Meanwhile...

Scrac graciously came and looked after the kids while I kidnapped Jeremy for his birthday.  And he always makes it so fun for them!  This time he created the "Nacho Bandits Club"!  First Rule:  You must wear light-up bunny ears while eating nachos!

My Turn...

Things have been so crazy busy lately and money has been tight!  I really wanted to take Jeremy away for a weekend for his birthday.  But I just couldn't figure out how to make it work.  Then things just kind of fell into place and I was able to kidnap him for a one-night getaway.  On Friday, he got off work early and I drove him down to La Jolla where we checked in to the Hyatt Aventine.  We had a bunch of points from our stay in Hawaii, that I was able to get a free night in a Regency Club Room!  That included access to the free food/drinks in the Regency Club Lounge.  That is where we started our night..FREE CHOCOLATE MILK!!!  I think he had 5 total!

 I had gift cards to restaurants and had us bring our temple clothes in case he wanted to go to the temple.  We were both so tired, we just decided to stay in the room and be lazy!  We had packed up a bunch of food and drinks from the lounge and sat in our bed and watched TV all night!

He got up early and headed to Blacks to meet a friend to surf.  But the surf was no good.  So he came back to the hotel and we continued to be lazy.  But look at this view from our room...

 We were even too lazy to head up to the lounge to get food, so we splurged and got room service...

We had a late checkout and didn't have to leave until 2 PM!!!  I not only slept in, but got a nap too!  After we left the Aventine (with our pockets full of snacks and drinks-so classy!), we drove to Torrey Pines State Park and went for a hike on this beautiful day!

We took the short way down and the long (easier) way back.  The weather was perfect for hiking and we loved our time together!  I'm so glad I was able to make this happen for my hubby!  He is the best and I love him so much.  Grateful I could spoil him a little for his birthday!  #happyhotelbirthday #regencyclub

Blue & Gold 2015

 This year, we combined with the 5th Ward for a Chinese New Year Dinner.  Our boys put on a cute Chinese New Year skit...

 And after a yummy Chinese Food dinner, they sang a song...

 Then the wards split up and we had our own award ceremony in the Primary Room...

 Troop 788!

AP Turns 4!

 This kid turned 4 on the 15th!  That was a Sunday, so when he came the following Tuesday, we celebrated!  He told me he wanted a Minecraft toy for his birthday, so I got him a Diamond Sword.  He was pretty happy about it!

 We had 4 little cupcakes and sang happy birthday to my little buddy!

 Then we gobbled up the sweets!  AP is still my (not so) little ball of joy!  I am so lucky to be able to watch him and to have been able to be a part of his life for the past 3 1/2 years!

 BBjr.  plans on marrying AP one day....her birthday is next!

Laurels LA Day of Play...Finally!

I have been trying to take these girls up to LA for the day since I got my calling.  We have planned and cancelled and planned and cancelled and FINALLY, last Monday (Presidents Day), we made it happen!  We left my house around 7:30 and got to Glendale in  1 hour and 30 minutes!!!!  There was no traffic!  It was awesome.  Our first stop of the day-

I introduced the girls to the Porto's and they were not disappointed.  They got smoothies, hot chocolate, cuban sandwiches and I got myself the famous potato balls AND a macaroon!

 Claire got herself this delicious 3 chocolate mousse...

The day was off to a yummy start!

The weather was perfect!  Not too hot, not too cold.  Just right!  Our next stop was Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.  We started at the Grand Mausoleum and got busted for looking around.  The "Paul Blart" security guard warmed up to us though, and let us watch the presentation of the Last Supper.  This was the only picture I got...

 

 They frown upon photos being taken at cemeteries, go figure!  I drove them up to the top of the hill and led them to Walt Disney's family crypt.  As we walked towards the courtyard, we could hear birds chirping.  They were only chirping in his courtyard...weird!  Yet appropriate!

Next stop, The Merry-Go-Round at Griffith Park!

How cute are these girls???  They were excited to ride this carousel and mostly Kayley because this is the spot where Walt Disney got his inspiration to build Disneyland.  The bench he sat on is still on display at the Merry-Go-Round.

Then we headed into downtown LA on to Wilshire Blvd. to visit -

This place has changed since the last time I was there.  It is no longer a little Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.  It still caters to Harry Potter fans, but also to Dr. Who, Sherlock and Downton Abbey fans too.  But we still had fun playing in all the shops!

It was late afternoon and we were hungry!  We parked near LACMA and hit up the food trucks!

Right next to the lined up trucks, there was a public art display of pieces from the Berlin Wall.  So we took a look...

Then we all enjoyed our yummy food truck lunches-

Next Stop, LACMA!!!  And we started with the Lamppost display-

We just wandered around the outside of the museum and enjoyed the free displays.

And then we found out it was "Free Museum Monday"  Doh!  Oh well!  We were on a time constraint and had so much fun any way!  We stopped and took a quick peak at the tar pits when we were walking back to the car-

I promised them a drive through Beverly Hills.  So before our last stop at the temple, I drove them down Wilshire to Rodeo Drive.  They were so funny and were totally freaking out at all the people and shops.  I drove up and down some residential streets and they loved looking at all the beautiful houses.  It was starting to get late, so we headed to the LA Temple.  We started our visit with a walk around the grounds.

Kayley and Blakeley rolled down the grass hill...well, at least Kayley did!  Blakeley had never done this before and couldn't quite figure it out!  It was so funny!

Kayley climbed a tree...

And we took a group selfie!

We finished our day at the Visitors Center.

We met some wonderful sister missionaries and watched a movie about families.  It was the best way to end the best day!

I'm so happy we made this day happen!  We were only missing one girl.  It was such a great experience to spend some special time with these amazing girls and to see them come a little closer.  I smiled the whole drive home as I listened to them all talking and laughing together.