Just returned Tuesday from a wonderful trip to California to visit my brother, Stu, along with my two sisters – Melissa and Melinda. Yes, that’s Mel, Mel, Mel and Stu. And he also could have been a “Mel” as our dad and grandfather are Melvins! I think he’s happy with Stu.This was the first thing we saw as we got off the plane. (I happened to be on the same flight as my sisters out of Dallas!) Palm trees and mountains could be seen from this open air gate at the Palm Springs, CA airport! And it was probably 90 degrees! Hurray for warmth and scenery!

One of the first people we met was Trax – my brother’s new black lab. We picked him up at the golf course where my brother works as Superintendent. (Actually, he has a WAY more fancy title than that, but I can’t remember it at the moment.) What a cutie Trax is at 4 months old, and he went everywhere with us drawing quite a bit of attention, as you can probably imagine!

We stayed at the home of good friends of my brother’s – the Rowells. They are a precious gem of a family – hospitable, sacrificial, warm and authentic, and loving my brother as their very own son. Theirs was a beautiful home on guess what….a golf course. The Palm Springs area has about 100 golf courses. You might be hard pressed to buy a home there that is NOT on a golf course. We had a wonderful evening of taco salad and card games on the patio. The next morning we girls sat on the patio in our pjs in the warm breeze and watched the sun rise over the beautiful course…….very luxurious indeed.

After our leisurely breakfast, we headed to Southwest Community Church where Stu attends and is very involved in the youth program. He leads a weekly small group Bible study for high school guys, chaperones skiing and camping trips, stars in crazy promotional videos for upcoming events, and even preaches/teaches in the large high school worship service on a regular basis. The kids love him, and I could not be more proud to have a brother who gives his life away like this. Here he is sacrificially playing Guitar Hero with one of the kids on Sunday morning before church – it’s a tough job, really. Below is the music portion of the service – amazing time of worship and praise.

That afternoon we drove up a mountain to a town called Idyllwild. We just strolled around looking in shops, art galleries, and drinking coffee. Melissa opted for a Coke as the trip up the mountain (with NASCAR speed and precision – even around the curves) gave her a bit of motion sickness. Stu is really in to rock climbing, and actually climbed the peak you can see to the left of his right ear!

Monday, we headed for Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. In the Ralph Lauren store on Rodeo Drive, we were tempted to purchase this patent leather, royal blue jacket, but at $1998.00 we thought we might rather have new laptop computers, or plane tickets for another visit, or a month’s mortgage payment, or maybe even a nice used car!

The Santa Monica beach was really beautiful, and we enjoyed walking down the pier in the perfect weather.

We finished off our day with an amazing dinner at the Tommy Bahama Cafe – halibut, tenderloin, New York strip steak, and shrimp and scallops.

I am so blessed to have siblings who love the Lord and each other – what sweet fellowship!
Miss you all already.
Thank you, Stu, for making it all possible.

And more pictures can be found here.