A Final Day of Cali Memory Making...

Friday was a recuperation day for us but we still hit up some of our favorite hot spots.

A trip to Los Angeles is not complete without a visit to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Malo Cantina. 

There was no #splitaplatlosesomeweight here!


I also requested to visit Sprinkles Cupcakes and pick up one- er, dozen- sweet treats. :-)

Still excites me every time!

And one more visit to a brewery- this time, Angel City.

We had a fantastic trip to the west coast, but even with all the fun and exciting things we did and saw and rode, nothing beats uninterrupted time with family. We love our west coast family so much and are so super proud of them and the life they have built out there. But we miss them terribly and can't wait to see them in three months at the beach!

Why not throw an amusement park in the mix?

Since Wednesday was an "Adult day" with Hollywood tours and brewery stops, Thursday was the opposite end of the spectrum when we spent the day at Disneyland's California Adventure theme park.

We all had a BLAST, and it was definitely a good "warm up" for our Disney World vacation planned for later in the year.




The main attraction for Jake was Radiator Springs Cars Land. He LOVED seeing all the characters rolling around the streets. And I love seeing my kids experience the Disney magic.




The kids also experienced their first "big ride" with this ferris wheel that not only went super far up and around but the cars also swung and slid.



Aside from the Cars characters, Jake had no interest waiting in line to meet characters....seeing them off to the side was exciting enough.

Nothing says a day at an amusement park like a turkey leg...


Toys Mania 3D ride...

One of the fastest roller coasters I have ever been on- California Screamin'

More Cars characters...


Another huge highlight was the Pixar Parade....Jake could not contain himself seeing all the Monsters U and Nemo characters and Mater ending the parade.



Our last ride before we left was the Tower of Terror....Eric, Caroline, Caroline's sister Sarah, and I rode this one and had a blast...as indicated in our faces in the bottom left corner. :-)

What a fun (but exhausting!) day with the family!

Day 3: Hollywood, here we come!

It's no secret that when our wheels touch down in California, I immediately go on high alert for celebrities. I LOVE the idea of just "running into" a celeb (A list or B list, doesn't matter) at like a Starbucks or a local restaurant. (You know, "stars are like people too.") But I will also take a red carpet on Hollywood Blvd promoting America's Got Talent and catching a glimpse of Howie Mandel and Heidi Klum, too.

None of us (Eric and Caroline included) had ever taken a tour around Hollywood so we bought passes for a one hour trolley tour and really enjoyed seeing a few fun things around the city.


Paramount Studios where they film The Doctors and Dr. Phil

Paramount Pictures for films

Raleigh Studios where one of my favorite shows, "Once Upon A Time," is filmed.


A peek at the Hollywood Sign...

Capitol Records

From Hollywood, we headed to something a little more "relaxed" and "normal" for us- a brewery. :-) Golden Road Brewery had a lovely lawn with games for the kids like dominoes, connect four, foosball, etc.




And we totally got used to the gorgeous 75 degree sunny weather very quickly.

And then we were off on a west coast adventure!

Monday, April 6, we hit the road (and the skies) and headed to visit my brother and sister in law in Los Angeles, California for spring break.

We rented this awesome house through Airbnb.












We were sooo happy with our decision to rent a home instead of two hotel rooms. Being on east coast time half the vacation and waking up bright and early, as well as just having space to "hang out" and relax, was priceless. And the big plus was that it was only 0.6 miles from Eric and Caroline's house.

On Tuesday, we visited the Los Angeles Griffith Park Travel Town Museum, where basically we got to climb on a bunch of cool, old trains and then ride on a cool, old kiddie one. :-)

Then we ate lunch at this awesome place called the Mess Hall Kitchen where I had never been more proud of my daughter as when she ordered fried chicken and waffles and ate most every bite. :-)

See? The house was perfect for just snuggling and for Caroline to uncover the next fun thing for our family do to (or eat!).

Lots more to cover but too many pictures for one post!