Flagstaff and Scottsdale, Arizona

Went home between the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) Unfortunately, working as a nurse makes getting holidays off difficult and with living across the country from my family, I really did not want to deal with the airlines during those times.  Instead I decided to head home and celebrate my favorite holiday for 2014.  My Birthday!!!  I figure that having completed my 35th year I will only be moving on to bigger and better things.  Sure the grief process continues and will for years and yes I do have to continue to see my oncologist and continue with testing, but I'm determined to make 36 great for me.

The trip started with delicious Pizza and Pablo Picasso salad from Oreganos, at my mom's house, with friends.  I wish Oreganos would franchise out of AZ.  Specifically Coolidge Corner in Brookline.  Seriously, Yummy!  Thanks to Kate, Mom, Will, Tory, Jason, Aria, Maurice, Svetlana, Robbie, Nicole, Raina, Robert all for stopping by to celebrate

Over the weekend we held an "Estate Sale" at Sara's condo and invited her friends over to look thru her things and take items of need or remember her by.  It was a nice way to let go of her stuff knowing that it would be going to people who loved and cared about her

  The living room in her condo.  I was impressed with the space.  Wish I could have seen it when she was alive.

 Fortunately,  the week was mostly filled with meeting up with friends,  getting to some of my favorite restaurants, and even got to an African Dance class with Kate.  Wish they hadn't cancelled the one here in Brookline.  Even made to Sedona and Prescott to see family

Grams and I enjoying a margarita together

Mom, Kate and I decided to have a girls weekend away to Scottsdale to relax and unwind after a difficult few months.  We were fortunate to stay at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale.  It being on the edge of the city is surrounded by beautiful desert views.   Unfortunately, the weather did not always cooperate and we did have some rain, but had a great time watching movies in the room, swimming in the pool,  soaking in the hot tub, visiting with friends and Grandma Blanche.

 Our Hotel. 

 What is up with the clouds? This is AZ

 Wow, my Aloe plant is really struggling compared to this guy

 Saguaro Cactus.  All the different cacti are fun to see and beautiful in their own way.  Especially in the spring when they bloom

Enjoying a morning walk.  A partially cloudy day for AZ : )
We had a great time, but of course had to return up north to Flag

and a little snow.  Had a great time.  Hated having to say goodbye to  everyone. 

Montclair Turkey Day Celebrations

Took Amtrak down to NJ to spend Thanksgiving with Callahans.  Had a great time eating a lot of delicious food.  Besides the Turkey Day feast on Thanksgiving, we also managed to fit in meals of -Sushi, Pizza, and Indian food.  

 

 Emily making some "Thumbprint" cookies and me making sure the wine is safe

 



Aunt Patty and Katie came down to Montclair for a day on Friday.  We went to the cemetery where Grandpa Joe is buried and scattered some of Sara's ashes.  I'm sure she would get a kick out of knowing that her ashes were breaking laws in more than one state across the country. 

 

View of the Manhattan skyline.  Great view even when it is overcast



 

 The next day went to Hoboken to see Emily's Apartment.  Very cute studio with a surprisingly large closet.  After Aunt Kathe and I walked around, looked at views of the Manhattan skyline, the Hoboken architecture and went to lunch. 

 Before getting on my train back to Boston I snapped a few photos in Manhattan.  Fun that the
holiday decorations are up. 

 Macy's Holiday theme this year was the planets.  The story followed a boy traveling for Christmas around our Solar System.  Had to head to Penn Station for my train so didn't read the story. 

Will have to make it back to NYC for some wintertime touristy fun. Had a nice Thanksgiving and was good to see everyone

I've had some rough stuff come up this year, but I also have a lot to be thankful for.  Happy Thanksgiving

Sara April 15, 1984- September 25thish, 2014 (9/28/2014)

I remember

•  finding out you were brewing in moms tummy and the day you were born with that black  hair growing wild
• your spot on "God Father" impression when you were only 2
• howling like coyotes while camping

• your smile, those blue eyes and light hair.
• your passion for politics and keeping us informed on where our vote should go
• your passion for equal rights, saying you would not get married until everyone had the right
• That crazy eyebrow
• your going and shoveling driveways with Barry

•  Dressing in your old Prom dresses when you got your Masters degree
• You driving across the country by yourself.  And thinking how brave/crazy you were to do it
• Being able to gang up 2 against 1 to tease each other

• How upset you were when on your 30th b-day when  we made you come have breakfast with us instead of going to the gym (that's dedication)
• Then how excited you were to see Kate had come home from OZ.  And how you didn't even realize she was the one offering you cup of coffee
• and how you were upset about me coming home from Boston, not asking you what you wanted to do for your 30th.  

• How you were such a badass
• your army pants, TMNT outfit, and how you saw nothing wrong with bringing a knife to school.  (imagine you had done that today)
• any time we played- school, house, doctors...anything... your name was always "Michael Thomas Morley" even before he passed

• You being the first of us to buy a home
• How good you were about going to the gym, running, swinging those kettle bells
• That you did a decent job of eating healthy, prepping your meals.
• What would they have done without you to help Emily with her yard.  Looks like those Kettle bell swings are working

• Being able to spend 6wks in AZ after my 9lb tumor
• Snuggling together as a family, me needing to be on the outside cause of my surgical scar
• How you offered to come right out to Boston.  
• mom attempting to take the "selfie" and how funny it was

• You complaining of sand in your bottom when we were kids on the beach in Mexico
• The mosquitos
• Counting in Spanish with the one armed man at the Bakery
• Camping in Colorado, AZ and Utah
• Me jumping into the metal pole while playing "Marco Polo" and doing a number on my braces

• You keeping updated on shows to watch thru Netflix/Hulu
• How badly you kicked my a** on Scramble.   Were you cheating?
• How even though you were 5yrs younger you seemed to be doing better than me

• You and Grams with your matching vests
• The hat and scarfs you Knitted.  You were getting pretty talented
•  Visiting family in Prescott
• How you never liked the beach or pool that much cause you burnt so easily

• What a chunker you were
• How excited Kate and I were when you were born
• Running around in the woods, Pinecone Wars, Snowball Fights

• Getting the call that they had found you on your bed, laptop open, no note, seemingly an accident.  Knowing it wasn't...
•  Seeing you in the Mortuary and how difficult that was
• Then your memorial and realizing how many lives you touched and what a great day it was.  
• Getting your ashes, and once again realizing how final this is

We miss you Sarabellum, Belle, Bean, Bizzer, Trisarahightops

Northwest USA/Southwest Canada tour

Spent a week traveling from Seattle,WA to Lake Louise, AB, Canada.  Back across BC to Whistler and south through Vancouver to Seattle.  Had an amazing time.  The scenery unbelievable.  Wasn't possible to take a bad photo.  Every direction you looked was beautiful, from Mtns, turquoise waters, glaciers.   Started off the trip by flying into Seattle.  Have a few friends that live in WA state and was fortunate to meet up with some. 

Pike Place Market, Seattle and sun in the Northwest

After a quick catching up and some sightseeing we headed north to Bellingham, WA.  Hard to believe that it has been 14yrs since I lived here.  Was great to see Melissa my old college roommate.

Her kids are adorable.

. 

My cousin Peter recently moved to B'ham and were fortunately able to meet up with him as we went through town. I do miss summer time in WA.

Would have loved to had more time, but places to go things to see

From Bellingham we headed north to Canada and made our way over to Lake Louise, Alberta CAN.  The red in the photo in salmon spawning.  Interesting how they return to the exact spot they were hatched

A gorgeous day for a drive thru Canada



 Arrived at Lake Louise and spent the next 2 days touring around Louise, Lake Moraine, the Ice Fields hwy, Jasper and Banff.  Every part of this area is breathtaking.  We lucked out with beautiful weather.  Saw a couple of deer, but no moose or grizzlies.  I'm ok with the latter, but would have liked to see some moose. Are bears already starting to hibernate?

In front of our hotel at Lake Louise.  Having a travel agent for a mom definitely has its perks

 The mountains, lakes and glaciers were an amazing sight

Lake Moraine.  It is hard to tell in some of these photos, but all the lakes are this beautiful green color.  The lakes get this color from silt, from the rocks, that is washed into the lakes.  The glacial water mixed with the silt gives the turquoise color

Banff, Canada.  Great town with amazing views.  Will have to come and spend some more time here

Jasper, CAN another great town in the Canadian Rockies.  I'm tempted to pack my bags and move

Only had a couple of days to spend in this area.  Needed to get on to Whistler and see some of other sights in BC.  Was about 910km or 565mi from Lake Louise to Whistler. The entire drive was scenic. Took approx. 10hrs, but that of course included some photo ops, DQ, and A&W stops.    Here are a couple of the sights along the way

Jaffray Lake

We arrived in Whistler and went to the Beacon Pub for some dinner.  The food was delicious.  Highly recommend the ribs appetizer (not on the menu).

 I guess Whistler can be very busy during the ski season.  This time of year there were people on mtn bikes.  It was fun to watch some of them come down the mtn on their bikes. Looks fun, but I know I'd be white knuckling it the entire way.  Whistler Village has a lot of shops and restaurants. My mom and Will have been living here part of the year so it was fun to check out.

 Whistler Village.  I was told that this place is insane during the ski season.

 One of the lakes right in Whistler.  Love that they have the water and the mountains together

 Rode the Gondola to the top of the mountain and the Peak to Peak over to Black Comb Mtn.  The Peak to peak has the longest span between towers on a Gondola in the world.  We lucked out with clear skies and had great views all around.

The colors of fall are already starting

 Just a little windy
Had to leave Whistler and start making our way back down to Seattle.  Once again a very scenic drive.  The Sea to Sky highway did not disappoint.  Here are just a few shots from the drive

Took one amazing photo after another on this trip.  Was hard to decide which to post, but realized it didn't matter cause they area all great.  I hope to be able to do more exploring in this area.