Saturday, January 26, 2013

California Knows how to Party

I started this post a while ago, but between the chaos of getting back to non-holiday mode (new semester at grad school, Max's music and swimming classes, Maddy therapy, etc.) and the approach of the one-year mark, I haven't had the chance to blog.

As I said before, the trip was amazing.  Spending time with Megan and her family was so good for my heart and soul.  I had an absolute blast, and I am so lucky that I have friends like Megan.

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

  • Kiddo dance parties!  Max had so much fun dancing with his buddies every night.
  • Bath time!  Rub-a-dub-dub, 3 little ones in a tub.
  • Hiking!  For all the Crossfit I do, the endurance classes I take...I was really sucking wind!  I'm sure the altitude didn't help, but boy do I see why Megan is looking so great these days!  
  • Going to a taping of Ellen.  Yeah, I did the worm on her stage during the audience warm up before the show - so fun!
  • Getting my In-N-Out and Fatburger fixes (if there were Fatburger in Chicago, I would weigh 300 pounds...)
  • Getting my Polly's Pies fix with my niece Jessica.
  • Driving through the canyons with Jessica and her boyfriend, spending some time with them on Venice Beach.
  • Driving on the 405 - can't explain it, but I felt super legit for some reason.
  • Girls' Game night at Megan's with her friends, who are all really nice.
  • Pilates classes - killer workout!  My abs were sore!
  • The zoo - we stayed for 3 hours, and there were no meltdowns (until we got in the car, that is!)
  • Bar Trivia (our team won), and karaoke.  Met a friend of one of Megan's friends who lives in my neighborhood (small world!) and met one of her neighbors, who is a musician, and is awesome (The White Buffalo - check him out!), and was amazing at karaoke.  Megan and I took the mic from a guy who was butchering Bob Marley, and did a really bad job with Salt-n-Pepa.  
  • And more than anything, just getting to spend so much quality time with a wonderful friend.  I don't have the words to express how much that girl means to me.  I'm so glad we made this trip work.  I have also found my new vacation destination.  
Here are some pics:

 What a great welcome!!

 After having some breakfast and pie at Polly's - just like I used to on Sundays when I lived in Westwood for a summer!

 Kidlets at the zoo

 We had a car full of crying, screaming kids (one of whom had wet herself), but that didn't stop us from waiting in a Long line of cars to get burgers and fries...

 Max getting pushed by the girls at the zoo.

 Carousel at the zoo.

 Max, Jessica, and Zoltar at Venice Beach.

 Us on TV!








 Here is what I was doing when I wasn't carrying Max - chasing him around so he wouldn't end up running off a ledge or mountainside!

 Max and Ruby, or Veebo, as he called her...









 Heavy lifting!

 Practicing my handstands on the mountain.

 We didn't even have to drive to get to this hike.  


 Max and Lily sharing a hug


 There were lots of jumping pics...



Getting back to real life has been an adjustment, but I have a lifetime of amazing memories from that week, and there will be many more trips to come!  And anytime I'm feeling overwhelmed by things, all I have to do is look at the pictures or think about the good times we had, and immediately I feel 100 times better.

Looking forward to when I can say, "I'm going, going back, back to Cali, Cali..."

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