grown and are less connected as expected in the course of life, but the park is still there and we had the opportunity to go to a cookout while visiting this last weekend. It was a great experience to be able to relive and share an historic part of our lives with our friends.

Eagar Daze 2008

Every year Eagar celebrates it's historic establishment as a town with a plethora of fun events during the first Friday and Saturday of each August. There is logging events, craft and retail booths, races for the kids, free swimming, ice cream social, pancake breakfast, and dances. It's a nice break from the heat, and usually our last hoorah of the summer before school starts. We took our friends the Hatch's this year, and enjoyed having them along.

The kids enjoyed various races through the day, including a stick horse race, boot race (you have to take off one shoe and put it in a pile of shoes of the other races, find it, put it on and race toward the finish line), egg toss, hay bale race, and lots of others. They all won prizes and some cash to spend.

It was particularly warm, but our kids are amazing and they were really good, hardly ever complaining about the heat.


Keldon and Dallin were a force to be reckoned with in the wheelbarrow race and won.

There was a sheep race for the younger wranglers, and a calf race for the older participants. Keldon was able to get two ribbons, turning them in for cash, even running without his shoes (so much for those socks).

The highlight that kids waited for all day, was mud mania. They get to go through a mud obstacle course and get as muddy and dirty as they want.

I think they enjoyed this event the most and were upset when it was time to go.

There will always be some mysterious attraction in my opinion with kids, dirt, and water. This event combines all three.

Low Desert Landscape Design-Intro

Low Desert Landscape Design-Intro