After our short little trip to Southern California we headed out to cross the desert to visit with Rachel and Joey in Arizona. First we stopped at Joshua Tree National Park in the California desert.

We picked a great time to visit the desert. It wasn't too hot at all. The temperature was perfect!!




This is Cap Rock. We don't know how that balancing rock is staying put.


The desert flowers are beautiful.


Twilight at the desert if a very beautiful time.

One of the funnest places we visited with Rachel and Joey was Organ Stop Pizza. If you are ever in Mesa Arizona you MUST go here to eat. The organ they have is incredible and he plays all kinds of music. It was mesmerizing to watch this incredible musician.

Pictures just do not do this place justice. It is a experience, you just have to experience!! I hope this video works for you. The noise starts out kind of funky but if you wait a few seconds it gets better. The organ plays all kind of other instruments beside the pipe organ, from drums and xylophones to piano's and trumpets. It's cool to watch the organ come up from out of nowhere.

On Friday, while Rachel worked, Joey took us to visit the Gilbert Riparian Preserve. The preserve has all kinds of fauna and flora.

Isn't this little turtle adorable?

The desert plants are so colorful

Our favorite thing we saw in Mesa was the Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple. Here is a web page with some great pictures of the pageant. It was very inspiring to watch, and a great way to celebrate the true meaning of Easter.

A QUESTION

Question: What do humpback whales, convertible rides, dinosaurs, The Rainforest Cafe, rubbing a bulging pregnant belly, Joshua Trees, The Mesa Temple Easter Pageant, The Riparian Preserve, Star War Mad Libs, Moose Tunes and hacking, coughing with a stuffy nose, have in common??

Give up??







Answer: Things we experienced on our Spring vacation. Here's some pictures and details!!





First, we went whale watching off the coast of Santa Barbara. It was gorgeous day and we saw three humpback whales in a feeding frenzy. At one point the whales went under the boat. That was a little freaky. The first picture is not mine. We didn't see any whales jump out like that. They only put their huge heads out of the water with mouths gaping. It is amazing how big just their heads can be!!



Pictures just do NOT do whale watching justice. It is something to be experienced. The sounds and smells, and ocean breeze are all part of the experience.







We then drove south to spend a day with Amy and John and the evening with Katie and Brad.



Evan had fun going for a spin in John and Amy's convertible!!



We saw this cute little replica of a dinosaur at the Jurupa Mountains Cultural Center.

Then a bigger dinosaur scared the living daylights out of Evan and John. Such wimps!!

Evan enjoyed conversing with his little unborn nephew. Isn't Katie cute with her big belly. I got to feel the baby move!!!




Katie was not so cute blowing bubbles!! She grossed poor Brad out!!

John and Amy being lovey dovey at Rainforest Cafe.


More pictures and details in the coming days!!

Oh, just so you know. Evan was the one who got sick. Poor guy! We came home earlier than we wanted too. He was getting better, but then yesterday he starting coughing worse then ever and has a fever. A call to the doctor got us squeezed in today, and his lungs are clear so that is good. He just has a virus that needs to run it's course. I wish he could stop coughing, I feel so bad for him!!

"Oh, By The Way"....

my husband says as we climb into bed to settle down for the night. "Did I tell you I saw a mouse!".



"YIKES!!!! No, where!!" He pauses before saying "April Fool's". He got me, totally!! I hadn't believed anything anyone told me yesterday, until that point. I definitely didn't believe it when Brad sent me a text message that said, "on the way to the hospital. Katie is leaking clear fluid". I sent back a message to let him know that was NOT funny. I should have sent a message that said, "I'm calling your mom to get more information and find out which hospital. Will be there in four hours!!"
I also didn't believe April when she told me they were all sick and maybe we shouldn't come visit them. They probably are really sick though, and now I have to hope April will forgive me for not believing her. Oh, my!!

Anyway, back to the mouse. I just have to say that I hate mice. Well, rodents in general. Once several years ago, when I got up in the middle of the night, I had a hard time closing the bathroom door. Something was stuck, I gave it a hard shove and then turned on the light. I was shocked to see a little mouse, squished dead between the door and the wall. I had caught a mouse and killed it, all very innocently. As much, as I dislike rodents I didn't mean to murder one. It was 3 o'clock in the morning and very, very hard to stifle a scream. I could not get back to sleep. I was so freaked out by the whole thing. Still to this day, whenever the word mouse or mice is mentioned my children will break out singing the song they created to memorialize the event. It goes to the tune of Oh, Christmas Tree, something like this..."Oh, Mark the mouse, oh, Mark the mouse, why did you come into the house? You used to be so small and gray, now you are smashed in the doorway. Oh, Mark the mouse, oh, Mark the mouse why did you come into the house?"