Life in Palm Springs: "Hot Pools" and Card Tricks.

              Yesterday was very low-key. We didn't leave the house much until dinner time, but I'm not going to tell you about  that right away. First, I'm going to give you a run-through of the day. 

              I woke up around 6:00, and after blogging about the day before that, I got up and had breakfast. I had an eg sandwich and a cinnamon bun (it was technically two cinnamon buns but I was really hungry so I ate them both). We drank water and hung out for a majority of the time.

            Then Tommy and I plugged in my iPod to a speaker system and began playing music while doing homework. By the time we decided to take a break, we had finished all of our math. We stopped because we were jealous of our siblings playing on the pool.

             It wasn't much later that we joined them. The water was extremely hot, and it was hard to swim without having to cool off. We played a game where we would try to tip somebody on the raft and have them fall into the sizzling hot water. It was really fun. Nobody was really willing to go into the hot tub it was so hot! We called the pool the hot pool as if to warn people of it's heat. 

           After getting out and drying of, I made Tommy and I an Iced Chai Latte with ice. It was really good. We drank the majority of it while playing cards. We played go fish, crazy eights, and jin rummy. Yet soon we got bored, and after playing a couple rounds of jin, we started to learn magic card tricks. We learned four of them before having to go out for dinner.

             We left a little earlier for downtown then usual to go to some other stores. We went to some clothes stores, some art stores, and looked at a few of the restaurant's menus while we were up and about. We decided on a place that I don't know how to spell or pronounce (I think it's a Spanish name, for those of you who know any Spanish). The majority of the group, me included, got the pesto pasta. It was really good. My dad got salmon and my friend Tommy's little brother Evan had buttered noodles. On our way home we stopped by a car store and I got some cool pictures for my bulletin board back at home. We also stopped by Ben And Jerry's, and we knew we had to go there. I got the Cherry Garcia and the Scotchy Scotch Scotch made by Ron Burgundy himself (there goes my Anchorman reference). Then, we decided to walk home.

          It wasn't until we were half way home that Evans mom, Tanya, had realized that Evan had forgot his sweatshirt at Ben And Jerry's. the dads walked back to get it while the others walked home. I don't get how mothers know all these things. Have you ever noticed that when you ask her where something is, there's a 99% chance that she'll find it on her first try on what took you a trillion. It's like they have some sort of superwoman. Women, this is your shout out for being awesome :). 

             When we got home, someone offered to go into the hot pool, but we said no, because we were way to tired to do anything except brush our teeth, change into some pajamas, and go to bed. 

            Now I've woken up, and am blogging about yesterday's hot pools and card tricks. But I'll have to stop at some point, and I feel like the time is now. So, I guess I'm done now. See yah!

Life in Palm Springs: Beating The Heat And Fighting The Cold

               Palm Springs has been very warm so far... For the most part. It does get cold down here from time to time but I'm guessing it's nothing compared to the cold that my friends in Minnesota are dealing with. It has dropped to lower 50s and 60s but today's supposed to be very hot (get out your bathing suits children, we're heading to the pool)! 

                  I'm missing all my friends back home. Becca, Alana, Haley, Vilas, Sonia, And so many others too! I wish they could come and hang out with us on the opposite side of the American border (or California for those of you who don't have a map nearby). But they can't. Sonia might come for spring break but I'm leaving for Arizona at the same time!

              Yesterday was extremely eventful and tiring. We went to this HUGE place called Joshua Tree National Park. There is a huge area you can go to and climb all over. There's really cool rock structures and history to learn about. The name comes from a tree called the Joshua tree, a really cool tree with palm tree styled bark, curved branches spreading out everywhere, and big bristles at the end of each branch. It was really, really cool. Then we went home and chilled for an hour because the biggest part of our day was still to come.

              It was at 6:30 that we all went downtown to see the street fair. It was big, and by big, I. Mean. BIG. It ranged about three blocks wide and two blocks long. There was so many things to see, but my most favorite of all was the soap stand. They had so many soaps that you had to smell coffee beans to get the smell out of your nose so that you can smell the next one nice and fresh. Tommy and I really wanted some, and we found a deal where we could by four and get one free. We decided on blackberry, grapefruit, orange lemon, coconut lime, and a smell called Palm Springs, which is kind of like spearmint and sandalwood mixed. We thought we could split each one in half so we could both have the same amount. We would split the cost as well. The best part was when we bought them, the lady said to cut them in half because they last longer that way. Tommy and I looked at each other in a way that said, "way ahead of you". I almost doubled over laughing. Then the whole way home we tried to sing songs while yawning and see who could burp the largest. It was a very fun night. 

            I have to go because everyone's waiting for me to get up. See yah!

Life in Palm Springs: Dirt, Dust, and Dangerous Flying Objects.

           Yesterday was extremely windy. It was nearly impossible to see through the dirt and dust particles in the air. Yet Tommy, Evan, Misha, and I were very hopeful, because we wanted to go swimming! I should probably mention that Tommy is my best friend, Evan is his little brother, and Misha is my sister. Anyways, when the wind died down, we went to work cleaning the pool. We then changed and dived in. Every once in while, the parents would wade in, and we'd play Marco Polo. It was really fun. 

               After we got out and dried off, we ate lunch. Now that I think about it, I can't remember what I had! Ah yes, I remember now. I had leftover Mexican food! Everyone else had macaroni and cheese. I was kind of jealous of them. 

              Once we finished up cleaning our plates, we all felt extremely tired so we sat down to watch a movie. We decided on this movie called, "Dennis The Menace". It is about this boy who gets in trouble with his neighbors so much to the point that he runs away with a thief that constantly attempts to keep him hostage but the boy always accidentally outsmarts him. I had never seen it before so I figured I'd give it a shot. It was a really good movie. Once it had ended, it was around 3:00. Dinner was catching up on us faster than a cheetah stalking its prey. We passed the time by showing each other card tricks.

           By the time everyone was home, it was time to head downtown for some dinner. We walked down to Indian Canyon Ave, as usual, then walked around until we found a restaurant that interested us. We came across a place called Lulu's diner, so we tried it. Tommy, Evan, and I had some pepperoni pizza and Misha had some penne pasta. We all enjoyed it. Then as we were leaving, I took a chocolate mint. I have officially concluded that chocolate mints are ubiquitous in Palm Springs (aren't you proud of me Mr. Striet)! Anyways, we began walking home. 

              As we walked home, we came across some people making out in the middle of the sidewalk but hey, it's California, get used to it. We came across a gift store, and decided to go inside to look around. We walked over to a penny presser, and I put some money in and got a cool golfer on my penny. We then walked over to see a bunch of fedoras. We started trying them on like crazy, whether we wanted them or not. This is Tommy and I trying on one of our many fedoras. 

            Eventually, I actually got one, and we left.

           We then walked by a couple shirt stores and peeked inside. Nobody really got anything. We then kept walking, past the Ferraris, past the star crossed lovers in the middle of the sidewalk, and past all the stores to our lovely home. We then immediately went to bed, for it was very late. So here I am, at 7:20 in the morning, blogging about yesterday's activities. Until next time? Until next time. See yah!

Life in Palm Springs: Marilyn or Mountains?

              Life's been good in California. We have a swimming pool in our backyard and a tennis court back there too. I've only been here for two full days, and I'm planning on staying here for a week before my family and I head back to Arizona. We went with my friend Tommy and his family. We have already walked downtown, and we've already begun to like it. Two blocks from our house is Indian Canyon Ave. where all the small shops and tourist sites are. There's a huge statue of Marilyn Monroe right next to the mountainside. I'm still not sure which one is taller, Marilyn or the mountains.
              We went to the "Living Desert Zoo" and quite frankly, I'm still wondering what the alternative is? The "dead zoo"? I have no idea. We also walked through a hot water oasis, called Agua Caliente (which means "water hot" for those of you non-Spanish speakers). It was really cool. We saw a western king snake, and it was quite funny to see the ladies' reaction :). For the rest of the trip, the boys kept shaking branches and rustling leaves in hopes of scaring them. It was extremely funny.

              I'd also like to mention the sweet restaurants they have there. We went to have Mexican twice, and also ate from this place called Sherman's, which is this awesome deli that has the fluffiest French toast in all of Northern America. The were so yummy!!! 

            It's 6:58 right now, and I have to post this before anyone wakes up. I'd just like to say that life is sweet in California, and so are the palm trees. Uh oh, I hear Tommy waking up, I better post this quick, see yah!