OK, so let’s talk about what we did while the cutest nephew in the world was visiting. (I should mention that my sister was here too. I know she sometimes gets overshadowed by the cuteness of the kid, but she is fun to be around too! She’s such a good mom and likes to have fun with the best of us. It was nice having her here for longer than a couple days.)
They arrived on Monday evening and on Tuesday we started the fun with a visit to Travel Town. If you have a child that likes trains, this is the place to go. It’s just a big yard with plenty of old steam engines and cargo trains to look at. There’s no Thomas the Tank Engine, but its close enough. We rode the mini train around the park and the nephew chased a playful squirrel. Upon leaving, he said “That was a good day, guys.” He didn’t know the day wasn’t over yet, but it was adorable. We headed over a couple blocks to the L.A. Zoo. Sister and I showed more interest in the animals than the kid. At least it was a nice cool day to walk around.
On Wednesday it rained and rained. So we had a hard time deciding what to do. We finally settled on the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. We didn’t leave the house until a little later, so we had to rush through a bit, but it is another awesome place for kids. Everything is hands-on and it was difficult to convince the boy to leave because he was having so much fun.
You know we did Disneyland. That was on Thursday. We wanted to celebrate his 3rd birthday a little early (so he could get in free one last time!) and it was a great day. It was unexpectedly crowded for a weekday, but we still got to do the most important stuff. And I was pretty proud of myself for holding up as well as I did with this belly, too!
On Friday it started to warm up a little more, so we decided to spend a little time at the beach. After fighting traffic on the way there and back, we were only on the sand for maybe an hour. Sand castles were built, seagulls were chased, and waves were run away from.
Saturday started with a trip to the park so nephew could play on the jungle gym. I took him by myself and when he was naughty, I realized how hard it is going to be to discipline my kids! I got mad at him for not listening and he cried and cried. And then I felt so bad! I know its a teeny tiny taste of what I’m in for, but man. Those crocodile tears can break your heart – even when 3 seconds earlier, he was being such a little turd! He got over the sadness pretty quickly and told me he loved me about 5 minutes later. But it plays with your emotions a little bit, I must say. Later that afternoon, a group of us went to Lombardi Ranch Pumpkin Patch and that was a huge hit. There was so much fun stuff to see and do so that kept us entertained for a couple hours before going out for dinner and dessert at CPK.
All in all, it was a great week. I’m so glad they chose Burbank, CA as their vacation destination! (Don’t worry, sis – we will go to New York one day…)
I should have been there! I miss you and the way you create such great memories with all the amazing things you do! And I don’t just mean the physical presence in Disneyland or other fun plances. I mean the way you go about life with passion. Not a lot of people have that gift. I love you and miss you! MOM