Palm Springs hangout, gathering rays, looking for the burn

Nolan

Just a collage of the various faces of Nolan as we experienced him here in Palm Springs.

Nolan Comes to Palm Springs

Shaun and Vicki and Nolan joined us in Palm Springs a week ago. Unfortunately they have to leave tomorrow morning already, but we will see them at home in a few days. It has been lots of fun to have them here and get to know Nolan. It had been three months since we saw him last and he has learned a lot of things since then, but he is still the sweet, cute little boy we remembered. I think he got to know his gramma and papa in a new way as well. He has been very smiley and content for the most part, but teething has caused him a few problems. The first pictures shows him in the stroller, as long as he could watch people he was pretty happy there. He also quite enjoyed the pool as you can see by the next pictures. The last picture shows the hug he gave papa when we met them at the airport.

Hiking

A week or so ago, we enjoyed having Lon and Pat here to visit us. We had a good time showing them around and introducing them to Palm Springs. One of the things we did was go up the mountain on the aerial tram. There was snow at the top(which none of us really missed) but we enjoyed the time up there.

The snow up there was deep but crusty and so we were able to walk around on top of it. Kerry dared me to go barefoot but I said only if he would, so we both did. My feet with their pretty pink nails (thanks Kristy) made for an interesting photo.

One Sunday we met with Rudy and Jo, and Larry and Sandi and did some hiking at Indian Canyons. We had a good time hiking through the palm trees and then up and over the mountains. Later on we rewarded ourselves with ice cream. The second photo shows us on top of the mountain, hugging one of the LARGE trees that grow up there. They are very big around and very tall. The third picture is taken from the tram, coming down the mountain.

Test

Fun in the sun in Palm Springs

Norah

It is Norah's 2nd birthday today and so I thought I would post a few more photos of the time she and Kristy spent here with us in Palm Springs. We were in PS two years ago when she made her early appearance and we wished we could have been there then. But she has grown into a cute and fun little girl and we had lots of fun with her here. We got to see her character and the goofy side of her, and we loved playing with her. When Kristy and Norah arrived she was all smiles and that smile stayed on her face for the rest of the day as she enjoyed the sunshine and the grass.



















She enjoyed the swimming pool a lot,












and she is quite a little goof. One day I caught her using my bathing suit as glasses and so we had some fun with that. She loved to play on our bed, have stories read and go for walks. Shopping was not so much fun.









She did love to watch her shows on mommy's ipod and so that is how we kept her entertained when we shopped. One day she got to watch at the condo as well, and I caught some of her many poses as she enjoyed her show. What really amazed me was how she knew how to operate that thing. She could teach her old grammy a thing or two about ipods. Anyway, we really enjoyed having Kristy and Norah here, too bad they only had a week. But to Norah, Happy Birthday little sweetie pie!

You say what is happening? It papa Kerry taking Norah fishing and if you look closely you will see that she caught one. Very colorful as well. The pool is nice and warm so we got to enjoy some before the weekend cold snap. She was soo happy to be outside as you can see by no running at the pool.


We also got to have many meals outside and also spent some time in the hottub.
It was very nice to have Kristy and Norah come to visit and maybe next time the weather can be abit warmer. We know they are home by now but we really enjoyed the visit.

Norah catching sight of Grandma Jo at the airport was special as we expected it to be. She was so very excited to see us and also to see trees, green grass and all the birds. She ran around on the grass at the condo for a long time when she got use to the feel of the grass. The weather has been abit on the cool side but lots of sun. We have done some shopping, walking with the stroller, bikes, and relaxing at the pool. The pool and condo are meeting are needs very nicely and neighbours are very friendly.

More final pictures

This picture is of a home that we finished up as well. When we left in Feb of last year, it was just getting started. In fact, Kerry had done only a little of the preliminary work, like putting the stakes in the ground where the house should go.

When we got back this winter, the house was basically done, with just a few things to fix up for final inspection, and then the floor to fix up as well. We got these done, final inspection passed and the floor fixed and on the day before we left, we went over and signed off on this home. H and E were a great couple to work for and we hope that they will have many years in this home.

Our volunteer group for our last week. A group of seven from Winkler, as well as a group of five from Steinbach.

Our long term crew . We really enjoyed these folks, and the friendships we formed with them. We had a good time together and they all worked hard as crew leaders or whatever job we put them to. After being together and working together for 2 months, we will miss them, and the Wizard games we enjoyed with some of them, the great food from a couple of them, and the plumbing and electrical skills of a few others, and the friendliness and cheerfulness of all of them.

Final Pictures

Our time at Dulzura came to an end last Friday. It was a good time, even though not every day was fun. We did have good volunteers, and lots of laughter and fun and visiting in the evenings after a hard days work was done. We handed off to the new director and said our Goodbyes on Saturday morning, and drove off in the rain. I didn't get around to the jobsites during the last week to take pictures but Kerry took some so here they are. This is the "A" house. It is pretty much done from the outside except for the porch railings. Inside the house it is painted, has doors, trim, shelving and laminate flooring. Hopefully soon they will get their kitchen flooring and the cabinets and all the finishing touches.

The "J" house as we left it. It was now ready for siding outside and on the inside the rough plumbing and wiring was done, the sprinkler system was installed, and the insulation put in. Next step, drywall.

The "C" house. We passed FINAL inspection on this house the day before our time was done. It was one of the goals we had when we first got to Dulzura in January. I hope by now the homeowners have moved in and are happily enjoying their new home.

A view of the railing on the "K" house. This house was almost finished. It just needed a few finishing touches, and the appliances moved in and then final inspection could be called for. We haven't heard yet if that happened but soon, we hope.