California Dreamin' On Such A Winter's Day

No doubt about it - the weather in Ohio is miserable. I've always hated Winter, but after spending 5 days in California's "Winter," I have a reached a new level of hatred for snow, wind, and gray skies. It was around 80 degrees and sunny the whole time we were in California. Maybe that was a contributing factor to the 500+ photos that we took. (I actually couldn't believe it when I uploaded them all to my computer.) So, I've chosen about 20 for the blog and about 100 for the Shutterfly collection. www.josiemarie.shutterfly.com

So, let the virtual slideshow begin. One big highlight of our trip was definitely taking Josie to the beach for the first time. We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway (spectacular views) and stopped at a good spot to introduce our little lady to the ocean. She loved the whole experience - especially the sand. Here are some of our favorite photos from the beach. She just couldn't get enough of sifting that sand through her fingers and crunching it between her toes (like mama, like baby).



Although the ocean was too cold to swim in, the pool at the Wilshire was just fine. We know how much Josie enjoys bathtime in her tub and in the big tub with me, so we had our fingers crossed that she would like the pool just as much. And she did! Here she is in the swimsuit we bought her for the occasion.

You'll notice that the top of it is missing. That's because it didn't fit (it was 12 month size). Luckily, we predicted that this might be a problem and brought along the 18 month size suit that the Hogans bought her for this summer. It was a little big, but worked perfectly. Seeing her in that swimsuit cracked me up. Here she is before, during, and after her big pool adventure (I'll include a video later).


Here are some other random photos from our trip.

I had to include the obligatory palm tree shot. Basically, if I see palm trees, I know I'm in a happy place.

Here's a photo from the PCH - our drive from LA to Santa Barbara on Sunday. It was breathtaking!

Here's Louie & Flake. He's the reason we drove to Santa Barbara. We had a great time with Brian as our tour guide - and a ridiculous amount of Mexican food (which was well-deserved after hours of walking up and down the beach and State Street). Here's the sunset over Santa Barbara. Ahhhhh...
This begins the section of my photos that I like to call "only in Cali." Because, only in California, will you see the following:

1) A rockband of kids probably 11-12 years old that can do perfect renditions of The Cure songs.

2) A restaurant whose sole purpose is selling the biggest, most delicious cupcakes you've ever seen in your life (actually, now that I mention it "Crumbs" is a NY thing that has just found a home in LA). Delicious (although, take it from me, sushi and giant cupcakes don't mix well).
3) A "band" on the beach whose instruments are made of cardboard. (They had music playing and from a distance you assumed they were playing, until you got closer to see everything was paper.) This is a photo of the guy coming after Lou asking for money (to "support the arts") since we were taking his picture.
4) A dog in a Beverly Hills doorway wearing a rhinestone t-shirt and pink pearls.
5) Breakfast on the street corner with skateboarding elementary-aged kids and their skateboarding dad passing by. (Skate or Die.) Other insane Cali higlights included: seeing Usher in our hotel lobby (who was in town for the Grammys), everything about Rodeo drive, eating Pinkberry (and discovering that it's much better with fruity pebbles than Oreos), and going into a store in Beverly Hills to buy Josie something "no matter how much it cost" until I realized a t-shirt was priced at $105.00!!!

Here are some more photos from the trip.

Josie & I at a crappy diner (yes, crappy diners even exist in Santa Monica).

A couple of family photos near the pier in Santa Barbara.

Oh - and this one which has nothing to do with California but cracks me up. You know how bags always say "this bag is not a toy"? I've always thought that was the dumbest thing. Who would give their baby a plastic bag as a toy and what baby would want to play with one? Well, this is what happens when you are talking to your mom on your cell phone and walk away for just a minute. Note her leg stuck through the bag handle. She was having the time of her life with that thing. Please send my "Mother of the Year" award to 18 E. 4th St. Cinti, OH 45202.
Here we are on our balcony in B.Hills.
These are just a few photos that I took of Josie one morning while Louie was at his conference. The lighting was perfect so we had a little mini 6 month photo shoot.

So, the trip to California totally exceeded even my super-high expectations. It was beautiful, relaxing, and all around perfect. Josie was an absolute angel on the plane and for the duration of the trip (even in an unfamiliar crib and an unfamiliar carseat). She was perfectly content to spend at least 6-8 hours a day getting pushed around Cali in her stroller.

All in all, it was wonderful to spend the time as a family. We are definitely looking forward to lots more family vacations & already have a couple of things planned for the fall.

Now, there's lots of laundry and things to do to get everything back to normal around here, so I gotta get off the computer and get to work. I'll leave you with a photo of Josie totally passed out on the airplane, where she had lots of fans since she only made happy noises and no cries. That a girl!

Don't forget to check out the Shutterfly collection for lots more - www.josiemarie.shutterfly.com