We traveled to Pat and Ted's house in Payson, AZ for Christmas this year! They did not disappoint. Pat had the house decorated to the nines, and there is no doubt that Ted did his fair share of 'decorating' as well! Here are a few quick pictures of the house.
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| Sitting Room |
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| Family Room |
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| Oh Christmas Tree.... |
We were able to meet their two new puppies, Dorothy and Toto. Sweet 10 month old brother and sister labs. They are very sweet, well behaved, and full of energy. They are just puppies...and they love to play. We had some fun walks with them and John thoroughly enjoyed getting them wound up.
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| Pat and her pups--with a little devil eye going on... |
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| Toto |
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Pups at play
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Did I mention we drove? It was a very long drive, but nothing beats seeing AZ mountains after being in the car for 19 or 20 hours. I never tire of seeing the mountains and beautiful views. I couldn't help myself...I had to take a few pictures.
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| Just entering the AZ state line |
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| First AZ sunset of the trip |
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| Snow on the rim |
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| View driving down the mountain |
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| Leaving AZ (Southern route) |
On the first full day of our visit, we went to the Valley and saw Cavalia Odessyeo. It is a mixture of crazy gymnastics, horse stunts, the Circus and a trip to the theater. It was beyond cool. I was a nervous wreck the entire time because I did not want to see anyone break their neck-not a person and definitely not a horse. The whole show was such a treat!
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| Big White Cavalia Tent |
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| Cavalia Tents in the AZ desert |
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| After the show-whew, I can relax! |
We also did a little Christmas light looking. I wish I had gotten a picture of the outside of Pat and Ted's house. It was fantastic--lights on the roof line, wreaths on every window and light post, door lights, decorated outside plants etc. You name it, they had it! I did, however, get the below gem of a photo. There are three photos of the same house. The photos do not do the "decorations" justice. This home was the "winner" of the Payson light contest. This is good stuff.
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| Notice the first place sign between the penguin and snowman. |
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| I don't know where they put their vehicles since the carport was used for additional decoration area. |
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| To the left of the snowman are a few deer. Their heads go up and down and they are drinking from the red/green "river". Somewhere Clark Griswold is smiling. |
Christmas day was a great day. For the first time in my life, we did not attend Vigil Mass. We actually went to Mass on Christmas Day. There is something to be said for really marking the feast of Jesus' birth by attending Mass on the actual feast day. I don't know that I'll do it for the rest of my life, but it was a very nice change. I don't think it is my last Christmas Day Mass. We woke up and had some breakfast and quickly got down to business opening gifts. I must say that I did an awful job with pictures during the opening of gifts. I have to get better about that! We got some wonderful gifts from each other and our families. I am blown away by the generosity of our families year after year. We are so fortunate and we count our blessings. After presents, we went to Mass, came home and took some pictures and then took the pups for a walk. We ended the day with Christmas dinner and a relaxing evening.
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| The stockings were hung. |
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| The evidence |
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| We tried a few "poses" for our Christmas Day picture |
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| A full view of the "outfits" |
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| The final shot. John is sporting his new bow tie! |
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| The perfect pre-Christmas dinner appetizer--cheeses, olives, garlic, pears, dates, crackers...oh my! |
Overall, we had a great Christmas vacation. I got some reading in and John worked a little. We tried our best to get some rest, go for walks, see some friends, and basically eat our way through the trip. I think we succeeded! Oh, John got fitted for his new golf clubs. He was like a kid in a candy store trying out clubs at the PGA store in Scottsdale. He worked with a golf pro who used a computer system to analyze his swing. He is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his new, perfectly fitted, clubs.
We are looking forward to rounding out the Christmas season and starting 2013 on the right foot! We can't complain, it has been a very blessed year for us.
