Rolling Hills

This is where my mom grew up. It has the most amazing views! It is on the Palos Verdes peninsula. I remember coming here when I was a child to visit my Grandma and Grandpa. I loved it. I will never forget the smells, the backyard view of the ocean, the rolling hills, the trees, the flowers, the swing in the driveway, the garden, the lemon tree and making lemonade, playing in the barn, the smell of the barn, the bookshelves and ladder in my Grandpa's library, the white rug in the family room, the wedding albums in the living room, and much much more. Every house has to be white. And all the fences are the same.

Just another typical view. Another one.

Part of the mountain is sliding into the ocean. I know it sounds so weird. But one year after they had recieved alot of rain and a few minor earthquakes - the plates underground started to shift... and continues to do so. You can see where the mountain has slid down. The roads are constantly under construction. And many houses have been lost, or are under constant reconstruction. The pipes are all above ground to prevent from breaking. It is an interesting sight.

I love the trees and the white fences. When my mom lived here everyone had horses. They had some and occasionally would ride them to school... now hardly anyone has horses. We only saw one house with horses and most of the horse pastures are grown in. It was sad to see that change.

This is the driveway into my Grandparents old house.

From the other side of the hill there is a view of the city. I am sure it is gorgeous at night. But I think I would take the ocean view over the city.

This was my moms high school. It too has an amazing view over the city.

This was my moms church. I thought it was so cute. It is so different from the chruches that I grew up going to.

This is such a beautiful part of LA. I know my Grandma has some very good memories here, and I am sure that she misses it. It was so fun to drive around and listen to my mom and Grandma reminise about the good times.

LA Fabric District

My mom has a little side business where she makes hand bags out of apholstery fabric. They are very cute. She is always on the hunt for more fabric - for a great price. So when she decided to come out to visit - the fabric district in LA was an absolute!

It's not in the "safest" part of town... which means - leave the kids, jewelry, and nice clothes at home. Thankfully Scott didn't have school on Friday, so it was no problem leaving the kids with him, and honestly he was thrilled to have a day with the kids all to himself.

It was awesome. So many fabrics to choose from! And for the most part - great prices! We walked up and down the streets, went in and out of stores, looked at lots of fabric, notions, beads, buttons, shoes, socks, suitcases, mens suits, clothing, kids clothes, womens clothes, hair accessories, toys, and much more.

I didn't take too many pictures. But here is one of the fabric section....This is inside one of the stores. This is a shot of one of the streets. Although it's kindof an empty one. Most of the streets had sidewalk vendors, and hot dog stands on every corner.

After the shopping - we went to The Pantry. It's a classic from LA. Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They don't even have locks on their doors - because they never lock the doors. The waiters and waitresses that work there have been there forever, the man that waited on us had worked there for 40 years.

We both look miserable in this picture. Exhausted with no makeup. Not the best combination.

I am so glad we took the time to do this. It was awesome. I could have stayed all day and gone back again the next day. I will do this again and again and again.

Descanso Gardens

After all the driving we did through out Glendale, my Grandma thought it might be nice for the kids to get out and walk around a bit. She knew of a botanical garden that was not far from where we were.

Descanso Botanical Garden. Absolutely beautiful!

We found a rose, called Claire Rose. Unfortunately it wasn't in bloom - but it was still fun to take a picture of Clara Rose by the name of this flower.
They had Koi fish - and the kids oved them.
*Don't ask about Jacksons helmet. He wanted to wear it. I am not sure why. I wasn't going to fight him on it. So there he is.... helmet and all.

Grandma Rose helping Clara Rose smell the flowers.

These spiders were everywhere. Yuck. Growing up way too fast.

Amazing, right?

She was always trailing behind. She had to stop at every bug, flower, rock, and leaf... she loved exploring.

Momma with the kiddo's.

Grandma Rose exploring with Clara.

More Koi fish.

More Koi fish.

Pinecones.

Bamboo tree's.

My mom told Jackson this was the "Hulk Tree". He loved it!

This was the first Botanical Garden that I have ever been to. It was amazing! I am so glad that we took the time to stop and get out and stretch our legs. I am sure I will be back.

Glendale Memories

My mom and grandma are here visiting! It has been so much fun. My Grandma Rose grew up just 20 minutes from my home so we spent a day on her old stomping grounds. FYI: most of this post is for my poor memory. I loved spending this day listening to my Grandma and all of her stories. I have to write them down.... or else, my lovely memory is bound to fail.

This first collage is from my Grandma's childhood. The two homes that she grew up in. Her Elementary school. Her backyard. A comquate tree. The steps that she took every day to get to school.
*When she was a student at Delevan. World War II began. The students raised enough money to purchase a jeep to donate for the war. When the jeep came in - the Army Men came to her school and took each child in groups of 5 for a drive in the Jeep around the block.
*The house with the carport was also where she lived during World War II. She remembers having to turn out all the lights at night so that "if" the Japanese flew over they would not see a city to bomb. She would hide with her siblings and play "Jacks" by candle light.This collage is compiled of where my Grandpa Marshall grew up. He was on the other side of Glendale. It was and still is BEAUTIFUL. His house was the white one. The tall gray building was the building they would meet in for their church meetings on Sunday. It was not an LDS meeting house, but rather a Masonry Temple. Again their is another set of steps. I love the steps, I think they add so much character to the neighborhoods.
*My grandpa loved hunting for Rattle Snakes. He would catch them and keep them in one of the window wells of their house. One day a truckload of bananas came in, as it was being unloaded they found rattlesnakes through out the bed. The store manager quickly got on the phone and called my Grandpa to come and get them out. We also spent part of the day at Forest Lawn. It is a very large, beautiful and well known cemetary in California. I know ... I little weird that this is something I am blogging about. I even said to my mom - only someone that was raised by parents that owned a cemetary would really appreciate this. Ha ha.

*This is the front entrance. Beautiful right....My great grandfather always said that he wanted to be burried right where the statue of David was looking. Oddly enough.... that is right where he is. Jackson was a bit "giddy" when he saw this naked man. It was so funny to watch him as he walked awkwardly around the statue. This was a beautiful and peaceful garden. If I would have worked here growing up.... I might have taken a nap under one of the tree's. Or gotten into a mud fight with my sister. It would have been a great place to hide out from "Brad" the boss. As we drove around through the cemetary, I let the kids ride without their seatbelts and stick their heads out the window. The loved it, and the sounds of their giggles was absolutley adorable!

We spent some time driving around North Glendale. I was in awe of every house and street and lamp post and market that I saw. It was so cute!

This was just part of one day with my mom and grandma. There is a whole lot more to come.

L.A. ZOO

10 Reasons why we loved our visit to the zoo.

1. The weather was fabulous! A chilly 65 degrees and cloudy. Not cold enough for snow... but not hot enough to be dripping sweat. 2. Jackson made a new best friend.

3. Kids can be kids. I let them run, climb, and jump on just about whatever they wanted. 4. The zoo was practically empty. No crowds = a less worried mama. 5. Our family membership gives us discounts off food and merchandise. And since I didn't pack lunches, and Scott was "sure" there would be fast food by the entrance.... the kids were pretty hungry.6. We saw the biggest orangatang! And he climed right in front of us. Clara was slightly terrified. We could not get her to take her eyes off this "big guy".7. I feel like Scott has had one big vacation. He has been able to spend so much time with us this past week... I am in heaven, and so are the kids! Sadly... today was his last. Tomorrow things get busy again.

8. There were 2 baby giraffes.

9. Have you ever been to the LA ZOO? It is soooo green! It's beautiful.

10. The best thing about the zoo? Each time a new animal is seen, I get to hear not only my kids but my husband try to "talk" to them. Its hilarious. And look around, almost every adult is doing the same thing... and none of us think the other one is crazy for it.

Day 2 with Nana Lisa

It was the perfect day at the Santa Monica Pier.

We walked along the Pier and the kids loved that we were above the water. Jackson was obsessed with all the dolphins. We talked to a man that was fishing. For some reason he thought Jackson wanted to keep this little fish. Who wants to keep a dead fish?

We stared out on the Ferris Wheel. Clara loved the heights. She kept trying to stand up and look over the edge.

The second ride was not the best ride for a 4 year old. It was one of those ships that swings like a pendalum, until it is almost perpendicular with the ground. He didn't cry, but he grabbed onto Scott, flexed his stomach and let out a deep grunt everytime he lost his stomach. Scott said his heart was thumping so hard!

This was him right after. I seriously thought he was going to throw up.
This ship was much more kid friendly. Too bad Lisa is covered by the umbrella.

We took a break from the rides and spent some time on the beach.

And then we finished the day with some fun on the Carosel. I think this was Clara's favorite. Just look at that smile.

We had so much fun. Jackson was barely tall enough to go on the rollar coaster. He did it, and LOVED it. We got his first ride on film. I need to figure out how to put the film on the blog. It is so funny!