Desert Gardens, Desert Trails and Mission View

The last few days of our trip have been full! We played at Desert Gardens RV out in Florence, AZ on Thursday. Besides the fun we had playing for those people, they have a beautiful manicured walk all around the park. The weather was perfect for getting some exercise and see some beautiful cactus.

Next off to Desert Trails RV in Tucson... There was another great area with trails behind the RV park, so we got in a short walk before the show.

We were met by a lively and enthusiastic crowd. They were so encouraging to play for. Leah put on her "ham" outfit for some reason and really livened things up as well.

Today we were able to visit with friends from Tucson and then use our last 2 days of a pass to the Sonora Desert Museum. Love the hummingbird nesting -- I've never seen that!

Tonight we blew in the door at Mission View RV. It's getting cold here, again! We were blessed beyond measure in our time singing and then visiting with many brothers and sisters. A special night!

And then just some extras...

South Forty in Tucson and Moving Day

Last night we had a fantastic time in Tucson at the South Forty RV Park. It was fun seeing people again that we had met last year. What a neat time for us.

God keeps showing himself faithful and we have been witness to many answered prayers. This "flu" bug or whatever it is, keeps wanting to attack us, and it just happened to attack me in the middle of the program. God answered the prayers of many of my family members and I was ready to eat by the time I got "home".

Speaking of home, Rebekah keeps asking how many more days and Leah was just asking in this pitiful voice, "When are we going home?" It's good to hear they are looking forward to it.

We have made our way to Florence today. It wasn't a very long trip and we are thankful we aren't dealing with snow like they are at home. We had some misconception that winter was over! The laundry is done for a few days and the two (ugh) trips to Walmart have been completed. But, before we left, there was about a half hour for a swim. Our little fish appreciated that.

Sam and Hannah had some miniature golf time, but Leah got a little tired waiting for everyone to finish 9 holes, so she just laid down by the cactus.

Quail Run in Arizona City

We came in on a storm to Quail Run in Arizona City, but the people were warm and friendly inside. Had a wonderful time with music last night. Today the sun came out and with a day off, had time for some miniature golf.

Superstition Mountain Hike and Bonita Vista RV

Yesterday was a full day! We drove to Apache Junction and hiked the Peralto Trail. The goal was to see the "eye of the needle" which was supposed to be at the top, but we never made it that far. We did hike 1 1/2 hours in and that was good enough. The view was gorgeous (the pictures don't give enough credit to the beauty) and the hike was challenging enough for most of us.

Some comments along the way:

Mom to Rebekah as she was dragging a bit: "Sam is way up ahead. You don't want him to beat you, do you?"

Rebekah: "I don't think I really care."

Later in the trip:

Leah: "My belly button is running out of air."

Lesson learned: Never hike in crocs, even if that is the only pair of shoes available. :)

In the evening, we played at Bonita Vista RV park. We had an energetic crowd and it was a lot of fun. Didn't think we would have the energy for it, but the Lord gave us strength and some wonderful friends in the audience to spur us on.

Zoo Trip

Visited the Phoenix Zoo today. Bryan was there, too, but just like some of the animals, he was a little hard to catch on camera.

Desert Valley Concert was Monday

A photo by Hannah from our time in Eloy on Monday. She was in a back row, but does a great job of photojournaling our time. They fed us a great spaghetti dinner and we were wearing red anyway. The kids loved the cake.

I Love You

My children planted a bean plant that is supposed to sprout and reveal a special message. Not sure how it works, but they are fascinated.

Perspectives

We have a choice to make every day; whether to look at the good and be thankful, or to focus on the bad or discouraging things and let that rule our attitude. We could focus on the fact that we had a bazillion loads of laundry to do and everyone else in the RV park was doing their laundry on the same day, or realize that if God numbers my days and I have surrendered to Him, that laundry wasn't His first priority for us in the morning. We could focus on the fact that although we packed everything we need for the trip, we can't find any of it and get frustrated or we could stop and pray, asking God where that particular item is hiding and He can show Himself faithful over and over by revealing where it is at. (Which He has).

Our family was blessed by the request of the park to stay the week and play some music for their Sunday morning service. I would highly recommend Saddle Mountain to anyone that comes out to Tonopah. It is a great park and the people are wonderful. We could focus on the fact that groceries are 20+ miles away and our refrigerator is too small to hold much, or we could thank God for His faithful provision and His wonderful plan. We have been so blessed already by people at this park we could stay all month.

There are always perspectives to take on any situation and I'm not the best at always choosing the right perspective. But as I practice watching for God in all situations and keep thankfulness on my lips, I am learning so much more about my wonderful God.

For the Grandparents

Including the pictures below, just so the grandparents can have a treat and see their grandkids!
The girls got in their first ever game of ping-pong. The little ones found some great rocks to sit on this afternoon. Beautiful sunset, even if there are a whole lot of RV's in the way. Greg's most recent picture just happened to be one with his mouth open!

Centennial Community Center

I thought our family lived in the middle of nowhere (and love it there), but we found another "nowhere" out there last night. We drove through miles and miles and miles of "Watch for Cattle" signs and over the small roller coaster roads that are characteristic of some parts of Arizona, looking for signs of civilization. We finally came upon the Centennial Community Center.

We were wondering if anyone else would drive out to this venue, but knew that God would send the ones He wanted to be there last night. It turned out to be a delightful evening and well worth the trip. The community frequently has events and concerts out at the Centennial Center and we were blessed to be asked to come.

Yesterday

For the Band Blog, we found some "bandwidth", (pun intended), so I can upload some pictures now. We played to a very warm group at Saddle Mountain last night and I think we know where all the missing people in Washington are located. We talked to so many Washingtonians and even found a couple from Spokane.

Leah really found her "voice" last night and was singing loudly into the microphone for her "Do Lord" song. Once she found out how much fun the microphone really was, she was anxious to get back to it on the other song the small children sing, and help(?) me play the piano. Wow...

This park is quite isolated, like I mentioned, but there are people that love it so much they come back year after year. Below is a picture of our "home away from home". It is such a blessing to be able to have us all in one spot.

The next spot is the little putting green and gazebo at the park.

The kids love their camp chairs and any chance to eat outside. This was when Rebekah was feeling a bit better yesterday, and thank the Lord she is a whole lot better today.

We play at Wenden at the Centennial Community Center tonight at 7. Please pray with us!

Tonopah

We have arrived safely at Saddle Mountain RV, located in Tonopah, in the middle (?) of the desert. We have been spoiled with a grocery down the street the last few days, so we will be cleaning out our cupboards now.

Tonight will be a two-hour concert. We are looking forward to it after a four day break. Tomorrow we will travel further into the desert to play at the Centennial Community Center. Sunday morning will be a church in Tonopah and Monday we head to Eloy to play at Desert Trails RV.

The weather is beautiful. We were actually very hot this afternoon! The kids are playing outside, trying to make new games that aren't loud and require very little space. :)

I wanted to send a picture of our trailer and campsite here. There is one spot of green (a small golfing area) that reminds me of home. The internet is pretty slow here, so will have to wait on pictures for a few days.

Please pray for us to be a blessing and for Rebekah, who is under the weather.

Free Time

We have had four days between concerts, so besides some school work and some good book reading, we had time to go to the Children's Museum of Phoenix today. The little ones LOVED it and came home with so much energy, while all the older ones in the family came home exhausted. How does that happen? Anyway, the following are some of our adventures from the museum today.


This is the contraption that was the most popular of the day. Three stories high and made up of all sorts of things we could find in my dad's shop.

This was Leah inside the contraption.

Leah doing some shopping at the store.

The children planting and arranging flowers.

The guys taking a break.

Greg found a great new instrument, all made out of wrenches.

Hannah baking us up some pizza.

Rebekah and Hannah both doing some cooking.

Greg in the climbing contraption with the little ones.