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In this short series "From Phoenix to Casper", I saved our home state of Arizona as the last installment. We have seen a lot of Arizona since we have lived here for so long, but this trip we tried to go to some spots we hadn't seen, or at least not for a long time.
As we left Phoenix, we decided to take US Highway-89 to US Highway-160 over to US Highway 191. We spent a lot of time in the Navajo Nation and saw some amazing sites. While much of the reservation is very barren desert, the 160 is a scenic drive that takes you through Kayenta and Monument Valley and up into Utah. These are the gems of the Navajo Nation that are well worth a visit. Whenever we drive pass unusual geological formations, we are always texting Alicia to find out how they were formed. We are probably always driving her crazy, but being an earth science teacher, she is our go to resource. We were sending her a lot of pictures and texts on this trip.
On our way home, we drove down US Highway 89A and decided to use the Senior Pass and take a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon! It was beautiful. One of the first things we saw was the bison herd just a little passed the entrance. Here is a little video I took to share with you.
And here is a gallery of pictures from the North Rim:
We saw a storm coming as we went back along the trail. As we drove out, the skies were gorgeous and we did drive right into the storm.
That rain storm didn't stop us from stopping at Jacob's Lake and buying some of their cookies for the rest of the drive home!
You may want to check out this post about traveling in Arizona:
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Today is the annual Worldwide Day of Prayer. In our house, and in our family, everyday is a day of prayer. We have seen the affects of prayer in our lives in many ways. And while we may not need a special day to remind us to pray to our Father in Heaven, this is a good day to reflect on the power of prayer in our lives. So, today for Friday Faves, I asked some of the people in our family to tell me what their favorite scripture about prayer is. I took those results and made them into printables that can be used around the house to remind us to stay in contact with our Maker and to be partakers of the blessings that come into our lives through prayer.
Click on the buttons under each image to get the pdf file for these prints. They print on a regular 8.5 x 11 page. You may have to trim them for a frame. I have and love this small Cricut Portable Trimmer. It is highly rated and a very reasonable price.
If you haven't experienced the blessing that prayer can be in your life, it is never too late to find out, and today, the Worldwide Day of Prayer is as good of a day as any to find out. There is great power to be had in simply and humbly calling on God when we need him.
I recently read a story about Jimmy Stewart and he was telling his story in his own words to Richard H. Schneider in 1987 and it was later published in Guideposts in 2014. (Click those links for my sources.) It is the story of his experience in the film, "It's a Wonderful Life." This story illustrates what I mean about the power that can be felt when we call upon our Father in Heaven.
"Good as the script was, there was still something else about the movie that made it different. It's hard to explain. I, for one, had things happen to me during the filming that never happened in any other picture I've made.
In one scene, for example, George Bailey is faced with unjust criminal charges and, not knowing where to turn, ends up in a little roadside restaurant. He is unaware that most of the people in town are arduously praying for him. In this scene, at the lowest point in George Bailey's life, Frank Capra was shooting a long shot of me slumped in despair. In agony I raise my eyes and, following the script, plead, "God... God...dear Father in heaven, I'm not a praying man, but if you're up there and you can hear me, show me the way. I'm at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God..." As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn, and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears."
I do remember that scene. It has always felt very powerful, and now I know why.
I just want to leave you with one more scripture that is a favorite of mine from the Book of Mormon. My Thessalonians scripture is a shorter version of this, but this one is detailed and so beautiful. It is found in Alma 34:17-27:
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you;
18 Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty to save. 19 Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him. 20 Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks. 21 Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both morning, mid-day, and evening. 22 Yea, cry unto him against the power of your enemies. 23 Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an enemy to all righteousness. 24 Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may prosper in them. 25 Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase. 26 But this is not all; ye must pour out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your wilderness. 27 Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.
These are our feelings about prayer. Thanks for reading them!
Richard Schneider, who wrote about his experience with Jimmy Stewart, wrote some books. You can find them here.
**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. But, all opinions expressed are my own.
Oh My Goodness! You Guys! We have been having the BEST rain here in Phoenix because of Hurricane Rosa and the weather feels amazing! It actually feels like we might get to have Fall! AND, this weather is just in time for Frugal Fun Day, which is tomorrow, October 6th. So, for Friday Faves we are asking:
What do you love to do for fun on the cheap?
At Home:
1. For a nice romantic choice, Letters to Juliet looks so good! You can rent it for 1.99 or purchase it for 7.99! I think I am going to talk my husband into this one for us to watch together.
2. If you have kids who love horses, The Silver Brumby stood out to me as reminiscent of The Man from Snowy River. You can rent it for 1.99 and buy it for 3.99. We just rewatched The Man from Snowy River on Netflix for free. 3. When Maddy and I were in Disneyland last Spring, we saw some Pixar movie shorts in the theater in California Adventures. One that was super cute and perfect for younger children was called Piper. This cute film about a baby bird learning to provide for himself is now on Prime for just 2.99.
Now, let's do some things that get us out of the house!
Besides roasting marshmallows and making s'mores, you might enjoy making and using Stuff 'em Sticks, something that we told you about here.
Frugal Fun in the Phoenix Area
Phoenix, where the weather is sometimes hot but never snowy, lends itself to many activities for everyone that are pretty inexpensive! *In the hot weather there are many pools available in the city parks, as well as splash pads and there are Water Parks available as well. Pioneer Park and Rio Vista Park's water pads are two that we have been to and they are both fun and free! *There are lakes in the city that are stocked for Urban Fishing. Kids under 14 can fish for free, just the parent needs a fishing license. One day a year there is a free day when you don't need a license at all and some parks offer fishing instruction. *The libraries offer nice places to relax from the heat and they offer story times and other activities. Phoenix libraries also offer passes on a first come first served basis that will get you into city attractions like the zoos (We have 2), botanical gardens and museums. *If you aren't able to get a pass to the Phoenix Art Museum, you can attend on Weds from 3:00-9:00 pm, On First Friday (discussed farther down), or second Sundays when prices are reduced to a voluntary donation. *There are two super fun and free factory tours that are popular in Phoenix, for all ages! The Stuffington Bear Factory teaches the history of teddy bears and those who attend the tour can even purchase and stuff their own bear. And, Cerreta Candy Company takes you on a chocolate tour and demonstration and ends with an opportunity to make and purchase a chocolate pizza! *There are tons of trails in all of the desert mountains, such as the White Tanks, South Mountain, North Mountain, Thunderbird Park, Camelback Mountain. Phoenix and the surrounding areas are a hikers paradise. Just remember to always carry water! *In the Spring, there are multiple teams who come to Phoenix for Spring Training at the various sports complexes! That is a great time to take part in the Great American Pass Time at a reasonable price! It is called the Cactus League. Here is the link to find the teams, stadiums and schedules of the games. Bookmark it because the 2019 schedule isn't up yet. *The Arizona State Capitol Building Museum is an amazing and FREE place to visit. One of the most fascinating things within its walls is the exhibit of artifacts from the USS Arizona. *First Fridays in downtown Phoenix is one of the nation's largest self-guided art walks. There is also a complimentary trolley tour to the various hubs. There is music playing and there are food trucks! I know that my young adult children have enjoyed this event at various times.
Wow! The more I write, the more I realize how much Phoenix has to offer! So, if you come to visit, bookmark this list to get you started! It is funny how when you live in a place you forget about the hidden gems that are there. I have been to most of these places, but it has been years for some of them. I told my husband that we need to start going back and revisiting some of these. HEY FAMILY! Come and visit! I have a list of places to take you!
For a nice list of frugal Fall fun, you can print off this bucket list we made last year! I hope it gets your own ideas flowing! Be sure to comment and let us know what your idea of frugal fun is.
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Alicia here! Each month I'm going to be sharing with you an idea I have for a fun party with options to make it kid friendly or a date! My first idea came to me as I thought of how it seems a lot of people now-a-days aren't that into Valentine's Day. I get it. So I decided to see what other holidays or events fall on February 14th. And there are quite a few. Just to name a few:
I thought then that we could celebrate these other things instead of Valentine's and it's a win-win-win! I have decided to focus on a few of these events/holidays for the party. This won't be a typical UnValentine's Day Party, because instead of being full of things like broken hearts, Valentine's just gets ignored altogether. I guess it's more of a "It's More Than Just Valentine's Day Party." First you'll need invitations. I have designed these ones for the occasion, but you could make your own too! Make sure to let us know if you do. Food: Inspiration, Oregon and Arizona statehood, National Ferris Wheel Day and ET Culture Day. From Arizona we have two famous foods that are so easy to put together: Sonoran Hot Dogs, and Cheese Crisp. I suggest a Sonoran Hot Dog Bar if you want to serve dinner at your party (or lunch). If you're unfamiliar with what a Sonoran Hotdog is, this article in Boston Magazine explains it well. If you don't want to serve dinner and just have appetizers, try making these into bites with tomatillo dipping sauce. A Cheese Crisp is a tortilla with cheese. (But wait, isn't that a quesadilla? No cheese crisps are open faced and quesadillas are folded over). Make mini ones by using a round cookie cutter to cut out small rounds out of regular flour tortillas (or just buy little flour tortillas). Lay them on a foil covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle each tortilla with cheese, and bake at 350 until the cheese has melted. Alternatively, Just make a large Cheese Crisp and cut it into triangles with your pizza cutter. You could add toppings as Gaby did over at Tasty Kitchen. Look how delicious her's are! From Oregon, I thought we would try making quick and easy Voodoo Donuts. If you live close to VooDoo Donuts, it might be worth just buying them to have at your party. Click through the gallery to get instructions and ideas for what I did! Another famous food from Oregon is Tillamook Cheese. I have two options to include this. One is to just have little cubes cut up and out for people to eat. Or use it as the cheese for the Cheese Crisp! You could put the cheese or other snacks in cups on a Ferris wheel. Like this one they made over at Oh Happy Day! Or they have this cool one on amazon that you can buy. I attempted to make one. Mine does actually spin, but is still a prototype. For drinks a bit of ET Punch seems to be in order. Just mix Sprite, green sherbet, green Hawaiian Punch and pineapple juice together to taste. For an added flair try floating a UFO in the punch. They have these cool UFO ice molds on amazon. Activities: Inspired by YouTube, International Book Giving Day, & the "Pale Blue Dot" photo Used Book White Elephant- Everyone brings a book they love to exchange. Set a limit on how much guests can spend so there's no disparity and hurt feelings. Browsing used book stores is one of my favorite activities, but if you don't have any good one's near by, Amazon has a ton. Pale Blue Darts- If you don't know what the picture of "Pale Blue Dot" is, this page from NASA can fill you in. I love space so I had to include this. My idea is that you have the photo up on a dart board and see how close people can get to hitting Earth. Each person can have their own dart picture or everyone can use the same. I made a dart board with the picture as the background. Click below to get the image. If you need a dart board, my brother used to have a dart board similar to this one and it was pretty fun! Or for a safer route there are magnetic dart boards. Viral Video Charades- A nod to YouTube, this game will be loads of fun. Especially with the right group of people, Charades is a great party game. Maybe I'm biased because I LOVED Charades growing up (so much so that I got Guestures one year for Christmas and forced my family to play it every chance I got). But this version each team puts the title or description of their favorite viral videos in a 'hat' (container, bag, whatevs). Play continues like normal. Just think wouldn't it be hilarious to see your friends act out Charlie Bit Me, Gangham Style, or Potter Puppet Pals? Decorations- Inspiration from Oregon and Arizona Statehood, International Book Giving Day, & National Ferris Wheel Day Here's a general list of the party supplies:
Other ideas:
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
April 2024
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