Catch-up: The Getty

This is a catch up post. We did this earlier in the summer when Claron's dad was visiting.

If you live in LA, around LA or are visiting LA, you MUST visit the J. Paul Getty museum. We have seen the museum from the 405 for years and never stopped in. The tram and the modern buildings are clearly visible from the freeway. This museum is amazing!! I only have two regrets. 1) That I hadn't visited earlier; and 2) That Eliza was not into it. Lilly and I are going to go back together sans children. It is not that the museum is not child friendly, it is that 2 year olds do not dig fine art. She loved the children's museum and the tram though. Anyway, we had a fabulous time. The art is amazing. The architecture is just awesome, and it has breath taking views of the city. Oh, and did I mention that it is FREE?! You have the pay for parking, but big deal!

Maybe we could organize a girlfriend trip?!

Here are the pictures:

Cousins

Growing up, everyone in my family had a cousin the same age. My same aged cousin, Melissa, and I were inseparable growing up. While Melissa and I don't see each other as much anymore, I still appreciate my "hockey puck sister." Looks like Eliza may have a "hockey puck sister" of her own.

Sam & Eliza

P.S. Sam is actually a year older than Eliza, but they don't seem to care.

DC Temple

While we were East, Claron and I went to the temple with his parents to do some family work. It was quite an interesting drive down. When we left the house, the sun was out, and it was gorgeous. By the time we were going through Laurel, it was raining in sheets. We hit 495, and it was still raining. When we exited 495, it magically stopped. We went into the temple and had a lovely time. I love DC. It was where I was endowed and married. We came out, and it was sunny. We went out to eat. Right before we got into the car, the sky turned black again, and it started pouring. Luckily though, it made for interesting pictures, but the driving was a bit tense.

Why I don't post often

Right now I'm in Maryland/Delaware... and this is some of what we've been up to:

Crabbin'


Tubin'

Jet skiin'


General loungin' on the Bay

Ridin' dirtbikes in corn fields

I've also helped take care of mom after surgery, remodeled two bathrooms, cleaned the garage, painted a kitchen and attended a family reunion...

Kate!

We are in Delaware for Claron's family reunion. My sis-in-law, Chrissee, always gets awesome pictures done of her daughter, Taryn. So, while we were all here, she asked her photographer, Kate to do family photos. Here are some of what she put up. You can find the rest here. She hasn't put them all up yet.

Neglect

Sorry I know I have neglected the blog. Here are some pics to make up for it. Hopefully, there will be a bunch of posts in the next couple of days.
Love,
Amanda

Open Ended Questions

So, with toddlers it is best to give them defined options. Sometimes Claron forgets this. This morning Claron asked Eliza what she would like for breakfast. Her answer: nopets and coooo-keys.
Translations:
Wonder Pets Fruit Snacks


Oreo Cookies


Thankfully, Claron knew better. She had Cheerios.

We have the best friends

Our super sweet friend, Liz, put up this post about Eliza.

http://lizandmikecrites.blogspot.com/2009/05/my-sb-fave.html

In other not-so-good news, Eliza broke her clavicle (collar bone) trying to escape her crib. I'll post more (hopefully with x-rays) tomorrow.

FFFFiiiiiiiiiiiiire! Smoke on the horizon.

Dear Fire,
You're back again?! Already? C'mon, you visit more often than my parents. In fact, I called my parents and accidentally, callously commented, "Can you believe the stupid mountains are on fire AGAIN?" Really. You are making me a bad person. This time can you just burn all the chapparral, be over with and stay away... even just for a year? I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Amanda

P.S. I'd also really, really appreciate if you could not burn people's houses down (and more selfishly if you could keep blowing all the smoke out to sea. I really, really, really hate when you coat everything in nasty, sooty ash).

Foodie Giveaway

Hi all,
We all know how much I LOVE to cook. I found this awesome site.

Go check it out! Maybe you'll win this week's giveaway. It is a Hershey's chocolate cookbook and the cake on the front looks divine!