Author: Rudy

I woke up when I heard Max’s noisy battery-powered toy car driving around in the living room. It’s quarter to seven — time to get up.

I made coffee and tuned in CBS Sunday Morning on the TV. When Max heard the opening trumpet fanfare he said it was soon time to go to church. We are all creatures of habit!

Sue did NOT make french toast as per my request. No, there would be no more bacon frying up our house this morning. We had ordinary toast with peanut butter and jam. Or, in the case of Tim, we had JAM with a bit of toast to hold it up. And Sue and Max had PORRIDGE!

After breakfast Alex and Sue went for a long walk. I watched a bit of NFL Sunday before the first game began at eleven. Today is the final slate of regular season games for the NFL this year — and there are still a few playoff match-ups to be decided. Max was feeling a little grumpy — fussing with another tooth trying to work its way through his gums.

When the girls got back from their walk they got lunch ready. Everyone felt better after that. Max went for a nap. I got a bit excited when it looked like ‘my’ teams would win for a change. My Giants, who are out of the playoffs anyway, were beating the Eagles. The Cardinals looked like they had a good chance against the stumbling 49ers. The Lions were in pretty good against the Packers. Even the Seahawks were down 6-0 to the Rams at halftime. Of course, all of that quickly reversed itself as the afternoon went on, and all ‘my’ teams LOST! I’m starting to understand what it must feel like to be a Bomber fan!

Tim and Alex were going out on a date tonight — leaving us to spend the evening with Max. He set up a bit of a camp in the kitchen. He played with his sticker book. Sue did a puzzle with him until the Cardinal game was over. Then we bundled up, took the flashlight, and marched off to the Hitching Post for supper. Chicken tenders and fries. Max ate heartily. And in between bites, he SANG heartily. And when we let him guide us home after supper, that flashlight shone at the stars, the moon, passing cars, cactuses and Christmas lights — everything EXCEPT our path.

Back home, the Sunday night game was already in the second quarter when Sue got Max into his PJs and read him his bedtime story. And before the game was over, the kids came back from their evening out, shopping bags in hand. I tried again to get some of my downloaded shows (“The Trip to Italy”) to play on my AppleTV but the streaming was too slow and we gave up. Oh well, it was 10:30, bedtime for most of us.

Bacon and eggs this morning! and sausages too! Saturday morning at the Nikkel house.

After breakfast Sue and Alex went for a walk. Max and I went out soon after to watch the garbage truck come around and empty all the garbage cans which were sitting at the end of each driveway. Very noisy. Very interesting. And then Max got on his Strider bike and we ‘cycled’ around the block, looking for interesting cactuses and maybe even some barking dogs or meowing cats. Found a few. We ended up heading up the big hill because Max wanted to see that big (Chinese stone) statue that one of the homes has guarding the front door. And if we see a reindeer that’s “moving his head around” that’s a bonus. We got to the top of the hill and headed back down. But Max is easily distracted — his curiosity keeps him from going in a straight line. So it took us a while to make it down. And by the time we got back to the house the others were waiting (anxiously, impatiently) because now I was going to risk being late for our tee time at Mountain Brook for twelve noon.

The girls dropped Tim and me off at the course — and then went to shop groceries and back home for naps while Tim and I slaved away at the course. The weather was quite cool (we actually covered our bougainvillea bushes with sheets for the night to keep them from freezing) but the sun was shining and as long as we were out of the breeze it was pleasant. We were joined by Shawn, a chiropractor from Phoenix, who was clearly a better golfer than the two of us. He teed off from the black tees, and then we two teed off from the whites. I started off okay but was a little embarrassed when on Hole 2 my tee shot dribbled off the tees into the scrub ahead of us. I re-shot my tee shot and scored a 6 on that par 3. Not a great beginning! But I hung in there and concluded the front nine with three pars in a row! A 43 on the par 35 front nine. My best nine holes this winter! This won’t hold up!

After a beverage break we continued on the back nine. Once again my start was less than auspicious — a six followed by a seven. But there followed a TWO on a par 3, then a par, then another TWO on the next par 3, and then another par. And when all was said and done I finished with 44 on the back nine, for a total of 87! I BROKE 90! And looking at my scores for the last couple of weeks, I’ve not even broken a hundred more than a couple of times!

The girls and Max were waiting for us in the van in the parking lot when we finished our game — great timing! We drove back home and had happy hour and appetizers. Then Max and I went to Walgreen’s to pick up a DVD rental while the rest of the team worked on getting supper ready. Pasta and barbecued shrimp. Yummy. We all ate heartily. All that excitement (and sunshine and wind) sure works up an appetite.

After supper Max and I did a puzzle. The others cleaned up supper and played on their devices. After Max was tucked in we had a Skype call from the Penner family — live from their celebrations at Mart and Virlon’s house. And then it was time for night snack!

A little after nine we finally got that DVD going. Let’s see if we can stay awake for a good part of it!

Against their better judgment, Alex and Sue thought today would be a great day to go shopping. Which they did. Right after breakfast. An ‘all-day’ shopping trip to the Chandler Fashion Mall. My guess is they either had lots of things to return or they will have.

After the girls left, I took Max to the play structure in the park not too far from our house. We started out with Max on his new Strider ‘bike’, but after about a block of that I ended up carrying the bike while Max doddled along behind me, completely distracted by every house with Christmas decorations on the yard. And there are quite a few. And now that I measure the actual distance using Google Maps I see it is 1.3kms to the park. So that’s a pretty long way for those little legs to walk — there and back, plus a whole lot of motoring around at the park in between.

We spent the morning there. The sun was shining so even though the thermometer said it wasn’t very warm out, it wasn’t unpleasant. A couple of parents stopped by and helped their little sweet peas teeter-tooter, swing, and slide. Max ended up sitting on the ground with his new bike lying beside him while he baptized it with sand. I sat on the bench and watched. Eventually I thought we should head back home — surely Max must need to go pee by now. And then, on the way, we got distracted at the car wash — and had to watch a guy wash his dirty dune buggy on the trailer behind his truck. And finally, when that was done, we continued on our way only to be met by a familiar face riding a bicycle toward us. Daddy! what’s he doing on a bike? Nevermind, what are WE doing out here? It’s 12:30, W-A-Y past lunch time! Tim hurried back to barbecue the hotdogs while I did my best to keep Max focused on getting back to the house in time for lunch.

After hotdogs Max went for his nap. Tim and I watched a bit of golf on TV. When I woke up Sue and Alex were sitting on the couch next to me, back from their shopping trip. Success! All around.

After a little snack it was time to get everybody ready for supper out. The kids took us out to the Mexican restaurant for our Christmas gift. Good times there. Too cold to sit outside in their patio, even with heaters going. So we sat inside and were entertained by Max.

The ride home included a few detours to look at all the Christmas lights (again). And Max was adamant that we find some of those ‘cool reindeers with their heads moving all around’. (There must have been some big sales for those wire mesh lit-up reindeer at Walmart this fall!)

Back at the ranch, after a quick bath and a bedtime story, Max was down for the count. The rest of us enjoyed some dessert and watched another episode or two of “The Trip to Italy” on TV. And that’s the end of another successful day!

(No photos today — Sue took my phone with her to the mall all day, and so all I have to go on is my photographic memory.)

 

Good morning. Merry Christmas. Time to open some presents.

Max got a big sticker book for Christmas. And a new ‘bike’. And then we had crepes and bacon for breakfast. Already it was a ‘special’ day!

After breakfast we hopped into the van and drove out to the parking lot at Silly Mountain. And while Tim and Alex and Sue made it all the way up to the top, Max and I got about halfway up. Max did pretty good and got lots of big smiles and ‘Merry Christmas’ wishes from other hikers who passed us on the way.

After lunch we lazed around and napped a bit. After Max woke up Alex and I walked him up the big hill behind our house while he ‘rode’ his new Stryder bike. We almost missed our ‘happy hour’ snacks that Tim prepared for us.

Sue made salmon for supper. And then, after reading Max his bedtime story and tucking him into bed, we cued up a Netflix movie on TV and watched “Love Actually”. Well no, not ALL of us watched it. I dozed off pretty much as soon as the movie started and finally dragged my weary butt into bed before it was over. Too much excitement for one day!

The best part of the morning is seeing Max’s big smile when he comes into our bedroom to see that we’re finished sleeping. The best part of breakfast is watching Max finish his fruit and cereal. He’s a hearty eater. He’s a very loveable little boy. He makes mornings more fun!

After breakfast Sue and I went for a long walk. I needed to get a photo of a Santa hat on a cactus to include in a reply to an email we got from some friends in Germany who sent us Christmas greetings including a photo of THEIR christmas tree. Got one. When we got back from our walk I had a shower and we all had an early lunch. And then Tim and I had to hurry across the road to the golf course to make our 12:30 tee time at Sidewinder.


Christmas Eve. What a good day to go golfing. No one ahead of us, no one behind us. Just the two of us — the golf course was ours. And the sun was shining–probably the nicest day we’ll have. And the game started off just as fine. In fact, I had a TWO on the par three hole #4 when my tee shot landed just inches from the hole. But the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. When our three hours were up Tim shot a 99 and I had a score of 103. Not great but not bad. And I was up a couple of balls on the day — and still playing with the ball I’d started with.

Max and the girls had gone to a nearby park when we got home but got home soon after. Then Tim and Alex took the van to pick up Chinese food for our supper while Max and I went on a short hike up the hill behind our place. I showed Max how not to touch the ‘pokey’ cactuses — and had quite the time getting those barbed needles out of my thumb.

By the time we were back from our walk the food was all set on the table. Yummy. Good eating for our Christmas Eve meal. And then we all got back into the van and went for at least an hourlong ride to look at Christmas lights. Max’s favourite: those lit up reindeer with their heads ‘tuwning awound’. I did my best to accommodate him until Max’s head was the one nodding up and down. When we got home he didn’t want his bath nor a night snack. Just straight to bed, all tuckered out. The end of a perfect day. Well no, we’re not quite done yet — first we’ll eat quite a few too many of those tasty chocolate-covered peanut butter balls Alex made while we were out golfing. And a bit of TV. AND THEN, around 10 o’clock, our Christmas Eve is complete. Let’s hang up the stockings, set out the milk and cookies, and go to bed.

Today was a bright, sunshiny day — perfect for a visit to the Phoenix Zoo. Knowing that Max would need his afternoon nap, we decided to see if we could get out of the house nice and early. And by shortly after nine we’d finished breakfast and were on the road. We’d never been to the zoo here before. We got there just before 10:00, right about the same time that about 20 school buses emptied their loads at the front gate. But we managed to ‘leap-frog’ the teachers with their classes of children and the zoo was big enough that we got to see the things we really wanted to see without any delays. So we saw giraffes, tigers, lions, monkeys, elephants, and a sleeping rhino. And deer, birds, and snakes too. And the best part of the zoo may have been the merry-go-round.

We finished the zoo visit around 11:30 and headed back for home. Along the way we stopped at a burger restaurant and had lunch outside on the patio there. Then home, just in time for nap time. While Max, Alex, and I slept, Tim and Sue went to the Fruit Market in Apache Junction and to the grocery store to pick up things we needed for supper. I took two golf clubs and went across the road to the driving range to hit some balls. After about thirty minutes or so Tim and Max joined me there. The three of us went for a long walk and ended up at the kids’ play structure not too far from our house. Max had a great time climbing and sliding until we decided it was time to go back home.

Snacks around the table– and supper soon after. We watched a Mickey Mouse Christmas movie until it was time for me to read Max a bedtime story and tuck him in. Then we watched an episode of “the trip to Italy” and some CBC National News before Sue and I bid goodnight to the kids and excused ourselves to the bedroom.

After breakfast we were off for a morning of shopping. First stop, a Target store, hoping to find a nice hat for Max. Although we didn’t find a suitable hat, we DID have fun playing on the giant red balls outside the entrance.

Then we continued on to the Santan Village Shopping Center, a big outdoor mall. While Tim and the ladies went shopping Max and I played in the playland in the courtyard. Lots of other parents and grandparents had the same idea. Max has as much fun watching other children as he does playing himself. So we did a lot of that.

And after we’d checked out the pet store and Max had proclaimed that he ‘wuved’ every little dog behind the glass, we found the others and had lunch at one of the many restaurants in the complex. Max, sporting the new hat his parents had found and bought for him, ordered macaroni and cheese.

We managed to make it home just in time for ‘nap time’. And while the girls went for a bike ride around ‘the loop’, the boys listened to some Joe Cocker tunes (he died today) and then caught up on some shut-eye. When the girls got back and we’d all been awakened, Opa and Tim and Alex and Max went for a ‘hike’ up the hill behind our house to check out the sunset while Sue worked on supper. And while there was a bit of a haze in the air, and some clouds in the west kept the mountain from getting as red as it often is, we enjoyed not only the view but the walk as well. Just enough ‘exercise’ to warrant another visit around the supper table.

After supper Max entertained us for a while until he was off to bed. Alex made one of her delicious Christmas desserts (marshmallow squares) for dessert — and I got to scrape out the plate. Then we dug out the games we’d borrowed from Ed and Val and the four adults played “Apples to Apples” at the dining room table until sleep overcame us and we all headed off to bed as well.

Got up just before 7 — and there were Alex and Max sitting in the living room. All happy. All had slept well. Sunday morning. The shortest day of the year. Let’s see how much we can pack in.

Sue warmed up those frozen cinnamon buns and cut up some fruit for breakfast. I made a pot of coffee. The booster seat we bought for Max to use works great. He is such a happy (and talkative!) boy. After sitting around in the morning it was determined that we would need some more toys for Max. So we all piled into the van and headed off to the Mesa Marketplace. We did a big loop around, looking at the displays (of junk), Max riding in his stroller and conveniently just out of reach of most of the things he all wanted to have. Not too much in the way of toys there. What next?

Well, there’s a big Walmart just around the corner. Let’s try that. Surely it won’t be a zoo of last-minute Christmas shoppers this morning. And it was okay — we had some success there, coming home with a truck and trailer and some Hot Wheels and toy animals. Of course, Max would have liked to have pretty much ALL the things he saw there, but eventually we put all the stuffed Disney toys back into the display bin.

Back home, we had lunch. Sat around a bit and then Tim and I went to Mountain Brook for a game of golf. Nice sunny day. Shirt sleeves until around 4pm. And while the women and child went for a long walk around the neighbourhood, Tim and I scattered balls around the golf course. Shot not so good a game, but had fun. The course was open and we finished 18 holes before dusk.

Sue had been making hamburger patties in the afternoon, so after a quick change and a chance to warm up a bit, Tim barbecued those for our supper. Max was busy flitzing around the house. His favorite activity is getting chased by one of the adults. Lots of laughing. Meanwhile, I settled into my place on the couch and did my best to stay awake just in case the Cardinals staged a massive comeback against the overwhelming Seahawks. But it was not to be. And by the time that sorry game ended we’d lost Max and Alex to their beds and Tim and Sue were fading fast. So was I. So are the prospects for the Cardinals in the playoffs. Oh well. What did I expect?

Tomorrow will come soon enough — and the days will be getting longer.

After bacon and eggs for breakfast, we went for a hike up Silly Mountain. We stopped at Bashas on the way home. After lunch Sue and I went to the driving range and hit balls for nearly an hour. And then it was time to go to the airport. I checked the flight — all good, on time, maybe even a few minutes early. We got to the airport at 3:20pm — just about the time the plane landed. And there they were! Three smiling faces. Oma got a big hug from Max and so did Opa. While we waited for the luggage Max and I went for a walk around the parking lot. Counted the yellow taxis all in a row. Watched a puppy and his owner waiting for visitors to come through arrivals.

We drove home — and I guess I was so excited I missed the turnoff to Gold Canyon. After a short detour we got to our house. After a snack Max and I went for a little hike up the mountain behind our house. We saw the sunset from up there. Then, before it got too dark, we headed back down. Tim was barbecuing chicken and Sue had made potatoes and salad. Supper. Lots of visiting and enjoying Max. When I tucked him into his own bed at around 8pm he went quietly to sleep. Nice kid. The rest of us did our best to stay awake but by 10 o’clock we too were in bed.

It feels like Saturday. Well, except for no bacon and eggs. When I looked at the list of movies playing at Superstition today and suggested to Sue that maybe we should go to a movie this afternoon I got a VERY quick and stern “NO” back. We are BUSY today. We have a lot of things to get ready for our visitors. Yeah, but they’re only coming in the mid-afternoon. Rudy, I have a LONG list of things that I need to get done. Okay, that settles that. You’d think the king and queen are coming. Well, okay, they are, and they’re bringing the prince with them.

While Sue did laundry and cleaned and reorganized the bedrooms and bathrooms (we’ll be sharing a bathroom for the next two weeks), I got out the Dirt Devil (first time since we’ve been here!) and vacuumed the house. The carpet remnant we found in one of the closets has been neatly trimmed and rolled out in the middle of the living room — that’ll be Max’s play area. One of the extra chairs came out of that same closet and now has a new ‘booster seat’ attached to it at the dining room table. Toys and presents are now wrapped and bagged and parked beneath the fake fig ‘Christmas’ tree. It was all Sue could do to keep me from taking the van to the carwash, which I haven’t done since the day we arrived (and really don’t need to either, but when I saw the photo on SteinbachOnline of all those filthy cars driving along Main Street, I got a little itch to wash the car).

After lunch Sue took our (nice shiny clean) van to Bashas and re-stocked the pantry. More or less reorganized the kitchen, to make room for everything. Those kids of ours better eat a lot! Speaking of which, one of the things I’m most looking forward to is that after tomorrow the topic of our conversation on our daily walk will NOT be ‘what should I make for supper for when the kids arrive on Saturday’. Speaking of which, we went for our afternoon walk after the groceries were all packed away. I still can’t seem to get my little MapMyRide app to stay ON for the whole walk — so once again, about a mile into the walk, I check my phone and, sure enough, that damn thing is on ‘Pause Workout’. And I didn’t even touch it! Instead of ENHANCING our walks, that phone is turning me into one of those people who walk down the street and bash into other people or hydro poles. Sort of like spoiling a golf game by having to look at your phone for yardage after every shot (you know who I’m talking about!) So, to compensate for the spoiled walk (maybe even the spoiled day), Sue agreed to stop at the Hitching Post for a quick beer on the way home. Which we did. And we had deep-fried mushrooms to go with our ‘Kilt-lifter’. Ah, it doesn’t take much to make the boy happy.

Back at the ranch, we showered and watched Brian Williams read the evening news. Then, after supper (leftover chilli — not serving THAT to the kids!), we watched another of my movie downloads — this one did NOT feature Chinese subtitles, although it too began with a couple of screens addressing us as ‘Members of the Academy’. (Yikes, with all the emails I’m getting from Redbox offering me codes for free rentals you’d think I’d be content watching legit movies!) Well, this time we struck out. “Mr Turner” was about as boring as it was long. As members of the academy, we will NOT be nominating this one.  I have no idea what we watched after that but Sue managed to stay awake and do a bit of channel surfing before somehow dragging me into bed. One more sleep.