Thursday

Holy Cow...is it Thursday already? Going back to work and school is going to be painful on Monday! Today was another lazy day at the pool. {I could really get used to this...} The boys went to play golf and the girls went to the pool. Another little girl at the wading pool had tons of toys that she was willing to share, so Johnna and Merilyn {and at times Ali and Natalie} were in heaven playing “cooking in the kitchen”.

Gramma brought us all sandwiches for a lunch break, and I got the girls popcicles from the little market. It was a great afternoon - like I said, we sure could get used to this! {Although I’m sure Ali and Natalie would’ve liked more lazy river time...}

After naps, we headed out to meet the boys and drive into Palm Springs for the street fair. The street was full of vendors and booths - with lots to look at. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant there on the street so we could people watch. {And there were definitely some interesting people to watch...!}

Ali and Meri with a statue of Sonny Bono.

Soak City

Travis was so excited to get to the Knott’s Soak City water park! It opened for the first time this week on Wednesday, so we thought we might beat the crowds... no such luck. It was super crowded!

We eventually found enough lounge chairs for all of us and Travis and Ali took off for some of the rides, while Meri and hit the wave pool. The water was freezing!! Mer wanted no part of it, {I didn’t blame her...} so we put a life jacket on her and tried out the toddler slide. It would’ve been great if there was someone to catch her at the bottom, but I couldn’t make it down fast enough. She panicked at the bottom, of course, and I leaped in to the water to pull her out... all while the lifeguard stood and watched her cry and struggle. I felt completely awful and was not a happy mommy with the quality of "lifeguards".

Travis and Ali enjoyed the rides they went on... after they stood in line for an hour! They took Meri with them to the splash house, but she ended up crying after that as well. There just wasn’t a lot for little ones her age to do. She was happy to sit on the lounge chair eating Goldfish and drinking Gatorade. {Was that worth the price of admission?}

The favorite rides of the day were the “flusher” and the “wedgy slide”. {I don’t know what the real names are...} The flusher was about a 40+ minute wait just to get the innertube, then another 20+ minutes of waiting to get to the slide. Trav, Ali, Greg, and Natalie all got to ride together and woo-hooed all the way down the slide, into the funnel, and out the bottom. Too bad it was over so darn quick! I couldn’t even get a picture of them on the ride... just a before and after!

Greg's sunglasses suffered a tragedy on the flusher-funnel ride!

Trav’s all time favorite was the “wedgy slide”. They had just announced the park would be closing soon, so he didn’t have to wait in much of a line. In fact, he was able to go twice in a short amount of time so he could check out both sides.

Overall, it probably would’ve been okay for the daddies to take the older girls and leave the mommies at the condo with the little girls. Meri and Johnna weren’t loving the water - at all. {Johnna took a nap on one of the lounge chairs!} Also, it was only open 11-5, so with all of the waiting in lines, they hardly got on any rides. After admission and $40+ lunches for each of the families it was pretty darn expensive for not much. I definitely wasn't impressed with Soak City - and especially not the lifeguards!

Another Day in Paradise!

I am loving this vacation!

Today Casey and I went to get pedicures.... thanks to Greg. A mani/pedi was his birthday present for her. {Fortunately for me, I got to tag along!} We got a little lost trying to find the salon, so we were about 15 minutes late. When we got there, they told us to come back in another 15 minutes; just enough time to walk to the coffee shop next door for snacks and coffee. It was a great morning!

Later, Travis went off to play golf and the girls and I headed back down to our new favorite place - the Lazy River. It was pretty windy today, although it was still beautiful. It definitely didn't stop us from enjoying our time in the water.

Greg bbq'd delicious chicken for dinner and we had cake and pie for Trav and Casey's birthdays.

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people!

Pool Day

Today was the perfect day I had imagined for Spring Break. Everyone else drove to Disneyland for the day, but our family decided to sleep in and hang out at the pool. So, after sleeping in and a late breakfast, we headed down to the "lazy river" for the morning. It was so nice to float along enjoying the beautiful weather. We were there for several hours and Alison could've gone on and on... however, little sister {and Mommy!} needed a nap. After lunch and naps at the condo, we went back to the "river". Every now and then the girls would hop out for a quick rest and snack and as the sun started to go down, we spent a little time in the hot tub. Trav and the girls continued swimming and playing, while I sat in the lounge chair and read. We are happy to be here!

Spring Break 2010

The first full day of California sun... It was so nice! A big group went to play golf, while Casey and I took all of the girls to the pool. They loved every minute in the water!

All of that swimming is such hard work... we had to take time to rest and have some snacks. Life is good!

Family Road Trip

We left Friday evening for the journey to California! After stopping for a quick dinner, the girls settled in and slept most of the night... Merilyn woke up now and then - just to check on things! Trav drove until he couldn't keep his eyes open, and then I took over for a couple of hours while he napped. {He's used to staying up all night, thanks to his graveyard schedule.} The kids {including Travis} were fascinated by the "Wind Farms" up and down the highways in California. They were pretty amazing...

We arrived at our condo in Indio Saturday afternoon. It was amazing! The girls are super excited to investigate all of the different pools.

While Trav went to get groceries, the girls and I went to check out one of the pools. We hung out at the wading pool and splashed around. Even with the sun going down, it was a beautiful night. I was amazed that I was able to sit there in shorts and t-shirt!

Mom, Casey, and the rest of the family got here later Saturday evening. We're ready to tackle Spring Break!

Can You Believe It?

Snow in March!?! Well, it wasn't much, and definitely not enough to get the day off... but the girls were excited to see it regardless.