A photo journal comprised of my thoughts on motherhood and other life happenings, as well as some of professional work as a photographer. Southern California is home.
We spent one night in Palm Springs before hitting the road to Arizona so that Willy could finish up some work out there. The weather was perfectly warm and we spent much of the time poolside; the boys in the pool and Jimmie hanging poolside with me while I rested my sore neck. The night was rough, with Willy snoring, Hooper kicking, and Jimmie randomly barfing, but we packed up, hit the pool one last time, and got on the road.
I’ll be sharing a few images from Easter in Arizona tomorrow.
I swore, after the last time, that we’d never join Willy on one of his business trips out in the desert again. I mean I resorted to letting the boys play with the bidet, for goodness sakes.
But, lo and behold, we tagged along and, lo and behold, we had a good time. Jimmie behaved, which was a large part of the battle last time. We splashed around in the pool, made it out to Joshua Tree despite the on again off again rain, met up with some friends who were also out there for dinner and drinks, and visited the dinosaurs on the way home (Hooper’s been obsessed with dinosaurs as of late).
All in all, a great trip. We’ll be out in the desert again this weekend; this time I’ll be working. While I’m thinking of it, if anyone wants to book a Saturday session, that could work out. Email me if you’re interested, I love shooting in the desert: ashley @ thestorkandthebeanstalk.com.
Before I had my surgery, we used to go to Palm Springs a lot. Willy works out in the desert often, so we’ve always tagged along when we could. It hasn’t been until recently that we’ve had the opportunity to go and that I’ve been able to care for the kiddos on my own, which is typically the case when we go out to the desert and Willy works. It’s been nice to revisit my life that once was and now is, again.
We spent the mornings at the pool while Willy went to meetings, Hooper insistent on keeping his inner-tube on, Van jumping into the pool only to sink like a stone and trust that someone will be there to scoop him up. They can be so different and yet so similar at times.
We added an extra day onto the trip and went out to Joshua Tree and The Salton Sea. I’ve been to The Salton Sea many times in the past and something always brings me back. It’s hot, it’s sticky, it smells like crud, and there’s a thousand flies, but I can never get enough. And so, we drove the hour and a half from Palm Springs to have lunch at my favorite rundown dive bar / restaurant. It’s the only place to get a bite to eat in Bombay Beach and, for me, it never disappoints.
We took a new way home, through mountains and towns we had never seen, and it was beautiful. Life, albeit busy and chaotic, is more-or-less back on track. Can’t believe it’s almost been a year since my surgery.
Willy and I have always been fans of The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs. Willy does a lot of work out in the desert so we find ourselves out there often; so-much-so that we refer to the Ace as our second home.
That’s why when The Ace built a new hotel practically next door, I had to go check it out. And it did not disappoint.
The Ace Hotel is quickly becoming our second home. Long live business trips. Hope y’all aren’t getting Ace’d out. I’ll share our photos from the Salton Sea tomorrow.
The internet is a funny thing, isn’t it? Well, I guess social media in general. I swear I could have a philosophical conversation with you about how instagram has made a better photographer. But I guess that’s a separate post.
I started this blog nearly two years ago and it amazes me how many connections I’ve made because of it. The fact that anyone other than my family even takes the time to read what I write still makes me scratch my head. It’s been an incredibly humbling experience thus far.
Back to the connections.
We met up with Sisilia and her adorable family a little while back (I’m always behind on posting, grrrrr) and to say we all hit it off would be a gross understatement. We had plans to hang out for an evening, take some family photos, and maybe grab a bite to eat. Instead we hung out, took some photos, hung out at the restaurant until the waitress actually left for the evening before us and then the bartender kicked us out so we moved the party to the parking lot where it too got broken up by four sets of tired eyes looking at us wondering why it was nearly 11pm and they weren’t in bed. How’s that for a run on sentence? Willy and I drove away ranting and raving about Sisilia and Joshua and got a text a few minutes later that they decided to book a room at the Ace as well and wanted to hang out again the next day.
So we met up again, swam in the pool, met for dinner, and had breakfast the next morning before we said our goodbyes and reluctantly went our separate ways.
The desert heat, the cicadas buzzing all around, the cold beer, the endless flow of conversation, the boys and their cars, the quietest little baby girl, the occassional click of a camera… it was magical.
There’s a lot to be said about new friendships. I’ll be sharing some of the family shots I took of them tomorrow.
Traveling with kids is never like traveling, well, without kids. I remember our first trip with Hooper to Hawaii. He was just a few months and we left scratching our heads wondering if it was worth it but knowing, deep down, that it was not. I’m frugal in the sense that I hate to admit something that I spent money on was not enjoyable, but that trip to Hawaii simply felt like a different set of four walls. And the walls felt cold. Like concrete. I’m hinting that it felt like prison, but allow me to be blunt for a moment and actually say it felt like prison. It felt like prison.
I digress.
Since then, we’ve gotten better at traveling. We’re more experienced, we have more confidence, and we have a better perspective. The perspective part is invaluable. While we have yet to take the plunge and do a big trip, we have been doing a lot of small ones.
Willy’s still working out in Palm Springs every now and again, so we join him when we can. We brought Sarah along this time and voted her least valuable player after a night spent listening to her shake and lick and howl only to put her out on the patio to find her ripping apart the outdoor furniture. That was a hoot. But, it’s all about perspective people; so I won’t spend the whole time telling you about how Hooper would not leave his hands off Van or how the neighbors must have thought we were murdering our son when in actuality all we were doing was trying to give him a shower he was clearly not on board with because there was no bathtub. I won’t complain about the nuisances because the memory of the trip is a good one, all in all.
And that’s the thing about perspective. It’s easy to peek in on someone’s life, scroll through their photos, and think they don’t have the same day to day struggles that you do. I promise, everyone (especially those with young kids) has shitty days… or shitty parts of their day. When you travel with little ones, you have to expect this. Attitude is everything. The trip was a success, for me, because I managed to get some sun, I ate greasy food, and I didn’t kill my kids, my husband, or our dog.
And yes, I too am dying over that last photo. Maybe he’s finally starting to catch on to when I tell him to keep the peace. Part 2, coming your way tomorrow, I hope.
We spent one night in Palm Springs before hitting the road to Arizona so that Willy could finish up some work out there. The weather was perfectly warm and we spent much of the time poolside; the boys in the pool and Jimmie hanging poolside with me while I rested my sore neck. The night was rough, with Willy snoring, Hooper kicking, and Jimmie randomly barfing, but we packed up, hit the pool one last time, and got on the road.
