Los Angeles

Phew! What a fantastic trip through such a cool city!

Thursday, I hung around and caught up on some homework. In the later afternoon, I went down to Venice Beach to check it out. It was a very strange place...lots of people who looked homeless were selling the worst art I've ever seen. And then got mad at you when you didn't buy the bad art. It was a very interesting place, but absolutely the best people watching of your life!! I met up with Mary Michael and the kids and went to a Japanese food court-type restaurant. It was SO cool! Very delicious and fun to see the kiddies loving some strange foods. We worked hard to put the kids to bed and then caught up together afterwards. I am SO happy to have two wonderful families, mine and Jamie's. I can't say enough how lucky we are to have the best siblings, cousins, and parents around.

Friday, I went to Beverly Hills! I spent the day in a Korean spa. It was the best thing I could ever imagine. It was a place with many different saunas and steam rooms, everyone wore these comfy pajamas, and we all laid around and took naps on heated tile floors with these little mats. It took a bit for me to let loose and be comfortable, it was VERY weird. But once I realized how awesome it really was, I got REALLY into it and took a fantastic nap. I highly recommend finding yourself a Korean spa near you. It was very cool.

After the spa, I checked out the massive homes and Hollywood. Walked around and shopped on the Sunset strip. It was pretty cool! Afterwards, I headed back home to meet MM and the kids for some homemade pizzas! We enjoyed a nice glass of wine and keeping the kids in their beds while laughing at Portlandia.

Saturday, we had a BUSY day! MM and Claire went to ballet and pilates while Grant and I went to see the Venice Canals. He loved them! We threw a lot of rocks into the water and ran over the bridges many times. Afterwards, we caught up with the girls and we all went to a park with a view of the Hollywood sign. The kids played and we all ate a great little picnic lunch at the park.

After the park, we headed to Griffith Observatory to the planetarium. Wow! What a cool view of LA! I was also very aware that this was the planetarium in LaLa Land. Just sayin'! Claire and I went to a film on space which was mind blowing. Claire and I talked about the Big Bang theory quite a bit, which was hilarious. She is 6. And definitely now understands how astrophysics works. We met Grant and MM outside of the theatre and headed towards downtown LA for dinner.

Claire chose a place called Clifton's, which is an old cafeteria and was SO cool. It had a 40's vibe? Cool things to see around every corner and I ate a delicious chicken pot pie! The kids loved it because they got free toys with their meals and there were cool little tunnels for them to crawl through. After Clifton's, we went to the "Last Book Store". It was incredible! VERY interesting art exhibits made of books and just huge expanses of used and new books to see. At this point, it was late after a long day, so we all headed back towards home.

Sunday, we woke up and went down to the Venice Farmer's market. They have EVERYTHING! California

farmer's markets have got to be the best, they have fresh fruits and vegetables. I'm really jealous of their markets. They don't have to supplement their food from grocery stores at all, they could get everything they needed in one local market. It was a great spot, kids loved the free samples of fruits/veggies, and we all enjoyed great breakfast burritos.

I said good-bye to the Marlo family and headed south to Oceanside to see my own cousin, Grady, and his family. I hadn't seen his wife Sara in a long time, hadn't met his kids, or seen their house since they moved! It was great to catch up, they made a great dinner. Their kids entertained

me with a tea party and we all watched the Cub's game. I woke up bright and early Monday morning to head towards Joshua Tree.