Duel In The Desert

Last weekend, Colby had a basketball tournament in Palm Springs that we have been looking forward to for a long time! Palm Springs is one place in California that we have wanted to visit. We had a wonderful time. Palm Springs is beautiful! Exotic flowers, lots of palm trees, desert sand, cactus, and mountains. I couldn't get enough of the landscaping and palm trees. It was like we were in a tropical place, minus the water.

This is how the schnauzer likes to ride in the car.

The beautiful green hills of the Grapevine.

The skyline of Los Angeles.

The ABC studio.

My niece, Shaila, and her cute family came down from Chino Hills and spent Saturday with us. We had so much fun with them and it was great to reconnect and spend some family time together! I love Shaila, a wonderful gal with a huge heart. We had a fun lunch at a Mexican restaurant and had it topped off with two women dancing with the band playing and deciding to take their shirts off and dance in their bras! They weren't 25-year-old bombshells either, they were at least 65! Everyone around just kept eating and carrying on in conversation like it was a daily ritual, we were stunned at our table. I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and telling myself that they had too many Margaritas instead of the harsh truth that I'm pretty sure they were a couple. One of them had on a Melissa Ethridge tank top, a dead giveaway!

Malcolm and Quinn at lunch. Cute boys!!

Matt and Winston enjoying some chips and salsa.

My adorable niece, Shaila!

The 8th grade team won the tournament for their bracket and Colby's team did okay. Colby and his friends had too much fun and not enough sleep. When they walked into the gym on Saturday, the all looked like the walking dead! You could see they were tired. The ended up winning one and losing two. I found out later that Colby and Aiden had been up since 1:30 in the morning. When we finally pulled out of Palm Springs, I don't think we had hit the city limits and Colby was asleep.

Game #1 for the 7th graders.

Game #2 for the 7th graders. They won!

Winston and Quinn wanting to perform a half-time show.

Ryan and I found ourselves alone most of the time. Colby was going one way and Taylor another. I started to realize that in not so many years it's going to be just Ryan, the schnauzer, and I. I think we'll survive, at least we did on the trip. We hung out with the other families a little bit, Ryan did more than I did. My social issues kicked in and when I'm in an uncomfortable situation, I manage to find a way to escape to the hotel room to read. Ryan doesn't have the social issues I do, so he can talk and talk forever.

I think the schnauzer missed Colby! This is how he stayed most of the way home.

We thought that we weren't going to be traveling for a while but we found out last week that we're headed to Tulare this weekend. It's down by Visalia, down where I do a lot of my on the road work, so I'll be able to show Ryan and the boys where I go and what I do. I know they're dying to know. I also think that I'm going to have Colby sleep in our room, I just don't think he's cut out for another frat party.

Part two of the trip is coming soon! It was an adventure, to say the least, and our family does not have good luck passing over mountain ranges on family trips!