Stam Chocolate Reward for Good Grades

We turned in Ethan's report card to Valley West Mall today and he got a few goodies for his good grades!  One special treat was a chocolate cream hedgehog bonbon from Chocolaterie Stam.  Way to go Ethan! 

Sorry! Sliders Before Bed

Sometimes, before bedtime, we play a family game.  Usually the kids get to pick, and one of their favorites is Sorry! Sliders by Parker Brothers.  Tonight we had a fun time playing, and as you can tell from the faces... it was a pretty competitive game.

Elliot got to play too.  He waited patiently for his turn to come around.

Those faces are priceless.

This one is for the win!  Total concentration.

Good Morning Sunshine! It's School Time!

Everyone was bright eyed this morning, ready for breakfast and some school work!  Even the dogs were ready!  Happy Monday!

Indian Canyon - Palm Springs, California

Today was a beautiful day for a hike and we picked a beautiful place to go hiking.  We decided to hike Murray Canyon Trail to the Seven Sisters Waterfall and it didn't disappoint!  Derrick's cousin, Ryan, and his son Jordan came along with our family and Grandma Vicky.  Elliot stayed back at the condo with Grandpa Ernie so he could take a nap and we wouldn't have to carry him through the desert.

The kids did great and didn't whine too much while hiking the 4 mile round trip adventure, even though the temps were over 85 degrees and the sun was intense!  We went though hot arid desert, between a narrow canyon, over small streams scattered with boulders and through a lush palm oasis jungle to a waterfall.  It was different scenery than other places that we have hiked before, so it was a great experience.  The kids had so much fun and we were all very dirty and tired by the time we got back to the van.

The boys instantly started climbing when we got there.
Everett, Jordan and Ethan were great hiking pals.

Jordan wasn't too excited about hiking as it got warmer.

The temps started to go up as we went deeper into the hike.

The rock formation behind the kids looked like a giant sea turtle.  They wanted a photo with it.

Looking back at the city in the valley.

In the distance you could see the wind turbines.

Soon, the trail started to head down into a palm tree lined stream.

It was interesting seeing the line of trees where the water ran through the desert.

Grandma Vicky

The boys LOVED the water and we all enjoyed the shade.

The first crossing was a bit tricky.

Another large rock turtle formation the kids pointed out.  This one looked hungry.

Pretty soon the kids were getting tired and hot, so we stopped for some water.

The trail went back and forth across the stream many times.

The kids liked to run a head and then sit in the shade of the trees.

As we got closer, we could hear the waterfall ahead.

Towards the end the trail went over some pretty large boulders.

Soon we saw the waterfall.

Ryan Huffey and his son Jordan

Ethan and I hiked over to the other side to see what was under the waterfall.
Climbing around the mud covered boulders was a messy and chilly experience.

Ryan hiked to the top to see if the trail continued to anything interesting.

The kids picked a spot to eat lunch and rest their legs before heading back.

All the kids were a dirty mess from the dust and the mud at the waterfall!

Everett explored alone, ahead of the group.

At one time he came back screaming, pretending he saw a bear.

Silly, dirty boy!

We were all excited to see the trees where we had parked our van!

After hiking the trail, we drove through the park to an area where there was a trading post and an overlook.  We used the restrooms, took a few photos, then climbed back into the van to head back to the condo.

I'm glad we saw this sign AFTER our hike.

There were a lot of hummingbirds.  We wondered if these are the ones that Great Grandpa feeds back home.

A few times I thought one might land on Ethan as he watched them drink from the feeder.

There was another hiking trail at this overlook but we will have to leave that for another time.