Palm Springs (October 29th- November 5th)

Tuesday night (October 31st) I rejoined Laura and the boys, who had been staying at a resort in Palm Springs with Laura's Mother pending my return from Alaska. A full welcoming party awaited me at the airport, and it was good to be reunited. As Valin says, home is where (Laura) is.

It was good to get back to the sunshine and warmth. The Resort that we stayed at was really nice! We had a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo with a full kitchen and balcony. Our view looked out across the desert to the Santa Rosa mountains. Like the Lake, especially after daylight savings time, the sun would go down by 4:00 pm. So we were always sure to have our (3rd or 4th) visits to the pool finished by then. It was wonderful to have Na-Na here with us, so that Tamer and I had a chance to have some time alone together, and go on some dates! Thanks Mom!

Here is Drake coming off of the small water slide... He really wasn't interested in trying out the "Big one". I am so proud of how much he practiced his swimming during this stay. The life guards would play games with the kids every day, throughout the day. One of the common ones, was diving for swimming sticks and toys. Drake, not wanting to be left in the dust by all the older kids, just kept trying until he got it down. By the end of our stay, he had full confidence in himself, could easily swim the length of the pool, and loved diving. Although I must admit, that being rewarded with a hand full of candy from the life guards after every game gave him a bit of inspiration :-)



Valin, on the other hand, was already fairly skilled with his swimming abilities. I could not believe how many time in a row he would run up the steep stairs that led to the top of the slide. Him and Blayde spent a lot of time trying to "Master" the art of water-sliding... Meaning, of course, how to go the fastest without breaking all the rules! Valin did learn and use some new strokes, and got stronger in his form.



Blayde.... Coming down at full speed!! I believe that this was one of the times that he realized how far up the sides he could go coming down, is he launched himself at a certain angle from the top :-) Blayde's swimming is great, and he showed growth in all areas. I was most impressed with the way that he always knew where Valin and Drake were, and his understanding of water safety. He was also almost always the "winner" of the pool games, and became quite respected by the life guards. By the end of the stay, they welcomed us and knew who "we" were!!

Blayde, legendary Merman of Palm Canyon. I must take this opportunity to again thank ****PETER COLEMAN**** For our new camera, that much to my disbelief, does actually work not only while underwater, but afterwards too....



Roughing at the resort. Laura gave me the royal treatment - Peeled grapes, bathed, shaved, pedicured, and anointed. -Anointed-. She's always setting a new standard for treating me right.
Smart girl, that one.



Laura enjoys a sip of wine, for all work and no play
makes Jill a dull girl. I would like to note that it takes only a LITTLE bit of bubble bath to go a really long way in a jacuzzi tub :-)



We mustn't forget Halloween.... We did our celebrating on the 28th, by going trick or treating at an organized event at The Living Desert in Palm Springs. There were a large amount of business's from the area, that were sponsoring decorated booths that handed out candy. As you can see by the photo, Na-na was right in the spirit with the boys! Na-na, who was wearing a beautiful flowered dress, was told by Valin that if he just painted a few flowers on her arms and face, she could go as a flower bed (LOL), so she did.. Drake was a pirate, who had been "bitten" in the face by a shark.... Valin was a punk (skateboarder) who if you look closely, has some pretty severe road rash on his elbows.... Blayde was a horrible, scary, realistic zombie, who impressed an uncountable amount of people on our corporate trick or treating trip. Awwwww, a face only a grandmother would love :-) The boys were all so proud of the fact that they did not need to spend even a penny on their costumes!!