Best Week of the Year!

Don't you just love the week between Christmas and New Year's? It's just plain wonderful! No school (translation = no homework!), no work work (my husband usually takes the week off and all my boutiques, holiday cards and orders are finished by now!!) and everyone is just in a post holiday festive mood. For me it means staying in my jammies until well after noon, playing games with my kids, putting away the Christmas decorations and taking down the big tree...and this week it meant enjoying a couple of day trip outings in and around Los Angeles and cleaning out the garage!

We started out the week on Monday with trip to the Getty Villa in Malibu and lunch at the famed Gladstones 4 Fish on PCH. We sat on the outdoor patio and feasted on calamari, fish and chips, clam chowder and best darn sourdough bread ever!
I wouldn't be me if I didn't make my kids pose for at least a dozen photos during the course of our day...all the rest are candids but i thought this was a particularly fun shot of all three of them at the beach next to Gladstone's.

Here we are at the Getty Villa (if you go, you have to make a reservation and museum is free but the parking is $15). The most fun part of the day for these three was spotting the naked statues and giggling, and of course, enjoying the beautiful outdoor gardens. I think they are all still a little too young to appreciate the value of this museum...we'll have to do a re-visit a few years down the line.

A G-rated statue!

Audrey running down the halls.

Helen pretending to fit in as the missing statue!

Enjoying the details...

Taking 5 before we head home.

Yesterday, alas, was the day I stayed in my pj's until after 1pm and loved every minute of it (but sorry, no photos here!)

Today we headed out on a cloudy morning (did anyone say there was rain in the forecast?!?-- it certainly took me by surprise). My kids were wearing shorts and shoes with no socks...but at least we all had jackets! We started with a late morning breakfast at The Original Pantry (hadn't been there in ages but is still looks and tastes the same). We lucked out by having a large party of 5 and got to go straight to the front of the line and get a table almost immediately (this is a big huge deal when it is drizzling out and your family is not dressed properly! -- we were feeling very lucky, and very happy about this development.)

Our final destination was the Griffith Park Observatory -- another spot I hadn't been to in a long long time! It was obviously a popular choice for a mid-week rainy day outing as there were throngs of patrons there alongside us. It was a great stop but the long long walk up the windy wet hill/street (due to no parking in the main lot) was rather tedious for the troops but we made it!

Yes, it was a rather dismal day for the highly anticipated city view!


But then again, you never know who you will bump into...


Highlights of our visit included finding out how much we weighed on the moon and all the planets! Pluto was my favorite as we all came in at under 15 pounds. The best part of all, however, was the Planetarium Show (think Soaring Over California at California Adventure without the flyover). The kids loved it and so did my husband and I. Just to know if you go...the museum and parking (or non-parking in our case) are free and the show (which lasts about 25 minutes) is $7 for adults and $3 for kids and well worth the price of admission.

Tomorrow, hard to believe, is New Year's Eve and I am looking foward to spending the evening with a group of close friends for a progressive dinner (adults only) ending up at the last house for dessert with all our kids....should be a fun evening and maybe a new tradition.

Happy New Year to you and your family...if you made it this far through my week, congratulations and thank you!!

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