Getaway in Sonoita, AZ

**Excessive amount of pictures ahead - and none of them are of my children***

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to have a little get-away kid free!  My gracious mother-in-law watched the girls for three whole days - thanks again, Nel!  

We decided to go see an area of Arizona neither of us had ever been to before.  We left home Friday morning and headed to downtown Tucson for lunch and a little meandering around.  When we were first turning off the freeway we saw a Veteran's Day parade lining up.  By the time we had parked it had already begun and we literally ran around downtown until we figured out a good spot to see the beginning (thank you Mr. iPhone).

It was nice to take a moment and truly recognize the holiday!

After the parade we had lunch at an Arizona original:

It was great, and I don't care for Mexican food really.  So that is saying a lot!  The inside was covered in history, and truly amazing.

Then we were back on the road.  We stopped halfway from Tucson to Sonoita to take a little walk.  I was afraid Justin was going to wear me out when he said, "just along that ridge and back up the other side" - it looked far and he is in much better shape than I am!  But, it was fine... and the fresh air and scenery were very enjoyable.  We also saw the biggest, fattest grasshoppers ever!  All over the place and all different kinds!

Then we headed down to Sonoita and to our B&B.  Another first for us!

Hacienda de Sonoita - it was amazing.  A beautiful location, and our hosts were absolutely wonderful!

We drove back into town for dinner and some "local flavor" at "The Steak Out".  It was... okay.  Not the best $25 prime rib I've ever eaten.  Let's just leave it at that.  

Actually, the highlight of the whole meal was this:

A very talented pair of musicians were the live music for the evening!

Then we headed back to the B&B for a mean game of Skip-Bo.  And by mean... I really mean the game that would just never end.  Seriously.

The next morning at breakfast (an amazing one with more options than you could imagine!) we found out that a fellow guest of our B&B was the head winemaker at a winery having a festival that day.  We decided to go there for the first part of the day, and I am so glad we did! 

That guy there is Fran, the head winemaker - very knowledgable and interesting.  Here he was discussing how they blend their wines before they gave tastes right from the barrel.  Amazing flavor!

This is the contraption they use for barrel-tasting.  This Cabernet was one of the best I've ever tasted, and I later found out that many must feel that way at $100 a bottle.

Then, these sweeties gave us a wagon-tour of the vineyards!

The vines are mostly bare this time of year, but it was still beautiful.

This gentleman is the founder of wine-making in Arizona.  He was a professor at UofA and discovered that the Sonoita/Elgin area had the ideal climate for grape production.  He was lots of fun to talk with on our tour!  You can tell he just loves his vineyard.

I would love to see this place in the Spring!

Then there was the blessing of the new wine.  The presiding Catholic Priest was the funniest I have ever heard!  He had the best jokes about wine and Priests!  =)  We were stuck back in a corner as we came in late from our wagon tour, so this is all we saw.

After a bunch of tastings and wine/food pairings, we considered it a very successful get-away day so far!

So we headed to the neighboring town of Patagonia, which we had heard had cute little shops to walk around and see.

Not so much.  There were a few galleries and shops, but on this chilly day this town looked fairly sparse.  We did stop in to this cafe "Gathering Grounds" and had a delightful latte and the BEST pecan bar ever.  Yum!

Then we headed to what was supposed to be an old ghost town up in the nearby mountains.  What it was... one rock wall that used to be a house on what was labeled as private property and a small old cemetery.  

Looking to give more purpose to the eight mile drive out there, we turned down a dirt road that the map feature on our phones said would lead us back to Patagonia where we planned to have dinner.  

Never believe Mr. iPhone when he talks about dirt roads.

It looked harmless enough...

Pretty, even!

We were on an adventure!  We enjoyed the scenery and made lots of jokes about the mining signs, and signs warning of illegal immigration activity.  For a while...

Aw, he still looks happy!

The hillside grew very steep!  Justin got out to roll a rock down the hill and see how long it crashed along.  

Unfortunately, here is where our fun turned south and the road got REALLY rocky.  Crazy steep and ragged, Justin managed to maneuver the 4Runner down the hill with nothing more than a little extra Arizona pin-striping along the side.

I did not take pictures during this adventure.

But, I took this one after we reached normal dirt road again and got out to survey the damage and catch our breath.

Then we drove back in the other side of Patagonia to our dinner destination.  It was 4pm.

We weren't up for many more adventures that day.  Dinner sounded safer.  

Especially when the name of the restaurant is the Velvet Elvis!

I was hoping for a room filled with velvet paintings, reminiscent of Mr. Fredlake's classroom in High School.  No such luck.  One velvet... of Elvis, of course.

But the food was organic, local, and amazing!

Food like that makes me smile.  I am sorry I didn't get pictures of pizza or dessert, truly!  But believe me, they were amazing!

Gotta love the self-timer!

The next day we packed up, ate another amazing breakfast from the B&B and headed home.  We took another way around through Nogales to stop at a few more sights along the way.

First, an old mission - Tumacacori.

It has not been restored, except to keep it standing.  It was rather impressive!

The entrance was not particularly inviting...

But they had fresh, warm tortillas on a wood burning rock stove outside!  It was quite tasty, especially in the cold drizzly weather we were having.

Once inside, the building is reminiscent of Indiana Jones.  We were the first ones to be out there this day, and the silence allowed you to really take everything in.

I had to capture what my honey did much of the time we were sight-seeing:

Inside there is a museum of artifacts from the area, and this is their depiction of what the mission looked like while in use.  Quite a difference!

Then we were back on the road.  We stopped at Tubac where we ran in and out of shops in the rain and I took no pictures.

We were planning to go into the San Xavier Mission as well, for a look at the fully restored mission - but when we arrived it was quite crowded and we were pressed for time.  So this was all we saw!

Then it was back through Tucson with a quick stop for some more "local flavor".

I had never been to an Eegee's before.  Frankly, I don't see what all the fuss is about.

Then, we headed home to hug our kiddos!  It was a great weekend, and truly refreshing!  I am thankful for the time alone with my husband to recharge our batteries!  

Vaccines???

If you have even the mildest interest in what risk vaccines (including the flu shot) can have on you or your children, please take the time to watch this movie:  http://ow.ly/7gjJg

It is free from now until the 5th, after which it will be released on DVD.  It is an hour and fifteen minutes, but SO worth it.  I am not anti-vaccine, like the makers of this film I believe there is not enough science performed on their prior to release into the public... much like our food.  It is truly worth the watch.

Now, anyone know a good pediatrician in Phoenix that supports delayed vaccine schedules and overall vaccine choice?  Because we need to make a move.

Halloween

On Sunday we carved our pumpkins -- or rather, Justin carved the pumpkins!  He lets the girls pick out the face they want and then he goes to work while the rest of us watch, play, and cook pumpkin seeds. =)  We carve so close to Halloween to keep the pumpkins from shriveling and molding in our 85 degree weather!

The girls did try their hand at the "lite-brite" set for pumpkins that Grandma Linda sent.

It was a little too difficult for them to be able to hammer in, but they had fun trying!

I was helping them on and off, and turned around to see Jaelyn eating raw pumpkin off the scraper.

That girl is funny.  I can't even get her to eat peaches... but raw pumpkin is okay?!?  

The big girls with their finished kitty-cat:

Our skeleton we made out of paper plates!

The complete pumpkin set:

Justin always does a great job!

Here's the girls all ready for trick or treating!

Lauren the skeleton:

Jaelyn the fish:

I loved this costume.  Until Justin said it looked like a carp.  Hmmph!

It really is a shame she was in the stroller the whole time.  She made such a cute fishy!

Paige the cat:

She was so happy with her choice!  I kept finding her in the bathroom staring at her makeup.

One more of the fish... the back fin and tail were a crack up!  She kept falling over from them though.

Our friends the Swopes were here to trick-or-treat together, which always makes it much more fun for all involved!  

After about an hour and a half we headed home to check our haul.

It was ridiculous!  So.much.candy.  I had made a deal with the girls that they could eat three pieces (they actually go more like five) and then give the rest to us in exchange for the toy of their choice at Toy's R Us.  I was shocked that they were super into it and couldn't wait to hand over the chemicals candy.

And some candy-grinch in the neighborhood gave our kids a crumbled pack of saltine crackers.  

Seriously?!?  That's just wrong.

Pumpkin Patch - take two

I have come to realize something.  I am not a very good blogger.

Shocking for you to hear, I am sure.  ;)  

But I have decided to try and be okay with that.  It is what it is.  And I am just happy for whatever I am able to get on here at all!  Hopefully my girls will love it someday.  

I don't have a good transition, just wanted to get that off my chest - so we are just going to move on.

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Last weekend, Justin was deer hunting (no dice there) - so I took the girls to the Botanical Garden's pumpkin festival.  We are members, so entry and pumpkins for each child were free.  LOVE free!  

First we played all the games, and the girls walked away with lots of goodies.

Toss the birdy:

Fun game!  Concept?  A little weird.

Pumpkin bowling:

Paige did really well on that one!

I was so glad we went first thing in the morning!  It was really nice out still, and not too crowded.

Then we grabbed a cotton-candy treat and ate it while waiting in line for the hayride that takes you out to the pumpkin patch, where you pick your pumpkins.  That was the point where I had to park my stroller and haul all three kids around alone.  We did okay, but not my favorite way to do pumpkins -- that's for sure!

We trekked through the hay maze to find our perfect pumpkins.

Then the girls spotted the petting zoo.

Forget about the pumpkins, this was the reason we were here!  

They are farm girls at heart, I tell you.

There was an adult woman who kept asking Lauren to hold the chicken lower, over here, etc so her son could pet it.  She must not have been a farm girl at heart.  Ha!

Then we attempted pictures.

First my picture-hating Paigey!

Compliant Lauren.

And just-happy-to-finally-be-let-down-for-a-second Jaelyn.

Then we waited in another line to get back on the hayride that would take us back to the main area.

Kind of like Disneyland, this festival.

The girls did great though - with the help of that cotton-candy, and the promise of a little stop into our favorite area of the gardens.

Little girl heaven!

All in all a fun fall day! 

That is, if 93 degrees is considered fall.

But we will take what we can get!  =)

Ten Spot

**Warning** Some material that follows could be considered a "soap-box" or a "rant"... don't say I didn't warn you.

1.  Let's start off with something sweet. Things I love about my girls right now.  I love that Jaelyn wraps her arms tight around my neck and squeezes as hard as she can.  I love that Paige made up the word "willn't" and uses it every day.  I love that Lauren excels in reading, but tells me her favorite subject is math - I hope she continues to love school as much as she does now.

2.  We are starting a juicing fast on Monday for five days (ish).  Nothing but veggie and fruit juice made fresh from our juicer.  We are pretty much following the program over at Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead.  You can eat veggies and fruit if you need to, but we are hoping to be strong and do as much as liquid as we can!  So, no animal products, no grains or beans, no alcohol, and no (ACK) coffee.  *sigh*  We will be drinking hot herbal tea instead.  *sigh*  But, this "reboot" of our digestive systems can help with cravings by retraining your brain to crave veggies instead of fructose, increase energy levels, decrease aches and pains, improve immunity levels, promote healthy skin (yay), hair & nails, and help lower lifelong risks of heart disease, cancer, etc.  So, that all seems worth it - as well as the potential to lose excess water weight in the process!  I am mostly excited about the energy and reducing my sugar cravings, as those are what I find to be my areas of weakness right now.  Don't worry, I will keep you updated.  ;-)

3.  We will be using all organic/chemical free produce for the juicing.  In fact, we have switched over to mostly organic over-all anyway.  With all the GMO issues that are coming out, and the information about side-effects I have learned via research of the toxins that are in most "regular food" we are eating (did you know this upcoming generation of 15-25 year olds are expected to have a 25% infertility rate? 25%!  That is really high.  I want to improve my chances of becoming a Grandparent someday.), as well as the fact that the cost of eating organic is greatly shadowed by the enormous cost of healthcare if you have heart disease or cancer - the average first heart attack costs $1500... we have decided that this effort is giving our family the best chance of health and longevity.  October is GMO awareness month!  I am a firm believer that we have a right to know what is in our food!  If you don't know much about genetically engineered foods, I would encourage you to go over to Finding Our New Normal to find out more.  She has a great post up about GMO's with links to more information and research, as well as links to where you can let the government know that we want GMO's labeled NOW.  Check it out, for your health and your family!

4.  I need a getaway with my hubby.  Do you ever get that way?  24-48 hours of uninterrupted time together to reconnect and refresh your relationship.  I think it is critical for a healthy marriage... must start working on that soon.

5.  We are doing Race for the Cure with Justin's office tomorrow.  I will not be running... just walking, or better yet, dragging my three children.  I am pretty sure Paige and Lauren will whine the whole way, but it will be an adventure.  Who plans these things for Sunday, anyway?  Doing a 3.5 mile walk with three kiddos does not fall into the "day of rest" concept for me.  Just sayin'.

6.  I am a little torn about participating.  Don't get me wrong, please... I am all about a cure for cancer.  I mean, who wouldn't be?!?  However, I feel like many of these groups that talk about fighting cancer, stand up to cancer, etc - they still see chemotherapy as the primary "healing" for cancer, and I have to disagree.  I recognize that many people have used chemo successfully, but I would suggest that there are many other ways to heal it (just like anything else) that are natural and healthy, and not pumping your body full of cancer-causing radiation and carcinogens to kill the cancer.  Then we wonder why it sometimes comes back worse than before, or returns in a new area.  There are alternatives, but guess what - it is illegal in the USA for a doctor to treat cancer in an alternative way.  WHY?!?  Why should they care how someone chooses to be treated?  I will give you one guess.  So people have to travel to foreign countries where alternatives are allowed.  That saddens me.  We are supposed to be the land of the free, right?  Huh.  You can hear a whole lot more about the cancer alternatives in Food Matters, which you can watch online for free, but only today!  It is also on Netflix streaming if you have a subscription.

7.  Apparently I am in a mood today.

8. The girls have been very quiet while I have been writing this.  I am scared to even get up and see what they are doing.

9.  Excited to have some pizza this afternoon.  If you are wondering why, please see #2 above.  Hee hee!

10.  I have three other rants going in my head right now.  But I think that might be a bit much for one day.  =)  Maybe I will save them for next week sometime, but I better make sure I include pictures of my kids next time - or I am sure you will be pushing that unsubscribe button on your blog feed!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Pumpkin Patch - Take One

I could bore you with a long post about my lack of posting.  But I won't.

I do have a lot to tell you about our goings-on in a Ten-Spot soon... but not today.

Last Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch in Chino Valley.  We don't usually go the first weekend in October because it is still so warm, but the weekend we would go to the one we are members of is the same weekend as Justin's deer hunt this year, so we wanted to make sure we got one in before then!  It's a good thing that I still plan to take the girls to the one at the Botanical Garden, because there was no access to pumpkin fields at the Chino Valley location and that is my number one picture op!  The nerve...

Anyway, we had a great morning there!  

I love Lauren's "donkey-face", I imagine she was thinking along the lines of Eeyore.  

Game and Fish was there with all sorts of birds, a rattlesnake, prairie-dog, and a bobcat!

That owl was the cutest.  The girls didn't believe me it was real until it moved a little! 

Then, Daddy took them on a canoe trip around the pond.

And no one fell in.  Miracles do happen!

Then the big girls rode a kiddie train, and we all piled onto a hay ride.  Apparently, the first weekend is so slow you get to have the whole hay-ride to yourselves!

Jaelyn's favorite by far.

Then we headed up Mingus Mountain and did a little walk in the woods.  Afterwards heading down to my hometown, Cottonwood - to eat some delish Chinese food.  We go there a little early, so we stopped by the park for a while.

Does Paige not look SO big in that picture?!?  Can't believe she will be four here pretty soon.

We headed down to the creek behind the park and the girls wanted to get in the water.  Daddy was all about it!  Hmmm.  What's a Mommy to do?

I can't believe they didn't freeze to death.

Jaelyn was tired with a capital T, but still a trooper anyhow.  She was pretty mad we didn't let her take a dip in the creek too.

But as Daddy explained to the big girls, it is okay for kids to strip down to their undies and go in the creek... grown-ups not so much.

If only we could all stay young forever!  =)