Palm Springs

Palm Springs

(La Quinta, to be precise)

On our way!

Palm Springs was one of my most favorite places to visit when I was a kid.  It wasn't really that there was anything special about it, per se'; after all, it is a place that averages 110 degrees in the summer.  Maybe it was just the fact that my whole family, and often times extended family, was altogether under one roof on vacation and we had nothing else to do other than swim, play, eat, and have fun.  Regardless of the reasons why, I have very fond memories of this place.  Our neighbors had a family vacation home there, so we would go often as a less expensive way to get away for a vacation. This year our dear friends, the Vinci's, rented a home in La Quinta and invited us for the weekend and we jumped at the invitation.  The kids had so much fun playing in the pool all day and into the evening and playing lots of games.  I hope we get to keep this tradition alive in the years to come so I can give my kids as many wonderful memories of this place that I have.

Boomerang Surya

Boomerang Mark

Brigitte put a lot of effort into making this group photo come to light!
It turned out great!

Lazy summer days in the pool

Just look at those cuties!

Our four-legged family members

Our little girl

Jack and Mila

Too much fun in the sun!

On our way home...I think they had fun.

Boomerang Jack

A White Christmas...a little late

The last time it snowed in Temecula was about 10 years ago.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would happen again and so much of it!  We were waking up early the next morning to go to Big Bear with the Penn's, and imagine my surprise when I woke up at 3:00 in the morning to a thick, white fog outside my window.  I also remember how quiet everything was outside.  It felt unusual.  Jack fell asleep in our bed, so Surya was asleep downstairs.  I got up to make sure he was okay, and as I began walking down the stairs, I thought I saw something light and airy floating in the light of the streetlamp outside.  I blinked and ran downstairs, threw open the door, and saw this:

It was so beautiful and so unbelievable!  I have lived in southern California my whole life and have always dreamed of it snowing at my house!!  I ran upstairs to wake up Jack.  We unpacked his snow gear and let him play in the snow for an hour or so at 3:00 in the morning.  It was a kid's dream come true.  The best part was hearing the neighborhood slowly wake up and play outside, too.  Everyone was having snowball fights, making snowmen and snow angels, and some even brought out their sleds.  The city felt was quiet and peaceful and Temecula honestly looked and felt like a different place.  I hope we get to have this experience again.

A dream come true

Our Christmas lights looked so pretty in the falling snow.

Our front yard

Jack's snowman

Wow!!!

 





Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Christmas Eve

I just absolutely LOVE this time of year.  It is so magical and the joy and excitement in the house is so contagious!  We had another great Christmas this year.  It was so fun to see Mikayla a little more into it since she is now one year old.  We went to Christmas Eve mass to listen to the Wichterman's sing in the children's choir and then we came back to our house to eat and open one present; oh, and track Santa Claus, of course!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the evening.

My little elves

Snoopin' around the tree

Jack asked for anything Paw Patrol this year.

Mikayla loved all the hustle and bustle throughout the night...NOISE!!!  Her favorite!

Paw Patrol badge

E.T.?



Christmas Day

Surya and I have hosted Christmas and my sister Christmas Eve for the last couple of years, but with my new job, I have felt extremely overwhelmed, so my fabulous sister switched with me...I love her!  When we woke up, we found that one of Santa's reindeer was in our house with Santa!!!  We knew by the hoofprints he or she left behind!!

 

 

 

Needless to say, Jack was thrilled!  Jack and Mikayla had so much fun opening their gifts from Mommy and Daddy, Santa, and Bubbles, our Elf on the Shelf.  I just adored watching them play together all morning.

 

So many cool new Legos!!

Yes!!! The Paw Patrol pup pad!!

Happy boy!

"Paw Patrol, Paw Patrol, we'll be there on the double!"

Stocking was stuffed!

Lego building time with Daddy

Our sweet Optimus Prime, Jack's Christmas gift from the Wichterman's.

Santa brought Dixie a delicious bone

Uh-oh, checking out her brother's toys first

"No way!!!"

Now Jack is checking out his sister's loot!

Luckily for Jack, Mikayla lost interest so he got to open some of her presents.

Such a good brother explaining to his sister how her toys work.

This had to be one of her favorite toys after her brother showed her how to use it.



Checking it out...

"I think I can do this..."

"Is it following me?"

"Come on little toy, follow me!"

"Whoo-hoo!!"

Into the next room...

Back down the hall...

And back to the starting line.

Jack with his new scooter

Merry Christmas everyone!!