The Heat is On!

So the summer is upon us yet again. Temperatures have already been as high as 108 and the concrete jungle of Phoenix is blistering. That means its time to get out of the Valley of the Sun!

We recently had a chance to meet up with my (Rob) aunt, uncle, and cousins up at the Grand Canyon. The Norvilles were out from Tennessee to spend a few days there as part of their vacation. Amanda and I were able to swing up for a day and hang out! It was a great short trip, and just a fun time to connect and hang out with family that we don't get to see too often!

That trend continues this upcoming weekend as there is a McFarren family reunion happening Saturday at my parents place. We'll be jetting out of Phoenix late Friday afternoon so we can make it there and hang out with family. My Grandma Frankie is a focal point in the reunion, and I hope that it will be a great day for her to catch up with family from all over Indiana and Arizona (any other states, I'm not sure). Plus, Amanda has never gotten to see the McFarren homestead in the summer, so this should be a great time of year to see the green trees, fields, and warm temperatures of the Indiana countryside.

Of course we are both busy working and paying bills and enjoying being part of a great church (Emmaus Road). So the summer will continue to be filled with work. But, we are also only a couple of short weeks from a vacation! I know I need it.

This year, as mentioned in the previous post, we are traveling up to Yosemite and Zion National Parks. Our friends Barry Friesen and Andrew Kennedy are flying into Las Vegas on June 16th, where we will meet them and head North through Death Valley, up the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas and to Yosemite National Park. After 3 nights, 4 days there we will then head across Nevada to Utah's Zion National Park. From there, we will actually also get an opportunity to see Bryce Canyon NP and head into Colorado. We'll be in Denver on June 23rd, and then on the 24th we are hiking Mt. Elbert with Amanda's Dad and others for his birthday.

So this is our early summer activities; getting a bit of a much-needed recharge. Because when we come back to the heat of Phoenix it will be in full-force monsoon season, which means its time to hunker down inside...

Summer Retreat / Vacations (You are Invited!)

Since 2006 we have been making it a priority in our life to plan a spiritual retreat/vacation once a year.  We have an amazing friend and traveler in our friend, Barry, who is always busy planning and brainstorming with Rob where to meet and when.  Every year when we get together, we talk of how we can bring others in to join with us -if they only knew how truly amazing these times can be-the wouldnt hesitate to join! 

2006

ROADTRIP!

Colorado, California, Wyoming

Meeting new friends along the way.. Rob and Barry still keep in touch with him over Facebook!

2009

Los Osos/Morro Bay, California

Time spent learning about silence and solitude with God.

Beach combing, easy hike along the coast, wine tasting, walking around Los Osos.  Quality time spent in a small group before starting the day.  Eating most of the meals at the house and dinner out a couple nights.



The group taking one last picture together before leaving to head back home. 



An awesome group "jumping" shot...you'll learn more about these too :D

2010

San Diego, California
This year we were fortunate enough to meet together for a couple days while Rob was in San Diego for a business trip.  Though this wasn't a "planned" spiritual retreat it was a time planned to reconnect as friends.

2011

Mendocino County, California

Rented a home right on the coast...spent mornings making breakfast together and spending time connecting as Christians and friends.  The midmornings and afternoons were spent exploring the surrounding areas.  Hikes in the Redwoods, Sea Glass beaches, exploring local towns and their shops and restaurants, indulging in seafood, daily hikes on the private beach connected with the home.  

Group picture before headed back home!

The view from the house

Quiet time gazing out on the ocean from the house

Amazing home we rented literally on the coast. 

For the year 2012 we are talking again and planning where to meet this year.  So far, we are have discussed the Oregon coast, Yosemite National Park, and Durango, Colorado.  We like to choose places of beauty and solitude where you can connect with God foremost and with others as well...because that is just as important.  Also important is the ability to explore and simply connect with other people, such as on a road trip.

**UPDATE as of 4/21/12 (Rob): So after a discussion with Barry, we are starting to narrow down this years trip a bit. Its starting to look at bit like a Road Trip! Tentatively, we look to pick up Barry at the Las Vegas airport on Saturday June 16, and continue to head North up the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas! We'll probably make a short stop at Death Valley National Park, but with the ultimate goal to arrive for 3 1/2 days in Yosemite National Park in California! Then, after these few days we'll head out, driving East to Zion National Park in Utah, spend a day there, then head further East to Colorado. That is so we can arrive in Colorado to hike Mt. Elbert with Amanda's Dad for his birthday!

These vacations are brilliant in the fact the more, the cheaper!  Rob and Barry find these amazing homes through VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner) that get us right in the center of the locals.  We eat most of the meals at the house but always plan to hit a couple of local lunch spots and always choose one special dinner spot that is a little more expensive than say, Chili's.  We are foodies, too!  The homes rentals range between $1,500-2,000/week depending on season and availability.  Like I said, the beauty in this is the more, the merrier & cost effective!  We also usually drive to these spots so gas split among more people is always a plus (especially with the threat of gas prices being around $5/gallon this summer).  Is this something you would love to join us over the week of June 16-24?

27th Birthday

Just celebrated another year of life...it will be interesting to see what this year will hold.  Maybe a baby?? 

Breckenridge, Colorado Ski Weekend



Vern and Mom on the way to ski Friday morning.  We started off at Beaver Run and Vern and Rob led the way for us.  My favorite run is 4 O'Clock-a little bit of a blue mixed with a green.

Colorado is majestic and beautiful.

Mom and me before lunch at The Keg in Manitou Springs-we all had the Buffalo Burgers,yum!

With my love just after checking into our hotel Friday morning.



View of the ski slopes from our hotel room, Breck Inn

We all had a great day skiing in Breck last weekend.  We flew into Colorado Springs via Allegiant Air Lines (we are still on the fence about about whether we will fly them again...) Thursday night.  We headed home and straight to bed as we had an early morning.  Friday morning we were up bright and early and heading to Breck.  Got to Breck and were able to check into our hotels early and then headed to the ski slopes.  Spent all day skiing and that night headed into town for dinner at Bubba Gumps Restaurant...by this point my altitude sickness was kicking in and I had NO appetite.  Afterwards, Vern and Rob wanted some ice cream (crazyguys!) so we headed to an ice cream parlor and played a game.  Saturday morning my mom was extremely sick with altitude sickness so while Vern and Rob hit the slopes we checked out at oxygen bar hoping that would make her feel better...it didnt :(  That afternoon she stayed in while I headed up to the Grand Lodge on Peak 7 to check out the hot tub and outdoor pool with Vern and Rob.  We had a nice time relaxing.  That night, we used a Restaurants.com voucher for dinner at Spencers where everyone (but me) got the All You Can Eat Prime Rib dinner, lol.  Sunday morning we headed back up to the Grand Lodge for our timeshare talk which we kindly denied and were back on our way to Colorado Springs by 11.  Lunch in Manitou then home to relax.  That night, my dad picked us up and we had a delicious dinner at a new Mongolian  BBQ in Colorado Springs and then he dropped us off at the airport.  Except for the altitude sickness, all in all, this was a successful trip!  

Amanda's Year In Status

Warm & Foggy Christmas in Indiana

Currently, Rob and I are in Indiana for the week celebrating Christmas with the family. We were hoping for a White Christmas but instead we are getting rain, fog, and gray skies. Oh well! We flew in Sunday afternoon and headed to Rob's Aunt Danny's house to visit with his aunt, uncle and cousins in Indianapolis. Monday, we spent hanging around Rob's childhood home with his Mom talking, reading and watching TV. Tuesday we headed to visit his Grandma Frankie at her nursing home and had a Christmas dinner with her and then played Sequence in a game lounge. We had a great 4 hour visit with her. She is fun and likes to talk :) That night, we headed to Roanoke to Sydney's school to watch her Christmas program. That night, we stayed with Heather and Joe at their house. When we got up (late! ) we went to Ihop for a brunch and then did some shopping. I found some super soft and comfy sleep pants from Old Navy, a cute pair of jeans at American Eagle and then something cute for a friend at Charming Charlie's for my wonderful friend, Amber. That night, we headed to Pizza Hut in Bluffington for a dinner with highschool friend of Rob's, Adam, and his wife Holly and their little ones Noah, Logan and Hunter. We played the XBox Kinect with them afterwards which was fun for us because we have never played Kinect before! This brings us to this morning..."Christmas" Day for us. Soon, we are going to put Christmas music on and start cooking Christmas dinner. Later this evening we will open presents and stockings. Tomorrow, we head to Madison, Indiana to visit with Rhonda's side of the family. That brings us to 330am Saturday morning when we head back out to the Indianapolis Airport and back to Phoenix....I work that night and I am hoping that I get plenty of sleep. I am not sure I am in the mood to go back to work but I am missing my Sonora Jones and comfort of home...even though I am sleeping wonderfully here! Also, one more thing, we are TIRED of pizza...yes, us! Monday night Rhonda made us a wonderful homemade pizza, the next night Joe ordered a pizza and then the next night we had dinner out at Pizza Hut...no more pizza please!

October Update

Amanda & I at Wine Wars,
Page Springs Cellars

It is Saturday morning and I'm just hanging around the house watching college football and taking care of some household tasks. The past month has gone by quickly, but its been a different quickly. It isn't necessarily the busiest time for us, but it is a work hard time frame. Work does seem to be a primary focus these days, with our separate schedules keeping us on the go, and making us cherish the days we do get to spend together. Some weeks are better than others, and its why we plan little day trips to Northern Arizona and elsewhere. It also doesn't hurt that we need to go North to pick up our Wine Club shipments.

Speaking of wine, Arizona actually has some really good wineries! We've joined a couple of clubs, which let us get quarterly shipments of wine. I know I enjoy it a lot, and we start to see the differences not only between varietals, but between vintages of the same varietal. In other words, we can see how different years of wine are different from each other...based on growing conditions, soil, and the way they blend and age the wine. We get several tastings for free with our wine club memberships as well, so Cottonwood, Cornville, and Jerome have become a bit of a second home. Even Sonora likes going up there because she knows there are hikes nearby (Sedona is just 15 miles North!) and a couple of really fun dog parks where she can run and play.

In fact, Sonora absolutely loves playing fetch. On weekend mornings if I don't go run, I can take Sonora by car to a nearby neighborhood park to play fetch. She doesn't even need a leash these days, and is only interested in the ball! If others are around, she just says hi and then goes back to the ball! Last weekend, she even let me know when she was tired and needed water, by running back to the car and waiting for me to open the door! She knew it was time to go home!

One final note of the past month is that we are full-time attending a new church. A friend and classmate of mine is the lead pastor of a small church plant called Emmaus Road. We've been supporting them in various roles over the past year, but with me being done with school there are also some opportunities to serve and do pastoral care within that community. I love their vision, and they really do get to know each other. What's funny is they meet just about a mile or two from where Amanda works at John C. Lincoln, so now we really are more tied to Central and North Central Phoenix than we are in Avondale, where the house is. If property values were different...would we look to move? I'm not sure!

Personally, I realize that there are some major drawbacks to the suburbs for me. I think community loses some of its value. Everyone just does their own thing, living their own schedules and there is not a genuine connecting with those around them. Even churches have this challenge, which is why some of the programmatic, attractional models work well but lose some of the pastoral care and "life together" which is better found in other models of church. For us, its a matter of God's call, and I truly feel God calling me to serve in a role that builds up community around the Kingdom of God; that values individuals for who they are, and not what they do or don't do for the organization or in life. This is the call of the church I believe, which is not programs or even "doctrine" as primary, but simply Jesus Christ, and the love and grace which comes through His proclamation of the coming of the Kingdom of God. We live in this love, aware of this grace, together remembering we are ALL beloved by God.