Christmas 2009 Part 1:

Unfortunately our children and grandchildren are spread across the country. So we have several Christmases.

Part 1 of our Christmas this year was in Phoenix with Brian, Jess, Andrew, Kira their dog Blue and new kitty Tom-Tom. We had fun, a great dinner, and a wonderful time. The weather was perfect for indoor and outdoor activities.








We are unable to make it to Spokane to be with Tony this year. However, he is working on Christmas to allow for others to be off with their families. We spoke to him last night and he is doing well.

Now...off to D.C. and the Gallaghers!

What Chuck is doing these days....

Chuck retired about two years ago. You may wonder what he does to stay busy. Well, besides painting with pastels, jigsaw puzzles, helping with chores, computer games, video games, reading, Suduko, and H & R Block during the tax season, he has taken on the dinner responsibilities! I have died and gone to heaven. He is getting quite good. Of course there were a few mishaps at the beginning, like the time he decided to add vanilla flavoring to scrambled eggs...I asked that he not do that again...or there were a few close calls....like when he called me at work to see if he could use condensed sweetened milk in a recipe for a chicken casserole calling for evaporated milk (now that could have been interesting.) But the majority of his endeavors from breaded baked chicken to pork tenderloin Wellington (yum!) have been DELICIOUS! .

However, there is a down side of Chuck's new culinary interest and that is what happens to the kitchen........

Happy Birthday Bright Eyes!

Awnya Rhys Gallagher is two years old today! She brings such joy and smiles to her very proud grandparents. Her mom and dad (Kari and Jonathan) give us reports and interpret her squeals and gestures when we speak on the phone to her. However, we can recognize her "MMMMMwa Bye" when she blows us a kiss at the end of our phone conversation or tells us about "Buh-Buh" her beloved Olde English Bulldog, Carter. What did we ever do without her:-)

Seasons in Tucson

I cannot believe that it has almost been one month since I entered something on the blog. I guess that means that Chuck and I need to get a life. However, it does seem that the days seem full(???)

It is fall in Tucson. I know that you don't think about southern Arizona having seasons, but we do. As you know summer in Tucson is HOT...and I mean HOT! Winter can be rainy. But fall and spring are terrific. We can tell it is autumn because the mornings are cool. It is in the high 60's now in the mornings, and soon it will be in the high 50's. I am so fortunate to walk to work on most days. It is about .7 mile from our condo to the office. In the morning, I walk directly toward the Catalina Mountains, a spectacular view and something I never grow tired of. I walk the Rillito River path (description below) past a local coffee shop, Trader Joe's, across then under a bridge, through the St Philip's Plaza (where every Sunday there is a terrific farmers' market), then across the street past St. Philips Episcopal Church and I am there at the Murphey Administration Center, home of Catalina Foothills School District district office.

Although we have had hot weather recently, it will soon (like today) be a high of low 80's. EVERYONE is out of doors. Where we live in Tucson we are close to the Rillito River trail. (O.K., I admit that our rivers don't have any water in them 99% of the time.) This is where we see the community come out: University of Arizona students running, roller-blading, biking etc. middle-older age folks walking (like me) - with and with out dogs, one of the local high school's cross country teams working out (I was caught smack dab in the middle of them on one walk), and all in all just a fun and alive environment.

Winter arrives in Tucson usually in December/January with a few weeks of rainy days. Once you are a resident of Arizona you learn to appreciate any rain that falls. It is suppose to be rainier than usual this winter. Everyone is hoping that is correct, since this summer we did not get much of a monsoon. I always hope that it is nice for the holidays, as I think about the visitors who come looking for good weather. You can always tell the visitors in the winter, those are the folks that when it is 65 degrees here they are in shorts. When it hits 70 degrees in Tucson the natives pull out their sweaters and turtle-neck shirts.

Spring will bring the desert alive! It is a shame that most of our winter visitors leave before the blossoms arrive on the cactus...spectacular! or don't seem to realize that come late April there are beautiful wildflowers. It is our last hurrah before, what I fondly call, the "hot as hell" season arrives by late May.

Yep, it is autumn in the desert, and it is nice!

Kartchner State Park

Last weekend we rented a pop-up tent trailer and tried our third attempt at camping in Arizona. This time it was successful...restful...and fun. We camped at Kartchner State Park, about 60 miles outside of Tucson, near the town of Benson.

All the "boys" enjoyed the restful time, and the comforts we had in the tent trailer.

Sunday, in honor of "Dance Like Erik Day" declared by our nephew Neal Sieroslawski, we went on a 1.5 mile hike; and see it REALLY was a TRAIL...Erik would have been proud of us.



Here are Ilona and Zeke. We were playing "Jeopardy" with Chuck. As you can see from Zeke's stance he was really trying hard to understand the question.


O.K., Arizona campgrounds may not be like the great Northwest, or Colorado, but you can't beat our sunsets. We had a great time.

Arm Wrestling Champion!

Drew beats Grandpa in arm-wrestling championship round!

More Lund Birthdays!

Over Labor Day weekend we celebrated number 1 son, Tony's 36th birthday, and our terrificl daughter in law Jessica's  birthday.

The birthday boy!

Tony has the best sense of humor in the entire family (shh! don't tell Chuck that, he think he has it) and continues to make us smile. Tony also has a wonderful large heart to go along with it. He
currently lives in Spokane (way too far away). We had the good fortune that he was in Arizona for his birthday. Tony is the first born and the big brother...he fills both of those positions in our family quite well.

Jessica in a very natural pose...with a camera.

Now let us tell you about our daughter-in-law who walks on water, Jessica. The Lunds unanimously agree that she is absolutely the best! I remember what Kari said after we first met Jessica, "Brian has set the bar very high for Tony's/Erik's selection of a girlfriend." She is also the very best wife, mother, teacher, and daughter-in-law. The votes are all in....she excels in all areas.

Mom and Drew with a wicked game of crazy eights.

Look hard, find the three Lunds.

Our son Bri's typical camera pose, and his handsome dog Blue.

The weekend was full of laughter, card playing, hikes in the desert, movies, and all around fun. It was so much fun to have them all around. Our condo is less than 1,000 sq. ft. We had 5 adults, 2 children and 3 dogs....and there seemed to be plenty of room, even though there wasn't really. Everyone was a good sport, and not one complaint. We have some terrific kids and grand kids. My (Ilona) weekend was made when Drew climbed up on my lap early one morning and told me that he loved me a lot. Boy it doesn't get better than that.