Red Tape

For 3 years we have been trying to maneuver around the red-tape of government. Hours and hours of time have been spent on the phone, in offices and gathering paperwork. The picture above completely represents the frustration that we feel!!!!!!!!!

Because maneuvering red-tape is very time consuming, we wait until we have breaks. So, in our household, spring break, or any other break, also means working on the red-tape, wishing we had a magical wand.

At the last minute, we decided to book a hotel and head to Phoenix for yet another visit to government offices to seek out assistance. Our trip started out very lovely. We admired the saguaro cacti and Joshua Tree's that came into view. Since we have had a very wet winter, we also enjoyed the wildflowers growing along the roadsides the entire trip. Beautiful!



Our first office visit, the Secretary of State of Arizona, was successful! Yahoo! Afterwards, we walked along the grounds of the State Capital admiring the statues, and fragrant trees.







Then we took the girls for a fun treat- pizza at the Organ Stop restaurant. The place is a kick! A man plays organ music of any kind while people eat yummy pizza. Everyone sits family style facing the wall of organ pipes. We enjoyed listening to swing-band music, Louie Armstrong, songs from musicals, and Olympic theme songs and National Anthems. We must of been very hungry because the 4 of us downed 2 pizza's!



After stuffing ourselves silly with food and music, we settled into the hotel pool for some swimming and hot-tubbing.



The next morning, we strolled the Mesa Temple grounds admiring the cactus garden and spring-time flowers. The grounds were so beautiful and fragrant.





Then we took the girls to another adventure- Crispy Cream donuts- yum! We wore our hats and ordered hot donuts for breakfast. We ordered a dozen, and they disappeared quickly.



Then, we went and faced doom- or other government offices, who really like to use the word "NO!"

After sitting in two different offices for a total of 5 and 1/2 hours, hearing a foreign language and the dreaded word NO, NO, and NO, it was time to call it a day and head home.

Which means, more red-tape to work through during the next break. Something to look forward too, I guess?!

The Colorado River

On Tuesday we were treated to a day on the Colorado River by Derrick's good friend Jim. We traveled on a jet boat from Laughlin to Lake Havasu. The weather was perfect, and so was the day.



Our ride covered only a small 58 mile section of the 1,400 mile long river. The river itself passes through several dams- Glen Canyon Dam, Hoover Dam, Davis Dam, Parker Dam, Imperial Dam, Laguna Dam and the Morelos Dam, and then trickles into the Sea of Cortez. Our ride was between the Davis and Parker Dam area.





The river itself provides water to the cities that reside by it. The water is also diverted to Phoenix and California through underground pipes.

Our favorite part of the ride was Topock Gorge. It is a sanctuary for birds and a no-wake zone. The water in the gorge area had a gorgeous green hue, due to the copper granules found on the bottom and it's deep depth of 80ft.








The gorge is surrounded by tall volcanic rock which stood majestically in statue above us. Marshland-type plants are located at the base of the rocks that house all kinds of waterfowl. We were all amazed at the sight and couldn't believe that this had been hidden from our view in the 5 years that we have lived here.






The boat docked at the London Bridge in Lake Havasu. The bridge is also a sight to see. It is so beautiful. We stopped and had lunch outside, next to the bridge, in a Mexican restaurant.

After filling our tummies, we returned to the boat for our journey back. It was fun having a view of our surroundings from the river. Now, we all want a boat and a home on the river!

In the meantime, we will appreciate the river walks, beaches and visiting our friends who live on the river, and next time, hopefully, we will write about a kayak adventure.

She's got talent!

MyMy performed in the annual talent show put on by our school. She played a recorder with other students in her class.



She also performed a song and dance routine, that she wrote, about being best friends with one of her best friends.




The MyMy also played two tunes on her harmonica- Mary Had a Little Lamb, and Hot Cross Buns.



At the end of the show she was rewarded for her many efforts with a medal and certificate.



See, she does have talent! Good job, MyMy!