Palm Springs Vacation - July 24th -31st

(These pictures were deleted and out of order - I couldn't not include them)

Back in February, we found out that Byron had a conference he needed to be to in Los Angeles at the end of July. We decided that we would take the opportunity to spend a week somewhere in that area as a family. After much looking, we decided to head to Palm Springs for 9 days. We had never been there before, and after much research found out that the temperatures during that time of year are usually around 110 degrees- yikes, hopefully it was below average when we went.

On July 23rd, we left staying in Mesquite, NV for the night. My children's favorite part of hotels is getting the ice. Carter, Parker & Bradley were the lucky ones who were able to get it this time. The following morning, on July 24th, we spent the morning swimming in the swimming pool at the hotel. We hadn't been swimming for a while, but this didn't take the kids very long to get daring (as always) and scare their mom with their bravery. Actually all of them can swim very well. The part that scares me the most is that Carter & Parker are extremely brave and don't think anything can happen to them. They are like fish in the water.

We left around noon and headed to California. We stopped at In-N-Out Burger in Las Vegas for lunch - the food their is always a hit! We finally arrived in Palm Springs around 6 p.m. We stayed at the Palm Springs Oasis Resort. Our room was so nice - it had two bedrooms, a nice pull down bed in the living room, 2 TVs (my kids favorite part), a balcony with a BBQ, and a full kitchen. There were also tennis courts, 8 swimming pools, and 8 hot tubs.

Since the kids were done with travelling and ready to relax, Byron & I went grocery shopping with Bradley and left the kids to enjoy watching TV. They were in complete heaven with 2 different TVs to watch on - Camille pretty much was able to watch her own shows (usually cooking channel or HGTV) while the boys got to watch their shows (usually cartoons). Byron & I couldn't believe how expensive food was.

SWAP MEET - The next morning, Saturday, July 25th, we headed to a swap meet about 20 minutes away. The temperatures were outrageously HOT!!! I don't think I realized what hot actually felt like until this trip. It never cools down in the evenings, so around midnight it is still in the 100's. We woke up one morning and it was 112 degrees at 6:30 a.m. Most of the week it was above 110 degrees. That is pretty miserable if you ask me :).

The swap meet was fun. We came across some cool glasses that the kid's had to get pictures with. They also had a fun hat shop where Byron tried on a silly hat that had hair on it. Pretty much everywhere we went people commented on how many children we had. I guess at this point I am pretty much used to the constant staring of others and question asking. We wanted to go to a Zoo that morning, but decided against it since the zoo was mostly outdoors and the temperatures were already unbearable (around 112 degrees in the morning). We instead went back to our room and enjoyed relaxing. The kids were actually happy to just stay in the room watching TV the whole time or go swimming. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon which also included naps. After dinner we went swimming. The water was so nice! I don't think I have ever felt a pool have such hot water. There was definitely no complaining there and Bradley even couldn't get enough.

FOOD - We ate such delicious food while in Palm Springs. I was so glad we didn't have to eat our every meal. We enjoyed eating steak, corn on the cob, chicken, potatoes, TV dinners, cereal, eggs, and much more.

RELAXING - There was plenty of this involved!!! Our vacations sometimes are so busy with going here and there that we forget the most important part of a vacation - relaxing! This vacation, however, included much of that. We watched movies as a family, played games and took naps.

SWIMMING - Pretty much every day the kids were able to swim. We went to 2 of the 8 pools while there - usually depended on how many people were at each one. We ended up buying some floaties and noodles while there to make the swimming experience more fun. Sun screen was a must since the weather was so hot. KNOTTS BERRY FARM - Janessa and her girls were going to be in Corcoran with my parents at the same time we were at Palm Springs. I also was anxious to see my parents again. We decided to meet at Knotts Berry Farm (about 1 1/2 hours for us and about 3 1/2 hours for them.) We went on July 27th and had such a blast together. Mark lives very close and was able to join us for a few hours also. (It was great seeing you Mark!)

I hadn't been there since I was around Camille's age - I remember loving this place and so excited to go on all the fun rides. The older kids usually took off by themselves and enjoyed going on roller coaster after roller coaster. Byron & I each took turns going with the older kids to enjoy some of the bigger rides also. Byron & I, however, spent most of our time with Carter, Parker & Bradley at Camp Snoopy where the children's rides were located. The cousins had such a great time together. Janessa brought Elizabeth Jamison with her from Oregon. Camille was even more excited to have a cousin pretty much her own age. We all went to the show "Snoopy On Ice" with everyone. What a cool show! There were some awesome dancers. It was also cool to see the whole Snoopy gang on ice.

The day was long and very enjoyable. The park was open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. We stayed the whole time and loved every minute of it. Carter & Parker were unfortunately too small to ride most of the rides that they were wanting to ride. They loved a small roller coaster in Camp Snoopy the best and wanted to ride it over and over again. We actually were there on a pretty uncrowded day. The longest line we had to wait in was about 30 minutes, but most of the lines were only about 15.

The day ended by driving back to Palm Springs and arriving after midnight. We were glad to be back and ended up sleeping in the next morning.

We started out by going on the Calico Mine Ride. I remember this ride being one of my favorite as a kid. Another fun ride was the Timber Mountain Log Ride. Bradley could even ride this with us. I think I went on this ride 3 times since Carter & Parker could ride it and they loved going over and over.

Below are the kids in Camp Snoopy - we watched a fun "Lucy and friends" show. Bradley was totally captivated the whole time. This boy won't watch any TV no matter how much we try, but couldn't keep his eyes off the stage.

Here are some more rides with the younger children. We even rode on a real stage coach around the park.

Byron, Ashley, Mom & I went on the "Pony Express" ride. We had such a great time. Janessa, Dad and the younger kids were sitting next to the ride watching. This picture was taken as I was seeing the kids and waving. I think Ashley was a little freaked - this ride was very fast and we were held in so tightly we could hardly breathe.

My dad had some pretty serious health issues the week after going home from Utah back in June. He got sick and then his kidneys started causing him all kinds of problems. I was pretty certain that my dad was going to die at this point since he has had diabetes since he was 12 and constantly called a "walking miracle" from all of his doctors anyways. He was able to pull out of it, though and is doing good right now. I don't think everything is back to normal yet, but he is getting there. I was so excited to see him - he looked great. He did have a little less energy than normal, but seemed totally fine. I love him so much and am so grateful for the awesome parents I have. I love this picture. I took it while they were resting on a bench after walking from one end of the park to the other.

I love you so much Dad!

Growing up, some of my favorite memories were going to amusement parks as a family. My dad turned into a child while there - running from ride to ride with such excitement. This excitement doesn't seem to diminish with his age - he still got excited going on each ride and seemed to have magic in his eyes. The only difference is that he won't go on any roller coasters any more. Recently he went with my mom to Magic Mountain and went on a roller coaster - only to get sick afterwards. I don't blame him - it seems like the older I get the less my body can handle those rides also.

My mom was a huge trooper - she went on roller coasters with different grandchildren and some pretty wild rides. I love my mom so much and was so glad to see her also. Every summer my parents usually come to Utah to visit with family. This summer was a big exception. My dad came up while my mom had Youth Conference by himself to attend a niece's wedding. So I hadn't seen my mom - and my children hadn't seen her. I was so glad we were able to see them. They were so great to travel up to see us and spend the day with us. Thanks Janessa, Dad & Mom for coming - we had such a great time together.

I went with the older kids in the evening on some of the roller coasters. We had such a blast together. There was one ride that Johnathan was determined he wasn't going to ride. I ended up talking him into going on it and I think he thanks me now - he actually loved it.

Janessa was so excited to get a funnel cake - she ended up getting one right before the park closed around 9:45 p.m. She was so nice to let each of the kids try some - they loved it! Janessa I love you and am so glad you travelled down without a husband to see us - you are such an awesome sister - what would I do without you in my life:).

TENNIS - There were a few tennis courts at the resort we stayed at. We went about 3 different times, but had to only stay for 30 minutes or less since the heat was so darn hot!!! Tanner and the older children really loved going and would have stayed hot weather or not. We need to buy some tennis rackets and go in Utah weather where we can actually enjoy it more. (see picture at top of blog)

OTHER ACTIVITIES - We also went to see "Harry Potter." This was such a fun movie. Unfortunately we went to an early morning showing and Bradley was not going to sit through a show. I saw the first 15 minutes and the last hour - luckily I was able to get him to finally fall asleep so I could head back to the theater.

We also ate as a family at a nice restaurant called "Babes Bar-B-Que Grill." I guess we have never taken our children to a place like this. We were drinking our water as we were waiting to get our food and the kids were just drinking like crazy. Each time the server would come back and see that their water wasn't full he would fill it up. After a while Carter said, "Why do you keep filling up our cups?" They thought it was strange that this man kept refilling them every time they got below a certain point. We all got a good laugh and told the kids to quit drinking and he wouldn't refill them. They soon got the point, but we laughed about that one for a while. The food was so delicious. I had some BBQ'd chicken thighs that practically fell apart as I ate them. Byron had some ribs that he said were incredible also.Johnathan and Tanner next to a beautiful water fall at the resort.

Bradley loved the water and couldn't have been more in his element. Below Bradley is where he slept while there. He was in our bedroom right next to our bed. He tried to sneak into our bed each night, but usually didn't get very far. While we were there, he realized he could open doors - so we had to keep an extra close eye on him while we were in our room since he could open the front door. During the night we put the heavy coffee table in front of the door so he wouldn't get any ideas. There were maybe 2 times we found him ringing the doorbell because he walked outside, but luckily nothing bad happened.

Byron's conference he had to attend ended up getting changed to Provo a few weeks before going. He ended up flying out of the Palm Springs airport (about 2 miles away from where we were staying) around noon on the Tuesday and flew back Wednesday night. Luckily he wasn't gone very long. We enjoyed swimming and doing things that Byron probably wouldn't like to do while he was gone. One of these fun adventures was going to a Children's Museum.

CHILDREN'S DISCOVERY MUSEUM - This museum was a definite hit with all of the children. Because of the heat, anything indoors is a HUGE bonus! This museum was the perfect place to stay for quite a few hours with entertained children. There was a cool bug car that you could paint. Bradley thought this was so cool! He had this cool apron on and some cool covers on his shoes. Bradley and Johnathan are playing in the vet area where there were some cool stuffed animals. One of the pictures was of Bradley combing the dog's teeth - he said "Brush teeth." I guess he doesn't need to know that is actually a hair brush :). Camille spent about 45 minutes doing a loom - she loved it and ended up using all of the material pieces that were next to the loom.

One of the areas they stayed the most in was a dress up area. Camille and Carter seemed to have the most fun trying on one outfit after another. There were actually some pretty cool costumes. There was also a cool typewriter that Johnathan couldn't get enough of.

Some other fun activities was a harp that was digital - so everytime you moved your fingers over where the strings would be it would play. There was a wheelchair that kept track of how fast you can move and your time. There were blocks and a motorcycle to sit on.

Johnathan made a cool track for a ball to go down and Camille had fun moving pieces of wood around to make a place for a ball to follow. There were a few outdoor toys, but we didn't stay out there very long due to the heat.

The grocery store was also a huge hit. The kids loved carrying around their shopping carts, filling them out and going to the cash register. There was play money and an atm card that was cool for them all. Camille was so patient and loved being the cash register for so many children. She would buy it and bag each thing for the kids. We might have some grocery store workers in the future - taking after their dad.

They also made some really cool pizzas. Here are my little chefs :).

ROBOTIC DINOSAUR MUSUEM - There was a cool robotic dinosaur in Calazon - about 40 minutes away - that we enjoyed visiting. There were some robotic dinosaurs that made noises and moved inside of the store. The kids were all able to even have a ride on them. Bradley wouldn't go on them, though, but enjoyed watching them from a distance.

Outside there was a huge sand box. If the kids found a rock that had a dinosaur name on it they were able to get a prize. There was also panning for pretty colorful rocks. My camera died halfway through this museum, so I don't have many cool pictures. There were 2 huge dinosaurs that we were able to go inside. The t-rex was pretty steep - we enjoyed climbing up into it and having quite the view from inside his mouth. The other one actually had a store inside of it.

Right next to the resort we stayed at was the Parker Resort. Parker was so excited to see his name and we had to take his picture by it.

These are pictures from our last swimming experience before we left. Bradley looking pretty cute in his towel after spending way too much time in the water. I bought 2 tubes that the kids loved sitting on top of in the water. They would also get on the side of the pool and jump landing onto the tube. Fun times were spent at the pool - luckily nobody got any sunburns which is always a huge relief and bonus.

The palm trees and vegetation were gorgeous.

Our last night there I took a late night walk with some of the boys. There are these cool water fountains all over the resort. The humming birds liked them and would hover over the top of the fountain. Below are Johnathan, Parker, Bradley & Carter.

Parker & Bradley looking over the side of the fountain.

Such a cool pictures of the beautiful area - the sun was going down and made for a pretty picture.

Our last night we ate pretty much everything that was left over in the fridge or freezer. We had some really yummy corn on the cob, BBQ chicken and steak, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Bradley was my big helper with shucking the corn.

HOME - We left to head home on Friday the 31st. We didn't get out of Palm Springs until around 10:30 a.m. Packing always seems to take longer than planned. We were sad to leave yet excited to be home after a fun-filled week. I was at least happy to get back to decent temperatures where the evening cools off.

We stopped for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. All of the kids ordered something "American" for their meal except for Camille. I have crazy children!

Our trip seemed long, but we made it in one day - we arrived home around 11:30 p.m. We were exhausted and ready for our beds.