On Sunday, I received a text from my nephew, Brett (my older brother's son), which read, "Hey Aunt Denise- we (the 4 of us) are headed to Palm Springs tomorrow for a family trip. I didn't realize how close that is to Temecula until my dad said something. Would you want to meet up for lunch? We are in town 12/27 to 1/1." I was beyond excited and, as it turned out, we were already going to be in town for the Living Desert Zoo's WildLights. We were totally free for lunch. Woohoo.

“The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.” –George Santayana