70 degrees for Christmas

That is what they are predicting for the holiday weather here in Phoenix. Crazy! We decided to treat ourselves right for Xmas. Carl's mom also sent us some extra cash for just this purpose. So...after looking on kayak.com we found a cool place and booked two nights. Two nights spread out in a suite.  Hooray!
It is the Hilton resort in Phoenix. It is a family place, as it has a water park. There are water slides and a huge lazy river.  They warm it up to the high 80s. Can't wait. They have a bar by the pool too for the adults.
We are going to watch a shitload of TV. We are going to eat extravagant foods and swim all day.
It is going to be awesome.

Bisbee, AZ is all kinds of cool

Bisbee is one fun town. It was a big mining town in the late 19th to mid 20th century. They had a ton of copper, some silver, turquoise,  etc in them thar hills. Now the mines are closed down, but the town has revitalized itself as a cool, artsy town in the mountains. I would guess the population is about 3000 or so and I think half of those folks are artists of one kind or another. The town, which is built up a hill with meandering narrow streets,  is full with art galleries, public art installations and just some cool, wacky stuff. It also considered a haunted town, sort of like tombstone, AZ.
In the middle of town is this beautiful old hotel called the Copper Queen. It was built in the 1800s and still has its original furniture and ambience.
Coltrane and I went on a tour of the defunct bisbee copper mine. It was awesome.  We had to don slickers, hardhats and flashlights. Then we took traincars deep into the mountain. Once I got over  feeling a bit claustrophobic I had a great time. It was an hour tour, underground. We learned so much. Coltrahe was in awe.
We also ran into occupy bisbee. Although quite small, they had a lot of spunk. There was some cool sculpture art pieces and murals painted in the area where they were peacefully protesting.
Bisbee was so fun. Definitely a town with a ton of character.
Here are some pics of some bisbee sightings.

Navidad in the southwest

We are spending the most  time in the southwest on this trip.  That decision was made at first due to the fact that it is warm down here in December.  But we have found over the last few weeks that we really love it here. The people, the desert,  the food; it is all wonderful. I also love hearing Spanish spoken all the time and seeing all the diversity here.  There are so many native Americans and Mexican Americans around and with that comes so many foods and traditions that are new to our family.
Spending the holiday season down here put me off at first. I wasn't sure I could get used to Christmas without snow and trees and the like. When I stopped comparing AZ to NH is when things got better.  All the different traditional here are cool and we are trying to experience all of them.
We have gone to El nacimiento,  which is a diorama depicting the birth of Christ. It is done in bright colors that would seem garish if they weren't put together so artistically. We have also attended a few outdoor craft fests that have the most amazing arts and crafts that are southwest inspired.
Today we went to the festival of the virgen de Guadalupe. It was amazing. There were mariachi bands and dancers. There were paper flowers strewn everywhere in bright colors. The kids got to break a pinata and get a bunch of candy. It all took.place at the home and art gallery of the former AZ artist,  DeGrazia. The grounds were s beautiful and his adobe style home was awesome. Fun was had by all . Carl and I got to try our first sonoran hot dog. It is a hot dog, wrapped in Bacon in a homemade tortilla, smothered with beans, onions, salsa, sour cream, etc. It was so.good and amazingly good for your health!!!  ;)
Next weekend we will go to Las Posadas festival. Can't wait. Here are a few pics.

On to Christmas

So, we started decorating for the holidays. It is fun to do in such a small space. We have been drawing pictures and putting them up. I made some elf.pockets where the kids get treats from the elves once in awhile. We will probably make some paper chains too ( remember those?) Wont have a tree this year. Instead,  we will decorate a cactus outside or something!
It is strange to be in the southwest for Xmas. It is so different than out east. We are going go to many more Mexican traditional fests like Nacimiento, luminaria lights at the park, virgin of guadulape fest and the great tamale cook off. It is exciting. By the way, I adore tamales.  I think I could eat them every day.
I will take some pics of all the new Christmas experiences we have. For now,  here are some pics of decorations in the RV.