Our "new" tax season schedule ~ working and traveling!

Steve & I had another incredible week in Arizona, from February 8-15.  This time, we spent four days at Catalina State Park in Tucson and then the rest of the week we were back at Lost Dutchman State Park in Apache Junction.  We spent time with our friends, the Dallman's in Tucson.  We loved Catalina State Park. We just keep finding more and more beautiful places to camp in the Lazy Daze.  It is a funny dilemma ~ the more places we find to hike and bike and explore, the more time we wish we had to go to all these great places.  And... then there are all the new places we still wish to discover!

Steve has discovered that he really can work from anywhere.  As long as we have good cell phone service, he can use the computer, answer the phone, check his emails, etc.  He works part of the day and then we spend the rest of the day hiking or biking.

Now we are back at home in Longmont and it is serious tax season time.  Steve is working long days and getting lots of work done.

 I continue to help him, but I am doing less and less.  Now that clients are mailing their tax work to Steve or coming to the house to hand deliver papers, my "job" has changed a bit.

I am enjoying more time to be able to spend with friends and family.   I still love going to Broomfield to see the grand kids.  Coranelle is starting kindergarten this Fall.  That is SO very hard to believe!!

PS...I use Picasa to post pictures to my blog.  Wow!  There is a big problem with Picasa right now.  The other day, I googled why I wasn't able to post pictures the way I have always been able to do.  I had NO idea it was such an issue/problem for so many people!  I hope they get the problem solved soon.  Meanwhile, most of you see all my pictures on Facebook, so I am sure you have seen more than you want!!!

I am anxious to start writing more about future travels.  We have many trips planned for 2014!

I am anxious for Spring to be here soon.  Today, I bought a large bag of wildflower seeds to plant in the yard.  Yes, I am ready!!!

McDowell Mountain Regional Park

Life is Good!

Steve & I have been staying at McDowell Mountain Regional Park, north of Fountain Hills, AZ.  We love it here!  We had NO idea how many mountain bike trails could be in one area.  We have ridden many of the trails.  Today, we probably rode over 20 miles on trails.  Actually, that was the ride we did this afternoon.  I rode this morning while Steve worked.  He is SO happy that he really can work from anywhere these days. "Have computer, printer, FAX machine, etc. and he can work from any place"!  Anyway, we have discovered that we really can move/travel all over the place and he is still able to work, talk on the phone, check his emails, etc.

The weather has been unbelievable!  They keep saying that the temperatures are 10 degrees above normal.  Today, we rode bikes in shorts and T-shirts.  I was warm!

Tonight, after our bike ride, Steve cooked outside and then we ate dinner outside and watched the full moon come over the ridge!  Beautiful!

Tomorrow we are moving to Cave Creek Regional Park to check out the campground there.  Never boring.  There are trails there to hike and bike.

Some photos from 2013

                           

A few highlights of 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goodbye to 2013 ~ Hello to 2014 !

2013 was a year full of adventures for us.  As usual, we spent time in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona doing all the things we like to do ~ hiking, mountain biking, camping, backpacking and spending time with lots of friends. 

In addition to our usual trips, we flew to Florida and drove Amanda's car back to Colorado.  We drove home the southern route, so we were able to see some different places.  In June, we flew to NYC to visit our daughter, Rebecca.  We saw much of the city and had a great time exploring another new place.

The two biggest changes for us this year were deciding to close our office in Estes Park AND sell the house we owned in Cottonwood, AZ.  Our office is now only in our home in Longmont. It is working out well.  

We sold the Arizona house and decided to really try and pursue the plan that we have always had.  We love to travel in our Lazy Daze motorhome.  Now we plan to spend any spare time we have, traveling and exploring.  Instead of spending most of that time in our favorite states ~ Colorado, Utah, and Arizona ~ we are hoping we can expand the travels to more places.  

I am anxious to see how many places we can get to in the coming year.  We already have several trips planned in the motorhome.  Our next backpacking trip will be to Salt Creek Canyon in Utah in May.

Other "adventures" in 2014 include my 60th birthday in May !!!!! and Amanda & Josh's wedding in July.  I think it will be a good year!

  

Changes, Changes

We have had an amazing time in Arizona!  Mesa, Apache Junction, Cottonwood, and Sedona are all incredibly beautiful in the Fall.  The weather has been spectacular.  The trees are really starting to show their colors, especially in Cottonwood and Sedona.  We have had many days of hiking and biking.  I am always amazed at how many trails there are in and around the Cottonwood/Sedona area.  You could hike for days and still not even come close to hiking all the trails. We have spent lots of time with friends. 

We are starting a new "phase" of our lives.  Since one of us (not Steve) is turning 60 next year, we have decided that we want to spend more time in the Lazy Daze, traveling to many different places.  As much as we LOVE Arizona and our place in Cottonwood, AZ, we have decided that we want to be able to move around more and spend more time in our RV.  We listed our home in Cottonwood a month ago, and it is now under contract.  We will always spend time here.  We have made friends here, that we will continue to hike and backpack with.  We have definitely "fallen in love" with the Grand Canyon, and plan to spend much more time there.     

So, as a very good friend told me, "our lives are evolving"!  This is a good thing!