dharmajane: A Home Away from Home...My Cali Family ❤️

I'm a day late to post this week but I've been on a little (much needed) vacation for the past few days.

Every winter I hop on a plane to spend some quality time with my Johnsons....a family that I had been nanny to for a solid 10 years before they moved out to sunny Califorina a few years back. Lucky for me, an annual trip to the desert in the middle of our often never-ending Minnesota winter is quite a gift!

It started off great...with a smooth flight and obligatory photo of my wait at the airport:

A short 3-ish hour flight later and I am greeted with a happy palm tree, blue skies and majestic mountains:

We had a jam packed week of fun and fellowship. I so look forward to my time with this family each year...the girls grow and change in such beautiful ways year by year and I love seeing their spunky, strong personalities develop. Just look at my girls:

J and G (the mama and daddy) are both doing so great...working together as an amazing team to lead this family to greatness. Pretty cute crew, huh:

One endeavor has been the opening of J's new salon! On my visit last year, she was just finishing the floors and having all her cabinets and stations installed. One year later, and the place is AMAZING!

She has 10 staff, a bazillion clients and a beautiful space that is welcoming, super stylish and chic! It's a winner! I am so happy for her success:

I'm also happy for her mad skills. I always make sure my hair is in desperate need of her loving care right before I arrive and she works her magic:

Nothing better than a fresh 'blonde-ing' ...that's a word.

J and I had some great days together when the girls were at school...lunches on sunny patios at tasty restaurants. Melvyn's in Palm Springs is a must! My taste buds start craving their ginormous Cobb Salad about a month before my trip and rejoice in delight on that day when it reaches my belly. I should have taken a picture but there was no time to waste!

We had the waiter take a complimentary Polaroid of us at least:

Must-eat #2 are Enchiladas & Guacamole at Armandos on El Paseo. Papa joined us for lunch:

Some other highlights...Jenny participated in career week at little D's preschool and shared all about the art of hairstyling. She showed all her tools and talked about how to be a good client when it's time for a haircut. Little D was her mini model and got a trim in front of her class. It was so cute and the kids loved it:

Responsible students:

Sunny the puppy and her new favorite toy:

My yearly purchase of a fresh pair of Toms:

Lady G pumping gas...she is a licensed driver...what????

Very important wooden bench shopping for the new dining room table. We found exactly the perfect one (and some possible chairs too) for a bargain...I love bargains, especially when they look this fancy:

Some coloring with little D:

And Lady G and her B-ball team made it to the 3rd round of CIF's (the state tourney) and she had an AMAZING GAME! 27 points and 12 rebounds....what a stud. She left it all out there on the court and I am so proud. They came up 2 points short in the end but I see great things on the horizon for next year's season. She even was interviewed for the newspaper after the game...super cool: