Bug

My son has a bug. Darn. While we are far from the world crisis of the swine flu around here, there is something still lurking in our school. Rounds of the stomach flu and strep throat have been circulating around the month of May. When will this end?! I know, the last day of school.

Friday was a warm day and my son was stuck in a hot classroom; something about the heating and cooling system not working properly with 80F temps outside. That would explain why my young boy felt yuck after school and slept on the couch before dinner.

Saturday he felt great until mid day when he started to feel sluggish. By bedtime he was complaining of a sore throat. Morning time today showed a cough, stuffy nose, sore throat and laryngitis. No fever. Still sluggish.

His new voice is rather raspy and deep, which adds a cute factor to a rather bummer situation. He has been my side kick today helping me with ironing and making cookies. He is such a sweetie even when he is not feeling his best.

indoors

Although we've had gorgeous summer weather happening outside, I have mostly been stuck inside. This morning my children went to Church to participate in the Children's Music Camp Try Outs.

For five days in July the kids in Music Camp put together a musical that is performed in the evening of the final day. So today, the children gathered with the Directors to Try Out for different parts. Every one will be included in the musical, nobody is cut or turned away. The Directors make it fun by playing games; my kids' favorite was to stand in a long line and walk on stage together. The first person will introduce the person behind him/her ... but the Try Out part is that they have to act like a Royal Announcer, but with the twist that the person they are introducing is the Royal King whom nobody cares for ... hence comes in the drama and acting ... and every child had a different take on how to relate this to their audience. The directors also had the children sing in groups to locate potential soloists and group singing leads. But the majority of the time was spent actually reading lines in groups to see how well the kids put together acting and voice projection. It is an awesome experience and a great all inclusive project for the kids.

Then this week the Directors assign the parts to each child and next week we will receive the script with the character assignments, and the music CD. By July the campers are to have memorized their lines and all of the songs, so they just "put it together" during the week and add the choreography.

This is my son's first year eligible to Try Out and my daughter's third year. They are both excited. The title of the musical is Good Kings Come In Small Packages, which is the story of Josiah, the boy-king of Israel.

Then I came home and worked on burning all my piano student's CD's. I am not a computer savvy person, but I have learned a lot this year about my iPod, transferring the taped songs to my computer, organizing and labeling the songs so they each correspond to the correct student, and then burning each student's personal CD of songs. The art work will be completed by my husband who will design a neat CD sticker to attach. We ... are ... almost ... done ... my deadline is fast approaching; my end of the year recital is this Friday night.

But for now, I am headed outside to catch the last glimpse of the warm sun and spend time with my family. Firepit with S'mores are on the agenda (oh, and dinner). YUM!

Stompin'Out Mean Girls

As I was sitting in the studio lobby last night I witnessed a clear-cut Mean Girl scenario. I wonder if her mother knew that her daughter was capable of acting in this fashion. I wonder why she felt so threatened by the other girl to put her down so horribly. And the amazing part was that the girl talking, had no place to talk, for she was even more like what she was saying to her victim, than the victim herself!

A girl was taking a break on a chair, eating what looked like a peanut butter sandwich. Her friend was next to her. They both looked tired, and it was a beautiful, warm day and they were in their hot costumes waiting their turn to dance. They were both quiet, taking in the chaos of the lobby, minding their own business, and trying to cool off before reentering the muggy blue room.

Soon the Mean Girl came up, smiled and started small talk about the girl's sandwich. And then, out of the blue, she said, "You have really chubby cheeks." The girl sitting looked up and with confidence and not missing a beat said, "I was born this way." The standing Mean Girl laughed and continued to jab her about her cheeks.

Looking up from my magazine, I was shocked. Overall body type from head to toe of the Mean Girl would suggest that she should not have been talking about chubby cheeks. It was mind boggling. Soon the Mean Girl skipped away and the girl continued eating her sandwich.

I have heard that Middle School kids are awful, although these girls were 4th graders, I am not naive to the cruelty of kids out there. I started wondering if we grew up in this environment at that age. And if we did, then did we all survive and is it just part of the knocks in life and that true psychological damage does not occur? Why do we treat others so poorly? It was my first live scenario of a true Mean Girl viewed as an adult.

It made me sad and it spun out of control so fast and poof it was over. I want to take my daughter's cute jazz feet in the photo above and stomp out the Meanness of our society!

Two recipes

A summer treat that is pure yum!! This works well with green grapes and it is completely simple. Just brush grape clusters with egg whites and sprinkle with lime jello straight from the box. Dry on a wire rack before you enjoy!! Simple, delicious, summer enjoyment.

It goes well with this healthy Chicken Noodle Green Salad. This is my all time favorite salad that my mom used to make frequently when we were growing up. She'd make a batch a head of time, put it in a Tupperware bowl with a yellow lid, and stash it in the ice chest for our boat outings. Or the picnic. Or the family BBQ gathering. Or the ... yes, it has been around and I could eat so much of this!

Most of this meal can be prepared in advance. The noodles and the chicken can be cooked ahead and marinated in the dressing. Use leftover cooked chicken or Tyson's precooked chicken strips (cut), or cook 2 large chicken breasts. Wash, dry and chill greens in advance, then just before serving mix with chicken and noodles. Here are the specifics ...

Cook 6 oz medium egg noodles in about 3 qt boiling salted water until tender, about 8 minutes. Thoroughly rinse with cold water and drain well. Stir together 1/2 C salad oil (Saffola Oil type), 1/4 C lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp each dry mustard, crumbled rosemary leaves, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

Placed cooked noodles and about 3 C cooked and shredded or cubed chicken in a large salad bowl. Pour dressing over the noodles and the chicken and mix gently together. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours.

Just before serving add 1/2 C each: chopped parsley, thinly sliced green onions, spinach and leaf lettuce and gently mix all together.

A-mazing!!

Sleeping Beauty

The first night of rehearsal at the studio for the production of Sleeping Beauty was a success. Three weeks until the big show and it is full speed ahead.

The studio is busting at the doors with girls, boys, and adults in costume, parents who know how to sew volunteer to fix this and that and put add-ons to costumes, teen girls are taking turns spotting each other while the other runs into the boys locker room to use the staff microwave to fix a quick Lean Cuisine or Soup (I know, a microwave in a bathroom?? I have never been in, so not sure how it is really configured, but the first time I saw a girl enter the boys bathroom and come out with a microwaveable pizza, I quickly got the gist).
The night is split into the three or four acts, so depending on how many dances you are in, you could be there for a minimum of two hours on up to six. Last year my daughter had back to back dances with the ever popular costume change, so we put in our fair share of hours in one night. But since she changed her mind mid summer last year from basketball back to jazz, we were late signing up and she got two different dance nights. Hence, two shows this year .. which means she is still spending the same amount of time at the studio for dress rehearsal, but it is split between two nights. We will be returning tomorrow but in a different costume.

Parents are not allowed into the studio "pink room" where rehearsals are taking place, so the first time I will see the dance (except for the solo performance up in our dance studio) will be when the rehearsal moves to stage. My evenings are spent chatting with the other moms and watching the excitement of the dancers as they pass through the lobby.

My daughter is very secretive about her costume until the big day ... so the candid head shot on the parking lot sidewalk and a sneak photo during the parent meeting in between Act II and Act III was all that my daughter allowed; and that was even pushing it. I promise to flood the blog with plenty of photos in two weeks.

Our favorite dance time of the year has begun!!

A look and a deal

How can I say No to this face?! I stumbled across this set of photos on our computer. They were undoubtedly taken by my son a few weeks ago. He loves to take the camera off the shelf and play; his favorite subject being our dog. This is Cora's famous every day look of sweetness that gets her pretty much every thing that she wants. But if she is pulling a real naughty trick, like digging in the fresh flower bed dirt, uprooting as she goes, then she will quickly run the opposite direction then she will turn to give you her sweet look, which melts your heart, and you surrender the discipline look.

My son is requesting piano lessons from me this summer. I agreed. And then he stated, "Only if I give you drum lessons." Sigh. I think it is fantastic that he is learning the drums, but I would rather not play the drums. Seeing the look on my face, I must not have covered it too well, he quickly added, " ... or camera lessons." Bingo, you got yourself a deal!

This will be interesting. He has higher mechanical skills and I am opposite. I tend to break more than I learn from ... and he'll have to learn to come prepared for piano lessons. I'll keep you posted how our deal works out.

Family Sunday

The sun was out in full force when my husband's sister and family came over for a BBQ yesterday. The five kids had a great time playing together. Water Balloons were a hit before dinner and they were soaked. I guess only one cousin knew how to tie, so the balloons really were just a fill up and squirt kinda fight, but there was enough screams from the front yard while the adults were in the back to know that it was a success. Although this crew lives with in a short bike ride away, the growing up of children with activities make it harder to coordinate schedules. We were thankful for the time spent yesterday. A full day of fun together for the adults and children!!!

Cousins close in age, the oldest is 12 years old, which is 18 months older than my girl and her "twin" cousin who are two weeks apart at age 10. The boys are 7 months apart; my son is 8 and his cousin is 9.
Girl Cousins ~ they have their own hand shake greeting specific to each girl that they have done to say Hello and Goodbye every time since Preschool:
The kids table on the upper arbor patio of our back yard:

New Gym Member

My girl has been wanting to go to my gym for awhile now and today was her lucky day. The gym allowed the membership because she is not far away from turning 11, and I agreed that she would not use the weight machines until she is older. She mentioned that her goal is to build endurance and add core muscle strength to help her grow as a dancer.

We started with a 15 minute walk on the treadmill. Skipping over all the calorie info and focusing on the distance, I taught her how to program the machine. I was sure to go over and over the automatic stop button and reinforce to move the speed up slowly. Sometimes it can take a huge leap in speed if your fingers are too fast; I found that out the hard way one day.

It was so cute to watch her walk and get the hang of the floor moving under her feet. It took some time for her to be confident in letting go and every so often she would look over to me, shine a huge grin, give me the thumbs up sign, and keep going. Eventually she felt confident enough to let go.

Not wanting to watch any kid's TV (she felt pretty grown up at "Momma's Gym") she listened to her MP3. I could tell when she found her favorite Hannah Montana song on her MP3 ... her walk had a little groove to it. It was adorable and I tried to keep my eyes off of her and let her do her own thing, but it was too cute not to notice.

We also did stretching and ball work on the floor mats. She knows a lot of good warm up moves from jazz that she was doing and I was trying to copy; and then I just went back to my normal, safe moves. I am not flexible like my girl, so she had me beat.

Not wanting to leave, she asked to jump back on the treadmill for another 15 minutes. That is when we saw her Uncle show up and join the machine next to us. Her eyes got wide with surprise, she was excited to see him. I think my girl will do well with this exercise thing and hopefully add it to her long list of "must dos" as she continues to grow. It will help her in her current motivation of dance while at the same time hopefully build into a life long habit.

She has already asked to go back tomorrow, a good sign that I will honor, but that will also be day 7 straight for me and that is more than I am used to! HA ~ she will whip me into shape. She's my favorite workout partner!!

Photos I left out ...

A vacation with friends would not be complete with out some funny photos. Some people may have vacation photos on the "wild side" when kids are not in the mix, but that is just not us; the four of us are equally matched in that way. So our wild side comes out with a dry sense of humor and inside jokes.

While we were in Palm Springs this month, our friend decided to go Rock Climbing in his flip flops. This is where he started:

Amazing! This is where he finished:
Actually when my husband was taking the first photo of our friend, his wife and I had to walk away as we didn't want to see this joke going to far and him slipping. He really was over a slight cliff to climb, but it all turned out well.

I am glad that the boys had each other to entertain:
While my friend and I enjoyed chatting our way around this hike:

Weave Poles

My parents have their dog enrolled in a beginning obedience class and their new instructor suggested that their highly intelligent and active puppy needed to have plenty of challenges presented during his day to keep him more focused. Luckily, my parents have a huge, fenced backyard, so running and playing Frisbee are a given, but the instructor meant mental challenges for the dog.

Therefore, I spent the day at their house (chatting about plenty of things besides the dog) and then spent some time teaching my parents how to teach Splash how to do the weave poles from Agility. This is how you make a simple weave pole set:

*PVC pipe I have found works the best for bigger dogs, and the simple wooden garden stakes work quickly for the shorter dogs (like my Beagle who is only 13.5").
*Cut 6 to 12 pipes to 36" long.
*Hammer the pipes into the grass (easily removable for mowing) so that each of the 12 pipes are between 18" and 25" apart. We picked 20" apart and it worked great.
*In the end, there will be up to 12 poles sticking up in a straight line in your grass with space of 20" between each one.
Then, the fun part! Begin with plenty of treats in your pocket; the most favorite treat your dog responds too (cut up chicken, cheese, dog biscuits, hot dogs, etc). The dog's left shoulder should always enter the first weave pole. The dog's left shoulder would then be to the right of the first pole. The dog would lead to the left to go between the first two poles, followed by an immediate right shoulder lead between the next two poles, followed by an immediate left shoulder lead between the next two poles, and so forth with this pattern.

So, with this pattern in mind, set up your dog to enter with the left shoulder. While standing next to your dog's right shoulder, hold a treat with your left hand to the muzzle of the dog, while you weave your hand back and forth through the poles so that your dog naturally follows in the same manner. The dog should be stuck like glue to the treat in your hand as you weave the dog through the poles. The dog should never take the treat from you, so hold on tight. You are just bribing your dog through the poles in a specific pattern with the reward of the treat upon exiting all the weave poles.

Eventually, you can gradually add space between the treat and the muzzle so that the dog is essentially doing the weaving solo, with the bribe to get him through. With enough repetition the dog's muscle memory will take over and the dog will be able to perform the trick with out a treat bribe. If your dog misses a weave, then start over immediately while giving praise to your dog. Because this is a muscle memory trick, you can not afford to allow your dog to continue if he made a mistake. No punishment, just praise, and start the dog from the beginning.

Whola! Enjoy a special little trick with your dog today and they will love you extra for it ... and play in water to cool off!!

Summer Break

On Wednesdays this year I have volunteered in my children's school classrooms; 2nd and 4th grades. They have very dedicated teachers that keep me focused on task after task and I enjoy it. It gives me insight into my kiddos school day and my time is not wasted.

Today I could feel the vibe of summer approaching as the kids bounced from one classroom wall to another. Out of their seats and talking and wandering and not paying attention. It was obvious, we have hit the last month of the school year. It didn't help either that the sun returned today. That can add an extra element of crazy. But that isn't really a complaint for we all need our Vitamin D around here!

So, with summer fast approaching, my husband and I recently sat down to make a family vacation plan. We booked tickets to Texas. Why that state? Because we like to venture into new territory, and that is one of the states we have yet to see. Destination? Sea World San Antonio. We'll be spending our time between the animals, the Riverwalk, and the Gulf of Mexico. I hear it is a fabulous choice from my neighbors who are Texans.

As I research all the travel websites, I must admit that I am getting bogged down with too much information on Hotels. Which one should we book? I want a great outdoor pool for the kids, I want cleanliness, affordability, free breakfast would be a bonus but not a have to, and convenience to Sea World and downtown.

So Blogger Friends, send me a comment if you have one to share about a great family hotel that meets my criteria. And while you are at it ... let me know of any great must do restaurants or must see activities while we are there.

Counting down the days to summer; we are so close!

Dogs on vacation

For the love of dogs; photos captured when we were vacationing last summer on the Oregon Coast.
No matter the breed, I can find beauty in them all. Their eyes are my favorite part. Have you ever really looked into a dog's eyes? And I don't mean starring at them in a threat, but just stared at their eyes as they were looking and investigating something. You can almost see them thinking. Magical. Not to mention their feet, their ears, their expressions, their fur, their unlimited friendship...

Modern

As a Christmas gift in Kindergarten, my daughter received ballet lessons, ballet shoes, and ballet attire from us. She was so excited to start lessons after Christmas break. And equally as excited when she heard that the big show that year was going to be the performance of Alice in Wonderland. Our little one was bouncing with excitement. This is a photo of her moments before leaving to her first class:
Fast forward four years later and my daughter bounced with excitement when she heard the news that she was invited to join the Modern Dance class starting in September. This has been a short term goal of hers since the moment she saw the big girls dance Modern at her first show. Complete with complicated twists and turns, a combination of ballet and jazz, ultimate flexibility, raw, hip, edgy ... this was the Modern Dance team that she has admired.

By invitation only, my girl did not know if she would be asked to join Modern last week when fall-registration was taking place. Although this was the first year she was eligible, it was not a guarantee. Subtle hints that one "made it" are given by the studio to the students who are determined, motivated, or talented. Hints as in ... an invitation at the moment of registration, but no talk or discussion prior. Our studio does a nice job of counting all students as worthy of performing and doing their best; selecting out the few for the higher track only when it is time and doing so very respectfully and quietly.
If my daughter continues to work hard and stays focused and interested, then she will one day be a big girl dancing Modern at the big show. Her determination has been recognized and she is ready to continue to shine. And the bonus ... her best dance friend was accepted too! There is only one Modern Dance class offered for her age group, so the duo will be together again.

Proud of my bouncing girl and her friend!

Taking Care of Business

Today was a day spent in taking care of business.

I remember last year my daughter grew out of her swimsuit with a month remaining in summer. Bad timing, but I was not going to deny the sweetie pool time with her friends, so off to Target I went in search of a suit. I remember it was slim pickings and I had to resort to a bikini, which I have always tried avoiding. I don't think two pieces are awful, it just has never been my first choice. This spring she got a very cute one piece Speedo for Easter and we forgot to try it on; after all Spring weather had not sprung and we were dodging raindrops that day and after. But she tried it on yesterday and we found it was too small. She had to reach for the bikini. Taking matters into my own hands early this year, I took the kids shopping for a one piece for my girl and she got a very cute one from Justice. Open in the back and scooped neck in the front, it is just enough pizzazz to pull off cute with out too much flaunt. I am happy and she is thrilled.

We came home to a neighborhood filled with adults washing boats and cars. I joined them while my husband continued on yard work. He really is brillant in that regard; I do not take it for granted. I really appreciate everything he does to make our yard look so good. I enjoy washing the cars, however, I do not enjoy the vacuuming part. The noise of the canister vaccumm can easily send me over the edge. So I opted to just wash, which lead to washing off the porch and driveway too; another favorite taking care of business thing I like to do. Now we have sparkling cars and cement!

The kids continued their play time with friends, and my son found a salamander, which like yesterday's adventure with the frog, occupied his time. We are in a neighborhood of girls, and he is getting to that point of breaking away from "all that girls stuff". The two other boys in his age range are brothers and they were gone this weekend. I am glad for the critters that roam our yard that he finds intriguing.

Showers are going and the BBQ is just about ready to be fired up. A relaxing family dinner is in store for the evening. I am thankful for our sunshine and a relaxing weekend of taking care of business.

Today

Our family trekked to a nursery we had never been to before to pick out a nice variety of plants for our garden. Deciding upon sweet corn, carrots, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, peas, and strawberries, we came home to a warm, sunny afternoon.
The kids immediately picked up their friends across the street and were back and forth between the front yard and back yard for the rest of the day. My husband got left in the dust to plant the garden. But working in the yard is his passion, so he was fine with the ditch. There were enough kid activities surrounding him to not feel completely left alone.
Sprinklers, sunbathing, swinging, bike riding, and chalk art occupied the kids. My son found the most fun by himself with his captured frog. Complete with Tupperware bowls filled with water and rocks and branches, that little frog had a buddy for a couple hours. And then he was let free.

Enjoying the sun; staying home with family and friends.

Portuguese Water Dog and Beagle

This morning my mom came over with Splash and we took the dogs for a walk. Splash is 11 months old and despite his puppy age he has learned so much and is a good dog! Although we could not get the two dogs close to one another for a picture (it was either Splash wanting to jump and play, or Cora wanting to investigate the preschool kids on the street), these photos were taken today.
Splash is the same breed of dog that the O'bama family received in April. Have you seen the photo of Michelle O'bama being pulled by their PWD? Splash can perform the same trick, but at the same time I must also mention that he has made huge progress. I am very proud of him.

I am not sure if the two dogs will ever be off leash any time soon to play in a yard together, we'll evaluate as Splash matures. I think in time it would be a possibility. However, Cora could "care less" about Splash, she was more interested in the treat bag and sniffing the road we trekked. And, it could be, that she is a one-boy-dog-kinda-gal ... I heard that she was stuck like glue with Herbie while on vacation last week at Carrie's house (our amazing breeder).

The sun is out and a walk with a PWD and Beagle was a great way to start my day!

14 Hours

Fourteen Hours, the amount per day that I need to wear my bands on my braces!! The Orthodontist said I was in maintenance mode. Talk about a Hallelujah!!

While I will still have four triangles hanging around my mouth that are highly visible, I will no longer need to wear them all day. And, AND! the thick grey chain that used to connect every upper tooth with the one next to it got to stay behind at the office too. I am back to looking like a normal brace face; thin wire, no bands, for all of my hours away from the house.

In four weeks I will return for some maintenance work on my lower front teeth. Apparently my teeth are an upside triangle shape where they are wider at the top than the bottom and this interferes with a good alignment. So, my doctor will reshape these teeth ever-so-carefully. I am not worried as I trust my doctor's meticulous way about him, and I have seen and heard him do this procedure on other patients. I will not be the first.

I feel like I can catch a glimmer of the end. A good day.

Extreme

Remember this guy? He was dangling over the Grand Canyon during our trip last September. Just taking a break for lunch, enjoying God's Creation. Totally cool for him, but I would never attempt myself.

Now look at these two photos. Another dare devil of an employee at the Palm Springs Tram riding on top of the tram alll....theeee...waaaay....dowwwwwn. Talk about the extreme roller coaster! He rides the rail as is swoops and descends; his ride is not level like it would be inside the tram. Although buckled, no helmet! I just see endless possibilities of danger here.

My husband questioned another employee about why this man was riding on top of he tram and the response was: He rides up this way every morning to check the cables. Then, on his way down from work, he rides on top for fun because he is tired of listening to the taped narrative voice played inside the tram.

Wow! I think I would just invest in good ear plugs!

Technology and a Lock Down

I admit that while we were vacationing last week, my husband and I kept track of our life back home via our Blackberries. My husband was most interested in business emails to keep his clients happy, while I was most interested in keeping in contact with our children. It was easy to send updates back and forth with my children, who were on their own little vacation 15 minutes away from our home with my parents. It was nice to hear my daughter recount a friendship snafu that happened at recess among two friends, to read my son write briefly about the driving range, or to read from my daughter about learning the conclusion of her ballet dance to be performed at the big show in June. It was great to feel connected without making a big ordeal away from our travel companions with a phone conversation.

And then technology turned and it became not so fun to have up to the minute info about life at home. As we were headed back to the condo to gather our suitcases for the taxi out front, I happened to see the flashing red light on my Blackberry. The title of the email was "Lockdown at LW Elementary".

Panic. I skimmed the email to read that the event was over, that the suspected armed intruder roaming at large close to the school never did reach school property. Breathing a slight sigh of relief for the students' physical safety, I immediately began to worry about the emotional state of my children. By nature, they are very calm children and worry when their world is turned upside down with the unknown. This certainly would shake them up, or so I thought.

Typing a quick note to my dad and the teachers, I knew shortly that both were okay. No tears, no fears, they held their cool. Breathing a sigh of relief, I was able to board the plane a little less stressed. But as soon as we walked through the front door six hours later, my son didn't come barreling at us with "I missed you!" or "You're home!" Rather, it was, "We had a Lock Down at school and ..." for the rest of the evening, the next day, the day after that, etc.

While he was emotionally okay at school, as a second grader, he definitely needed to share his feelings about the event; how three students in his class completely lost it with tears, how he had just returned from the hallway by himself, how the alarm sounded, how his teacher could not get the blinds to come all the way down on the window. My daughter hasn't spoken much about the situation, other than stating her teacher just locked the doors, turned the blinds, turned off the lights, and kept right on teaching. I guess that is fourth grade for ya'.

Keeping it cool under pressure I think saved the emotional state of both of my children. I am glad for the connection of my Blackberry, so long as I receive only good news.

Palm Springs, California

My husband and I vacationed to Palm Springs last week with a fabulous couple. We met them when we purchased our current house. Our Realtor said that the Builder wanted to meet us and do a quality control type of walk through the house before closing. We liked that personal touch. The Builder and his family ended up moving in two doors down six months later when their house was complete. Another nice factor to know that the builder of your home, wants to move into his home, on your street!
And from there, the four of us became fast friends. Going on mini vacations together, sometimes with our children, sometimes without. But this was the first trip via plane that we took together and it was a nice get away for all of us.

We stayed in a mutual friends condo and had his car available to use. The slider of the condo went straight to the pool gate, it could not have been any easier. The men are into golfing, so they left first thing each morning for the courses, while my girlfriend and I had a lazy wake up time, breakfast in the condo, and date by the pool by 9am. We read books in our lounge chairs and chatted in the pool when we wanted to cool off. Late lunches and dinners were enjoyed in different restaurants, and not wearing a watch was brilliant. This was how our typical days were spent last week; waking up to 80 temps and going to bed with temps in the mid-90's.We did enjoy some tourist types of adventures too. The Living Desert Zoo afforded us the walk we were longing for outside midday at 105 F. You know you have been deprived sun and warmth when all four adults opt for a walk in the middle of the day in 105 F!!! With multiple bottles of water, we made it and it was fantastic! We soaked in every ray and enjoyed every once of dripping sweat. We were drying out, finally!!
While those that read my blog might think I have adventurous blood running through my veins with Hummer Rides through the mountain wilderness at Whistler, and taking part in the Skywalk of the Grand Canyon ... I really do not. The pictures just make me look good. For those that know me well, they know what a chicken I can be. So, what was the extreme adventure for Elle J this trip? Doing the Aerial Tramway which is a 10 minute ride, 2 1/2 mile trip, UP (and then, yes, DOWN) a mountain that starts at 2,643 feet elevation and ends at 8,516 feet in elevation. Gulp! Not only are you riding in this Tram (Gondola), it rotates 360 degrees as you travel on a cable that looks like a telephone pole! Our builder-friend tried to assure me by telling me all the specs about said cable being used, comparing it to my Skywalk adventure, but I must say, as much as I trust him and know he was being kind, I had my doubts.
But the view was incredible at the top with a wilderness hike; it was well worth the sweat from fear and the buckling knees (since you ride standing up) to get there. Having never been, nor knowing much about the adventure, we thought we were just going to the restaurant on top for lunch. Once we realized that it offered a great hiking trail system, we couldn't pass up. As you can see in the photos, the girls were not dressed for hiking, but we made it work.
Our friends are made just right for us. We have that something special that works for all of us to be together, just enough likeness and differences that make it work. The four of us always bring out the "Oh my goodness, he/she's not breathing" type of laughing with tears rolling down the cheeks when we are together. Jokes that others would not understand, that special something that just clicks for us.

A wonderful getaway!! Thanks, C&S!!!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of my blogger moms, friends, and family who stop by Elle J Thoughts!

My kids jumped on my bed this morning to wish me a Happy Day and what a fun way to wake up! While I always opt out of breakfast in bed, I did enjoy a nice, long, uninterrupted, slow to wake up, time after the kids scampered out the bedroom door. A relaxing morning to read while the kids played and my husband completed a hot job that came in the door while we were on vacation last week (for another post).

Then we headed off to "the beach" in our city and enjoyed a take out sandwich picnic. The kids were inspired to play in the sand, although we were not prepared for any real sand digging and making, they had a great time together while my husband and I sat with Cora and enjoyed all the people walking by with their dogs in tow.

It was a nice family day; my favorite kind.