A Trip to "Colonial" Orange County

Last week, Stephen had a couple of days off work, so we went to visit family in the O.C. Orange County is such a terrific place to visit. It has everything! Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, prime shopping and even "historical" parks! We visited the Cerritos Heritage Park. The park features a "colonial island" sourrounded by a moat of water filled with ducks, turtles and fish. The island has colonial style buildings that act as playground equipment with slides, ladders and jungle gyms! We spent several hours at this fun park. Christopher and Stephanie loved feeding the ducks and I enjoyed the beautiful 72 degree weather, green grass, trees, and soothing sounds of the waterfall. If only we could afford to live in the OC...Of course, when you live in the desert, the grass always looks greener on the other side :-).

The Greatest Show...in 29 Palms, CA!

A few weeks ago, we took Chris and Stephie to their first circus! A traveling circus came to 29 Palms complete with elephants, dancing horses, acrobats and clowns. If you ask Christopher and Stephanie, it was definetly the "Greatest Show on Earth." Stephanie was tired and grumpy when we first arrived, but as soon as the elephants appeared, she was sold! Christopher enjoyed the acrobats and motorcycle stunt riders. For several days afterward, he would practice his own special tumbling moves that he planned to use when he grew-up and became an acrobat. It was so fun to enjoy the circus through the eyes of my children. They didn't notice that the costumes were a bit tattered and faded and that the ring-master seemed to have lost his spark. Or that the bleachers we sat on were uncomfortable. They were truly engrosed in the magic of dancing horses, death-defying motorcylce stunts, and the pure sugar rush of cotton candy!

A Trip to Phoenix

We recently spent a weekend with my brother, Stephen, and his wife, Carma, in Phoenix, AZ. Stephen is attending law school at AZ state. Phoenix is only about 5 hours from Yucca Valley, so the drive is really not too bad. We all went the the Phoenix zoo and had a great time. The Phoenix zoo is like a beautiful oasis in the middle of the AZ desset. It has lush, tropical landscaping and large, beautiful habitats for their animals. And there are cute red-eared slider turtles swimming in all the ponds. One of the highlights was the "Monkey Village" where we could actually walk into the squirrel monkey habitat and see them playing right there in the trees. The adorable ring-tail lemurs and meercats were also a great hit with Christopher and Stephanie. The zoo even had a fun splash park where they could run around and act like little wild animals too. After the zoo, my brother Steve and my husband Steve attended General Priesthood meeting while the kids and I took a nap. That night we went to a great-tasting BBQ restaurant that is near Carma and Stephen's apartment.
On Sunday, we went to Stephen and Carma's house and watched General Conference with them and they cooked us a delicious chicken dinner. It was such a blessing to visit with family and watch our Christopher and Stephanie interact with their Aunt and Uncle. I think it is so important that children know that they are loved by lots and lots of people. Christopher and Stephanie don't have the opportunity to see extended family often enough. Steve and Carma are both terrific with children and will make great parents.
It was a great trip and we are looking forward to having Stephen and Carma come and visit our home at Thanksgiving! And thank you Carma for the great pictures!