Hartford's Cow Parade

Kenny took us to a cow parade in Hartford Connecticut. We were pleasantly surprised when we saw the cows. We were really expecting the real deal! We walked up and down several blocks to catch them all. They were on both sides of the streets and in front of the stores. Some were even inside the stores.

15 day trip- Vermont

Kenny, Peggy, and Laura in front of the Capitol.

While Mike and I were on our trip we decided to end it by seeing Vermont. Our son Kenny lives in Connecticut, close to Hartford We only make it to the east coast about every three years, and we like taking the opportunity of visiting the New England States. They are all close in proximity and it is my goal to visit all the New England States.

We have been to many cities in Connecticut, New York City, and recently, upstate New York, Providence, Rhode Island, Boston, Massachusetts, and recently, traveled through other cities in Massachusetts. And, our recent trip ended in Montpelier, Vermont. We were right on the border of seeing New Hampshire, which was just six miles away.

We went there to see the beautiful trees with their fruit-loop colors, but we were just a few weeks two early. We were a few weeks two late a few years ago. However, I have a few pictures here that are not too shabby.

Lunch With George And Nancy

We had an enjoyable day today with George and Nancy, our Utah and Apache Junction friends. They moved from Clinton last August and have moved here permanently.

First we went to see their new home they are building. It is in the same subdivision as our other Clinton, patio home friends, Tony and Charlene.

Their new home is absolutely beautiful. Or at least the model is. Their home is in the building stage with the walls going up, and are probably already up as we speak.

After that we went to lunch at one of favorite Mexican restaurants in A.J. (Apache Junction). I was very excited because I can finally do Mexican food. I had a hard time before because my allergies included wheat and corn, and milk products which takes care of the cheese and sour cream.

But as it turns out, I can have the corn tortillas and the corn chips. I can also have the cheese and sour cream. What I lost in the process was the onions. That was sad, because I love onions, and they are in the salsa.

No problem. I dipped my corn chip into the salsa and avoided the onions. I had a chicken taco without the onions, but was disappointed because they didn't put any sour cream on it.

I ate the rice but avoided the beans, since re-fried beans are one of the beans in the bean family I can't have. They must be made from pinto beans.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. And we all enjoyed the sunshine and warmth.

More Grand Kids On The Way

We just learned a month ago that Sherri was having a baby in April, and learned just a few weeks ago that Amy is having a baby in June. We had our fingers crossed for boys for both. Of course we love little girls and can't have too many.

We called the kids tonight to wish them happy Halloween and learned that Sherri is having a girl. She and Steve have one boy, and three girls in that order, and they were trying for another boy. She and Kim were at the same doctor today and Sherri told Kim that it looks like another girl is on its way.

The day she told us she was pregnant and was trying for another boy, Mike reminded her that he and her mother had to have six kids to get that second boy. She didn't have that look on her face to say, "no, this is it, if it's a girl, we're done", so I wonder if this one's a girl whether they will try for that second boy again. We love them all. So whatever we get it a blessing.

It's too early for Amy to know what she's having so well wait and hear when she tells us.

Another Beautiful Day In Arizona

It's so beautiful here! For some reason Mike and I, well, I should say I, because he always wakes early, but where I wake between 7 and 8:00 AM in Utah, I wake every morning here at 5:30. It's very different for me. I did the same thing during the week we were in Hawaii too.

It's fun to awake with the window open and hear the song of the many birds that love it here as much as we do.

The sun is shining, it's warm, yet cool, there are people taking early morning walks through the park, and you just want to get going on your day.

October 29, 1929

You're probably too young to know what this date is famous for. So am I, except I love the stock market and know enough about it to know that that is the day of the stock market crash. That was almost 30 years ago, and thank heavens, Monday October 29, 2007 the stock market was up.

Mike and I applied for a loan today to buy one of the foreclosures here in the valley, and the loan officer was asking about our assets. I gave him the total of our stock account and then went into it for see what it really was, since it changes by the minute and Mike and I did a high-five. Our account was up $2000 since two weeks ago, and $1000 since yesterday. We were happy to say the least.

There was also a big crash in 1869. They named it Black Friday. Now we refer Black Friday to the day after Thanksgiving when we all shop till we drop. Dropping from shopping exhaustion is better than dropping out of a window. That's what happened during the 1929 stock market crash. Stock brokers literally committed suicide by jumping out the windows. Horrible! I hope we never see that day again.

Owning Another Home

You just can't own enough homes you know! Mike and I put an offer on a foreclosure here in the Phoenix area on Saturday. We met we the loan officer today and was approved for the loan, and now our Realtor Lori can take our offer to the banks (there are three loans on the home) and hopefully get our offered approved.

Foreclosures take several months to buy. The banks don't move that swiftly, and there is a steps that have to be followed. We might proud owners of a new home Dec 31, 2007 which is the date we've set for closing.