Todd's cute little munchkins visit

They were here for 3 days. We had all kinds of fun things planned. Beach, Disneyland, movies, etc. But know what? The kids didn't leave the house once. Seriously. Every time we suggested a fun activity to them they collectively protested. All they wanted to do was play together at the house. Disneyland. They were opposed to Disneyland.

At least they like home, right?

Who didn't slide down the stairs as a kid? I did it in boxes and on cookie sheets. These little muffins came up with a genius version. A boogie board. But wait...it gets better.

Please don't forget to notice the plastic bag parachute.

This is what kids look like in 2010. They were playing a game on the PlayStation while simultaneously playing on 2 cell phones and a laptop. Shameful.

More visitors!

Are you seeing a trend here? In the 3 months we've lived in CA we've received 8 visitors. Yay us! We love to be an inn. Our very, very dear friends from Utah came to stay with us. For 2 1/2 years these little girls were inseparable. We were essentially living in a compound (otherwise known as a duplex) together. They arrived last week and all we could get out of our mouths was REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD.

I wish I had taken more pictures. All I really got was the girls at the beach. There are some mighty cute shots of these mighty cute girls, though.

 

Have I mentioned that I love living by the ocean?

help

i can't figure out why some of my pictures are clickable (you can click on it to make it bigger) and some aren't. can you offer some words of wisdom?

My Natalie

20 years. Nat has been my best friend for 20 years. Makes for lots of inside jokes. We can mention just one word or phrase and we'll both drop to the floor laughing. So fun. And she's so stinkin' adorable. Both her and my sister just recently visited for the 2nd time each since I moved to CA 3 months ago. Such devotion. This time Nat brought her daughter who is Ana's age. They claim b/f/f-ship also.

The first night she got here we headed into the city for some live music. We met some fantastic friends there for sushi beforehand. Such good company. Lots of laughs and merriment. Loved it. Our friend, Dave, had some spare tickets to the Brandi Carlisle/Avett Bros show. It was super. They rocked our socks off.

Best Avett Bros line: There is nothing worth sharing like the love that let us share our name. Was there ever a truer thing spoken?

Could he be any more adorable?

Nat's daughter had one California fantasy...the beach. She spent her own money for half of the plane ticket to get here, so I wanted to find out what her idea of big, glitzy CALIFORNIA was and turns out it was the cheapest, easiest thing. She just wanted sand beneath her toes and salt water in her hair.

Had to treat her to some In N Out on the beach. It's a match made in heaven.

Little self-portrait

My Tod. He could spend his whole life watching the ocean.

We built a fire on the beach one night and had typical campfire cuisine. Ana was using the restroom and felt something hit her shoulder. She looked up and a pigeon up in the eaves had pooped on her. Haha.

For a birthday celebration we took the little ladies to the American Girl Store at The Grove.  Ana had saved some money and purchased a new doll there. We then had lunch in the cafe. It was little girl euphoria.

 

And finally...a trip to Disneyland.

And lots and lots of PhotoBooth pictures.

Come again soon Natalie!!!!!

I was my sister's keeper for the weekend

Les and her friend, Megan, came to visit. I know they were just using me for my proximity to the beach and world class shopping, but I'll let them and hope they continue to use me at least quarterly. It was so fun to have them here.

Megan had a premie with her. He's back there in the stroller and he goes by Baby Brother. I loved having a baby around. I even confiscated him so they could go have some mommy time.

Such a good sis. I love her guts.

We had to make the obligatory stop at C&O in Venice for garlic knot rolls of love and death. Seriously. You haven't lived if you haven't eaten them. The girls passed the time by taking hundreds of pictures with my camera. Most were deleted, but they did come up with a few good ones.

This was Leslie's second trip out here in 3 months. Isn't she just loveable?! At this rate I'll see her 8 times every year. YEAH ME!!!!

.

Love Love Love

Jeff is my step-dad. He's a swell guy. I mean out-of-this-world super. I think he's the epitome of what it means to be a Christian. Christ-like. Kind, loving, generous. I'm very glad he is a part of my life. He turned 6o this year. We thought we better celebrate in style. He is a serious Beatle-philiac, so we surprised him with tickets to The Beatles Love, a Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas. All the adult children met up in Vegas for the weekend. 

Me & my mama.

All the girls at The Wynn

I wanted to get down and kiss these floors. I took pictures so I could recreate them in my future home.

This is myLeslie. Isn't she lovely?

Les & Lauren with their little morning lovin.

The Wynn has these seriously incredible bathrooms. Had to get a shot of these mirrors. Perhaps they will show up in my future home as well....

So pretty in pink

Finally the show. Tod & I had been prepping for it. I was giving him Beatles lessons leading up to the show. We listened to their music and I told him stories of the songs and all the band members.

Half of our Brady Bunch

Hottie Bombalotties

What cute lovers. Love inspired lots of lovin.

The show was incredible. I didn't want it to end. I wish I could see it again and again and take my girls to it again and again. The artistry, the incredible physical feats of the performers (are they circus folk? carne?), and above all the tribute to the band. I felt such an outpouring of emotion a couple times that tears came to my eyes. I've always appreciated The Beatles, but ever since the show I am a little obsessed. It's Beatlemania here. We listen to, dance to, talk about and read about them every day.

After the show I got to experience another bit of Rachel euphoria. The Dale Chihuly installation in The Bellagio. He is in my top 5 favorite artists and this was a treat. I drug everyone along. They were good sports. I'm sure none of them gave a hoot about it like I did.

Isn't it lovely. There are few things that make me as happy as seeing the pairing of light and colored glass.

m&m world

The highlight of every one's trip (that was totally tongue in cheek) was a voyage to the m&m store. It was so far down the strip. We were all exhausted. Our feet hurt. It was insanely hot for 11 pm. We were all dying, but wanted to see the store. It turned out to be a major let down. Four stories of m&m merchandise. Huh??? Literally anything you can think of was there with an m on it. The thought of walking back made us all want to curl up into the fetal position and die, but Tod being the adorable hero he is ran back to get the car & pick us up. He was wearing very uncomfortable unbroken-in shoes and was already limping before he raced back for the vehicle. He's a good boy. I never stop feeling grateful he's in my life. He's such a dream.

Speaking of good boys...what a cute angel he is! I hope he's around for at least 60 more years.

And this was my souvenir from the show.

I almost didn't get anything. It was overpriced and none of it spoke to my soul. But as we were about to exit the gift shop Yellow Submarine started playing over the PA system. I felt a surge of emotion and love for my sweet daughter and immediately purchased this shirt. It's a memento of the show, but also will always remind me of my girl. Ewww I love her!

What is the best Beatles song in your opinion? Mine is always in flux, but I think Rocky Raccoon will always live on it's own special pedestal in my mind. But I can't get enough of Elanor Rigby. And Mr. Kite. And I've Just Seen a Face. And and and. What a great addition to the world these musicians were. They bring joy to my life all the time. Do you think Love is really all we need? I kinda do.

.