Hanging out with Val

My BFF (I just can't pull that off, can I?), Valerie, was in town this week for a funeral and decided to come out a few days early so we could hang out. We can't believe it's been almost two years since we last saw each other.

She and the kids (all 4 of them) stayed with us which was super fun for all...and a little crazy at times in my tiny place, but it allowed us to stay up late chatting, watching movies and eating brownies. YAY!

While she was here, we managed to hit almost all of our usual hang out spots...and even threw in a few new ones.

Wednesday we went to Souplantation (of course) with
Tasha who just had a little girl in December.

I was a mean mom and made Hannah and Sammy go to school, so they missed out on this (don't feel sorry for them--they went on plenty of other fun outings the rest of the week)!

Can I just say how pleasant (and easy) it was to just have one child to take care of.

Helene had mac 'n cheese for the first time and loved it!

LOVE the piece of pasta stuck to her face!

Then it was off to Singer Park after
I picked up the kids from school.

Hannah didn't want her picture taken

Noah and Sammy
Thursday we went to the Arboretum and let the kids explore.
It was a gorgeous day in the mid-70s--I LOVE SoCal!

This is the kids' favorite tree to climb.

Sophie showed Hannah the perfect branch to swing on.

Can't believe she is now 8 and so grown up and so pretty!

What is it about kids and water?

This little one was in the stroller the entire time and didn't complain at all.

Celebrity Sighting!
(OK--only a celebrity sighting in you live in LA
and have watched KTLA for years).
Stan Chambers was there doing a feature
story on the LA Arboretum.

Then it was off to Chuck E Cheese's to hang out with our friend Shauna, her daughter's school was having a fund-raiser there.

Shauna and Val
This is Sammy's new favorite game.

Hannah on the carousel being a diva.

Yes, that's a microphone in her hand.

Valerie's daughter Lucy with a popsicle
that is almost as big as she is!

Friday we went to the Getty.

Absolutely stunning!
I am embarrassed to admit that I have lived in LA for 17 years, and even worked in West Los Angeles for 4 years, and had never been there before.

The kids were most excited about the tram ride to

and from the parking area to the museum.

I'm pretty sure this was the best part of his day!

Breathtaking view of West LA

Another great shot!
This time you can also see Downtown LA as well.

There were so many fountains there--and the kids played in almost all of them!

Sammy took this shot of one of the fountains and I thought it turned out so pretty.

Do you like our color coordinated outfits? :)

I thought this was so cute of the three of them

Cute little Lucy

These next pictures are from the kids area.

Sammy loved putting all these pipes in the wall.

Fun stuff to look at

There was this cute little cubby area that was like a big bed and had a little bookshelf with books. I would LOVE a little hideaway like this to curl up and read. It was a great spot to let Helene out of the stroller and crawl.

And for Hannah to lounge around

She's standing!
Helene is getting steadier on her feet
every day--I expect she'll be walking soon!

Hannah liked this area where you could write on the wall

Helene wanted to help out

And...it's time to go!

Poor thing, her nap schedule had been non-existent with all of our outings this week and at this point it was almost 2pm and she hadn't eaten since about 9am.

Love this shot. They had a great view at the back
of the tram on the way back to the parking garage.

Then it was off to Lacy Park to play and meet up with some friends.

WHEW! It's been a busy, fun-filled week! We all had such a great time and the kids were thrilled to have playmates around 24/7 for 4 days. Val and I have vowed to not let 2 years go by again until the next time we get together--I guess it's my turn to head out to Utah for a visit.