Christmas at Zion National Park

Neil and I went to Zion National Park for Christmas. WHile it was in the 50s in Mesquite, it was 31 degrees at Zion.It was absolutely beautiful with many of the rock formations covered under a light blanket of snow. We had a late lunch at the Red Rock Grill inside the Zion National Park Lodge. These pictures show some of the formations. If you look closely in the first one, you can see the moon rising near the top of the picture.

Andy Williams

We just got back from spending Christmas Eve in Las Vegas. We started at the Fashion Show Mall where we got to see a live show with Santa dancing with his elves. We walked through the Wynn and the flowers and decorations were absolutely gorgeous. Finally, we finished at the Andy Williams Christmas Show at the Las Vegas Hilton. We had great seats, second row--center stage. Andy was incredible. He has a great deal of energy and to think he is 82 years old. His voice is still wonderful. He started the evening with It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year and then did several favorites including a brief bit of the Theme from Love Story, his beautiful rendition of Ave Maria, Do You Hear What I Hear, and ended with Moon River. We feel very fortunate to now be able to say that we have seen this legendary singer. Merry Christmas, everyone!

More Pottery

While Neil has been busy working from home, Joan has been busy at the pottery studio trying to master the wheel. Here are a few pictures of her creations. The green (pistachio) bowl and the multi-color (Bayou Rain) bowls are both done on the wheel. The planter is done using the slab pottery method.

Posing Cats

Here are two cute photos of Sedona and Jerome.

Christmas in Nevada

We went to visit two of Nevada's largest Christmas light displays. The first was at Ethel M's Chocolate Factory in Henderson. They have incredible cactus gardens which they decorate for Christmas. If you look closely in the photo you can see the decorated cacti. The best part of a visit to Ethel M's is going into the store where they give out samples of their incredible chocolate. The second display we went to was at Sunset Park in Las Vegas. You stay in your car, turn off your lights, and drive through to look at the lights. I have included a picture featuring one of the million Elvis's who walk around Las Vegas.

First Snow

We woke up yesterday morning to some rain in Mesquite. Back East this is not a big deal, but out here, where the average yearly rainfall is 4.5 inches, every little bit counts. We recieved about 1/2 an inch. One of the pictures shows the snow falling on the Virgin Mountains yesterday. While we were getting rain, the snow line was at 4,000 feet. The rest of the pics are from this morning. These are the mountains on the Utah side of our house. As you can see, they are totally covered with snow and our yard, and the abutting golf course, have none! It really looks beautiful and there is nothing to shovel; just the way we like snow.

Christmas in Mesquite

Believe it or not, it has started getting cool in the valley. Daytime highs yesterday and today were in the mid-50s. Neil went out early this morning and it was below 30! We have started our Christmas decorating. Here are some pictures of our outside front decorations.

Cookie Exchange

This post is really for Liz. We went to the HOA cookie exchange. Here are two pictures of the cookies that we brought. Liz, don't you love the battery-powered lights?

Patriots v Saints

On Monday, we went to the Virgin River Casino to watch the Patriots/Saints game. It was on several screens in a large hall. Well, when you walk into the room, they have everyone take a playing card. I pulled out cards and got an Ace and a King (I don't play cards but someone said if we were playing 21 this would have been a great hand!) They soon started calling cards. If your card was picked, you received a small football. Well, the King was called and we got a football. We then found out it was to play a game at half time. When it came time for the game, I went up to play. There were 10 of us, and we each had one chance to get a football through this hoop. It was me and 9 guys. Guess who was the only one to get the football through the hoop? I think I was the most surprised person in the room. AT the end, the woman running the game asked me if I knew what I had won. I told her no, and then she showed it to me. I still didn;t know what I had won and I asked her what it was (I really thought it might be some kind of a chandelier attachment. She told me it was a fire ring and then went on to explain how to use it. Here is a picture of the Budweiser fire ring that I won.

Thanksgiving 2009

We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. On this Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for: our new home, which we love; being able to take some time to relax and enjoy it; and most importantly, our health. We hiked up to the top of Flat Top Mesa ( see http://www.scenicnevada.org/last/flat.html) and took these pics of Mesquite and the Virgin Valley. We enjoyed a snack of homemade corn muffins with cranberries and cranberry sparkling cider! We went to Katherine's at the Casa Blanca for our turkey dinner.

November Sunset

Here are a few pics of tonight's beautiful sunset. The first pic is taken from the front of the house (you can see Neil's new truck). The second photo is just up the street facing Flat Top Mesa. This is also a great shot of one of the many walking paths. In the distance you can see more of the community if you look at all of the twinkling lights in front of the Mesa.

Neil's New Ride

Here is a pic of Neil with his new truck, Ford F-150, and his salesman, Joe. More info and pics to follow.

Zion National Park

We went to Zion National Park today. We saw snow capped mountains on the way. Yes, the foliage does change here but it was a little past peak. There are a few pics of us on the Riverside Trail which goes along the Virgin River. There is also a picture from the road leaving Zion; there is a little bit of color on the trees. Next year, we will have to make sure we get there for peak foliage as the color we did see was great!

Professional Bull Riding World Finals 2009

We went to the PBR World Finals over Halloween weekend and attended the final day lasy Sunday, Novemeber 8, 2009. It was great. My favorite rider, J B Mauney rode all 8 of his bulls and won the event; my least favorite rider, Kody Lostroh, won the overall title. Here are a few pics. We got an incredible deal at the Four Seasons Las Vegas (BOGO night) and stayed there for Halloween weekend. The Mandaly Bay sign is taken out our window as the Four Seasons is located on the top floors of Mandalay Bay. There is a picture of last year's world champ, Guilherme Marchi petting his bull before he rode and JB roping his bull before he rode. The horses are the world famous Clydesdales.

Kitties

Several of you have asked how the cats are doing? Here are a few pics to show you they are all out and about and curious about their new environment!

Evening in Mesquite

Last evening when we went for a walk right before sunset, the most amazing formation of clouds was in the sky right above Flat Top Mesa. It had been cloudy all day and these were the clouds at the edge of the storm.

Pottery

As many of you know, I began pottery classes last month. Here is what I created in the slab pottery class. Basically, you take clay, run it through a roller, texturize it, and then cut the clay into pieces to create things. The bowl was my first project, the cylinder vase, my second, and the teapot was the third (you can see that I haven't glazed it yet. I am now taking a wheel class. Those pieces are looking a little more traditional -- 2 bowls and a cylinder container. I will post photos of those in a few weeks after they are glazed.