summer lovin'

Today is the quintessential summer day...

Warm and Dreamy

Beautiful scenery

Soul hugging sunshine

Oh summer why can't you stay longer!!

be a sport.....

Guess what Princess and Sweetheart are doing today??

hmmm..... (any guesses?)

Well, they're participating in their very first team soccer game.

 I thought they should participate in an athletic event to keep their bodies strong over the summer.

So for the past few days they've been attending soccer practice in the evenings.

Baby Cookie really wanted to participate as well; but they didn't offer her age division.

So for the next few Saturdays we will be attending early morning games against other teams in the city league.

 iridescent HOT PINK soccer balls!!!

Sweetheart loves her pinky pink soccer cleats

 FIRST SOCCER GAME

(a.k.a. Football for those of you who prefer)

Not the best focused pix..........but Princess is far left and Sweetheart is center

I haven't been to a organized soccer game since my Bam was a little guy.

Does this officially make me a SOCCER MOM again??

tennis anyone??

My girls were invited to (their friend) Miss Deja's house.......she's one of Princesss Fifi's best friends.

Miss Deja's grandmother took all the girls to enjoy a game of.... TENNIS.

Sweetheart told me they had a very nice time

Cookie said they didn't spend too much time on the court because ... it was decidedly too BLAZING HOT.

They put in a few good attempt at a game but HOME was much more appealing to them.

*****I wasn't able to find the right cord to upload the pics*****

Instead Fifi found these snaps of an amazing tennis court online. 

The location is most likely.... Dubai.

The skyscraper resembles a sailboat

Star ship enterprise

I'm positive a game of tennis would not be on my mind....

These guys are probably wondering who will retrieve the tennis ball...

walking like Rango....

 Squirrelly SUNDAY

Is this squirrel laughing or snickering at us???

We like walking around our neighborhood but today we trekked somewhere DIFFERENT.

for the ADVENTURE.....for FUN....for the sake of saying we did it

We thought we'd walk to Uncle Ahsker's house. (my brother)

We may have been a little less than prepared... (to say the least.)
Half way through we realized we should've taken a bottle of WATER.
...we should've wore better shoes

It felt like a journey towards the unknown; an adventure of a different type.....
We kept our minds occupied with stories
Cookie said she felt like Rango as he walked through the dry, hot desert.
I quote her quoting Rango on our walk: "Yeah. All right now, listen up! Things are gonna be different around here now that Rango's in town. Got some new rules: I want my shoe shined every mornin', my coffee hot, danish on the side. Whatever you do, don't look at me in the eye! STAY OUT OF MY PERIPHERAL VISION." (such a funny quote)

It was indeed an ADVENTUROUS WALK!!!!
Nevertheless we made a memory and we're certain we'll look back fondly on this day.

playground fun is.....

May the summer playground fun begin......

 

Playground fun is

the sound of laughter from the children....

Playground fun is

the energy they have as they bounce off one playground equipment to the next....

Playground fun is 

the children calling "Mommy, Mommy look at me!"

Playground fun is

games of tag and chasing one another....

Playground fun is

jump roping, blowing bubbles and dandelions....

Playground fun is

the warm summer breeze with the hot sun kissing your face and arms....

Playground fun is 

having no worries about homework, school projects, reports or tests.....

Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for Ice cream....

It's sooooo HOT today.
I think its time to have the air conditioner turned on for the season.
I'll have to call the service tech to make an appointment.
Until then, we need to COOL down now....
So we went to the grocery store for
ICE CREAM

We had a hard time narrowing down our choice...
but our final decision was Lychee flavored Ice Cream
(we're big fans of Lychee berries- click here)
YUMMMY
Have you ever tried this flavor......It's soooo creamy, soooo smooth and absolutely refreshing.
It's the perfect escape from the New Mexico heat.

BTW.....what is your favorite ice cream flavor???
(anyone can comment below)

wearing shorts and sandals in the snow....

 chirping morning birds, stunning blue skies 

It's going to be another beautiful day....

(so I think)

 Cheii and Nana will be joining us at Bam's Confirmation ceremony tomorrow.

So today we're headed to Gallup to pick them up.

What started off as a beautiful day for a drive turned into a very snowy cold drive, 20 minutes outside our arrival into Gallup, NM.

Click the video that Cookie made from the backseat 

☟

When we got to the Ranch, Nana was ready, Cheii was feeling under the weather.

Cheii decided to stay home to recover.

 Plus he didn't want to get the children ill by coming to our house.

It seemed as if, just as quickly as we arrived, we were back on the road towards ABQ.

Amazing climate differences in 138 miles--2 hr. drive.
Likely due to the altitude level of course.

Vanderwagen, NM is 6,514 ft. above sea level
Albuquerque, NM is 5, 000 ft. above sea level

View Larger Map

We made perfect timing back to Albuquerque.
Enough time for
a late lunch--
  a little relaxation--
 before heading to the church for rehearsals this evening.

surprise guests

Early morning football practice scheduled for Bam today.

While watching him practice, I had an unanticipated phone call from Cheii and Nana.

They tell me that they are in town again today. 

Yay!

They came into town with my sister, who recently moved from Alaska, back to the lower 48 to Arizona a few days ago.

(www.alaska.gov) (www.alaska.com)
(http://az.gov) (http://arizona.com)

This was in front of the restaurant: a wrought iron prickly pair
(not sure why it's in a planter pot)

After football practice we met up for lunch with Nana, Cheii, my sister and her family.
She's lived in Alaska for 5 years now.
She seems happy, well and still has that fantastic smile and unforgettable laugh.

Afterward, Nana and Cheii came to my house to spend the day with us.

It was such a nice, cool 98 degree day for a walk. So we decided to go to the flea market.

It has been years since we've been there. We mostly enjoyed the walk and each others company.

It's not often that Cheii and Nana come into town, so its been a real treat to have them back again so soon.

We do hope they will be able to come into town more often.

Also............... WELCOME BACK SIS aka AUNTIE LEPRECHAUN.

That's ahlattawatta!!

It's another day of FUN in the HOT, HOT Summer Sun....
(Try to guess where we are from just the first two photos below)

This place is very popular with the tourist....

We're almost there.....

"Red Maple Leaf" 

Any guess yet.....

Yes! We're at Niagara Falls!!!

I love that you can see Bam's reflection

This sign says it all; 'Welcome to Niagara Falls'. What family road trip would be complete without a stop to a popular national park like Niagara Falls.

(www.niagarafallsstatepark.com)
(www.nps.gov/nifa)
 (http://www.niagarafallslive.com/facts_about_niagara_falls.htm)

Bam is so excited!!

The rushing and roaring of the waterfall was more louder than any we've ever heard!
Absolutely AMAZING!!

It's crazy that the railing isn't more back away from the edge.....

The mist from the falls is everywhere and quite cooling for a day like today's triple digit heat.
We were all soooo very....
 Exhilarated
 Energized
 and
 Exciting

"Mommy can you believe that Ontario, Canada is literally a stones throw away!"

"I don't think this water will ever stop flowing Mommy"

"I can't wait to journal about this!"

The vortexing whirlpool is mersmerizing....

Vortexing whirlpool???
Yes...
The huge volume of water rushing from the Falls is crushed into the narrow Great Gorge, creating the Whirlpool Rapids that stretch over a mile. The water surface drops 50 ft. and the rushing water can reach speeds of 9 miles per second. In a Whirlpool, you can see the "reversal phenomenon." When the water travel over the rapids and enter the pool, then travel counterclockwise around the pool past the natural outlet. The pressure builds up when the water tries to cut across itself to reach the outlet and this pressure forces the water under the incoming stream. This swirling water creates a vortex or whirlpool.

check out this live webcam link below
(http://www.niagarafallslive.com/Niagara_Falls_Webcam.htm)

Niagara Falls Landscapers are they fearless or  just crazy!

Did you know........

1. The Niagara Falls has a 167 foot height (or 52 meter drop)
2. Niagara Falls in the second largest in the world next to Victoria Falls in Africa.
3. One fifth of all the fresh water in the world lies in the four Upper Great Lakes-Michigan, Huron, Superior and Erie. All the outflow empties into the Niagara river and eventually cascades over the falls and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean.
4. Niagara Falls attracts 12 million visitors every year to marvel at her beauty
5. The volume of water is 600,000 U.S. gallons per second or 32 feet per second, that go over the Niagara Falls. This causes the water to fall at between 280 and 2,509 tons of force at the various falls.
6. The falls create 4 million kilowatts of electricity which is shared between Canada and the U.S. Niagara Falls is the largest producer of electric power in the world.
7. The Niagara Falls consist of the American Falls, the Bridal Veil Falls and the Horse Shoe Falls.
8. The Horse Shoe Falls are known as the Canadian Horse Shoe Falls but actually 1/3 of it is on U.S. Territory according to the United States Geological Survey.

THIS IS A DEFINITE MUST SEE!!

sunnyside jazzy jazz

 Irvington and Sleepy Hollow

Do you remember the stories of the headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle from childhood???

(http://sleepyhollowcemetery.org/sleepy-hollow-country/the-legend/) 

We love these classic stories too.........so today we're at the home of George Washington Irving known as Sunnyside to get to know what might've inspired him.

Sweetheart in front of GW Irving's home

George Washington Irving has a very charming home to say the least.
 We historians of the estate gave insightful view of his life.
After the tour, we walked the grounds and estate home............ it was truly and absolutely INSPIRING.

(http://www.hudsonvalley.org/education/Background/abt_irving/abt_irving.html)

Future literary authors.........

I felt inspired and compelled to begin writing a novel just from walking around Sunnyside.
(perhaps someday I just will)

did I hear galloping???

Rip Van Winkle territory

After Sunnyside we went with Grandma-Great to meet up with a friend, Ms. Jill, for an evening jazz festival by the Hudson River. 

Hudson River w/Grandma-Great

Bam's strength and tenderness for his Grandma-Great

We enjoyed each others friendship under a big shaded spot of a grand willow tree.

The live jazz music was good too..... 

Ms. Jill entertained my girls with some of her fond stories of when she used to lived in N.M.

"have you ever been to Chimayo?"

After listening to Ms. Jill's stories, Cookie began to miss home a little......

The amazing sunset on the Hudson was comforting to us all

July 4th in NYC

"New York City, Persinger five have arrived!!"

As we approached New York, after paying the toll for the George Washington Bridge we proceed to drive the upper deck.  That's when this song comes on the radio with extreme perfect timing............

We dreamed and drove in complete silence and awe over the music timed with the real view of the New York skyline while we were on the G.W. When the song ended and we were on the Saw Mill Parkway, Cookie said,"Mom! How did you do that? It was like our life was a movie!" We all agreed, laughed and sighed...........

George Washington Bridge is a welcome sight for us.......

To grandma-great's house we go! 

We miss her and love her very much and we always look forward to our stay. 

Dinner and fireworks in New York........what a perfect end to a PERFECT DAY!

Happy 4th of July...............(www.macys.com/fireworks)

chi-town

CHICAGO
 Friendly, considerate and super easy to get around......

Bam's artistic photo of the citylights

This is Chi Town at dusk, where we were greeted with a SPECTACULAR skyline. (www.cityofchicago.org)

The drive on Michigan Avenue along Lake Michigan toward the Navy Pier and Millennium Park is AWESOME!!

For dinner we had scrumptious Chicago style pizza!!
Mmmmm.....
---------------------------

In the morning, we woke bright and early.
We began our day with some early morning sight seeing around Chi-town.

Oh Bam!.............At Cloud Gate in Millennium Park

Bam and the girls under Cloud Gate in Millennium Park

We visited Millennium park-Cloud Gate, Wrigley Field, Skydeck Chicago "the Ledge"(1,353 feet above street level) and then China town for LUNCH before we left. (www.explorechicago.org)

Exploring China town

My little ones melt my heart and make my day, EVERYDAY!

Don't order a Hot Dog................. it's called a Superdawg!!

Before leaving Chicago, we had some amazing Super Dawg for the road...... (www.superdawg.com)

"BYE, BYE CHICAGO.... WE HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN REAL SOON!"

not the simpson's springfield

Springfield, Illinois--- home of Abraham Lincoln.
(stopping for a quick history lesson)

(http://nps.gov/liho/historyculture/springfield1.htm)

This is the only home Abraham Lincoln ever owned

There's something about large historic homes that I just love.......

My children enjoyed our educational stop but after a while....... there is only so much you can tolerate on a hot, humid scorching day like today.

"Can we go now?"

gateway arch to my heart

Hello St. Louis....

The Gateway Arch is tall, beautifully structured and oh so iconic.... (don't ya think??)

We have a feeling of great accomplishment to be half way across the United States as well as being half way to our final destination. 

St. Louis greeted us with an Independence Day celebration with a balloon parade, air show, and concert. We were melting throughout the day as we attended the Gateway Arch Independence Day Celebration. (www.celebratestlouis.org)

Some of us where none too happy for the extreme heat!

Running through the spray ground was just what we needed to cool down....

A song or two from surprise guest Jay Z

Thank you St. Louis!!