A TRIP TO THE ZOO

We decided to brave the hoards of children once again and go to the Phoenix Zoo. What a delightful experience that was. Other than the parents who don't know how to be parents. Or cell phone users. (In fact, I finally told one gal to talk quieter on her cell phone because I couldn't hear the tour guide.)

I wish I could post all of the pictures we took here on the blog but since we took almost 100, I'm not going to do that. I picked a few that I like the best and you'll just have to visit the zoo for yourself to see all the other wonderful animals.

I really love the giraffes. (Maybe it's because I'm so short and have no neck. )









Aren't these animals just magnificant?

This fellow is one you want to stay away from. He is a Komodo Dragon. They are the largest and heaviest lizard in the world. They will grow to 10 feet and weigh up to 200 lbs. They can climb trees, swim and run very rapidly despite their size. He has a phenomenal appetite. He will eat pigs, deers, has been known to bring down an adult water buffalo and small or injured humans.




The squirrel monkeys are in a large area that humans are allowed to walk through and experience the monkeys up close.



Judy and Don thought this baboon would make a great addition to their house but couldn't figure out how to free him from the zoo.

EASTER THOUGHTS FROM OUR PROPHET

President Ezra Taft Benson

The greatest events of history are those that affect the greatest number of people for the longest periods. By this standard, no event could be more important to individuals or nations than the resurrection of the Master.

The literal resurrection of every soul who has lived and died on earth is a certainty, and surely one should make careful preparation for this event. A glorious resurrection should be the goal of every man and woman, for resurrection will be a reality.

The scriptural record tells us that on the third day following Jesus' crucifixion, there was a great earthquake. The stone was rolled back from the door of the tomb. Some of the women, among the most devoted of His followers, came to the place with spices "and found not the body of the Lord Jesus."

Angels appeared and said simply, "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen." (Luke 24:3-6). Nothing in history equals that dramatic announcement: "He is not here, but is risen."

As one of His latter-day witnesses, I testify that He lives today. He is a resurrected Being. He is our Savior, our Lord, the very Son of God. I testify that He will come again as our glorified, resurrected Lord. That day is not far distant. To all who accept Him as Savior and Lord, His literal resurrection means that life does not end at death, for He promised: "Because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14:19)

EASTER LUNCH

We were able to spend Easter Lunch with Judy, Don and our 96 year old Aunt Happy. She was married to our Dad's brother, Don, and now lives in Mesa in an assisted living facility.


She is amazing. You would never know she was 96 because she is still very mobile and her mind is just as sharp as it always was. She is getting frailer and she did tell her doctor that she hadn't signed on to this life to live to 100 but he told her that she didn't seem to have much choice about it.


The facility she lives in is beautiful. Very elegant and very active. Aunt Happy (her real name is Norma) loves to play cards, bet on the ponies (a wooden horse race), go to movies, the casino, and do crafts. They have a beautiful courtyard with water fountains and lots of ducks. The babies weren't hatched yet but are watched closely by all the residents.


The question is - What do you give a 96 year old as an Easter present? I just happened to know that she loves the Butter Pecan flavored Ensure but hates to pay the extra dollar or so that it costs over the plain vanilla. That is what she got from us - two six packs. She was really happy with her surprise.










A really nice way to spend an Easter Day.

HALL OF FLAME

On Friday we headed for the Phoenix Zoo along with Judy and Don. What a big mistake that was. We had forgotten that it was Good Friday and I am sure every family in Phoenix was going to the zoo that day. Needless to say - we changed our mind rapidly. We'll do the Zoo another day.

Right next to the zoo is the Hall of Flame so we turned in there. My Dad was a retired volunteer fireman, Jim was a volunteer fireman, and Don is a wildlife volunteer fireman. What a treasure this museum turned out to be.

The Hall of Flame is the largest collection of firefighting apparatus in the United States. It has over 90 full restored pieces dating from 1725 to 1969.They also have a National Firefighting Hall of Heroes, which honors firefighters who have died in the line of duty or who have been decorated for heroism.

This is a memorial to all the fire fighters who perished in the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. A piece of the steel beam from the WTC.

Boys will be boys no matter how old they get. Both Don and Jim just had to "drive" the fire truck. It didn't matter how many little kids were hanging around, the "boys" had to have their dream.

The museum also has patches for every fire department in the United States. They have a book listing each fire department by state and where they are located on the wall. We were able to find the Dale City, VA patches. Jim was a charter member of this volunteer fire department many years ago so he was excited about seeing the patches.

This museum should definitely be put on your list of places to see if you are in this area.

TALL, REALLY TALL

Downtown Mesa has sculptures on almost every corner. Some are beautiful, some strange, some easily identified with, and others are just different. Most of the sculptures are permanently in place on Main Street but something new is here for just a few months.

This sculpture is called "God Bless America" by J. Seward Johnson and is modeled after the painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood. This sculpture is 25' tall and is put together in three pieces by a huge crane.

My sister, Judy, and her husband, Don, joined us on our sightseeing tour.

Here are a few of the sculptures that you can discover in downtown Mesa.

"Bearly Fishin'"

"Big Charlie Black"

"The Big Pink Chair"

Judy & Don with "Deadwood"

RABBIT HUNTING

The area behind the RV park we're in here in Apache Junction has lots of rabbits and Scooter has become our resident rabbit hunter. In Florida it was squirrel hunting but now it's rabbits.

Dachshunds were bred to hunt badgers - their long body and short legs made it easy for them to go down into the badger holes. In fact the word dachshund means badger hunter. So hunting comes naturally to them - well, except for Skittz. She does not like to be outside and only goes out because she has to. After she's finished she wants right back in the house. Every noise (such as a car driving by, or a person kicking a rock, whatever) scares her so bad she goes into a panic and frantically tries to get in the house. But not our Scoots. She wants those rabbits.

Scooter has been having back problems and has slowed down in the last couple of months but if you mention rabbit hunting, it's like she becomes a young pup again. Now her problem is trying to figure out how to get off the leash so she can really chase them.

CRACKERS AND TOM-TOMS

Yesterday, we went to lunch with my sister and her hubby (Judy & Don) at one of their favorite restaurants - Crackers & Co. This restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch and is packed for both. We all had the baked potato soup which was topped with cheese, bacon, green onions, and sour cream. I had a french dip sandwich and Jim had a mushroom, cheeseburger.

I thought it was okay but not something I would go back for again. I didn't want to say anything to my sister because she had raved about this place but after we were done eating, she said that the food just wasn't near as good this time as when they had been there before.

However, the faucet in the bathroom was unique and I just had to have a picture of it.

Judy & Don wanted a GPS so after lunch we headed for Radio Shack because they were having this great sale on Tom-Toms. The first Shack we went to were out so they sent us to a second Shack. The sales guy even called and had them hold one of them for us. The price was $130 off the regular price of $270, so it was a fantastic deal and they were selling as fast as they got them in. So off we went. Found the second Shack store and Judy and I made the mistake of letting the men go to the Shack while we went to Kohl's. Needless to say, when we next saw the guys both of them were holding a new Tom-Tom box.

Decided we needed an ice cream cone after all this strenuous shopping and figured we'd show Judy and Don how to use their new toy. We input DQ and it wanted to take us to one about 9 miles down the road. Don knew one that was actually closer so we gave up on the GPS and drove out of the parking lot. Lo and behold - there's a DQ right directly across the street. Now why the Tom-Tom couldn't find that DQ I'll never understand. But we enjoyed our ice cream.

I also found the golf cart that is everybody's dream (whether you golf or not). We went to visit some friends and this was parked in their neighbor's driveway. A guy in California custom makes these. Because of the bar in the back (an essential addition) this guy has a small trailer that he pulls to carry his golf clubs in. You just have to love it.