Sep – Oct 2009 Palm Springs
We have just returned from 7 wonderful weeks in Palm Springs. That said, we visited Jo, Todd and the children on 4 weekends and family Papaioannou spent 2 weekends with us and we also had Alexander, Oliver and Sienna to stay with us for another. It was the first time we had had all 3 children to stay without their parents and although the boys have
stayed several times before and knew the ropes and routine, Sienna seemed to settle in without any problem – in fact we all had a fantastic time! Each day started with the children coming in to our bedroom. Alexander used to lift Sienna out of her cot and Oliver would poke his head around the door to see if we were awake! Once he sussed out that we were, the door would open fully and the 3 smiling faces would emerge and climb on to the bed to watch some TV (sorry Jo and Todd) with us. Annie and Gerry got to quite like Spongebob.
The children all love the water and Alexander and Oliver continue to amaze us and our friends at Ocotillo Lodge with their prowess on and under the water!!!! In fact the first thing our friends say to us when we arrive (after hello that is) is when are the children coming?
Sienna seemed had grown up so much in the few months since we last visited. She certainly showed no fear of the water as you can see here where she and Jo are having a woman to woman conversation in the pool.
On one of our weekend visits to San Diego, Jo and Todd had arranged a lovely birthday weekend for Gerry. We arrived on Saturday for a BBQ lunch and then a trip on a power boat. Gerry enjoyed driving but sometimes needed a little help from Oliver with the steering. In the evening Gerry was treated to dinner at a very nice restaurant. As if that wasn’t enough, on the Sunday Todd, Alexander and Oliver took Gerry to the Miramar Air show – What a weekend!!
Our final weekend in America was Halloween and Jo invited us to their Halloween party. In Bird Rock, Halloween is quite an event with many from outside the community turning up to trick or treat. Everyone was dressed up and we had a wonderful time helping give out hundreds of pieces of candy as a never ending succession of children came to the door. The party was a great success and Jo and Todd were also able to go out later with some friends leaving us to baby sit but more importantly recover from the hectic evening. The next day despite the clocks going back an hour the children were up and about at their normal body clock 
time – now 6 am!! A picnic lunch and a visit to the Model Train museum rounded off a fantastic 7 weeks for us. I don’t seem to have said much about our actual time in Palm Springs but as usual we enjoyed many hours by the pool (in temperatures between 80 and 100F) and chatting and seeing the many friends we have made at Ocotillo Lodge. We really feel it is our second home!
