When we decided on Palm Desert as our destination for Spring Break 2013, we didn't realize how important that decision would be. Last year we vacationed outside Las Vegas and it just wasn't south enough to be warm. This was our deciding factor in going to Palm Desert. Besides, I don't know if there is a more beautiful city anywhere. Matt says he thinks that is what the Celestial Kingdom will look like ;) It was a lot of fun to live there the first 9 months of our marriage.
We were up and at on Monday morning April 1st and on the road by 7:30 am. The babies had actually already been in the car for an hour by the time we left. Work calls coming in for Matt seemed to lessen throughout the week but on the drive down his phone was going crazy. The first time I answered it without thinking. He mouthed, "Why did you get it?" As I handed the phone to him. I wished I hadn't, not because I mind hearing work-talk but Matt uses his hands a lot when he talks. He would take his hands off the will to demonstrate, "Column A, column B, and column C," for example. I didn't answer the phone anymore after that.
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| Lunch in Mesquite. The half way point. |
We made great time and were in Yucca Valley at Sizzler with Grandma Donna and Grandpa Mike for dinner that night. We all ordered the salad bar. The getting up and walking it required was good for our car sticken legs. Matt's old Bishop was sitting next to us, Bishop Reed. He was the Bishop when Matt went on his mission and Matt hasn't seen him since. He was sitting with another family that Matt also knew from way back. The Tuvai's? Donna said, "Matt you took their daughter to Prom, I have a picture of it." Matt said, "I don't remember."
Awkward. He said, "I went to two Proms, one of them I don't remember at all." I corrected him since he also took me to my Senior Prom, "Hey, you went to
three proms."
Awkward again. Turns out it was actually Mark who had taken their daughter to Prom. The Tuvai's kissed all of our cheeks before they left, even the kids. It was sweet. *(Now that I am coming back and proof reading this before I post I should clarify: They kissed each one of us one of on the cheek. The did not however, kiss all of our cheeks.)
It was dark when we pulled into our Residence Inn an hour later so it wasn't until the next morning that we walked out into the sunshine. It was glorious. We sat under the Pergola on the patio for breakfast but couldn't bring ourselves to go back to the room afterwards. The kids got tennis rackets and basketballs from the desk and we goofed off for a bit. I took a walk down Cook Street. The desert was in full bloom. What can I say. Ahhhhhh.
The pool was wonderful. We spent several hours there that day and the next. Gray made a friend, Naveen. This was good since Mallerie and Ava were busy together and the babies couldn't play the diving game he wanted to play like Naveen could. Naveen came up gasping for air. I asked what happened, he said, "I swallowed a fly under water!" I guess it was a good thing Grayson had his new goggles from Grandma on.
We all had a fun time helping the babies practice swimming. Callie got brave and we could separate further and further and she would swim between us. She reminded me so much of Mallerie at that age. I couldn't get enough of her. Graham had a cast on his right arm for this trip. He broke his arm a couple of weeks ago on a friend's trampoline. He was devastated that it would completely ruin his Spring Break. It didn't of course, with a waterproof cast he was able to swim away.
A stranger commented to Matt about our family. My first reaction when he says that is always, "Uh-oh." But she had told Matt how impressed she was by watching the older kids help the younger ones so much.
Ava found a long string at the bottom of the pool which she thought was a shoelace. She brought it up and gave it to Matt to examine, "No this is the tie to someones swim trunks." Having just seen the latest installment of Diary of a Wimpy Kid we all wondered how long the poor sucker swam around without his trunks waiting to get out of the pool. It wasn't until we were getting ready to go to the pool the next day that Matt discovered, "Hey, that lace went to MY swimsuit." (How can I work on not teasing him so much when the guy keeps giving me so much fresh material to work with?)
Then when it was time to pack up for LA the next day Matt came in to do one last sweep of the hotel room. He opened the bedroom drawer to find ALL of his clothes still in the drawers, "My clothes! I thought my suitcase felt light." (See what I mean? :)
Matt had continued outdoor adventures planned for the afternoon with a hike through Indian Canyon. It sounded intriguing from the way he described it, a trail runs alongside the river and there are big trees. He hiked there as a youth. We enjoyed our drive there down Country Club drive. It never ceases to amaze me how manicured the streets are. Near perfection. We pulled up to the booth at the parking entrance. It was $9.00. Seems a little steep for parking for a short hike doesn't it? Well that would have been a bargain. It was $9.00 per PERSON. Eeek. We did not hike Indian Canyon. As we pulled away I wondered aloud how they can possibly charge that much. Matt reminded me it is a reservation and they can charge whatever they like.
Instead we ended up at Boomers. like Boondocks but Boomers. We all rode the Go-Karts (as they spelled it). It was nice that we could ALL ride. We did have to go in two shifts since Matt and I were the only ones who could drive with Grayson, Graham, and Callie, but it was nice that everyone was big enough to participate.
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| I'm a Big Kid now. |
Katrina walked next door to Target while Mallerie and Ava climbed the rock wall.
The boys and Callie played inside at the arcade. I loved watching Graham play Skeet ball. He had his casted arm hanging off to the side and he had funny way getting the ball up the ramp with his other hand. It was a good tactic. He even got in the 100 hole once.
For dinner we met up with Mike and Donna again. This time at our favorite restaurant Las Casuelas Nuevas. We were treated to freshly made guacamole at our table. We were going to save it to eat with our meal but it tasted so fresh we polished it off with the home made chips. The bowls were practically licked clean. I said, "There goes our chance of sending it back saying we didn't care for it." I would never...
Graham said he enjoyed sitting at the end of the table by Grandpa Mike since he hasn't talked to him for a long long time.
Mike and Donna had brought the truck down from the high dessert for us so we didn't have to go back and get it. The boys all got in and Matt reminded me how to get back to the hotel. I love Palm Desert at night so instead I took the girls down El Paseo drive and past our old stomping grounds. The twinkle lights around the palm trees make the city sparkle at night.
After some more of the same the next day; breakfast under the pergola, a walk down Cook St. (this time I had the boys with me because they wanted to spot the lizard I had seen the day before), we swam, and then headed back to the room for lunch. That is what we like about Residence Inn's, they have kitchen's so it saves on the food budget (they just "eat" up a lot of Matt's points). This particular room was great because it slept 8.
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Note: Objects may appear closer than they actually are.
This was not our actual view of the golf course.
Our view had a lovely yellow flowering tree in front of our deck. |
I sat on the back deck that overlooked the golf course with Graham and Callie as we ate. There were cotton tail bunnies everywhere! As abundant as those airplanes were last year, the bunnies were even more abundant this year. When we first got out of the car that first night we all shushed each other, "Look, there is a bunny." We were a little like the couple who was excitedly filming the airplanes the last day of our trip. You couldn't go a minute without seeing one of those cottontail bunnies run by. It made me wonder if the 9-year-old we had put in charge of watching our bunnies back home was doing his job. Anyway, I sat on the deck with Graham and Callie in the sunshine for quite a while after lunch. They wanted to take turns singing songs. They were the cutest songs you could ever hear. They were pieces of primary songs mixed with nursery rhymes but all had the theme that Jesus wants us to love our family. Its like they were singing their testimonies. It was a treasure.
We met up with Mike and Donna that afternoon at Morongo Valley Park. The kids blew bubbles and played on the playground.
Some of us went on a hike: Matt, myself, Mallerie, and Graham. The kids were sort of spooked because there was a sign warning of a cougar sighting in the area. This left Graham especially jumpy. He held a bloody tissue to his mouth because moments he had before knocked out a loose tooth on his own knee. On the boardwalk we passed an older couple. The lady noted, "Poor little fella." As she saw Graham with his cast and bloody tissue.
We stayed on the boardwalk but did have these zingers to show the folks when we got back to the pavilion. It was only a few days past April Fools Day after all...
We bid our farewells from there and parted ways, they left back to the high dessert and we headed to The River, a shopping/dining district.
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| Pictured left to right: Pride and Joy. |
The night was so perfect. The girls went to Forever 21. Matt asked if I wanted to go with, I said "I'm way past that." I need a Forever 30 Something (seriously, I think there would be a market for that). We sat by the river and people-watched on such a perfect night. They mainly have high-end restaurants there and I wanted to sit outside so we went to 5 Guys and sat on the terrace with the three younger kids. I totally rammed a guys elbow when I opened the door. It seemed to even take some skin off. I felt so bad! I apologized over and over then found myself automatically rubbing it like if one of my kids bangs their head. He had to have thought that odd.
We were done eating when the girls came over so they ate inside ("There're too many flies!") while we walked over to the theatre. We bagged the idea of seeing a movie after calculating that it would cost $98 (and that is with
out popcorn). Even if I was a millionaire I cannot fathom paying $98 for my family to see a movie. It made our stop for ice-cream at Haafen Dazs seem like a bargain even though I could have stocked my freezer quite full of ice-cream if I spent that same amount at the grocer.
Hey, It's a vacation.
Our last stop of the day was the JW Marriott.
We were there just to look at it. If you are ever in the area it is worth it to stop by. So beautiful. The glass wall opens for the boats to go in and out of. The restaurants are all on the water and it is simply gorgeous. We sat out front on the benches and watched the flamingos before going back to our now-not-so-fancy hotel for the night.
Part Two:
The week before we were to leave on our break, Matt's 89 year-old grandmother in California passed away. We wondered if we would need to leave earlier on our trip than we had planned so we could go to the funeral. However, since they didn't bury her for a whole 10 days later we ended up having to extend our stay in California to attend the funeral. Either way, it was a blessing that we had already chosen and planned out our destination so that we could be there. After Matt's dad was killed in 1981 things changed and he has not seen his dad's side of the family since. We both felt it was high time we make some connections.
We checked out the next morning and headed to LA. Mallerie couldn't get over the population numbers listed under the city limit. Close to Four million. More than the entire state of Utah. And those freeways show it! You can never drive faster than 30 mph. I was following Matt in the truck but got separated a couple of times. What would I do I wondered? We were able to get to Santa Monica Pier okay. Down by the coast was chili as I suspected it would be at this time of year but it was full of sunbathers and swimmers anyway. Mallerie and Ava especially loved the ocean. We picnicked out of our cooler pretty much finishing off what we brought and giving the rest to the seagulls.
It was another long drive back to the new Residence Inn we were staying at. I guess we chose the wrong beach. Huntington would have been a lot closer to where we were staying but it doesn't have the Pier and we had the time so it was okay. Just a lot of driving!
The kids were sandy and tired and hungry when we got to the room and it was time to get ready for the viewing. I suggested to Matt we leave them behind and just he and I go. I knew he would want to visit with his long lost relatives and I could picture how bored the kids get. I could picture them asking over and over when we are leaving. Matt wanted them to meet his family but there would be time for that the next day at the funeral and luncheon. He agreed and we ordered them up pizza and took off on our own to find the viewing. Rose Hills Cemetery was close by but HUGE. We learned it is the largest cemetery in the United States. It looked like we were pulling up to a building once but realized we were in a Mausoleum with people's ashes. A cyclist steered us in the right direction. We needed to go to gate one and we were at gate 16 or something. It's a HUGE place. I asked Matt if he was nervous walking in to meet his family. He said, "No, just anxious," I felt the same way but right away we were greeted so warmly. It was a bit overwhelming to try and keep names straight. Matt's genealogy isn't exactly easy to sort out.
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| Aunt Martha, Me, Uncle Roy, Matt, Aunt Celia |
Afterwards we went to Applebee's for dinner and I was writing down info and names pedigree style to get it straight in my head.
I was then anxious to get back to the kids. I wasn't completely at ease being away from them in a city that seemed 90% rough and tumble.
We had plenty of time the next day to get ourselves together for the funeral services but not enough time to go out and do something beforehand. We were the first one's to arrive at the chapel only seconds behind the hearse. The casket was again opened so the kids got to see Grandma Angie after all. It was weird to think that they have the same relation to her as my Granny Woolf who died last year and with whom they spent many hours with.
I struck up a conversation with Reverend Dan who would be performing the service. I realized pretty quickly into the conversation that he had never met Grandma Angie nor did he know anything about her. As family started to trickle in he asked if there would be many more coming. I said, "I don't think so. Last night at the viewing it was in a very small room with very few people. Out of her four children only two are living." He said, "Is that right?" So I continued, "She lost one son in Vietnam and Matt's dad in a car accident." Rev Dan said, "You don't write that into the script do you." More of a statement than a question.
Later Matt's cousin William (Willie) came into the church. Matt has a cousin! It was neat to see them visit for the first time. I snuck around to try and get a photo of this first meeting.
Again I was standing by Rev Dan. I said, "I just want to snap a picture real quickly of Matt meeting his cousin for the first time." This too surprised the Rev so again I continued, "Yes they are both grandchildren of Grandma Angie but they have never met." We chatted a bit more about the Reverends family and then he asked, "You called Evangelina (Angie's full name) something different there what was it?" I said, "Grandma Angie. That is all Matt has ever called her. I guess it's just easier when you are a kid to say Grandma Angie instead of Grandma Evangelina."
The funeral was held in a beautiful stained glass chapel at Rose Hills with the casket open at the front and draped in more roses than I could count. Reverend Dan began the service, "This is the service for Evangelina Bocanegra (except he kept pronouncing her name Evangeline)". "But she went by another name didn't she, ah yes, Angie. Even Grandma Angie. Can we call her that today? Grandma Angie?" The family nodded their approval. I sat there thinking, "This guy has a good memory!" Then he continued, "Angie did not lead an easy life did she, no, she lost two sons. One while fighting for our country in Vietnam and the other in an automobile accident." I found it interesting that his only personal material was from what I had chatted with him about. Had he really planned on conducting a funeral for someone who he knew
nothing about??? Then he went on. "It is great to see her family gathered here today, some of you meeting for the first time." I guess
I'm the family gossip.
It was a lovely service. Reverend Dan's Bible was more marked up than mine will ever be. He could quote scripture and did a good job remembering details he had obviously just learned from family members beforehand without writing anything down. He talked about the importance of serving one another (referring to the service Aunt Martha had rendered to her mom), the afterlife, and resurrection. That is really the only time the doctrine seemed to differ form what we believe. There wasn't an opening or closing prayer rather during the service he would say, "Let us pray." As we discussed the service afterwards I thought about all the similarities there are in our church's teachings.
The Reverend then he openend up the remainder of time to let the family speak if they chose to. Matt got up first and said he remembers his Grandma and especially going to her house each Christmas and the spirit in her home and that he was always treated very kindly. Though things changed after his dad died, he always remembered his Grandma Angie and the he loves her and he knows she loves him. He closed in the Name of Jesus Christ. The reverend stood off to the side as Matt and the others spoke but he was not silent. He added a lots of, "Yes, and wow, and ahhh, and wonderful." You know as in "Can I get an Amen?" The first time it caught Matt off guard but he was able to press on. It was good to also hear from Uncle Roy, Aunt Celia, Cousin Crystal, and Cousin William. None of them were overly emotional because it is a blessing that Angie was able to go when she did, but their hearts were tender since they have such a great love for her. I hope Katrina wasn't giving false representation from our row with all her sniffling and nose blowing. Truth is she had come down with a horrible cold the first day of the trip.
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| Matt was one of six pallbearers |
At the gravesite we were led in the Lord's prayer. Uncle Roy and William brought white homing pigeons to release. Callie and Graham got to open the cage. The birds were a little stubborn so they had to hit the back of the cage. The birds flew out and circled the gravesite. It was the perfect touch. One pigeon however would NOT leave the cage. William was shaking it and banging it but the bird would not budge. They said that the last time they released the pigeons a stowaway had come home with them. This poor bird didn't know what was going on, or what to do, or where to go, so it just clung to the sides of the cage. haha.
We hiked the steep hill to visit Grandpa Manuel's grave and also Uncle Hugo's grave. The last time we visited Katrina was 4 and Mallerie 2. It was healing to be there.
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| Matt's dad died in a car crash when Matt was nine years old. |
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| Matt is named after his Uncle Hugo who was killed by an enemy explosive device in Vietnam at the tender age of 19. |
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| I think the most important thing about being there was that I feel like my kids finally get it. They have heard Matt tell about his dad who passed away when he was nine. Mallerie is the age Laurie was when Manuel died and Grayson is the age Matt was. This makes it more real to them to realize how well they know their dad and how special he is to them and what a loss it would be if he were taken now. Even during dinner one night Graham said to Matt, "I'm sorry your dad died." It was so sincere. I said, "He is giving you his condolences all these years later." |
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Roy and Celia live very close to the cemetery so it was a short drive to the luncheon at their house. They had gone all out and had made all of the food themselves. A true Mexican feast. There was a table reserved just for 'Matt's family.' Celia made mac n'cheese incase the kids wanted that instead. She had CapriSuns in the cooler and toys out for the kids. I thought Graham would be excited to ride the little bike she had gotten out but he wouldn't touch it. I asked him later and he explained, "That is a baby bike and I know how to ride a two wheeler." Roy took us on a tour of his projects and motor home and to the cage he keeps the pigeons in. There they were back home (minus a few :( Willie came and sat with us at lunch and later both Matt and I expressed to each other how impressed we were with him. He is so personable and thoughtful and kind. Grayson got in a sneezing attack and he offered Benadryl and a cough drop. He had Rock Band and the Wii set up for all the kids. Will after all did just graduate from prestigious Pepperdine University in Malibu, which he talked to Katrina all about.
Back insude the house Matt showed his Doritos commercial on the big screen. The kids relaxed on the couch, the babies played. It felt so natural.
I got to talk to his half cousin Krystal a little and Celia also gave us a photo book full of names and pictures from the Cavazos side, which is the blood line, as well as addresses and contact information should we choose.
Matt looked at the time and whispered, "We better get going, we don't want to overstay our welcome." But I don't know if that would be possible. Celia told us over and over again how we have GOT to come and stay with them when her daughter Janeen is out from Wisconsin with her family. We did get to meet Janeen via Skype that evening. Her mannerisms reminded me so much of Laurie. Janeen too had such a genuine interest in our family. They have been getting our Christmas cards for years and have noted each time a baby has been born, "They had another one!" Matt updated her briefly on what his siblings are up to. I told her that Laurie is now a grandma, and Matt told her that she has multiple preschools in Hawaii. Graham randomly stuck his head in front of the camera, "They're made of cheese balls!" Funny little guy. Callie seemed to be having a good time as well. I was surprised that their Great Dane, Joshua, who was taller than Callie didn't bother her.
After a tour from Celia of the house (with lots of reminders where we could sleep when we come next) she loaded us up with snacks and drinks and we bid our goodbye's. As Matt hugged his relatives goodbye Ava was in the lineup, "Bye Ava," he said as he gave her a hug. One more laugh for the road. Matt told Celia, "You treated us like royalty." She said, "You are. You are family royalty."
While we got ready the next day to check out Matt decided to head to Rose Hills with the boys one more time. When he came back he said, "I remember now how the radio stations here only play the same 3-4 top hit songs over and over." He was referring to Justin Timberlake and Jay Z's
As Long As I Got My Suit and Tie. This phrase remained in his head and would come out at any time. I asked him, "Are all your things packed up this time?" "As long as I got my suit and tie," was his answer. I liked that he did sing the phrase every time.
Before leaving LA the next day to head to Vegas us girls requested a stop at The Grove. It is so beautiful there with an awesome farmers market and I knew Callie would be old enough to enjoy American Girl. The drive took us through the nicer parts of LA as well. I couldn't help but think of the house in
Father of the Bride as we passed the groomed lawns and spacious homes. Still though, we were in the heart of LA and that was reiterated when we stopped for gas. I pulled up behind Matt and put the window down. It sounded like someone on the other side of the pumps was having a domestic dispute. I couldn't get the window up fast enough as the degrading slurs and language filtered through. We turned up the music. Matt who was standing outside the whole time said that they were two strangers. This guy was soooo angry at a girl who was taking too long to fill up because she was fiddling with her phone. Isn't there some law like verbal harassment? This jerk store had
definitely crossed the line. We were able put the windows down on our last leg to The Grove. There was a souped up black car next to us full of people having a great time. Blaring on the radio was, "As long as I got my suit and tie..." It's our anthem for the trip.
Our spot in the parking garage gave us a good view of the Hollywood sign.
Graham was sour thinking he would only be going through girl's clothing stores.
His mood brightened when he realized that was not so and Matt bought him a lazer gun. Graham promised to pay him back and gave Matt his money when we got to the car. He was a few bucks short but since the tooth fairy owed him for the tooth he lost in Morongo Valley it all came out even.
I took the girls into American Girl. We reminisced about when Mallerie was completely fascinated by the dolls. I miss it.
The weather was ideal as we browsed shops, relaxed, and ate at the Farmer's Market. Getting ice cream is a must but as Ava learned
Fancy Nancy is NOT the flavor to try. The name is fancy but the flavor is terrible.
Mallerie and the Traveling Angel
Mallerie found a dreamy cell phone cover of the Santa Monica Pier. When we were there a couple of days earlier she said she wanted to see the sun set there. On her cell cover it is the sun setting at the pier. I found some prints to hang up in the living/dining room. We got in a conversation with a Brazilian at a kiosk selling yummy homemade soap. I got cucumber and mint bars.
I walked around with Mallerie and Ava for a while and we were having so much fun we could have stayed all day but Matt said, "Time to go." Ahh man!
I love that these two had each other to pal around with at the pool, while shopping, and goofing off in general.
Our next stop was in Vegas. It was a long leg of the trip.
As we unloaded our luggage the kids noted, "Hey we never ate at IHOP on this trip." That seems to be a tradition of ours. I said, "It aint over yet!"
We sat down and the little kids rattled off their same kids meals they always get, Mallerie and Ava order the chicken and waffles, Katrina keeps her order to herself, Matt decides quickly, and I stare cross-eyed at the menu. Matt said some things never change.
We scrunched into one room with two beds for the night. We turned on General Conference the next morning in time to hear President Monson's talk on obedience. I couldn't help but add my "yes, awesome, wow," like Reverend Dan had done.
We caught what we could on the radio of the rest of conference. I am so glad it is available online for that reason.
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Callie was quite the little pack rat. She unloaded random things from her bag. She had a plastic box full of tin foil squares. A couple times during the trip I caught her sitting quietly spreading out her tinfoil. Gray on the other had had a bunch of clothes but was very short on socks and undies.
Live and learn people. Live. and. learn. |
I appreciate a lot things about traveling with Matt. He was so great at arranging all accommodations beforehand with the rooms when we had to change part of our stay to be in LA. He took the reins stocking the cooler with lunch food beforehand and deciding on dinner plans while on our trip. I like that he doesn't keep taking us out for fast food. We only ate fast food once actually. He was behind me in the truck at Wendy's drive through. The employee said, "The van in front of you took all the frosty's." Matt said, "That is my family." "Oh."
Don't go and be dissen' family. Can I get an Amen?
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