Joshua Tree National Park

Welcome to Jumbo Rocks Campground at Joshua Tree National Park. Where it is bright, sunny and about 50F.



Can you see our truck and trailer down there?



We took several treks through the desert...



... through the Joshua Tree forests....



... and exploring the occasional cave.



Jena LOVES camping! She's a real dirt dog!



An unexpected surprise from all the rain we just had... There were lots of desert flowers in bloom:





It was a GREAT weekend, but now it's back to work...
Have a great week all!

Cheryl has a job!!!

After taking a well deserved 3 month break, Cheryl started looking for a job. She had 4 interviews and ended up with 3 job offers. Her first offer was at a place only 3 miles away. Her second offer was at a place in Laguna Beach, right across the street from the beach. Her last offer (the one that she really really wanted) was at Rausch Physical Therapy and Sports Performance Center. They are only 5.5 miles from the house. You can check them out here:

http://www.rauschpt.net/

I was lucky enough to be working from home the day that she got the email. She was over the top with happiness! We were all very excited for her. I told Chris that we should take her to Farrell's to celebrate, but she veto'd that idea and we went to PeiWei.

She's not toddling around the house anymore, coloring with markers on the table. She's not acting out the three little pigs or playing prince and princess with her dad. She's not a little kid anymore.

She's an awesome 24-yr-old... totally focused on what she wanted to do since she was a Junior in High School. For all the things I wish I could go back and do differently as her mother, she has emerged with grace and wisdom... one of the nicest persons that I know. BIG {sigh}...

She started working today. I am so very PROUD of her!

Racing for the Cure - Half Marathon

NOTE to Self: Races two weekends in a row is a bad idea. It's not that we did badly... Cheryl's goal was a little over optimistic, but we met my goal for the race. We finished in 2:05, that's a PR for Cheryl! AND we are both wiped out!

It was so nice to cross that finish line!

My Time: 2:05:33
Pace : 9:35
Age: 7/25
Overall: 178/459

Cheryl's Time: 2:05:51
Pace: 9:36
Age: 8/21
Overall: 180/459

Hot Chocolate 15K - Part II

I wanted to share the proofs from our race. I don't think we'll be buying any of these pictures:

Here are Cheryl's pictures:

And my pictures:

Mojo Card Kit Club Reveal

I had the pleasure of putting the card kit together this month. There were three different versions. Everything was the same between them except for the patterned paper (which was all from the same paper line). Here is an example of one of the kits:



Here are my cards. I made all of them during the Mojo online crop:

I made this one for Terri's 3B challenge. It uses a cute image from a designer that Chris's girlfriend, Lita, found for me named Birdie Brown. Unfortunately, Birdie Brown doesn't have her store anymore because I adore her images:



Here is a simple little gift card holder that I made from Beth's Something Challenge. I let the pretty paper speak for itself:



Here is a nice simple guy birthday card that I made for Jan's B&W with a Pop of Color challenge:



Here I played with a Tim Holtz die that I picked up from CHA. This was for Kim's Card Challenge:



This one was made for my sketch challenge:



This is for Jan's Utilizing Project Life ideas on your layout challenge. I used a free project life printable card from this collection:



This card was done for Terri's SPRING Challenge:



This last card is for Beth's Flower Power challenge:



Thanks for stopping by! Please visit the other ladies in the card kit to see what they have created:

Beth - bethiejs.blogspot.com
KimP - Mojo Crop
Diane - mumblebeedesigns.blogspot.com
Terri - jazzyscrappertidbits.blogspot.com
Mary - justanotefrommary.blogspot.com
KimO - Mojo Crop
Jan - Mojo Crop
Niki - ellenaspaperhouse.blogspot.com

Pretty Girl...

I put this pretty digital image in with the March Card Kit Club. I fixed her up with lots of glittery FUN!





The digital image is from Dilly Beans. The patterned paper is from this FREE kit from Shabby Princess.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

PIO - Pretty Hair
Off the Rails Scrapbooking - Anything Goes
Scarppin' Mojo - Digi Kit Challenge

Hot Chocolate 15K

Cheryl and I spent the weekend in San Diego. On Saturday, we went to the Hot Chocolate 15K package pickup and then explored the Gas Lamp Quarter of downtown San Diego.



We stopped at Cafe Sevilla for sangria and tapas on their outside patio.



We were back in our room on the 15th floor of the Omni before dark. Our room overlooked the Gas Lamp Quarter and we watch the lights turn on and the traffic get worse and worse.

The following morning, it was just a short walk to the Hot Chocolate 15K starting line:



There we found our corral.



With a few other people.



The finisher's prize was full of Chocolate-y goodness!





Time to say good-bye to San Diego.



By mile 2, Cheryl said, "This run is horrible!"... by at the end of the race, she said "I didn't like that one very much"... on the way home, she said, "That was FUN! Let's do another destination run!" Gotta love her short term memory... she went from HORRIBLE to FUN in less than three hours, hahaha!

My results:
Time: 1:27:17, pace 9:21
Place 50-54: 29/197
Place women: 474/2575

Cheryl's results:
Time: 1:27:37, pace 9:23
Place 20-24: 48/167
Place women: 488/2575

It's a PR for both of us, since neither of us has ever run a 15K before.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Run

This weekend we went out Dove Canyon to Casper's Wilderness Park.

We started out a a beautifully groomed trail lined with pretty houses.



To Casper's wilderness park:



Where the trails are not so nice:



And the neighbors are not as friendly:



Thankfully, we didn't see any of those furry neighbors. It was a beautiful run, and we really enjoy running Dove Canyon.

Happy Birthday Part II

We like to drag out and really celebrate those birthdays... Today we took Chris out to lunch at Farrell's. This first picture he is thinking, "I really don't want to be wearing this stupid button."



Then of course they come out and sing... Farrell's Style.

YUM! Ice Cream!





And one last nice picture for Lita :oD



After all the ice cream it's time for a nap...



Happy Birthday, Boo!

Happy Birthday Little Boy Boo

My baby turned 21! But he will always be my baby boy (and Cheryl my baby girl). So let's flash back to 20 years ago... 1994! Isn't he ADORABLE. He just loves his sister and wants to do everything that she did (including ballet dancing).



Chris' ballet dreams never came through, but he seems happy and well adjusted...



But, maybe a little vain, hahaha!



Happy Birthday, Boo!!!
We LOVE you!

Spring Forward

So what did you do with your extra hour of sunshine?

Cheryl and I went running at Aliso South, and I brought my new camera with me. First I want to share a picture of my GPS watch. I guess it's not really a watch because it doesn't tell time. It's more brick shaped and weighs about as much as a brink, so I guess I'll call it my GPS brick.



We were tired from Barre on Thursday, so Cheryl says, "I don't think I'll make it to the park, let's run to the Top of the World." Ooookay... I don't understand her reasoning, but off we go...



We took a different way this time... instead of going straight up, we took the switch backs. We are really high up from where we started!



We finally get to the top of the hill, look over to the other side, and what do we see?



Laguna Beach! It's hot today, and the water is looking awfully inviting"



Here's the trail down... should we go?



Nope... just thinking about the climb back up the hill is making us tired. So, we turn back towards Saddleback and head back to the car:



Oh, one more view on our way down... Look it's Soka!



Buddy is making himself right at home. He and Jena are getting to be GREAT buddies!



That's it for our weekend!
I hope you all have a great one!