Our vacation in Palm Springs turned out spectacularly. What a great week! I really needed the break, and a week off was just what I needed. We ended up doing three hikes during the week with the whole family, and Anna took to hiking for the first time. Both kids did quite well on the hike, actually. By accident I realized a terrific way of getting Anna to go hiking in San Diego, when I ordered a portable GPS navigation unit after realizing that I hate driving in unfamiliar places. I’ve known about geocaching for a long time but never actually tried it. Tomorrow, I’m going to take Anna out to find our first geocache with the new navi. It’s not really made for handheld use, but Anna doesn’t know that.

Yesterday, I went on a photoshoot at the beach with my photographer friend. The time has come for Hooters waitresses to submit photos for consideration in the annual Hooters calendar, and several local Hooter girls called on my friend for photos. My friend called on me to assist, and in addition to holding the reflector, I got some time with the models to shoot my own pics my own way. They turned out spectacularly considering it was my third time shooting with that lighting setup and I only had a couple minutes with each girl and it was 60 degrees out and they were standing in the Pacific Ocean. The girls loved the photos. Validation is good.

BTW, remember last year when I went to the Hooters International Swimsuit Pageant and thought it could never possibly happen, and when it actually did I thought nothing could possibly top it? Just wait.

During my trip to Singapore last September, I realized how nice it is to blow a lot of money on a nice place in a great location. Since then, I’ve been wanting to take the family on our very own vacation just by ourselves. In a nice place. In a great location. So here we are in beautiful Rancho Mirage, all ready to throw down and have ourselves a good time. We arrived last night and promptly went out to dinner at one of the resort’s restaurants. By this morning, Anna was sick of eating out, and wanted to cook something at home. Our pantry contained goldfish crackers and pancake batter in a spray can, so we went out for breakfast and a hike. While Tara and Jen took a nap and went swimming, Anna and I shopped for groceries, ate lunch, and went out to Boomers.

Later in the week, we plan on doing some more hiking, horseback riding, taking a tram up to the snow, visiting the museum, and, Anna willing, eating out at some more restaurants. Oops, gotta go, room service is here.

Tara turned three this week, and I can hardly believe it. It seems like it was only yesterday that she was at least five, and in other ways, she’s still a baby.

She learned how to defend herself from her older sister. She learned a lot about swimming. She became a picky eater. She developed a fear of spiders, even if they’re barely large enough to see, and of Oscar the Grouch, because he’s grumpy. She still has very little interest in using the potty. She still sleeps in the crib after several unsuccessful tries in a big kid bed. She decided that sometimes life is not fair. She went from being a terrific sleeper to being a terrible sleeper in the course of a couple months. Her cuteness is nearly overwhelming at times. She is almost always in a good mood. She learned some Spanish. She became a little more moody and a lot more headstrong.

It’s been a big year, and to me it seems like it’s been an awfully long time since she turned two, which is a good thing.