Palm Spring with the Whites

We just got back from our first family of four vacation...and we survived! :) It was actually such a great time. We went down to Palm Springs (they have sun there) with our friends Chris and Kristen and their little cutie Hayden. Kristen is amazing and found this perfect house for us with a pool and TONS of kids toys. It was so perfect! We were able to chill and relax without the kids stuck in a tiny hotel room with nothing to do. Instead, we had a whole house for our two families. We were able to make our meals at the house, hang out by the pool during nap times, and have some drinks and conversation after the kids went to bed. Hum...we MUST do this every year now!

I will say the travel days were a bit taxing (I am putting that really really nicely). If I'm totally honest, Pat and I were ready to pull our hair out by the time we got to Palm Springs. A bit of sun and coffee the next morning cured our frantic nerves though. We enjoyed our little coffee spot that also has a big, grassy, courtyard that is perfect for the kids to run around in. We sat by the pool a lot and I think I may have even read 5 pages from a book between naps, lunchtime, and other kid stuff. It was glorious. Pat and Chris took a morning and afternoon off to go do photos around Salvation Mountain and the Salton Sea and Kristen and I got a day off to hit the outlet mall! It was a bit harder to fit everything in my suitcase on the way home! I absolutely loved shopping around with Kristen! I think we must have purchased 3 matching outfits including the same pair of shoes on one of them. It was awesome. I can't wait to do that again. We totally clicked on the shopping scene. Perhaps not a great thing for the husbands. ;)

The last day was magnificently beautiful and we spent nearly the entire day by the pool. We started early and Chris made us all super tasty turkey burgers and salsa. Nothing like a little lunch and prosecco by the pool to make a perfect vacation day. You know how you hope to find good friends that will last a lifetime? For us, God gave us the Whites as amazing friends. We're so grateful for their friendship. I hope that we have many more trips like this in our future as our kids grow. It is funny how vacation with kids is nothing like vacation just as a couple. There are moments of total insanity but then there are the moments of pure sweetness where it is is so clear that God has made life abundant....like looking at this face!

and this face...

Here are a few too many photos of our adventures

poolside with the family
heading out for our morning coffee and frolicking around in the grass
My two cuties by the pool.
Sweet love for Daddy. These two are the closest buddies!
My three favorite people at our coffee hang out spot
The little buddy in a pool for the very first time. He was completely confused.
My tiny man
Evidence of the shopping disaster and our matching shirts and shoes!
The greatest belly the world has every known. I loved that it and the thighs were on display in Palm Springs!
Pat and Chris with their Gin and Tonics. Bubs turned down a drink and instead opted to chew on his hands...typical
My baby burrito
Me and the peeps at our coffee spot with Lucy's favorite "mountain" in the background. (translation "fountain")
Oh the roundness of that lovely face
And there was even a tire swing in the backyard. A big hit with Lucy
More of the little dude enjoying poolside living.
The buddies
Seriously, you can NEVER get a serious shot with us all! :)