Summer in LA LA Land

Oh joy to visit the happiest place on earth!!! We had a great time with my nephews Riley and Evan getting there at the opening and staying until after 10pm...well worth every bit of the (seemingly exorbitant) entrance fee.

We HAD to go on the jungle cruise to see how different the Disney safari was from the REAL safaris we've been on ...so you be the judge. Which is the real thing of the two images above??

Real?? Or fake???

When we walked out of Adventure Land, I saw a wall of masks where I remembered taking a photo a few years ago with the kids...so just to compare - the top photos were from three years ago and the bottom photos are from this year...LOTS of growth over those years.

So fantastic to see Minnie right before we walked out for the night! The timing was perfect since Sophie had just purchased her Minnie ears! I know these characters have smiles plastered permanently on their faces, but even their bodies seem happy - and I'm sure they must get sick of posing for pictures, but whoever lives in those costumes seem like really nice people! I mean, they wouldn't have drug dealers dressed up as Minnie and Mickey, would they?

Autotopia - everyone's favorite! New cars! Sophie drove the car I was in - and if her driving is any indication of her future driving habits, then we will have to insure her to the max when she gets her driver's license!

I used our new Nikon to take these pics of the fireworks show!

Wow, the pics turned out great - and the fireworks were pretty amazing!

Cousin Matt met us in Santa Monica for breakfast and a stroll along the beach and the pier. We were total tourists! Thank goodness I had to buy a touristy trinket for a work colleague so the pier was the perfect shopping spot - even though I'd never go into those shops as a near-native Southern California! Horrors.

One of Sophie's requests was to see the Hollywood sign.

One ideal spot was at the Griffith Park Observatory, which had been recently remodeled.

The observtory and the planetarium show were highlights of our trip.

We got to see cousin Evan play basketball and a bonus was that Rob was the substitute coach - with support from Riley. I can't remember who won, but the team played really well!

Auntie Lisa and Sophie

Hanging with cousins Riley and Evan before the big DS face off!

Auntie Lisa and Peter

It was so great to be with family... just hanging, catching up, living every day life - and eating great food. Cleaning and purging at my parents ... a good reminder NOT to wait 40+ years to start cleaning out the closets! And, lest we think we are without fault, believe me in our nearly 20 years of marriage, we have accumulated much. And, being in Africa, away from our stuff, we realize how little stuff we really need - but how much in relationship we need!