Palm Desert: Day 2 (Pictures, Part 1)

Palm Desert: Day One

Cuidado. The amount of pictures coming in the Palm Desert posts is almost obscene. Oh well. Don't care- it's my blog book, not yours!

Jason and I left Vegas Friday morning and hit the road. We knew that we needed to be at Ontario Airport by 5:30 in order to pick up Mom and Hazen, so we planned our trip accordingly. We stopped in Barstow for a while to check out the outlets, and ended up buying a few things for Hazen. Man, it's easy to spend money on a kid when you miss him! Once we got to Ontario, I could hardly wait to see my little buddy when he got through security! It had only been one day, but I still missed him! He ran right into my arms, and was thrilled about the Backyardigans stuffed animals Jason and I bought him in Vegas.

We loaded everyone in the car, and drove the remaining hour to Palm Desert.


Desert. Did you catch that? We, the Hazen, Lee, Ramirez, and Danielson families opted to go to a DESERT the end of July. We got out of the car, and I about melted. With a temperature of 109 at almost 7pm, I knew we were in for quite the adventure.



We were met by Grandpa, Heather, Abbie and Mia, and we anxiously awaited the arrival of the Hazen kids. They got there about 30 minutes later, and we had dinner. On the menu? Chicken Sammies with Coleslaw and fruit. After dinner, Grandma and Grandpa passed out the special activity bags that they had made for the Grandkids and Moms.

Hazen was literally on cloud 9. I don't think he's ever been so excited for such a long period of time! He was running around, talking non-stop, and couldn't contain all of the excitement he felt about being around his cousins! When Mia hopped into our bed, he was right there beside her- he couldn't get enough of those cousins he loves so much!!


After we went to bed, the adults played cards until well after midnight. I was crying I was laughing so hard! My family is hilarious, and it's not too often we can play and have fun without regard to any other things like we did on this trip. I was having a great time, and it was only the first day!!

Viva Las Vegas!!

We just got back from an amazing vacation! While it's tricky to try to take a trip in the middle of the semester, we worked it out so that we could, and it was totally worth it! Jason and I drove down to Palm Desert where we had a family reunion, but on our way there, we stopped off in Vegas. Amanda and Grandma took care of Hazen back home, and we were able to really enjoy our time together! While we drove, I tried to study- which wasn't as effective as I had hoped, but I did get some reading done!

We had left immediately after I was done with clinicals- I had gotten up at 4 am that morning, so I was a little tired, but I was more excited to have a break! When we got to Vegas, we headed straight to the 1/2 Price ticket vendor- we wanted to go see a Cirque show! We were in luck! They had tickets to Ka for us- that were quite expensive, but we were trusting that it would be worth it. We went over to the MGM Grand to redeem our tickets, then rushed to the Luxor, where we stayed to check in and change our clothes. I had wanted to just do the Valet thing, but someone, ahem, thought that it would take us longer to wait for us to get our car and repark than to walk. So, we walked.

I had only packed a pair of cute heels in the overnight bag, so I knew the walk was going to be a little trying. By the time that we had arrived at the MGM Grand, I had sprouted about 6 new blisters, one of which went the entire length of my right foot. Awesome.

We entered the KA theatre, and it was HUGE! It was incredible how massive of a building it was. We were led to our seats, and our jaws dropped when we saw where we were sitting. Somehow, we had managed to score second row seats to a Cirque de Soleil show!!!! It was incredible! The show was about an hour and a half, and both Jason and I loved every moment of it. The talent was beyond belief, the story was great- I can't wait until we go back to our next show!


After the show was done, it was about 11:15, and we still hadn't eaten anything. We had purchased vouchers for a restaurant at Planet Hollywood, because the lady who sold us the vouchers told us that no other restaurant would be open that late. (LIAR!) We are idiots who believed her, and we walked. Remember how I mentioned that I had blisters all over my feet? By the time that we arrived at the Planet Hollywood, my feet were literally bloody little stumps of pain. It was not pretty. We ate dinner, and through tears, we walked ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE LUXOR.

We got home, and Jason went to get me a bucket of ice water to soak my poor feet. Moral of the story? Valet. Valet, Valet, Valet! The next morning, we got up and got ready, and went to the Paris Buffet for brunch. I think it was even BETTER this time than it has been before! The food was delicious! We stuffed ourselves sick, and then got on the road to go to Palm Desert to meet up with the rest of the family!

The Automatic Idiot

I hate bad grammar. I automatically judge you if you are incapable of BASIC grammar that should have been mastered in 4th grade. Enter the most ridiculous personalized license plate frame I've ever seen. Posting this makes my skin crawl, and if the person who had this frame were standing before me, I might kick them in the neck.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? A- Adorkable is a stupid non-word, and I would be embarrassed to have this on my car. BUT NOT AS EMBARRASSING AS THE WORD YOUR!!!!!! How can you be so stupid to not know the difference between when to use "Your or You're"?????? This kills me.

Please, if you're going to even attempt to look like an intelligent human being, get it right.

For the record, ridiculous should NEVER be spelled rediculous. Unless you're trying to screw with fellow grammar/spelling junkies. :)

Shhhhhh....I'm trying to study!

On the days that Jason has off, I try to study as much as possible before it gets too late so I don't have to stay up until all hours of the night. The main drawback of this? Hazen wants to play with his Mommy! It breaks my heart sitting in my bedroom and hearing him knock on the door and call for me. So, I try to study at the kitchen table so he can see me, but it's hard to concentrate with all of the noise that inevitably occurs, so, I decided to be resourceful! I took a pair of earmuffs that I have, and stuffed them with socks to form a seal, and viola! I could be in the room with my boy, but still study! Don't you all wish that you were as resourceful as I am?

Random Pictures for Blog Book.....

Just some random pictures-isn't Hazen a ham?? I wonder where he gets it.......

4th of July

Something that I've resigned myself to is that in Jason and my career choices, holidays will never be "normal". This year, he had to work on the evening of the 4th, but we made the day special, nonetheless. We went to my parent's house for a BBQ. It was delicious! My grandma was able to be there- it was actually a really nice afternoon with everyone. We were able to sit outside, and the bees must have been listening, because they didn't even come and bother us! If you know me, you know that I am absolutely petrified of bees!

After the BBQ, we all came home for nap time. Hazen took a really nice nap, and I was able to relax while Jason rested up for his graveyard shift that night. After Jason left, Hazen and I went shopping for a little while, and then got ready to meet Grandma and Grandpa for the fireworks. I was planning on going by myself, so I was so happy when they agreed to go with me!



Jason had to work, which was sad, but my parents came to the fireworks with Hazen and I. I can't say enough how good of a show PG puts on! It's great because it's 3 minutes away from home, parking is great, and we get a front row seat, no matter what!

This was Hazen's first time ever being around Fireworks, and it was an interesting experience, to say the least! From the first moment they went off, he was horrified! He literally lept from my arms and went straight to my Mom's, where he remained for the rest of the 30 minute show! It was hilarious. He didn't cry, but as long as he could snuggle with Grandma and Grandpa, he was content. As soon as the show was over, we hopped in the car, I made a few illegal moves, and we were home exactly 13 minutes after the fireworks ended. It was a great 4th, and I look forward to next year!!