The Living Desert

Last month our home school group took a trip to The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert. We had a great time.

They have a neat butterfly exhibit where you can go in and butterflies land right on you. While Michelle is way too much for butterflies, Catherine made some new friends.

And we got a lot of great pictures.

Michelle also got to ride a camel. She loved it.

And feed the giraffes. Again, loved it.

There was so much to see and do there. It was great. The weather was nice. The people were friendly. We were the only school group that day and it wasn’t crowded.

I tried to take Charlie on the carousel, but he did not seem to like it.

On the way home we stopped and got pizza for dinner, which made David happy.

Just another day of making memories.

Related

Last week my sister and her family came to visit. It was so much fun.

But let me back up a bit there first.

You probably knew, if you'd been reading this long enough, that I have a sister. Sure. I used to mention a sister pretty often. This one. Sarah. Here she is with my nephew Nathan.

Last time I mentioned her was July 2010.

Yeah, so Sarah and I do not get a long well. Oh, you figured that out.

Anyway, we never were close. She is 11 years younger than me. We have the same mom, but different dads. We have seriously different opinions on many subjects. Anyway, by her choice, she cut me out of her life. And I am pretty okay with her choice.

So anyway, back to last weeks visit.

I have a second sister. Nikki. She found me on Facebook. It's impossible to hide on Facebook. Anyways, if you will recall from this post full of embarrassing pictures... We hadn't see each other since she was 2. She is 24 now.

Needless to say, it had been a long time.

So she arrived on Wednesday with her husband, Junior, and her daughter, my 1 year old niece, Carter.

(Who is arguably the cutest baby niece any one ever had.) We hung out. We played some Dance Central. We had some spaghetti.

My brother, who is incidentally also her brother, came over and brought the family. I was finally able to give Allison her birthday present and I got to spend some time with Nathan.

Here we all are together, my brother Joe, Nikki and Me.

I tried to get a picture of all the cousins. Carter was good to go, but Nathan was not looking.

So I tried again. This time Nathan is looking but Carter was done. Also, Gibby joined this one.

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On Thursday, we all went down to Palm Springs and went to Knott's Soak City. Carolynn and Catherine went on slides all day. David got quite the sunburn. Even Carter went down a little slide.

Then we went to dinner at a cute little diner in Palm Springs.

After that, we left them there in Palm Springs so they could head back to Texas.

It was so much fun. We should seriously get together more than once every 20 years or so.

Betty

I got home from Palm Springs this morning. Grandpa and I left about 8:20 this morning. We stopped at Smart & Final on the way home. He wanted to pick up some burritos. He likes the brand from Smart & Final because when he was working they used to sell those on the lunch trucks that would come around to the job sites. He got a box for Carolynn too. He thought she might enjoy some. Then we got some gas. He said my car isn't nearly as fuel efficient as my moms. That didn't stop him from planning a trip to Laughlin. We can go in April and my dad can go too.

After I got home, I was out running errands. I went to the bank. I went to Target for some cleaning supplies. I went to Best Buy to find a laptop case. I can't find one that fits. Then I went over to PetSmart to get some cat food. I mentioned to David, that we have had the same amount of cat food at home for weeks. He said Kitty hasn't been eating. She has also been acting strange. I decided that she was lonely. Since we lost Cleo, perhaps she was just feeling sad. So I decided we should get another cat. David and I went to the shelter and a cute little kitty adopted us. She is black and white so we called her Betty Boop. Here is a picture.



After we got home and we were getting Betty all set up, I figured out why Kitty hasn't been eating. Her food was bad. The container we keep it in had no lid. Carolynn said she had broken it weeks ago. Second, she had a huge bowl of it. It was all stale and gross. I hooked her up with a fresh bowl of new food and she chowed down. She wasn't lonely. She was starving. Oh well, Betty is here now. She seems happy too. Carolynn was excited. Cleo was her cat.

Tomorrow I go back to work. Only a few days until I leave for Georgia.

A Day With Grandpa

Finding Grandpa in a casino is like looking for a specific piece of straw in a barn. Do you have any idea how many old dudes are in a casino at any given time? He owns a cell phone, but he doesn’t carry it. (Sometimes he carries it at home if he left my Aunt a message and he is waiting for her to call back. He said she doesn’t call back.)

When I last left you, I was on my way to check on Grandpa and go to the pool. I did that. I try and check Grandpa every hour or so. Sometimes I see if he is winning big. Sometimes I play next to him for a little while. Sometimes I just see where he is and that he is still here and go back to what I was doing. I sat by the pool and listened to my iPod and read for awhile. I started getting a bit pink. I came inside so I didn’t burn. I played a few more slots and chatted up some folks.

Old folks are chatty. I leaned more than I needed to about the lives of various old folks here at the casino. Grandpa is chatty too. He told me about times he won on slots in Pahrump. He told me about going to Laughlin. He liked it, but it was cold. I could get us a room at the Aquarius in Laughlin in the Spring. I have never been and I know a place I can get a room for free. I will check into it on Wednesday. Grandpa said it looked nice and it was new. I also learned from Grandpa that his insurance no longer covers his old doctor and now he has to go to a new one in Victorville. That means no more doctors appointments down the hill, and going to San Manual after. Another interesting Grandpa fact I learned today: He has a card in his wallet to tell about his pacemaker. It has the serial number and everything. Yep, I saw it. He said it is so if something happens to him, then people will know about his pacemaker. Also, in case he is going through security at the airport, he can prove it to guards. He said that never happened though. Guards just take his word for it. I guess he has an honest look. I probably would take his word for it too. He’s an old dude. But I am more wary now. There are old dudes in prison too.

Anyway, after I played slots and chatted with folks, Grandpa and I went to the deli and split a tuna sandwich. He says he doesn’t eat as much as he used to, that is why we should just split a sandwich. I can guarantee he could have easily ate the whole thing. He ate the half, the potato salad and the pickles. I would be willing to bet money he goes there in the middle of the night/early in the morning and eats again. Then when I get up, he will eat breakfast. But he doesn’t eat like he used to.

After the sandwiches, I sat at the bar and played video poker. That is my favorite thing to do in the casinos. You play 1 quarter at a time, you aren’t just spinning the slots, and the bartender keeps your soda full. Best of all, you can play for a long time without going broke. I put $10.00 in, played for an hour and a half, and took out $8.00. Now I am relaxing in the room. Grandpa is asleep. He went to bed about an hour ago. He will probably be back up very early. Oh well, whatever makes him happy.

I am looking into getting m blog updated. Nikki made this cute sheep design, but I asked her if she could possibly make something more me specific. She has started a web design business. Check it out at DesignCoyote.com.

Catherine had her softball practice tonight. She said she did a lot of running.

That is all for now. I think I will take a swim in this giant tub.

Golden Goose

The Golden Goose is a slot machine my mom likes. I can’t find it. It was here last time. I thought I found it, but I didn’t. About a third of the machines here are closed up. I didn’t find the one I liked with the Lucky Meercats or Lucky Lemmings either. There are still plenty of slot machines available here at Agua Caliente in fabulous Palm Springs. Grandpa and I left about 8:00 this morning. We were here by 10:00. The room wasn’t ready when we got here, so Grandpa wandered off to play his favorite slots. He wanted to play a Zeus one. I sat outside for a while. It is in the 80’s here. Then I played a cool Indiana Jones game. I liked it. After that, I tried a Hawaiian game. It was okay. Then we had some lunch. Grandpa had some ham and eggs and I had a salad. Later we are going to get some tacos.

Our room was ready, so we checked in and now I am watching TV and relaxing. Grandpa is where Grandpa likes to be. He is having a good time. I am relaxing. I think I will go see what Grandpa is doing and maybe sit by the pool and relax.

Penis

Yep, I said it. It has been an interesting time at my job to say the least. I am sick of men. All men. Prisoners and employees alike. Men are stupid pigs. David is probably packing as I type this. He did get a one way ticket to Texas. Maybe he will stay there because he thinks I have lost my mind. That is all I have to say. That and it is very funny. If I didn’t find humor in my job, I would have quit already.

Carolynn’s grounding is going along filled of drama. (“I can’t do anything. I guess I will just stay in my bed.”) She missed going to the movies with my mom over the weekend because of her grounding. My mom took Catherine to see Coraline. Speaking of movies, we got our Netflix back on. I canceled it when we moved and we were broke anyway. We have watched several movies. Definitely, Maybe was okay and Burn After Reading was not super great. It had some funny parts though. The Coen brothers make some great movies; I just didn’t care for this one. Fargo, Raising Arizona, and O Brother Where Art Thou were funny. Today we should be getting Changeling.

Today I was out doing some shopping and I stopped by to tell my Grandpa I had next Monday and Tuesday off and see if he wanted to go anywhere. If there is a casino, he wants to go there. He had some free rooms at Agua Caliente so I am taking him. We will go on Monday and come home Tuesday. The Monday after that I leave for Georgia.

On Sunday Nicole is having a baby shower. I will go there after work. I hope my nephew gets a load of goods. (And some stuff for Allison too, because being a big sister is an important job.)

Well, I am off. My days off are often filled with cleaning, shopping and errands.

Christmas Cookies

We had a fun time in Palm Springs. I lost my money, but I knew I would. We ate at the buffet there and it was fabulous. I ate so much. It was all good. I have not been eating right because I have been so stressed. Now I cannot stop eating. I played some slots. I liked one called Lucky Meercats. It was like one I played in Pahrump called Lucky Lemmings. It was fun. I tried a few other ones, but that was my favorite. We went to Monday Night Football and ate some tailgate foods. They had hot dogs and chicken wings and stuff. It was good. We only stayed until half time. Then we played some more slots. I was not winning, so my mom and me went to the bar and tried a few fancy martinis. Some were better than others were.

This one was called Palm Springs. It was my favorite.

This one was called Razzberry Tini. It tasted like Formula 44. My mom really liked this one.

This one was called Lemon Head. It was very tart.

This one is called Lady Luck. It was kind of lemon-lime cherry.

This one was a melon one.

After a bunch of those, I was feeling pretty good.

Today we had a little breakfast, played some more slots and headed home. We had fun.

While I was gone, the girls spent the night at my brother’s house. I assume they had fun. I assume this because they are still there. They called this afternoon and asked if they could sleep over again. My brother was egging them on. (Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese can’t they stay????) I said yes. He took them shopping and out to eat and junk. That must have been fun. My brother, three girls, in the mall, two days before Christmas… Good luck with that. Then he took them out to eat. He is a brave soul. Now he has them for one more night.

I am still doing my holiday baking. There is only a little left. We have a million cookies, candies, and cakes.

Tomorrow I am going to my brother’s house to spend Christmas Eve. I am making some beans and Nicole is making some tamales. It will be a Christmas Fiesta.

Three Sheets To The Wind

You should never blog drunk. Yet, here it is. I have only been drunk maybe thee times ever. This is one of those times. Six martinis later. I just figured out why blogging is bad drunk. You cannot spell. I have had to correct it like 12 times.

Palm Springs is fun. I am finally relaxed. Maybe too relaxed. Grandpa is in the casino gambling. Good thing too. I would be embarrassed for my Grandpa to see me drunken. He’d probably just laugh though.

My mom is also drunken. It is funny. We met a guy who looks like this old dude.



We took his picture. Tomorrow we will have pictures of this guy and some drinks and more. Tonight I will sleep. And laugh. Everything is hilarious. Hilarious is a hilarious word.