Disney and thereafter.....

This first shot is a beach shot from where we stayed when camping at Leo Carillo.

Here is Drew on the shuttle on his way to Disneyland for the first time!

With lack of planning, we forgot to bring any food...so we needed to make a stop for a hot chocolate and a chocolate chip muffin...along with a few other necessities.

The first place we went was Frontierland, and Drew's first interest was the guns.  We gave him 50 cents to give it a shot.   He aimed at the squirrel instead of the red bullseyes.

The steam-powered paddleboat Mark Twain took us around a little island.  We were looking for opportunities to get off of our feet.  Drew had to get to the top level for the best view.

We should have done the stroller from the start... great for us to get some exercise, and it was the only way for Drew to make it through the day.

Every once and a while they blocked off the street for a parade to come through.  Pretty fun!

Jellyfish ride!  This one went up fast, seemed like it would be fun... it was a really short ride.

Drew supervising his made-to-order hard-over eggs.

What lengths we go through to get Drew to smile sometimes.  He blocked daddy off, so good thing the guy behind us jumped in for the photo bomb.

Ahh... a beach!  After all of our Disney adventures, a little running in the sand was in order.  This was Carlsbad, a great place to hang for a few hours before heading off toward Phoenix the next day.

Pre-Disneyland

A few photos from the Science Center.  We saw the Endeavor!

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Griffith Park Train Ride

 Leo Carillo State Park

 Camping at Leo!

Down day making airplanes with Mike

Christmas 2014

Drew was pretty amazed Santa found him in Palm Desert.  He was even MORE surprised that he remembered to give him a watch.  Of course, there was another cheetah blanket for a gift.  I guess even Santa knows that he LOVES cheetahs.

We checked out of Palm Springs by 10:00 and were half way to LA by 12:00.  We took a stop at Frank G Bonelli Regional County Park.  Drew played on the playground, and we did a short mile hike before heading towards G-ma.

 We arrived in time for Drew to help set the table, and for John to help his mom out in the kitchen.  We had a traditional holiday dinner with 3 pies.  Afterwards we all had fun opening up our presents

 We spent the day relaxing and recharging after John and Drew raced the camaro and monster truck.

Christamas Eve

It's a cloudy 68 degrees here in Palm Desert on Christmas Eve!    

The other day we took a stroll through the Marriott Hotel on the property.  We were surprised to find a wide array of birds scattered throughout the hotel in cages.  Each one had it's own name.  Not sure of the name on the one up above....

I decided to give Drew's rental bike a whirl.  Even though it was a little small, it sure was comfortable with the high handle bars.  We traded off between the scooter and the bike and wound up putting on over 4 miles skirting around the resort.

Yesterday we did a couple of short hikes around Joshua Tree National Park.  We put on a total of 3 miles.  We are gradually working our way upward for a big hike!

Today we are laying low, enjoying the view from our balcony, doing a little more biking, and mostly just enjoying the pool.

Tomorrow we are off for Canoga Park to spend Christmas Day with Mike and Grandma Nita.

Christmas is coming!!

Christmas is coming, and the closest thing we've done to start preparing for it is completing the Reindeer run.  The only one who actually ran was John!  Drew rode a rental bike, and I walked to complete the 2.5 mile benefit for the Children's Network.  Drew and John both received a certificate.

We visited The Living Zoo, and we saw lots of animals that we haven't seen at other zoos.  Most of the animals were from Australia and Africa.  There was a live show with many of these animals.  Although, the animals were interesting, the most interesting attraction for Drew was the model train set up.  I found the giraffe savannah, and feeding extremely unique.

 Drew had no interest in looking at his favorite land animal--the cheetah.

 There were a variety of different scenes represented within the model.  My favorite was the man in the tub.

It gets dark here at about 4:40.  We found that one of the pools has heater, so  I can at least have something to sit near while the guys swim in the 50 degree temps.

Today we went out on our first hike on  Bighorn Overlook Trail, Rancho Mirage.  It was about a mile.  Drew didn't want to go, but once we got him out there it was pretty fun.  

Last night Drew was so tired, he asked if he could go to bed.  I suppose it's hard for a little boy (not so little) with the time change.