Peter Pan Theme Night

After our recent half marathon in Disneyland, we started getting really excited for our trip to Disney in October.  Running through the park and not getting to go on rides?  A tease!  Luckily, our trip is just around the corner.  

I realized quickly that the boys have not seen most of the older Disney movies.  They love Mickey, and lots of the more recent Disney movies, but they haven't seen a lot of the ones we watched as kids.  So I decided to make a weekly movie night to gear up for the big mouse trip.  

Our first movie was Peter Pan.  I was obsessed with the broadway version of this movie when I was a kid, but hadn't seen it in many years.  Probably about 20 to be honest.  I think you could say that I was just as excited!  

We prepared by talking about the movie to Z Step.  Pirates, mermaids, lost boys, a boy who can fly- how can you go wrong in the eyes of a 3 year old?!  He was so excited for our special movie night.  I got him really excited by having a treasure hunt in our neighborhood first.  I drew up a map, and we headed out the door for the lost treasure! 

RRRRrrr you ready for a treasure hunt?  

 Our first stop was to see our shadows.  Z Step was familiar with his shadow already, because we learned about shadow puppets in our homeschooling last month.  He loves watching his shadow!

Our next step was to pretend to be pirates on our way to Neverland.  Neverland was the dog park.  I think people must have thought we were nuts walking down there.  We were yelling "RRR!" while he was dressed as a pirated, me as a fairy, and with 2 large dogs (we were pet sitting).  Eventually we made it to Neverland, and we played a bit there.  We even pretended the dogs were Nana.  

Captain Z Step

The boys checking on the water for Nana

Captain Daddy Step

Mommy pretending to fly.  Z Step thought if I had wings I could fly.  I think he was disappointed when I didn't.  

We put on our dog pirate shirt Baba gave him.  It changes colors in the sun- just like magic!  He was really excited.

Silly faces

E Step thought we looked crazy.  He spent most of the time  exploring alone.  

 We made it home for our homemade pizza night.  The dough I made wasn't the best, but we still attempted to make our pirate ship pizzas.  I also made some homemade oat balls that were supposed to be cannonballs.  I forgot to take a photo

Next it was time for the movie.  The boys have to have popcorn while watching a movie, so popcorn was made, and we were nice and comfy on the couch!  

Z step loved the movie.  He has been begging me to watch it again.  I am so happy that I got to see it too!  I love this story.  Daddy Step and I ended up watching Hook just a few days later.  

The following night, Daddy was on duty, so I let Z Step have a special Mommy/Son date.  We decided to watch another disney movie of his choice.  He picked Mulan.  I don't think he was too crazy about it, but you can't compare Mulan to Peter Pan.  Peter Pan is a classic that is very much a boy movie.  

We look forward to watching another Disney movie soon!  

Joshua Tree National Park

Twentynine Palms isn't exactly a duty station many people want to come to.  In fact, when we were still in Virginia and would tell friends where we were going, their first response would usually be something along the lines of, "Oh no!  The stumps.  I'm so sorry."  After warning us of things to watch for, and telling us all the bad, we were usually told the good.  The first "good" people would tell us about is Joshua Tree National Park.  Just a quick google search will show you exactly why this is one of the best things about this area.  There really isn't much else to see or do within a 30 minute drive, but this park almost makes up for that.  

When D Step's brother came in on thursday, we decided to finally make the trek there and do a bit of exploring.  Unfortunately it was around 1pm in the desert, but luckily we got a "cool" day- 101 degrees is actually pretty cool for an afternoon in this area!  

Our first stop was the visitors center.  The boys were both fast asleep already.  The guys got out and asked about a suggested place to visit with two toddlers, who were both sleeping.  They gave a few different ideas, and we were on our way.  This park is absolutely huge, so 15 minutes of a drive later, we were at our first stop.  

Our first stop was to "skull rock."  I really don't think I have to explain this further.  As you can see in the photos, it really does look just like a skull!  

We walked a bit on some of the trail to explore a bit.  It was absolutely stunning, everywhere you looked.  

Our next stop was to see an old mine shaft.  It was a quick walk and lots to see.  We learned that this area held more gold than the San Francisco Gold Rush, and has hundreds of mines.  These particular ones closed in the 80's.  

On the walk- Cactus Flowers

I could not imagine living in this.  

You can see the mines in the bottom photo

Our last stop was to a dam, where after quick walk, there was actually water!

More Joshuas

My boys

Daddy Step and E Step

Daddy, Z Step, and E Step

Old watering hole for cattle

4 Steps.  

Love this one!

This photo cracks me up.  If you know the story, and look close, you will laugh too!

This park makes you really appreciate the desert's beauty.  I cannot wait for the weather to cool off, so we can return again.  

New Mexico

I always thought New Mexico sounded like a really neat state.  It has such unique culture, and the weather is so warm and dry.  Our neighbor in Okinawa was from Albuquerque and always raved about how wonderful it was there.  I was fascinated with the thought of visiting after all his talk.  We were eager add it to our list on our cross country trip.  

We arrived around 4pm, and had enough time to swim in the hotel pool before getting ready to explore Old Town and have dinner with our travel companion, A.  It was a beautiful town, and we couldn't wait to explore it.  

 Unfortunately, since it was a sunday, most places were closed.  But we headed out into town just the same towards a restaurant we found on yelp called Backstreet Grill.  It was way back behind all the other stores, but we learned quickly that we found a gem of a restaurant. Just a look at the drink menu, and the atmosphere proved that to us! 

That is my pear margarita.  It was wonderful

They even had someone playing some wonderful music on the guitar.  Z Step even tipped him.  

We were very indecisive on what to order.  Everything was so fresh and sounded so good!  We ended up ordering Tableside Guacamole, where they brought the ingredients to the table and mashed it all together for us.  It included pineapple pico de gallo, which really added a nice and fresh flavor to the mix.  It hit the spot perfectly for us all.  D Step got duck burritos, which sounded so different, but were wonderful.  A and I both ordered tequila lime marinated shrimp tacos with pineapple.  It was all amazing.  We didn't have a single complaint.  Our server was friendly, and we had a great experience.  

After our meal, we perused the streets and spotted some couples dancing on a Gazebo.  A lot of people retire here because of the climate.  We eventually went into the only store that was open on a sunday, a souvenir shop that had all kinds of unique things.  

Because everyone needs a sombrero 5 times the size of their head!  

The next morning we had a quick breakfast and said goodbye to A before she hit the road to Vegas.  We packed up, and headed out to the mountains, where we were able to take a tram up to the top and see the entire city.  It took us 10000 feet in elevation.  It was absolutely beautiful, and nice and cool at the top.  

Before going up, and on the way up!

At the top

At the top with our boys!

We went for a little hike at the top.  People hike up to the top all the time.  I hope to someday do that. It would be a great hike!  

Beautiful sights on our short hike!

My favorite boys

Z Step was showing me what way to go!  E Step was running up and down a small hill

We made our way down to the bottom again, and spotted some more beauty at the bottom.  

That house looked really neat.  

After we left, we headed to the hotel, ate, had a short nap, and then headed to the pool again.  The boys love swimming, and they need some fun thrown into our trips.  We headed back into old town in the evening to have dinner and walk around.  More stores were open this time, but it looks like everything closes at 6 around there.  We wish we had known.  

After our dinner the night before, we knew we had to return to the same restaurant for dinner.  We debated a place with a tree growing in it, but had read the food wasn't great.  It was a no brainer to return to the Backstreet Grill.  We ordered the Guacamole again, and changed our orders up a bit.  D Step got a duck taco this time, and I got a shrimp, cucumber, pineapple, avocado mixture in lime juice.  Again, the food was out of this world.  Our server was once again nice, and her husband and family were from Connecticut.  What a small world!  

Z Step showing me his silly faces!  I loved all the turquoise around there

We walked around some shops again, and I was able to find myself a beautiful turquoise necklace.  I had always wanted a truly authentic piece of turquoise, and I found a beautiful one.  I didn't know there were so many different kinds of turquoise.  The men in the store even pointed out some very rare pieces, but they were a bit out of the budget.  I settled on something about 2 1/2 inches big, with a unique shape to it.  I look forward to wearing it soon!  

We were sad to say goodbye to New Mexico, and hope to return again.  It was a perfect stop along our way.  We hope to return in October next year for the Hot Air Balloon Festival!  

We will be driving to Flagstaff, AZ tomorrow, and are excited about the next part of our journey!