BACK TO SCHOOL

The kids headed back to school yesterday. The summer went by really fast, but they were ready to go. Well, Rena was REALLY excited, Maleah was kinda excited and Cameron actually wanted vacation to last a little bit longer.

Cameron - 3rd grade.....

Rena - 2nd grade.....

Maleah - 1st grade.....

On our way.....

We checked out Rena's class first. She was very excited about her teacher, Mrs. Mone, and the friends that are in her class.....

Next was Maleah -- she has Mrs. Embree this year and was excited to find her name tag and seat.....

Cameron has Mrs. Wells and was also excited that he has a few of his close friends in his class.....

Once the bell rang it was time to line up and head in (without parents) :) ..........

They all three had a great first day and are excited for the year (Rena more so than Cameron!)! :)

HOW HOT CAN IT GET?

So, it got a little bit hot while we were on our vacation......which means collecting money for the kids and losing money for Jeff. And on this trip the kids were definitely collecting!

It's always a little game that we play in the car when we are headed somewhere hot. It starts out that Jeff tells the kids "if it hits 100 then you each get a buck". So the kids watch the temp in the van and if it hits 100 they go wild and start negotiating for what they get when it hits 101.

This time it started at a buck for 100, then when it started getting really hot it jumped to a buck for 105, then 110, then one day it was a couple of bucks for 115, then a couple of more for 116, and more for 117, 118 and 119.......the kids kept upping it and Jeff kept agreeing because he was SURE that it wasn't going to get that hot. Well, by the time it hit 119, this game had been going on for a few days already and Jeff owed each one of the kids 19 dollars! After that Jeff wasn't having much fun and ended the game!

It's so funny to watch and listen to the kids as they watch the temp. Sometimes it will jump up a degree only for a few seconds and then go back down. When there is money on the line, though, the kids sit and stare at it and when it changes (no matter how quickly) they know.....and they make sure we know too!

Here's how Jeff lost all of his money.....


Not only did Jeff lose money because of this HOT weather, but he also had to deal with the hot weather.....and it was HOT and uncomfortable at times!

PALM SPRINGS AERIAL TRAMWAY

On Thursday we rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway - it is the worlds largest rotating tramway. It starts at 2,643 feet and goes up the cliffs of Chino Canyon to 8,516 feet. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the top and drops about 30 degrees.

Getting ready to board the tram -- Rena was NOT at all excited to be going up the mountain, but she managed to put on a smile for us.....

The view from the tram looking up to where we are going.....

The view from the tram looking down at where we just were....

In the tram.....

At the top.....

Walking down to the Long Valley Discovery Trail.....

Fun on the trail.....

"Meet Jeff!" -- That's what the sign says -- Meet Jeff, the tree!

Time to go -- back in the tram going down -- Rena was excited this time and actually had fun on the tram.....

Here are some pictures of the awesome views:

From the top......

From the top, but in the tram going down.....

Another tram coming up.....

Back on the ground looking up.....

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY CAMERON

We celebrated Cameron's 9th birthday while we were in Indio. First thing in the morning he opened some presents. His main gift was new roller blades, but he also got some new goggles, squirt guns, torpedo blasters, a lego watch, a game, a new movie & an Angry Birds t-shirt......

He chose pancakes for his birthday breakfast so Jeff decided to barbeque them. They turned out pretty good.......

I had a candle, but no way to light it -- I tried the stove and thought about sticking my hand in the bbq, but decided that we should play-it-safe for breakfast and just act like it was lit. Cameron wasn't as willing to play along and wouldn't fake blow it out......

We spent the day up top Mt. San Jacinto (details on another post!) and then we went out for dinner and ice-cream. When we asked Cameron where he wanted to go for his birthday dinner he chose Target for hot dogs and icee's. Luckily we were able to convince him orange chicken and ice-cream would be better -- and not something that we always go out for. So, we ended up at the City Wok Chinese Restaurant and then at Cold Stone for ice-cream......

Can't believe he his 9 years old already -- how fast time goes by! We had a good day celebrating Cameron!