L.A Part 1: California Dreamin'

Chris, Scarlett, Max and I headed out to LA for the week of Thanksgiving to visit Mark, Monica, Maya, and Emma.  Papa Tig and Mimi joined us out there as well.  We had lots of fun on the agenda ...  beach, Disneyland, and Thanksgiving, just to name a few.

On our way!

Our rental house in Santa Monica less than two blocks from the beach.

Checking out the "secret garden" with Cousin Maya after lunch at The Grove.

Lunch at the Back on the Beach Cafe in Santa Monica, just down the street from our rental house.  There was a playground right next to the dining patio ... genius!

We had two celebrity sightings at lunch.  First Cuba Gooding, Jr. was eating a few tables away.  Then Chris spotted Valerie Bertinelli heading to her car.  Here's Cuba photobombing Max and Scarlett, who were busy playing in the sand.

Papa Tig is always guaranteed to play at the playground, too.

While we were at lunch, we witnessed a marriage proposal by five sky-writing jets -- amazing!  A few minutes later the jets came back by to inform us that she said yes.

Three excited little girls heading down to the ocean.

Papa Tig and Scarlett taking it all in.

Mimi, Emma, Maya, and Papa Tig admiring the view.

The light was beautiful.

Max decided to stay far away from the waves, focusing instead on the sand (which we continued to find in our house and car for days).

Maya strikes a pose.

Hey Max, where are you going?  (Maybe back to the restaurant to chat up Cuba Gooding, Jr.?)

This photo looks sweet, but Scarlett is actually super hacked off because we told her it was time to leave.  Chris is negotiating.  Unfortunately, they could not reach a compromise, so it didn't end well for either of them.

Telling Max we were leaving the beach didn't go much better.  Here he's wailing and trying to escape my clutches while I haul him back to the car  ("More beach!!! Mooorrreee beeeeaaaccchhh!!!").  Parents can be so cruel.  Also of note is my "Why are you taking a picture of this, Chris?" face.  I suppose I should just be glad that I'm actually in a picture since I'm always the one taking them.

Back at the house it was hot tub time!  I'm not really sure what's going on here.  If I had to guess, I'd say that Maya's being a shark, Emma is escaping from the shark, Max is squealing with excitement (probably due to the imminent shark attack that nobody else seems too concerned about), and Scarlett is smugly wondering what all the shark fuss is about.

Next up ... Disneyland!