The Grand Canyon

Look how beautiful this is!!!! The Grand Canyon is amazing and so beautiful no matter how many times you have been there. Look at these crazy people out on the ledge without a safety rail. Dave was totally having a fit over these people and he rushed us along :) I am the one afraid of heights but managed to stand in the railed viewing area but that was really scaring Dave - who knew!

Kelsey and I at the Grand Canyon. :)

Kelsey and Dave :)

Kelsey taking in the sights.

Landry and Dave climbing the rocks.

Look at these cuties!!! Kelsey and Landry having a good time together.

Landry ready to explore.

Checking out the map and how we should go to get home :).

Kelsey ready to head home ........ we had a great trip! Looking forward to our next adventure. Thank you Rob for taking care of Sadie for us.

Last Day in California

We started our day off right with a stop at The Farmer's Market for some YUMMY waffles for Kelsey and I and a yummy crepe for Dave and some yummy eggs and bacon for Landry :). Dave and I had the waffles from this place before and remember how wonderful they were - honestly the best ever!! I also have to say they did a great job on my Iced Mocha :).

After our visits to the Farmers Market and The Grove we headed to the beach for a visit to the Santa Monica Pier - it was chilly but lots of people were in the water.

A look back at the rides at Santa Monica Pier while we were standing on the fishing pier.

This man was pulling in his catch as we were walking by. We thought it was a sting ray but he said it was a sand shark - weird looking what ever it was!

Checking out the beach and the water.

Santa Monica Beach on a windy chilly day but people were in the water and playing in the sand.

A landmark in Hollywood/LA is the Farmer's Market. I first visited there with my parents when I was in 3rd grade and have been back many times since then. Lots of yummy food and fun shops.

Directly across from the Farmers Market is The Grove a very neat outdoor shopping mall. Lots of cool shops and places to eat. Kelsey had this marked on our places to visit. We had a fun visit to the American Girl Place.

Kelsey stopped for a photo near the dancing fountains at The Grove. :)

Yes my style to have the photos out of order!! NEED HELP!! :) Anyway this was from our first stop at the Farmer's Market with those YUMMY waffles!


Up next our trip to the Grand Canyon on the way home :)...............

Hollywood

Kelsey loved, loved, loved going to Hollywood. She took it all in - a tour of the Hollywood homes, shopping, dinning, etc ... She is saying she will live there one day and I have no doubt it will happen. She wants to one day be a cinematographer - very cool! She does take after me in that I love pop culture.
As always my photos are loaded here in reverse order - errrrrrrrr ... but hope you enjoy them. On Wednesday evening we went to Universal City Walk and had fun taking it all in. Lots to see there. We ate at Wolfgang Puck's L.A. Bistro and really enjoyed it. Every ones food was excellent.

A street performer picked Miss Kelsey to join him. She was a bit embarrassed but was having fun. He helped her get "jiggy" with it - is that the right term? He had her arms moving like crazy. Look at her cute face!

So exciting for Kelsey and Landry to see Nickelodeon Studios on Sunset. This is where iCarly, Josh and Drake, and some of their other favorites are filmed. We had to drive by several times - front and back to take it all in.

Guess where this was??? ......... Outside of Michael Jackson's house. Lots of tv crew, fans, and police were there.

MJ fans leaving flowers and notes at the house he died in ..... wild to see first hand.

Someone in a Bentley on Rodeo Drive - not sure if it is a celebrity or not but sure was a cool car.

Dave and Kelsey taking in the sights from the topless van we road through Hollywood and Beverly Hills in for our tour. It was a fun experience and everyone should do it. Kelsey wanted to do it again the next day - Dave would not let us :(.

Kelsey standing in Will Smith's footprints ..... fun!!!

Ok here is a photo of Landry with some crazy people!! My friend Cissy had warned me about the people in costumes grabbing you for a photo and asking for money - yip! It happened and they grabbed Landry of coarse - look at Dave in the back ground - he left us then had to come rescue us. Crazy People!!! We took a photo gave a tip and moved on!

Goodbye Hollywood! We will be back soon .................... More to follow.

Legoland part 2

Day 2 at Legoland was just as fun as day 1 :). The weather once again was great and the kids got along great!!! We got on lots of rides and even did a few that we had done the day before but loved them. My kids love roller coasters :).
Something that they both thought was fun was this building and test station. They each built a car out of legos to race.

Landry looking for the right parts for his car.

Photo opportunity with a Legoland lego statue :)

Lock up!!!

Crazy boat driver!!! She did pretty well until this odd lady cut her off - she was not happy about that!

You have to do a little shopping at Legoland, right? Look at all the legos! You could fill up a sack or box and then have it weighed to see how much you owed for them.

A fun Lego fact :)

The end of Legoland day 2 oh and how sweet a kiss from Landry :) ..... Hollywood and the Grand Canyon to follow ......

Legoland and the Beach - Ahhhh we love California

Road trips are fun! I remember all my vacations as a kid taking to the road with my parents. I love vacations, I love staying in hotels, seeing new places, taking pictures, making memories - I love it all!! I am so happy to be able to share a trip like this with our kids and am glad that Dave got to go on a trip like this and I think he liked it and wants to do more.
What a beautiful place Carlsbad, Ca is ... the weather was great, the area was great, the trip to Legoland was great and the trip to the beach was great (cold but great). On Monday and Tuesday we were in Carlsbad and visited Legoland both days. Landry was on cloud 9 and wants to go back again. Legos everywhere and rides too all this made Landry a happy boy and he kept calling it his trip. Kelsey had fun too. She loves rides and loves roller coasters.
Ok so I totally get it ... In-N-Out is awesome!!! I really thought it was just hype all this time but now I am a believer - if you go to California you MUST have a stop at In-N-Out and that is an order. We had two stops at In-N-Out and both times it was awesome. Kelsey loved the fries!!

Surfers!!!! Look at the surf dudes .... it was cool at the beach but they did not seem to mind.

Kelsey and Landry loved the beach and would have loved playing there longer if we had more time and if it were a little warmer. This may have to be a Christmas card picture :). Oh I want to go back there right now - anyone want to go with me??

Legoland!!! Look at Landry - he is so excited! Jumping all around and his hair flopping everywhere .... classic Landry. Kelsey looks pretty happy too. :)

Getting their driver's license at Lego Driving School.

As you know I have a loading issue and here are the kids in front of the entrance to Legoland (actually at the end of the day but who has to know - oh you do now ;) )

Entering the Miniland area of Legoland where all the amazing lego displays are - every building, every car, every person, etc .... made out of Legos!! Well the grass is grass, the water is water, etc ;)

Climbing the palm trees - Kelsey rang the bell at the top. Landry stopped in the middle and would not go up or down - a Legoland worker had to go help him down (reminds me of a ski trip I went on where I fell over and over and a ski patrol person had to help me to the bottom of the mountain :( ).

A fun ride to start off the day - getting wet! They loved it :).

Landry with a giant Bionical - he was so in his element. We have more to share from day 2 at Legoland, our trip to Hollywood, and the Grand Canyon so stay tuned!