"hopped off the plane at lax with a dream and my cardigan"

We had a crazy awesome time in LA/Pasadena last week surprising my sister for her 25th birthday. We got her sooooo good.

We finally got to see where they live, we had a lot of great food, and we saw as much as we possibly could in the 50ish hours we were there. Here are some of our adventures!

 Um, Hollywood Boulevard is cah-razy. Like straightjacket crazy. I did manage to find one of my faves.

"The Hills"

Pretty Pasadena, where they live.

"Wah-r! Wah-r!"

Parks 'n Rec, anyone?

Posing with a toddler...

Giant Connect Four with Uncle Andrew

Venice Beach!

We had to reenact the serious playgrounders. 

Wore my Venice Beach shirt at Venice!

 People are allowed to graffiti everything at one section.

Jaina digs it.

Venice skate park

Next time I'll get inside to the Rose Bowl Flea Market. All my favorite bloggers shop there.

 That's the Father of the Bride house! 

(Decorated for Halloween, obviously. Notice the huge creepy cat eyes in the windows.)

Unbrushed hair; that was not a battle I wanted to fight.

This poor baby was dragged across the country and back in two and a half days, and she was a trooper! It was worth it to be with family and to actually get to step outside the LA airport for once. Plus, we got a few more sunny days before heading back east for the long, cold winter.

Miss you, Aunt Beka and Uncle Andrew! See you soon!

michigan 2013

Tomorrow is one month since my last post. I think I forgot how to blog.

How about some pics from our trip to Michigan? 

 Some of you have seen this already, but it cracks me up every time. 

No one knows how to take a playground seriously like Zach and Jaina.

Jaina fell in love with CuzUncle* Mike. 

These three pics capture so perfectly the struggle of two first-borns 

learning to deal with the presence of another little person.

But they got over it. (Notice Cole's massive work glove. Love it.)

Also, adding hats to pictures is funny.

I laugh every time I see this one.

More park time!

I love that Zach caught her doing this. Jaina points with her whole body.

Oh, Lake Michigan, how I've missed you.

It was great to see family, and great for our family to get away for a while. And thanks to Cousin Cole's (or is that second cousin?) peer pressure, Jaina came home a full-fledged walker!

*A term Zach coined meaning your parent's cousin.

snuggles with mama & walks in the woods with dada

We spent the week of the 4th at Zach's parents' lake house in North Carolina. We had a great time, and really got to relax.

Our little girl grew up SO MUCH this week. She loved splashing in the water and playing by the pool.

And walking back and forth between the grandparents and great-grandparents' houses.

This little girl loves her mommy and daddy, and gives big sloppy kisses all day long. Loving this stage!

Stay tuned for a few more details on her birthday party, and check out this hilarious video of her and Zach.

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