Last Day of Visit

Thursday Jamie came by and picked up Carol and Joyce to meet Michele for lunch, then on to Jamie's home where the card sharks played cards all afternoon. Then we all headed up to the Country Club for dinner last night.

Friday, being their last full day here, we decided to visit the Tucson Botanical Gardens in the morning before it got hot. It was a pleasant time spent. Here are some of the sights we saw.

There was a beautiful Iris Garden where Carol took pictures of the plentiful flowers.

There was a butterfly exhibit with butterflies from all over the world. It was facinating to see so many different types. Some of them would not stop long enough for a photo, but others accommodated the cameral quite nicely.

A morning filled with nature brought on an appetite, so we headed back to the Country Club for lunch salads.  Brian and Marsha are bringing over dinner tonight to visit with Carol and Joyce again. The last evening of their visit.

Their flight is at 6:45am tomorrow, so will be on the road before 5am to get them to the airport on time. It sure has been enjoyable having them visit and for them to see the whole family. I enjoyed being tour guide seeing many of the sights I haven't visited in quite awhile. The week just seemed to fly by.

Nature Siteseeing

Monday brought a beautiful day, so Carol, Joyce and Linda took a trip over to the west side to discover the Desert Museum. Many beautiful cactus flowers were in blossom, but we were a little disappointed because most the animals were in hiding. I did get a peak at a gila monster before he slithered away

A hummingbird was kind enough to pose for a picture.

We took a break half way through to rest (of course the resting spot happened to be the snack bar that served ice cream).  Later that afternoon, Jamie joined us at home for a round of skipbo (the card sharks were so engrossed in their game that dinner wasn't even on their minds and needed to be interrupted).

Tuesday brought another beautiful day so off to Sabino Canyon. We took the tram to the end where we disembarked for a photo shoot.

On the return trip we got off the tram at two stops to take more pictures.

We found a nice resting spot next to the creek under some trees with a cool breeze. It just doesn't get any better than this.

This evening will be rounded out with cards and dinner. Tomorrow we will keep it simple with taking Joyce and Carol to see the motorhome, visit Jim's business, go by Chris' gravesite, then dinner at Chuck and Kim's place.

Family Visit

Jim's mother, Joyce and sister, Carol are visiting us from Wisconsin this week. They flew in on Saturday, one of our coldest days of the past month, only in the 50s. It felt like home to them. But this week promises to become quite nice and hot. We'll give them a sample of good ole' Tucson weather. We got the whole family together at our house on Sunday, all 20 of us.

We all gather in the house visiting with Joyce and Carol.

The children finally found their way outside to play. This is Semira, Jim's great-granddaughter. She doesn't mind the cool weather.

The grillmaster hard at work with grilling hamburgers and hot dogs.

When the grilling started, several braved the cooler temperatures on the patio. But with the patio heaters, it was most pleasant.

Our group picture. When family gets together, there is always a photo time.

Here is Jim's mother with all her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchild.

The five generations, from left to right, Sunday, Joyce, Brian, Semira and Jim.

It was so wonderful to have the whole family together at once, that happens so rarely because of everyone's busy schedules.

Monday, Linda will be tour guide and take Joyce and Carol to the Desert Museum for the day to enjoy our beautiful desert attraction, then Jamie will join us for dinner. Come back to find out what other interesting places we visit during this week.

And the Indio Invitational Winner IS?

You probably already guessed who would win the 2nd Annual Indio Invitational - the defending Champ - Jim. Congratulations for a tournament well played. (Sorry, the prize money isn't anywhere close to what Bubba went home with!)

Day 9 we headed out to the course, got through hole 1 then was told the course was closed due to a resort tournament that afternoon. So no golf on Friday. But we were out there on Saturday morning willing to get in two rounds if that was necessary. We played the Dot game and Linda took off with the lead, but Jim quickly closed the gap and took off.  Jim won the day with 14 dots, Linda 5 and Greg 3. That gave Jim 5 tournament wins against Greg and Linda's 2 wins each.

With no need for round two on Saturday, I put up a $5 pot for the winner between Jim and Greg. After battling it out for 18 holes Greg was +3 and Jim +6. So Greg didn't go home without a win.

Being our last night, we of course went for a boat cruise, with perfect weather and our congratulatory drinks, we headed out.  Soon we ran across a disabled boat, their dock line fell overboard and got wrapped around their prop, so with Jim's skillful boat maneuvering, we towed them back to their dock.

We continued on our cruise, went back had Brats for dinner and called it an end to our fabulous tournament trip. Sunday morning we packed up and got on the road around 9:30 heading back to Tucson.

Thanks Greg for once again participating in the tournament for that highly coveted trophy. A good time was had by all with great company, delicious food, outstanding weather and wonderful golf. Look forward to the 3rd Annual next year!

Indio Invitational Days 7 & 8

No pictures today (I suppose you are probably tired of seeing the same ole' golf shots all the time). Just an update on the Indio Invitational.

Day 7 the Dot game was revisited and Greg came out the winner, with Jim trying at the very end to tie, but unable to make a needed birdie on the last hole to tie Greg. Score was Greg 13, Jim 12 and Linda lagging behind at 5.

Day 8 we played the 2 against 1 scramble again with unexpected results. Jim jumped out leading with Linda trailing behind, but after Linda had an outburst expressing an unfairness to the game and that the low  man on the list is impossible to win, the tides did change. Greg made a great comeback and was tied with Jim with Linda always a point behind. But on the last hole it ended up that all were tied at 8, so to sudden death we went. The first hole of sudden death we all tied with par, the second hole, Jim was eliminated. The third hole Greg was eliminated, so Linda ended up winning (something that she said was impossible earlier). So that just proves that nothing is impossible!

The tournament now stands at Jim 4, Greg 2 and Linda 2.  Jim's next win will put him the tournament champion.  Greg and Linda have their work cut out for them the next two days, one of them needs to win both days to tie with Jim, then it will go to a sudden death situation.

Today will be the Dot game again (Jim doesn't do as well on this game). The winds are up, forecast in the 80s, another beautiful day.

Indio Invitational Days 5 & 6

Monday brought cooler weather with 15-25 mph winds. With the cooler weather we pretty much stayed indoors most of the morning being entertained by our many devises (computers & IPad). But never fear, the Indio Invitational did go on as planned.

The game of the day was Dots as previously explained. One person jumped to an early lead and with spectacular play dominated the whole day. Birdies were the main reason for such a lead along with many greenies. Two holes the winner scored 3 points getting the greenie, birdie plus point for the hole.  The final score was Linda 14, Greg 8 and Jim 3.  I do have to admit that Greg and Jim were just not up to par on their play, but I attribute Linda's win to her outstanding skills in golf on this particularly windy day.

Monday evening was Taco night up at the club, so off we went to enjoy tacos and margaritas to celebrate my win.

Tuesday the winds subsided and promised to be another beautiful day for golf.  Someone was quite ambitious this morning by swabbing the deck.

Once the crew completed his task, off we headed to exercise our minds.

Our play for the 6th day was a variation of match play. This game turned out to be quite competitive and fair. No one took a lead, but all stayed pretty even.

It all came down to a 3-way tie after 18 holes with only 2 points each. It went to a sudden death playoff hole that Jim took. So the tournament score is Jim 4, Greg 1 and Linda 1.  Game #7 is important that Greg and Linda step up to prevent Jim from winning the tournament. It has been determined that game 7 will be the Dot game again. Hopefully Linda will prevail once again on this game.

After a hard day of the golf course, a boat ride was in order.

Wednesday brings another beautiful day with light winds and in the 80s. Who will prevail on the course today?

Indio Invitational Days 3 & 4

Getting ready for day three, the players were hard at work to get into condition.

Day 3's Bingo Bango Bongo game brought interesting results.  It does not warrant a good game to play on a par 3 course, but we suffered through with Jim clearly out front with 28 points, Linda with 18 and Greg 7.  So after day three the score is Jim 2, Greg 1 and Linda 0.

Day 4 we played another of Greg's creative games which he named 2 against 1 scramble where the single is the current leader. (Where does he come up with these games?) This proved to be a competitive, fair game. Linda took the lead at 4 to Jim & Greg's each at 1 at hole number 4, but needless to say that lead did not continue long. At the end of 18 Jim and Greg were tied at 5 with Linda at 4. So a sudden death hole was played between Jim and Greg with Jim victorious.

The defending champion, Jim, is now 3, Greg 1 and Linda 0. Just to let you know what all the hoopla is about, this is the coveted trophy that we are playing for. (Greg and Linda better get their act in gear!)

The players are getting ready for day 5 which will be the Dot Game (a dot is awarded for a greenie, birdie, sandy, and winning the hole). Another fabulous Greg creation. Light winds are forecasted with temperature in the low to mid 80s.  Should be another spectacular day.