She is the law

Heading home, we stopped for one more night in Phoenix to visit Rawhide Western Village. After mommy and Ellen squabbled, mommy got locked in jail, while Ellen had to swear to good behavior. Then she was deputized.

Organic

Those are called the Organ Mountains. We took a very mild hike (courtesy of our cousins) into the mountains above Las Cruces. Ellen took to hiking like a mountain goat and would have cheerfully gone over the top if we'd let her.

Going to ground

An extremely rugged rest stop in Benson, Arizona. Not much civilization on the road from Tucscon to Las Cruces. Lots of references to how Geronimo used to hide out in these hills, though.

Big cats

On vacation at the Firesky Resort in Scottsdale. This funky hotel, with great pools and firepits, includes leopard-print robes in every room. They even have child-sized!

Creationist Park

Road trip! We decided to take a family vacation across the southwest to visit my cousins in New Mexico, stopping for a few days in Phoenix on the way. Our first stop is the delightful Wheel Inn in Cabazon, California, known for its great homemade food and pies. Adjacent to the Wheel Inn is a classic example of road weirdness -- giant dinosaur replicas. They were originally built back in the 60s to attract tourists.

In the 90s, new owners turned them into a Creationist museum! Not what you expect to find in the belly of a dinosaur.

Is China Disney open yet?

Vacation week continues. Dim sum for lunch? Sure, Ellen. And you want to wear your bridal Mickey Mouse ears? Why not?

As Seen on TV

And let the games begin! For today's entertainment-during-winter-break, I was desperate enough to get out of the rain and go to Chuck E. Cheese. Yes, I did this by choice.

Teppanyucky

Ellen and I are both on winter break this week, so I have to keep her entertained! Today, I took her to the local mediocre teppanyaki joint, with the usual showmanship with knives and fire. Ellen was fascinated but afraid of the fire. Of course, later, she wanted to drag us here every chance she could.

Downpour -- trust me on this

OK, so it's hard to tell from the image, but it was pouring and pouring at the time. December is the rainy season for SoCal, what passes for winter here. After months of dryness, we got barrels of rain, almost every day. I was glad to not own a floodable basement, for once.

The show must go on

Rachel's a capella group performs at a nursing home (a big part of their fan base). Many of the members of the group may be checking out the homes for their own relocation.

Pageantry

Ellen's first school show. We had to wait a long, long time for the kindergarten class to perform. Ellen stood in the front row in her construction paper tree costume and forgot to sing her songs. We were very proud, of course.

Winter wonderland

Snow? What's that? Something up in the mountains?

The local mall dumps a few tons of snow on its plaza for a lark. Look, you can wear mittens and throw snowballs and pretend you're freezing to death -- just like up north!