Summer Trip to LA

Kevin had a business trip to LA last week so we decided to tag along. I think we might have to do that every time he has business trips down there from now on... we had so much fun!

When we arrived we had to get down to business and do the most important things... jump on the beds and "call Grandpa." Ryan had a pretty good conversation with him without actually being connected. The other important thing we always do when we arrive at hotels is disconnect all the phones. That way our kids can't call anyone and no one can call us if our kids are being loud all night long ;)

When we woke up the next day we rushed off to meet up with the Balenas at Griffith Park! The reunion was so sweet. These two started running towards one another they were so excited. Liz and I started bawling... and hugged and we were just so happy to finally be hanging out with our dear friends again! Catie ran and gate Grace a big hug too.

Ryan and Hank had fun goofing off on the train as well.

We rode the train, the ponies, and the carousel.

The medium speed ponies rode FAST! It was so funny to watch!

We also visted the La Brea Tar Pits. It was HOT but interesting... there were several tantrums throughout the visit by the littlest guy, but we survived. Not my favorite part of the trip.

We also visited the Hayes family!!! And we got NO PHOTOS since I was so busy inhaling the yummy homemade ice cream Meredith made and chatting and eating the cookie bars she made too. The kids had fun making a disaster of their home and we had fun catching up. Yay! So fun to have friends to visit that aren't too far away!

Liz and I continued our adventures with the kiddos once Kevin went back to work and we went to the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena.

We also hit up a yummy donut place and the Taco Deli for lunch. Hank fell asleep on the table at the restaurant while he was eating and me and Liz gabbed and gorged ourselves while my kids played on tablets and Ryan spilled food everywhere. It was blissful and so wonderful to just have chat time!

We stayed at the Embassy Suites and these kids loved the elevator and the huge free breakfast. They also loved that we were right next to LAX and we could see the airplane flight path from our hotel window. I took them down every morning in their pjs for breakfast. They were very self sufficient and helpful and ate everything in sight.

We tried to get a workout in so we ran from Hermosa Beach to Manhattan Beach and back... I ran and pushed the double jogger and Andrew rode his bike. It was HOT but I got all the kids ice cream midway through the 40 minute jog, so they all survived and were happy.

We also played at the beach a bit afterwards.

We went to the cutest story hour at the LA Temple with the Balenas on Tuesday and then we hit up Sprinkles Cupcakes and Sprinkles Cookies! Yum Yum! I LOVE the cookies!

I was SO sad to say goodbye to Liz... but fortunately we'll be back down to LA in a month or so again!

The kiddos and I attempted to go to the Museum of Flying in Santa Monica... but it was closed because of weird summer hours. The kids were VERY disappointed.

I cheered them up by taking them to the Santa Monica Pier and letting them ride rides and get amazingly large slurpees. They cheered up quickly!

We spent many evenings watching movies on my laptop... One night we were waiting for Kevin to get back so we could go swimming... Ryan decided that sitting on top of Catie was way more cozy than sitting on the couch.

On our last day in LA we drove down to Irvine and met up with Meredith Hayes and kiddos to hang out at Pretend City. It is seriously the perfect place for kids! My kids had a blast!

After saying goodbye to Meredith we grabbed yummy drinks at Sonic and then we went and picked uo Kevin, packed our car, and hauled ourselves back to the East Bay! Other than stopping every 50 miles so kids could go to the bathroom we made really good time and got home right around bedtime!

What a fabulous trip!! So glad we could tag along with Kevin and get to see our good friends too!

An East Coast Road Trip to North Carolina!

Whenever we get on the East Coast I started realizing how close all of my favorite people and places are... and try and fit in seeing all of them.

We've been trying to get to North Carolina on a trip for about two years. One day on our Virginia Beach trip we decided that since we were only 6 hours away from our NC friends, we should try and change our flights and extend our trip a bit.

Etta was gone on family vacation, but the Warners were around, so after our weeklong trip to VA we jumped in the car headed to the Charlotte area where they live! The road trip was pretty good (other than the car chargers not working... so the last two hours of the drive we didn't have any shows to watch on the iPad because it was dead :(). 

Once we arrived, we settled in, put the kids down to bed, said goodbye to the babysitter, and headed off for a night out with Chris & Sarah (Andrew was babysat by the iPad for a little bit until he chose to go to bed)!

I can't remember the name of the BBQ place they took us to in Charlotte, but the cheesy bread was awesome, loaded baked potatoes were delicious, and chocolate pie was heavenly! It was the best meal I'd eaten all week!

On Sunday we went to Chris & Sarah's ward and we dropped off all the kids in primary so that we could relax in Sunday School without them. Lovely! Catie even managed to stay happy in nursery with strange new people and toys for almost 2 hours.

Then we spent the afternoon playing in the Warner's beautiful playroom, watching movies, chatting, and eating. Sarah made a delicious lunch for us and then Chris BBQ ribs for dinner that Kevin loved. Andrew and Izzie played together upstairs in the playroom without any problems for like three hours while Sarah and I chatted and Kevin and Chris did random techy things.

Later we snuck outside to get some energy out. It was 100+ degrees, so the kiddos didn't last long.

Catie was so confused as to why her crazy buddies thought being outside and running races was fun!

After dinner, Sarah and I left the guys and kids and went on a nice leisurely walk... until it started thundering and lightning and then we ran home. We put the crazy kiddos to bed. Andrew and Izzie had a sleepover in the playroom. We didn't think they would fall asleep, but they passed out within 5-10 minutes. Probably from all the racing in the hot weather.

We knew the sleepover wouldn't last... but it was fun trying it anyway. Andrew woke up screaming bloody murder around 12:30am, freaked Izzie out, and everyone went back to their beds (or their parent's beds) for actual sleeping.

The next morning Sarah and I woke up before it got really hot and went for a 3 mile jog. Kevin "watched" the kiddos from his bed. :) Then we played in Sarah's pool for awhile until it was time to get ready and packed up to head to the airport.

There was an amazing spider in the pool that walked on water. Andrew and Kevin thought it was cool. Sarah and I did not.

I love Andrew's terrified face here.

Before we got in the car we managed to snap a few pictures. I finally got one of me to prove that I actually was on the trip. Izzie and Andrew crack me up.

... and they had to be in our picture too.

Thanks Warners for such a fun spur of the moment trip! You were exceptional hosts! Let's do it again soon!