lala land part I

our trip to LA has been amazing so far. it is awesome how much you can fit into a single day & truly enjoy it when you are with family. whenever we come home to LA the house is packed full of people {mostly my siblings} & it is loud, crowded, messy & that is just the way i like a home to be. lived in. 

my dad & nancy decided that this year we would begin our staycation with a trip to the california science center in downtown LA. while we were there we enjoyed an imax presentation on the mysteries of egypt. the boys & mark loved the science center and all the fun activities it had to offer. but most of all they loved spending time together and harassing one another at every moment they could. how old are they again??? oh, late twenties, that's right. :)

then we got some mcdonald's ice cream cones & walked around the rose gardens. the weather was perfect, sunny and a slight breeze coming off the ocean. i love LA weather. 

after a long day we all regrouped at the house & then headed to old town pasadena {my favorite place in town} for a mexican dinner & a movie. alicia & kyle went to ashely's rehearsal dinner, but nani & alex joined us instead and made the night simply wonderful. my stepmom, nancy, and nani spoiled me a bit more with 2 new pairs of shoes :) i guess there are perks of being the only girl in attendance sometimes. i love girl time with those 2!

after a long day & fun night everyone was exhausted, but of course the boys wanted to play some more. they hit the hot tub & stayed up late while the rest of us headed off to bed. what a great start to this staycation!

brothers & husband

bags are packed: los angeles

we are headed off to LA for the weekend!

we couldn't be more ready for some family time, great food,

relaxation & a good friend's wedding

 happy thursday :)

she turns 22...

another birthday has come and gone. usually on my birthday i don't feel any older than the previous day...but i definitely felt older this time around. the big 2-2. i have to say this was a great day from the moment i opened my eyes until i fell asleep that night.

mark woke up before me, as usual, and headed off to work...or so i thought. turns out he had taken the whole day off of work to surprise me & keep me company! 

at 9am i woke up to breakfast in bed {kneader's french toast & a croissant sandwich}. delish! then i opened up some presents from family. i have to say i really did well this birthday. my family beyond spoiled me this year. new camera lens, photography editing software, clothes & another barefoot contessa cookbook! but, the best gift by far were tickets to wicked from the husband! i love love love wicked & it was such a treat to see it for the second time on my birthday with the man i love.

Birthday morning!

Gobbled it up!

My growing cookbook collection

Anthro shopping trip...SUCCESS!

can't wait to see what year 22 has in store for me.

nanny adventures

for the past 3 weeks i got a true taste of motherhood - i spent 10 hours each day caring for, entertaining & singing and dancing with the cutest 2 year old baby girl. from coloring and snack time to laughing so hard that she needed a new pair of undies :) we had a blast together. 

Little Yaara

Daily drawing - she loved sharks

parents, & especially mothers, truly are heros. i have no idea how they do what they do each day for their children. i was able to talk to my mom one day while yaara was napping and i confessed to her how impressed and in awe i was by everything that she did for my sister and me while we were growing up. working mothers & stay@home moms are equally amazing - a mother's job is never ending. cooking, cleaning, children...wow. hardest job there is.

so thank you, mom & dad!

although i miss little yaara, i have to say that i do not miss driving to park city every day. I {LOVE} park city, as well as the drive up there, but commuting is tiring & only wastes precious hours in the day. 

until next time...