Bye-bye, LA!

   I got hugs from Mom and Kelley, and a smile from Aaron, but Sean refused to come over and say good-bye to me. We were all in the driveway as I prepared to jump into Dave's car and head to the airport. It's just as well, if he had given me a hug or a "good-bye Aunt Jen" one of us probably would have ended up crying... And probably not the two-year-old one of us. Not sure when I'll see them all again, since I'll be in Portland with Kristin for Christmas, but I already can't wait till the next time. That kid is ridonkulously cute.

   I'm frankly amazed by my sister's strength in dealing with a challenging day-to-day situation, by seeing my mom perform as an incredible, caring grandma, and by little Aaron's evolution in just the 5 days I was there--not to mention the smart and funny things coming out of Sean's mouth. It made me very happy and proud of my family. Wish we could be together more often, but at least we can relish the moments we do have.

   Thank goodness for distractions like LA traffic, and stupid-long baggage check & security lines (nearly missed my flight). But more so for surprises like being greeted at the airport by... friends,  having my bags carried and a hot, homemade dinner waiting for me in the car, and a surprise movie: Almost Time. The movie, like the guys, was indescribably sweet... And it's funny how their actions tonight mirrored the moral of the film. (Even if while I was gone, not so much).

What a mostly-awesome few days.

   Also, my suitcase is purring. Must be glad to be home sweet home.

Happiest Kid on Earth

   Sean donned my sunglasses and we were off...

...to the Magic Kingdom!

So true...

   Kelley, Sean, and Grandma rode the teacups

   While I braved the wild yeti on the Matterhorn

We rode It's a Small World (holiday edition)

And Haunted Mansion (holiday edition)

And went on an undersea voyage in a submarine to find Nemo

And sang and danced with some pirates!

Can't wait until little nephew Aaron is big enough to join us...

Travel Town

   It was SO FUN for Mom and I to experience Travel Town through the eyes of a two year old! Located in Griffith Park, it's a wonder for little train enthusiasts--and it's free. 

   We walked among the big trains, climbed aboard a few, and took a ride on the little replica train, twice around the track encircling the park. 

   Two would for comfortably in the seat, with a kid on a lap. Our kid insisted on sitting between us, and took great delight in waving his arms, thrashing his head side to side (into my boob. Umm... Ouch) and giggling. 

   These photos are the best present any Auntie could ask for.

No place like Gnome

   SO delighted the Halloween costumes were still hanging about... But good luck getting a two year old to wear a hat & beard.

Aaron was a much more into it...

Spoilage

   The tiny bag contains everything I need for the next 5 days in LA. The ginormo bag is FULL of presents. Two spoiled-rotten nephews, coming right up!!!

Nephews

Looks like Kristin is enjoying messing with my nephew Sean on her way through LA...

She said, "don't ask him to smile while he's eating." LOL

Lil Aaron (getting some help from a feeding tube) somehow manages to get even cuter by the day. As their proud auntie, I may be slightly biased, but they are the two most beautiful boys in the whole world! Jealous that Kristin is there now & I'm not! :)

Happy Valentine's Day, Indeed!

   What more can you ask for, for Valentine's Day than a safe flight home from an awesome vacation, with perfect weather & good family & friend time, punctuated by baby kisses and copious amounts of sushi? How about:
   • Being invasively felt up in public and also x-rayed by the TSA screeners at LAX (thanks to this cumbersome orthopedic boot!)—and cracking them up by making comments like, "I knew you couldn't resist getting a better look at my sexy boot leg!"?
   • The super-nice and hilarious flight attendant on Southwest who presented me with a free gin and tonic—and a Valentine's Day card?
   • An airport pickup by best friend Joni, with Wager, Kip and Asher in tow? Talking and laughing all the way home?
   • A chorus of shrieks, howls, and purrs in celebration of my return? A friendly fight to decide who monopolizes my lap first?
   • A steady stream of texts from friends welcoming me back?
   • And a surprise piece of homemade turtle cheesecake in the fridge from my friend, petsitter, and angel Mary Ann?
   Not a bad haul for the holiday!

Milk, Necromance + Pizza

(This post isn't going to be nearly as weird as the title implies.)

   After breakfast, Kelley took me to see the Handmade Galleries store in Sherman Oaks. It was set up kind of like an antique mall, with individual booths and cases rented by different artists and craftsman, selling everything from toys to clothes, jewelry to framed art. I found a fabric art character book that I LOVE, as well as a mounted and preserved exotic butterfly.

Next door was a Three Dog Bakery... temporarily closed! (Sorry, Nelly!)

Sean had a little snack...

Magnolia blooms abounded

gorgeous neighborhood: Sherman Oaks

We stopped at Sweet Butter Kitchen/Cafe/Market for some refreshments:

   Sean had some milk, and we had a banana dulce de leche almond ice cream bar made by Milk (yeah, WOW!) If you had any doubt that it was delicious, it didn't last long enough to start melting:

And in case you have any doubt that

Sean was hungry, get a load of this:

   After we were temporarily satiated, we headed home, and Dave came over to pick me up for Round Two of fun. When he saw the butterfly I had purchased, he asked if I had ever been to Necromance on Melrose, the exquisite store for dead things. I hadn't, so we were off!

I spotted this sign on Melrose, and Dave graciously stood in the busy street to
snap this photo of me and my ridiculous boot. The humor was worth the risk, no?

   Turns out that a visit to this store is like a visit to a natural history museum... except that these artifacts were for sale! I walked away with another box of butterflies, and a piece of fan coral and large white starfish for Kelley & Eric. The owner (?), Nancy, was friendly and happy to share her wealth of information about the deceased creatures in the store. It was all very fascinating (if a little sad, because I will always prefer live animals over dead ones!)

They look very lifelike... but they're not.  :(

   Then Dave took us on a drive up Mulholland Drive, to see the spectacular, sprawling city view from the hills. Unfortunately, we didn't enjoy it for long, as the park had closed for the night—unbeknownst to us—and the park rangers watching on camera took our photos and warned us to leave immediately. Oops. At least we weren't arrested... yet.

    A quick stop at Pitfire yielded a pile of perfect pizza pies, so we went home to share, and feasted!

Sean Speaks!

   ...with a lil' help from some Scrabble tiles, that is. (Kelley & I just might have put him up to it.)

Grandma Lizzie's birthday is February 11

What boy wouldn't love robots, skulls, & space invaders?!