New Discoveries

Diana has discovered a couple of things while we have been out in California.  1) Dried strawberries in Special K cereal.  I think she ate all of them in the whole box the first two days we were here.  2) Apple juice.  I caved and gave her juice finally.  I am already thinking it was a mistake.  3) The iPad.  I downloaded a "toddler" game for the airplane ride in case I got desperate and well, let's just say she is hooked just like her brother.  Good thing Grandpa Gordy has an iPad too, not sure what we are going to do when we get home.  It is amazing at how quickly she has learned to work the thing.

Busy Girl

Diana is very busy and keeping us all busy this week.  She has discovered washing golf balls at the house and is getting much better with the new camera.  Today she was hamming it up a couple of different times while I had my camera out.  Any time she sees the camera now she says, "cheeeeseeee."

Jonathan enjoying a snack of popcorn and gatorade out by the fire.

Villagefest

Here are pictures from Villagefest.  Diana got to ride on Grandpa Gordy's shoulders for the first time on this trip.  We don't think she likes it as much as Jonathan did at this age but she is getting better at it. 

Museum Pictures

There were so many cute pictures from the museum, I had to post more. 

 These next two pictures were from an area that blew balls up in the air but after awhile, the kids decided it would be more fun to have the fans blow their hair instead.  They were giggling so much!

So Diana doesn't miss a thing these days.  She saw me put hand sanitizer on and of course she had to do it too.  The problem is that she got a little too much in her hands and I was telling her to rub rub rub her hands together...but she decided to run her hands through her hair instead.  I think she thought it was hair product too.

 Jonathan really wants a sewing machine for his birthday.

Oh and I forgot, Diana loved the wheelchair, I think mainly because it had a button she could push that reset the timers.

Thursday Palm Springs Adventures

Today was the day Jonathan decided we were going to the children's museum. I was trying to persuade him into going to the zoo instead as it is supposed to rain the next couple of days, but it was already in his head that we were going to the museum. On the way, it did start to rain so I think he made a smart choice. The museum had a lot of the same stuff as last year but it was interesting to see what the kids played with. Jonathan couldn't get to things fast enough whereas Diana took her time and stopped to look at everything. Thankfully I had Nana and Grandpa Gordy with me so that each kid could do what they wanted. I would have to say this year Jonathan's favorite things were the spider web rope obstacle, the race cars, unlocking of the safes and the tube building area to send a golf ball down. Diana's favorites were the grocery store, the dress up area (particularly the jewelry) and this metal star you were supposed to trace through a mirror (of course she didn't use it as intended but she kept going back to it, Nana thinks because she could see herself in the mirror). We had some snacks outside and then it was off to run through the maze again. The kids had fun chasing each other and Jonathan racing Nana. We brought Diana home to nap and Nana and Grandpa Gordy took Jonathan to McDonald's for lunch. He had been wanting McDonald's since the Salt Lake City airport so he was super excited. He also never gets to eat there as we normally go through the drive thru so it was even more exciting. Apparently he met some more new friends in the playarea and had a blast playing with them. He really is a social kid. Tonight we went to Villagefest downtown Palm Springs. Luckily for us, Nana and Grandpa Gordy had checked it out last Thursday so they knew where to go and had already scoped out what to buy there. Jonathan really liked this hand scrub that Nana and Grandpa Gordy had bought so I promised him he could get some. The lady selling the scrub said she just had to meet my Jonathan and wash his hands for him, so we brought him back to her stand and he was just mesmerized with her and the hand washing. It was really cute. He also got a glass sun catcher for his room that he got to pick out all by himself. We had wood grilled pizza for dinner, along with several free samples and treats, listened to some music and headed home way late (it was after 8 when we left). I don't think we were in the car for 5 minutes and both kids were fast asleep. Although Jonathan did yell at Nana and said, "Nana, I am trying to sleep" as she was talking to Grandpa. Poor Nana and Grandpa sat quietly for the whole ride home, about 30 minutes but both kids did sleep the whole way. Oh to be a kid again and just say whatever you are thinking. It was a really fun day!

 

Uncle Greg & Aunt Susan Visit

Uncle Greg and Aunt Susan drove up from San Diego today to see us!  It was so great to see them and very nice of them to make the drive.  Jonathan was so excited to see Uncle Greg!  They have always had a special bond, which I adore.  Greg brought his dog, Max, so most of the day was spent with Jonathan and Greg playing with Max.  Greg and Jonathan also did go swimming which made Jonathan's day.  Diana took a 3 hour nap and has a fear of dogs so she was a little out of sorts all afternoon and would scream/whine any time Max would get near her.  When we were saying goodbye, I told Jonathan to listen to Greg's car (Porsche).  Jonathan got a kick out of the roar of the engine and was laughing hysterically after it. 

Bike Time

Thanks to GB's friend, Bink, who lives out here in Palm Springs (only 4 miles away from where we are staying), Jonathan has a bike to ride on while we are out here. She also let us borrow a big wheel for Diana and some trucks and boats. The kids were so excited. I have a feeling these will come in handy this week. Thank you so much Bink! And as always, it was so great to see you.