Alpine…a piece of heaven on earth!

 Alpine, Arizona is one of our favorite places to go.  It is one of the most beautiful places in Arizona.  About 30 years ago, my grandparents purchased some property in Alpine and we have been enjoying it ever since.  I have so many great memories of going up to the cabin with my family, and I’m so grateful that our kids have the opportunity to make great Alpine memories as well.  My kids love Alpine and love that they get to spend time with their cousins when we go.

 

We are so lucky to have Luna Lake just down the road.  The tail end of it runs through our property.  When we were little we would take our blow up row boats and canoes and have a good ole time rowing around the lake.  Now days we love to kayak and fish in Luna Lake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why didn’t I think of this when I was little? We only went sledding in the winter.  But OUR kids spend half their days sledding down our mountain when we’re there in the summer.  It’s sometimes a bumpier ride, but almost as fast as sledding down snow.  So fun!!

 

 

                  Campfire fun

 

Ooey, Gooey Smores and songs around the campfire (thanks Matt!)

 

 

The Alpine 4th of July Parade.  Alpine is a very small town, and we really get a kick out of the parade.  The parade goes up the street and then back again, so we get to see it twice. :)  Our favorite float was the “Mama Kazoo band”. We got a good giggle out of that one. :)  The kids love the parade because they throw out candy and they go home with a bag full.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             The boys Clubhouse

 

 

We have had many fun times swinging on the swing that was made when we were young.  My dad would push us so high that it felt like we were flying into the sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stan took some self portraits of him and some of the nieces and nephews.

 

 

Stan and I decided to take a walk around the property to take some pictures.  Our kids and some of our nieces and nephews came along.  Alpine is full of mystery.  We have some interesting “antique” pieces on our property.  For example, this engine.  This old engine has always been on our property, and always will be.  It is a part of Alpine.

 

 

 

We took the kids for a walk through our meadow.  Watch out for the snakes!!  We love the old pump house.

 

 

 

 

 

Another mystery to behold.  Don’t you love it?? This car is at the far end of our meadow and we love it! Alpine wouldn’t be Alpine without it.  We would love to know the story behind the old car in the river, but then it wouldn’t be a mystery anymore would it? 

 

 

 

             Cassie, Amber, Elly, and Dennalei

 

 

 

Next we take the kids down the street to visit the old abandoned house which my brother and I always called, “THE HAUNTED HOUSE!!” Just another fun Alpine mystery.  We always asked ourselves, “Who lived here?”, “Why did they leave?” “How old is this house?”  It’s fun to now listen to our kids ask the very same questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other favorite Alpine memories through the years include:

*Frisbee Golfing through the forest

*Walking to the little stream for family “church”

*Feeding the chipmunks

*Catching crawdads in the pond

*Catching hornitoads

*Shooting BB guns

*Melting snow on the stove so we could flush the toilet because the pipes froze

*Building snowmen and sledding down some amazing hills

*Going to the “little store” to buy candy

*Going to the Lollipop Shoppe to buy fudge

*Going for a Sunday drive to Hannigans Meadow

*Row boating in our pond and river (back in the days when there was plenty of flowing water).  Was it Merilana that was afraid of there being sharks in the pond?? :)

*Mom finding a dead rat that had drowned in a can of discarded oil on the kitchen counter

*Playing “Pit” and many fun games as a family

*I think that one of my most favorite Alpine memories was when the brother in laws decided to make an “Alpine movie” starring all of us! So many great laughs!! I would have to say the most memorable part was the Chimichanga commercial we made Mom do.  We probably did 20 takes before she finally made it through without laughing.  And the background music…it doesn’t get better than that!! “Mama’s cookin’ in the kitchen"…”  Oh my goodness, I don’t think we’ve ever laughed so hard!!

*and so many, many more fun memories