Celebrating Christmas Part 3

When we got back home, we celebrated Christmas one more time with our cousins who live in our neighborhood.  We met them and had a nice dinner together, and then we let everyone open presents. It felt like we had really spread out Christmas this year.  Even the kids kept asking, "Are we still celebrating Christmas?"  It was a fun way to spread out all of the fun Christmas cheer during the holiday season.  This was our final celebration.  Then we moved on to the New Year!

Saying Good-bye to Palm Springs

We had a nice time while in Palm Springs.  Not only did we celebrate Christmas there, and visit Joshua Tree, we did some other fun things.  The boys enjoyed swimming in the heated pool.  Jeff and I got to do some morning runs together.  We went out to dinner at some of our favorite places.  I was able to visit with my Aunt and Uncle.  And I was also able to visit with a good friend of mine who drove up to see me from San Diego.  We also celebrated Grandpa's birthday.  It was a fun trip!

Dinner at Kobe's

Grandpa's Birthday

Joshua Tree

While in Palm Springs, we took a day to visit Joshua Tree National Park.  The boys were so excited and really looking forward to climbing on all of the big rocks.  They had also filled out their Junior Ranger Booklets in hopes of fulfilling the requirements and getting their Junior Ranger Badges.

We got up early and drove out there.  It took us a little over an hour to get there.  The first thing we did was stop at the Ranger Station and listen to one of the Rangers give a talk about the park.  That was one of the requirements for getting the badges.  After that we drove around and stopped at one of the many viewing areas.  We hadn't even gotten a mile into the park, and the boys were already enjoying walking around and climbing on everything.  Next we stopped at a hike and walked around. Later we had lunch.  We kept driving and stopping at a few more places, although we didn't have time  to stop at every one.  At the end of the day, we stopped again at another Ranger Station and the boys were sworn in as Junior Rangers and got their badges.  Then we headed back to Palm Springs.

Celebrating Christmas Part 2

On Christmas Eve, we flew down to Palm Springs.  We met up with Grandma and Grandpa Youker and Aunt Cheryl.  We drove to our rental house and got settled.  The next day was Christmas.  We had a few presents to exchange.  Then we went and had a nice brunch at a nearby hotel.  It was sunny, and we enjoyed being with each other and celebrating Christmas together.