On June 28 Nancy and I flew to Phoenix to visit with our daughter Melissa and her family. We didn't return until this past Thursday, which was the reason that I posted no picture last weekend. For this weekend, however, I have 2 pictures.

Most importantly, the Fourth of July was Melissa's birthday, and we wanted to be there to help her celebrate. That's what we were getting ready to do in the first picture above. Pictured with Nancy, Melissa, and me are our grandchildren, Savannah (15 in a couple of weeks) and Ian (12). This just might be the first time a birthday was celebrated in their home with a store-bought cake. You can search through the years in the archive and find any number of creations produced by Melissa for other birthdays. But now she's working outside the home and was a little too tired to spend the time required for one of her masterpieces.

The following day we were returning home from dinner when a dust storm started moving in on the Phoenix area. Melissa lives in the eastern part of the valley, in Mesa, so we only got the edge of the storm called a Haboob. Nancy took the picture above from Melissa's back yard. There are many videos of the storm on YouTube. Click here to see one of my favorites. They said the storm was a mile high and 50 miles wide and the worst anyone in the area can remember ever seeing. I was told that "Haboob" has an Arabic origin. Perhaps one of my Arabic speaking nieces can confirm that for me?

We were in Arizona for 8 days. Melissa spent a lot of time either at U-Haul, where she works, or finishing up a project for one of her classes. But the kids were free...Summer vacation and lots of energy. We played games, swam in their pool most evenings, took in a movie or two at the theater and on TV, and went shopping. I'll also admit to eating out a lot. Savannah and Ian especially like breakfast out, and that gave us lots of time for good conversations. We enjoyed ourselves, but as always we're glad to be home.

Before I leave, though, I do want to, one more time, wish Melissa a Happy Birthday.