This was a wonderful holiday weekend!! Absolutely wonderful!! A few weeks ago my brother Jordan -- who lives in Alaska with his wife, Sioux-z, and their two daughters, Isabel and Ivy -- called and said that they were going to be in Palm Springs (actually, La Quinta, a town a little bit to the east) for Thanksgiving, and he was hoping that we could come down to spend it with them. He was also going to call my youngest brother, Jeremy -- who lives in Castaic with his wife, Renee, and their twins, Lily and Zachary -- to see if they could be there too. It worked! The last time we were all together was five years ago. I was pregnant with Katrina, Sioux-z was pregnant with Ivy, and Lily and Zachary were not even a twinkle in their parent's eyes yet.
We left Kerman on Wednesday afternoon and drove out through the high desert and then down to La Quinta. As we drove through Tehachapi it was 29 degrees and there were mounds of old snow that had been plowed off the parking lot of the gas station where we stopped. It was cold, but the sky was clear and the moon was bright! We got to La Quinta very late and quickly unpacked and got some sleep.
On Thursday morning we had breakfast and then went to one of the community pools. It was a heated pool, and the girls had a great time! Jordan and I got to sit and talk and we had a great time. Usually when we are getting together it is for an event of some sort (wedding, graduation, etc.) and the event is the focus, but this time we could just sit and talk and relax. It was so nice!
When Jeremy and Renee arrived all the cousins were so excited to be together!
We started getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a ham, a turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, vegetables, sweet potatoes and rolls. We brought the large patio table in and, together with the dining room table, we had a perfect tablefor all of us. We set the table with the place cards that the girls made with Gma Kathryn while she was here visiting a few weeks ago.
Dinner was lovely! As we began to eat we offered a Thanksgiving toast and then Jordan asked everyone what they were thankful for. Most of us said how grateful we were to be together this Thanksgiving! After dinner we had pie (I made the pecan and pumpkin), checked out the deals for Black Friday in the newspaper (nothing enticed us out early), and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
We also tried to Skype with Dad and Mom. There were 13 million people on Skype, so we had a bad connection with Dad. Later, we got to talk to Mom on Google video chat. (I forgot to take a photo of that one.) It was great to be able to have all seven grandkids waving in the camera for each grandparent to enjoy. And for all three kids as well. Technology is pretty cool!
On Friday morning we all went for a hike up the Indian Trail. When I say up, I mean UP!! The trail went up the hills behind the community. Sioux-z, Amanda, Rebecca and Isabel forged ahead and got to the top long before the rest of us. Katrina did not want to hike up, so she and Kevin stayed at the bottom. Jordan, Jeremy and I, along with Lily, Zachary and Ivy, worked our way slowly to the top. About 3/4 of the way up, the rest passed us on the way down. Sioux-z took the little kids, and Jordan and Jeremy and I finished the climb together and spent a few minutes at the top of the climb. 
In the afternoon the kids went on the boats with Jordan, Jeremy and Sioux-z and then they went to the pool again while Kevin and I went to see what was in the area (we hadn't left the community the whole time), and Jeremy and Renee drove around so their kids could get a nap. Kevin and I found a few caches and then drove back.
Friday night, after the kids had gone to bed, the six adults sat in the kitchen and played Go Fish and War with Hello Kitty playing cards. We all laughed and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed some more! It was so much fun!! We wished that could have lasted forever!!
Saturday morning we packed up and headed for home. It took us seven hours to drive down, and we had a few other stops to make along the way, so we started how at a little after 10am. We all waved and yelled good-bye and waved some more! It was hard to leave after such a great few days!!
As we headed for Riverside, Katrina suddenly yelled out that she could dinosaurs on the side of the road, so we stopped in Cabazon to see the dinosaurs. It was incredibly windy, so we snapped a few photos and then got on the road. In Riverside, we went to the Riverside National Cemetery where my grandfather, Donald Caman, and his wife, are interred. The last time I saw my Gpa Caman, was when Amanda was 18 months old. I have a photo with me and Amanda, Jordan and Jeremy and Gpa Caman together. We found their headstone and took some photos.
We travelled back towards home, stopping here and there to find some geocaches. We stopped in Tehachapi for dinner, and we had sleet on the window. There was snow on the hills surrounding the city. It rained on us all the way down into the Valley and on and off all the way home. We got home before 9pm and were happy to be sleeping in our own beds! It was a lovely, lovely vacation!!! It was so nice to be together with my brothers and their great wives! The kids had a great time together and had a wonderful time!! I hope it won't be another five years before we all get together again.
