Happy Birthday Jules!

My little girl is two today.  Isn't she cute?  We love her so much!  Happy Birthday Jules!

 

Griffith Park and the Hollywood Sign

Well, I'm proud to say we've knocked a few items off of our California list.  Especially since our performance is not that stellar.

Folks…here it is…Griffith Park.

A little anti-climatic?  Maybe.  But we had fun.



First we hit up the choo choo train.  Side note: for some reason my spell check isn't recognizing the word choo choo.



Yes, it's so bitterly cold in Los Angeles I had to wear a down vest.



Jules certainly enjoyed the choo choo.



Paige just took it all in.

After our epic time with the choo choo, we headed to the Griffith Park Carousel.



Jules started on her own horse.

 And then decided it would be more fun to ride with Mommy.

Paige was quite confident on her steed.

These horses have a lot of patina.

Then we walked over to the playground.

Tunnel!

Sure, putting a two-year old in a tree is a great idea.  After the playground, we drove through the park up to Griffith Observatory and were amazed by the traffic and the parking.  We decided to attempt the observatory another day.  It's crazy to imagine the construction of Griffith Observatory.  It's an impressive, large building in an impressive, challenging location.

And here's the Hollywood Sign.  Enjoy...

Happy Birthday Paige!

It's Paigey's birthday this week - she is turning four.

We had a fun party over the weekend to celebrate with lots of new friends, old friends, and family.  It was so fun.  For some reason, more than half of my photos were really blurry….so lots of people are MIA in these photos.  Nonetheless,  let's go to the videotape:

Sunshine Friday

Do you shop on Black Friday?  The name depresses me - I picture people alone, in dark rooms, with their money.

So, we went to the park instead, to soak up sunshine and play.

We park about a quarter mile south of the park and walk along the beach path to get to the "pirate park."  This is how we sneak in more exercise for the girls.  It hasn't occurred to them that we could park right next to the park.

It was a beautiful clear day - the Channel Islands, which are normally ensconced in fog, were out strutting their stuff.

Off we went, holding hands.  The mountains were nice and clear too.

A little rest at the halfway point.

Oh California, how I love you.

Pretty flower in the park that matched the girls' outfits.

Almost at the pirate park.

Quick ride on a seahorse that Paige named "Shark."  She also told me that "she's a girl seahorse."

"Har har mateys!"

"Me too!  Me too!"

Sand dunes in Southern California are fairly rare these days.

I hope your Black Friday was as nice as ours!

San Francisco Birthday Maritime Bonanza

For Brandon's birthday, we headed to San Francisco.  We stayed near Union Square - here's a foggy view from our hotel of the Starlight Room.

First we stopped by Fisherman's Wharf for a carousel ride.

Then, we took Paige and Jules to see the "pirate ships" at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. The girls are obsessed with pirates, watch Jake and the Neverland Pirates religiously, and were thrilled to board the historical ships.

Still haven't been to Alcatraz Island, but I'm intrigued, especially after seeing it from our vantage point on the boats.

Our intrepid, stylish and faithful travel companion.

Coit Tower.