Riverside

We spent several days in Riverside visiting Aunt Jessie, Uncle Adam, and cousins! This Starbucks has a mini-sprayground to play in.

We spent a morning in a friend's pool:

The kids spent a couple of hours splashing around in the Santa Ana River:

We made a visit to Adam's work where he showed us a friendly snake:

And, we ran around this cute pirate-themed water park:

Tio's Tacos

Kent and I ate Mexican food for just about every meal we could. So, when we arrived in Riverside, this was the first place we went. Tio's is known for their super cool patio which is designed and decorated with statues and art created with bottles, cans, and basically, the discards of others.

You could spend an entire afternoon looking around. The kids  even rode tricycles;it was  a very kid friendly place.

Parks to Visit

Madeline had quite the list of favorite places she wanted to visit. One place was Balboa Park. It was a hot day, but we enjoyed the shade the company of my best friends and a little ice-cream.

Then we headed over to Griffith Park to ride the ponies and the little train. All the things we use to do.

More Visits and Time with Friends

Our girls enjoyed popsicles from the little market down the street from our old house. We also enjoyed multiple breakfasts at this little hole-in-wall during our stay in LA.

Friday evening, we had a great dinner with Carrie, Lyman, and Milo in Northridge.

On Saturday, Natalie hosted a pizza and pool gathering at her home. Lots of fun to get these kids and their mamas together again!

Old School

One thing Madeline really wanted to do while in Los Angeles was visit her old school that she attended for kindergarten, first grade, and part of second grade. Here are two old pictures from her first day of first grade. So cute!

And below is a picture of Madeline with her friends during our visit. It is hard to believe those little first graders are now fifth graders. The picture also includes Sophie and Alexis who are both first graders this year. It was amazing how Madeline's teachers and friends recognized her! It was like no time had passed. Lucky enough for us, there was ice-cream for sale after school, too. Perfect timing!

More of LA!

After being tourists, we checked into our hotel in the San Fernando Valley. Check out our views! We loved looking at our old stomping grounds. Everything seemed exactly the same; it was as if time had stood still for 2 and a half years!

Los Angeles!!

Our family spent ten fun-filled days in Los Angeles this month! We had so much fun visiting some of our favorite places and favorite people.  After arriving at LAX, our first stop was Santa Monica. The girls had fun playing on the beach and the Santa Monica Pier.

Our next stop was Hollywood! We went to Miceli's, one of the first restaurants Kent and I ate at after arriving in LA twelve years ago.

The Chinese Theater and Walk of Fame . . .

Out of order Santa Monica picture:

Summer Dayz

We've been staying entertained with outings over the last week. We met up with our cousins at Hidden Pond to look through the nature center and to find some turtles. Aren't these pictures beautiful? The talented Aunt Jen took them!

On a gorgeous day (look at that sky!), we went to the spray ground and a neighboring park.

The park's playground has a neat "woodsy' theme. Sophie loved climbing the "trees."

Kent and I attended a Bad Company concert in Solomans, Maryland. It was a really great venue located on the Chesapeake Bay. We had a really  great time! Thanks Mom for watching the kids!

I love finding surprises on the camera! Kent must have taken this one of Sophie last night. She is my resident sleeper-in-er. She loves to lay in bed, often until 10 or 11 am!

Summer dayz and summer nights, we're loving them!