Up and out even earlier... and off to Gold Canyon to visit with Joan and Austen. Their new home (well it was "new" to me) is just gorgeous.
Had to laugh at their beloved Poodle (Winston) who proceeded to bark at everyone all day. I think we needed Coco with us to keep Winston amused. Joan gave us a tour of the house and we were very impressed. The backyard is absolutely stunning with it's view of the desert (even if "critters" do occassionally make their way into her pool).
While Joan, Gail, & I caught up on life, the boys and Molly, went for hike, and then spent the remainder of their time playing Austen's new board game. That was when they weren' t busy eating tons of pizza & cake.
Joan showing off the pizza that was too big to fit in the oven.She had to trim a chunk off with scissors.
Gail tossed the salad... while I was busy photographing everyone.
Here's all the kids chowing down. David, Austin, Molly, Josh, & Joshua. 
After lunch, the gang decided to hang out in the backyard. Who started the splashing? Probably my two. I finished out the night, visiting my dear friend Wanda. Unfortunatley, I have not been able to get to see her since we moved away from Phoenix. I wish we could have met under pleasanter circumstances. Wanda's husband (and our dear friend) Rob passed away quite suddenly, just a few weeks ago. We spent several hours talking about "old times" and catching up on the present. It's amazing to think that it was not too long ago, that we were "expecting" our boys together (Jake & Joshua ... who were born just a few weeks apart) and now we're both grandmothers. How does the time pass by so quickly? The next time I get back to Phoenix, we will all go to visit Wanda. She's put in a request for me to bring Devon too, so that the old gang can get together to play Poker.
