Grandbaby #3!

Aiden David Stall was born on June 20th at 2:50 p.m. weighing in at 8 pounds and 3 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long! Maybe we have a basketball player on our hands. Branden and Brooke are thrilled and exhausted. Tomorrow they head home from the hospital to start their life now as a family of three.
Grandpa and Grandma plan to visit this new little one over July 4th week-end. As our family continues to grow we'll be often on the road visiting the little ones. We thought our "quiver" was full when we had three children but now it has expanded to include three children, two daughter-in-laws, one son-in-law and three grandchildren and I've been told that's only the beginning. Ha!
We are praising God for allowing Hunter and I to still be healthy and active in our retirement to join in the fun and educational opportunities God affords us with our grandchildren. Just today Hunter spent time playing with Christian in a hammock and I "taught" him all about ants and leaves falling from trees. What a joy!

Children are INDEED a gift from God!

There is a special kind of joy to see your own children born. That joy grows to a new height when you see your grandchildren born! I had the priviledge of being one of Rebecca's birth coaches this week during the delivery of Logan Gabriel on Wednesday night at 9:07 p.m. To me, the miracle of birth is proof positive there is a loving God! Words can not fully express the flood of emotions as I witnessed our second grandson "pop" into the world with his lusty cries and pink little fingers and toes, quite long by the way indicating he has some "Stall" in him. Ha!
Check out the photos below and then go to Rebecca's blog: (www.rebeccathorpe.blogspot.com) for a nice slide show.

Grandpa and Logan


Grandma and Logan


He's a blessing!


The happy family!

Friends and Family

Hunter and I just spent a glorious week in the Quad Cities getting our yearly "fix". I MUST see my friends and spend hours over lunch "catching up", while Hunter MUST challenge his friends to backgammon, tennis, and archery. God has blessed us both with wonderful relationships which have been cultivated over years of child raising, working, volunteering, church service, and playing various sports activities together. In the book of Psalms David writes that "a friend loves at all times" and "there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother". That is the kind of friends we have and we miss them as we spend our year traveling across the United States. Thankfully we can and do stay connected via e-mail and cell phone and they are with us in our hearts!

Now we have moved on to family: Rebecca, Steve, Christian and Logan (soon to be born). Our title here is Grandpa and Grandma and we love it!

Here are some cute photos of our adorable grandson!


Mommy has a baby in her tummy. Christian has an elephant in HIS tummy!


Getting a haircut while holding a balloon and watching a kid's video! Fun-I think!


Watching the fish with Grandma at the zoo!

The Vasque talks

"I don't think this is the right path! Oh well, at least I'm along to give the support she needs on the extra miles she will have to hike to reach the oasis."

But let me back up a bit in this story:
The place? Joshua Tree National Park
The people? Hunter, Nancy, Jacob, Stacia
The time? morning of May 31st
The plan? to hike a four mile plus loop to a desert oasis

After a light breakfast of Cheerios and cinnamon bread the four don sunblock, shorts, sunglasses, and thankfully courtesy of Jacob and the Coast Guard-camelbacks of water. Nancy also ties my laces knowing I am her faithful hiking "companion" proving my worth in previous hikes. The crew drives to Canyon Road, parks, and begins their exhilarating climb. This desert scenery has its own beauty of red cactus, tiny lizards, an iguana or two, and fascinating rock formations. A cloudless, ice-blue sky combine with a blazing sun to produce temps between 90 and 100 yet the lack of moisture and a slight breeze create a rather pleasant day perfect for this trek on one of the parks many trails. After about an hour of walking and talking Stacia and Nancy hear from the men in the lead the ominous question-where's the trail? (If anyone would have asked me I could have told them they took the wrong "fork" in the road at the previous overlook, where they were admiring the view.) The four look at each other and realize the trail is gone but no one wants to retreat so on they forage over some fairly rough terrain. I dig in where necessary and keep Nancy from skidding over loose rock or tumbling into spiky cactus. After climbing up and over a steep hill then traversing down the other side they finally spot the "real" trail. Following it the "going" is much easier and they arrive at the stunning oasis in short order. Rewarded with cool shade its time to rest and enjoy the desert's silence. Vowing to keep a careful eye on the trail the four walk back through the desert terrain savouring the morning's events. Lesson to learn? Don't go hiking without your trusty Vasque hiking boots!
Nancy has the following pictures to share.

Having Fun!

We continue to enjoy our stay in the San Diego area. Can't beat the fantastic weather! We spent a nice day at the Wild Animal Park and on Mother's Day went hiking with Jacob and Stacia along the coast. Retirement is indeed "all it's cracked up to be"!!

Sea World and more...

The slide show says it all!

Our favorite market

Spending time in warm climate certainly has its advantages; one being fresh fruits and vegetables. An immense variety of textures, color, and fragrances greet us each day when we stop at our favorite little roadside market to and from our work project. Some of our favorites are strawberries, sweet cheeries, oranges, melons of all kinds, squash, avocados, fresh pineapple, sweet onions, giant red, orange, green pepper and two that might be unfamiliar to you.

jicama (slightly sweet, crisp and wonderful raw but also delicious steamed)


plantain (NOT a banana but a slight banana taste-boil and mash with butter)


Just this morning as we drove past the market I saw a sign advertising a new shipment of California sweet corn. Do we dare try it? After having experienced the ultimate in sweet corn on our Iowa farm can this even compare? We shall see, since tonight we've decided to buy it and give it a try. I'll share the taste test results soon.