What has possibly been the biggest unsung hero of this trip is Palos Verdes. We’ve spent about 5 total days doing hikes or meals or beaches in this penninsula just south of Redondo (south of Hermosa). When we arrived, Jordan kept pointing out the beautiful flowers and houses on what looks like a moutain on the coast. I wasn’t really that intrigued, but I am SO glad he looked into visiting.

We took two small hikes, the first with Kerry while she was visiting through a resort called Terranea. We will 100% come back to this resort one day in our life. It was absolutely beautiful and we walked along the cliff, watching the waves crash, and ended at a small beach cove. It was so unexpectedly magical and unique.

We have also gone to dinner at Terranea’s restaurant called Nelson’s. Every single person we’ve met here has mentioned that we needed to do this and we are so glad we did! Dinner was delicious, and miraculously the employees all remained kind to us despite Owen terrorizing the entire place, and we ended the night around the fire pit making smores and watching the sunset. This activity in and of itself is something our entire family loves so much and we hadn’t done it yet and it was just as fun (but maybe a little more dangerous) than we hoped.

We also did a small hike on this bluff trail that didn’t last long at all, but was beautiful to see all the blooms all over the cliffs. We had dinner at Asaka sushi overlooking the ocean yet again, which was another peacefully california feeling.

Finally, we were told to go to Malaga Cove and this was another favorite spot. It was essentially the end of “our beach” and we drove there — walking down a path overlooking the ocean and a “waterfall” to the sea. The beach was rocky and tucked into the side of a cliff and it was another magical feeling. We saw dolphins too!

We enjoyed these visits so much and are so grateful we had a chance to see so many different parts!

After lots of talk about going back to see Princesses, we did it. We surprised Delaney and Owen with a trip to Disneyland on Monday, including the princess breakfast with Delaney during her magic morning.

The day was great and the kids were both so good. We’re definitely in a state of constant spoiling here and so many adventures that I do sort of feel like this day blended a little too much with other days in the morning — but overall, especially, the evening and late night fireworks show was beyond magical.

Princess Aurora had sent Delaney a note the day before our adventure to invite her to breakfast with the princesses before a fun day at the park. Unfortunately, Aurora was sick and sleeping all morning so she couldn’t make breakfast but we met Belle, Jasmine, Tiana, Mulan and Ariel and had a deliciously elegant breakfast — perfectly timed since it was rainy. There were mickey waffles, fruit, other fancy finger foods, and Delaney got a special necklace from the princesses before going into a storytime with Mulan and getting a quick meet and greet with Ariel. All the princesses were so nice, especially Belle and Tiana.

After breakfast, we met the boys in Tomorrowland for our first astro ride. We got to Matterhorn coaster, which was super dark and scary and Delaney LOVED it. Owen rode Winnie the Pooh with Daddy then Toon Town Spin and Small World with me while Jordan rode tea cups and Matterhorn again with Delaney. We rode the tea cups and small world together – and Jordan and I did Thunder Mountain alone one at a time because D was afraid to do it. (She would have loved it!).

We waiting in Pixie Hollow and got to see Tinkerbell, who was cute and fun, before she made Owen cry by smiling at him:) We played around in Toon Town for a little, watched a fun show with some of the princesses and Mickey, and got a pretty good spot to see the 6pm parade! That’s where we finally saw Aurora, which was so great. After dinner at the French Market (with some live music), we went back to It’s a Small World before watching such a magic Mickey’s Mix show and fireworks at 9:30pm. This was definitely the highlight of the day — and of course the churros and Cinderella Bubble Wand Delaney got to get.

Disneyland was fun and hopefully we can come back when the Castle isn’t under construction — because it looked BEAUTIFUL from what we could see.

Today was a day to remember! As you can imagine, we’ve spent countless hours finding random, fun activities to do in various parts of Souther California and this, so far, was the best amazing random adventure we’ve taken.

Delaney and Owen both love princesses and fairies and things like that. They also both love the idea of theater but for very different reasons (her because she’s decided shows/movies are scary and him because he’s a barbarian), we haven’t been able to find many shows or activities that would work for us. This one checked all of the boxes so much that I thought it would be fake and not really exist once we got there. The Faery Hunt was an interactive show that took a group of dressed-up kids in fairy costume around the woods of Griffith Park (one of our “must do” destinations for this trip…where you can hike, play and see the Hollywood sign). It started at the base of the parking lot and we were thrilled when there were a bunch of other little kids there.

We needed to find the Queen Fairy and her missing light and on the way, we met up with lots of other fairies in the woods. Stardust, Brook, Queen Anya, and then Nixy the Gnome. It was so much fun. We walked through the woods, the fairies all sang songs and got the kids to join in (including D!), and it was really a magical time – and funny. After about and hour of the show, we had a Fairy Birthday Party in the park complete with face painting, lunch, hide and seek games, dancing, and story time. All of these things were marketed and I really thought they wouldn’t happen – and they did! The show from end to end was 10:15am-1pm. Worth every penny and Delaney and Owen loved every second.

After the show, we bravely decided to do the quick hike up to the Observatory because we were so close. Delaney was amazing. Owen fell asleep for a bit in the hiking backpack – and we got all the way up the hill to see the Hollywood sign. It became a beautiful day and the kids were so, so good, we felt very lucky to have enjoyed it so much. This was one of the last places we had kind of written off not seeing and I’m so beyond glad we decided to do the show and see Griffith Park. It was so great!

We made our way to Beverly Hills, drove through Rodeo Drive just to see it. drove through some famous neighborhoods past MJ’s old house and probably a million other famous people but found it to be super weird and not that cool bc these people’s lives much be wildly isolating with gates all around them etc. so it was interesting to see but weird.

One the way home, while the kids slept, we decided to hit up one last dinner spot we wanted to try called Rock & Brews in El Segundo and it was another hit. The kids slept in the car so were ready to eat when we got there, it was an open air beer garden-style restaurant and super family friendly. We ate, the kids played in a little gym thing, and we enjoyed a beautiful night outside before finally making it back home for baths and bed.

Such a FUN, FUN day.

Our second day trip was down to Long Beach. We spent some time looking around to various kid-friendly activities going on near us while we were here. Touch-A-Truck day is a big thing in Boston and Jordan found that they were having one down in Long Beach. I didn’t actually want to go, but last minute that Sunday morning, we decided to drive down after realizing we didn’t have any plans and the kids needed a break from the beach.

We came to find that the Long Beach Touch-A-Truck day is one of the biggest in CA (you know, so they say). It was right on the beach in a giant parking lot. They estimated 10,000 people and 115 vehicles. All the kids wanted to see were the double decker bus (it left before we saw it, woops!), the buses, the vespas and we spent an inordinate amount of time in the Corner Bakery delivery truck haha, which definitely wasn’t part of the day but didn’t have a line. The kids were laughing and honking everything and loved it – especially the pink vespa and the yellow boat we got to go in at the end.

We hopped back in the car and drove up to the boardwalk to get lunch and ride a carousel. We had no idea this would become the best day ever. Delaney is an arcade natural and couldn’t believe all the games around the carousel and obviously we suckered into getting a bunch of token and taught her how to play all the classics – skeeball, whack-a-mole, drag racing etc. She looooooved it. At first, she was hesitant with whack-a-mole and didn’t really get the appeal of the place,,,until the TICKETS. Competitive nature came out real quick. They also rode the carousel once, which is always a hit for some reason. We ended up with 500 tickets (i have no idea how much money Jordan spent, but it was worth it and so fun). Delaney got a candy bracelet and w got a few other special things for them that we will divvy out over time while we’re here – puzzle, bouncy balls, chalkboard games etc. All junk really but it was SO fun and Delaney hasn’t stopped talking about it.

Update: The day after Easter, after lots of struggle to get Delaney to stay calm during her hair washing every night (we don’t blame her, it’s hard, exhausting, and the knots hurt I’m sure), we challenged her and ourselves to see if we could all stay calm during hair brushing in the shower for 7 days in a row. May sound crazy but this was a very serious challenge for all of us and exactly what we needed to break an unhealthy habit of getting frustrated all around at bath time. So, we were all successful and all Delaney wanted if she completed the challenge was to go back to the Fun Factory. So today we did!

We rented a bike/cart thing and biked around for an hour, which was actually very fun and cute (but very hard!). Then, we went to lunch before going back to the fun factory and having the time of our lives again. I have no idea how much money Jordan spent again this time, but it was probably a lot, on tokens. Owen was obsessed with the basketball game (he’s insanely good), I loved Skeeball as always, Jordan also played a lot of basketball, and Delaney loved whatever got her the most tickets:) The kids got to pick their prizes – and Delaney picked a Barbie and Owen got a mini basketball. We had the best day again in Long Beach!

We’ve visited Malibu twice now and they have both been such fun days. The first visit, we went up with Stephen, who was visiting us for the weekend. We set out to hang out at Surfrider Beach next to the Malibu Pier, but that proved not ideal. So we walked what felt like 5 miles carrying all of our stuff and children to Malibu Lagoon beach and it was totally worth it!

The views were stunning, the walk from the parking lot area made it almost feel like a nature hike passing through the lagoon, and we set up right in front of some very lively tide pools. You could see the Malibu bluffs and hills from the beach and it was a little chilly, but such a pleasant day at the beach. We packed up around 2:30 to head over to our first of MANY Easter carnival things and egg hunts, this one being at Malibu Bluffs Park. We got there just in time for the timed egg hunt where all the kids got to turn in their plastic eggs for a kite before venturing over to the super fun carnival set up with bouncy houses, a real cinderella, games, The Easter Bunny (who we didn’t go NEAR, obviously), and of course, face painting. By this time, it was very windy and cold but our stonecold Delaney waited for about 40 minutes to get a unicorn on her face. She loved it and we ended the day watching Hula dancers and having dinner on the bluffs/ocean at Duke’s. The day was perfectly packed with enough room to relax and enjoy ourselves…just the way we love it.

Our second trip up, we tried Zuma beach on Good Friday and it ended up being super foggy and pretty cold again. We raced on the beach, took a walk, had a picnic on the beach with the lunch we brought, and just when we left to find a playground instead, the sky opened up and the sun started shining so we detoured back to Malibu Lagoon, where we had been before. The weather was perfect once we got there, Owen threw rocks into the ocean for an hour (not an exaggeration), Delaney searched around the tide pools and practiced some gymnastics in the sand, and just enjoyed ourselves and the beautiful views. After we played on the beach long enough, we made our way to Duke’s before heading home again, this time sitting inside and watching the waves crash right at the window.

We have loved Malibu and Delaney, like with everywhere, asks instantly if we can go back the moment we leave!

What a jam-packed overnight stay in Carlsbad! We loved every second of this little getaway and it was another experience we will never forget. We had been trying to decide which places in SoCal would be worth staying overnight for. We thought about San Diego for a while, but ended up deciding on Carlsbad to see the Flower Fields and Legoland.

The Flower Fields

The reality of having kids is twofold. They make certain things less fun (sorry but it’s true) but they make almost everything WAY MORE FUN. Having two kids with us on this sabbatical is the greatest blessing you could have ever given us. We have ventured to see things we never would have thought to see here (and in life in general, of course) and I will never take that for granted.

Delaney’s love for flowers has opened my eyes to the gift of nature and the beauty of fields/flowers and everything in between. I’ve loved these things before, but knowing how much she would love this whole “superbloom” idea got me searching for planes to go. The Flower Fields was the perfect place! We paid to get in and spent 7 whole hours there…which is a LOT. We walked through the rainbow of flowers, Delaney tooks lots of photos, we did a flower maze, a tractor ride, played at a fun fairy playground, got strawberry snacks, saw fountains and birds, did a scavenger hunt and “mined” for gemstones. The kids LOVED it. The weather was perfect and we listened to live music for a while during Owen’s stroller nap and left for the day after we had do everything.

We went into Carlsbad Village for dinner at Land and Sea, which was very cute, and walked down the beach after sunset for a little breath of the ocean air before going back to our hotel. The kids ALSO freaking love a hotel…even if it’s just a random one in the middle of nowhere.

LEGOLAND

The next morning, we got up early for breakfast at the hotel before the quick drive to Legoland. We didn’t honestly think this was going to be worth it because neither kid really cares about legos but they do love rides. This place was AMAZING. We got there right at 9:30 and the rides didn’t open until 10, so it was perfect timing.

Throughout the day, we made it to one of the major roller coasters (The Dragon Coaster) a few times with Delaney and rode everything else that Owen could do. Her giggle is incredible when she’s on a ride and so worth the insane waits we endured. She waits so patiently, you would almost never believe it. Owen also is a thrill-seeker and he could sit a watch a roller coaster all day long if you let him. He went on a few spinny rides and would giggle intensely then, too.

Miniland was absolutely incredible and was definitely more impressive to the adults than the kids. The detail around the entire park were really unbelievable and maybe didn’t compare too much to Disneyworld, but it did seem somewhat comparable and so fun. We are so happy we made the trip to Legoland and we stayed in the park until it closed at 7pm. Delaney and Owen were such troopers the entire day and couldn’t get enough of the park and we couldn’t either.

We went to Santa Monica Pier after passing by it last week. It was a major hit! After learning that Delaney loves arcade-type places, we were hoping she would have fun and we all did.

Delaney and I got the passes for rides, because most were too big for Owen. Delaney wanted to go on the roller coaster really badly – the height requirement was 42 inches and she’s about 41 with no shoes. Her hair was up in a half pony and with her jellies on, she was ALMOST there so we braved the line and went for it. She was so brave as it’s a pretty major rollercoaster for a little kid and she was so excited to ride with me – since she knows I love rides. When we boarded, they made her get off to double check her height and she didn’t pass — I was prepared for her to be very sad and upset because we broke the rules but she handled it well and was bummed, but didn’t freak out at all. We did all the other rides — her favorites were the spinning shark, the tall drop (so so high!), and this crazy whipper thing that I forget the name of but it was soooooo fast and made us really dizzy. I love her love for rides!

While we rode the rides, Owen pointed in amazement at the “choo choo!!!” meaning the roller coaster and was in awe every single time it passed. We did the ferris wheel as a family and if you’re wondering, there is absolutely NO SAFETY NET of any kind deterring people (ahem, babies like Owen) from trying to jump out and I have never been so scared. Jordan held onto him with a death grip and we made it back.

We found dinner at a little place there and the kids were doing great so we went back in for some arcade games and Owen rode all of the $1 cars/mini-carousel things and loved them. We naturally finished off the night with churros for everyone – and the kids were so happy. On the way home, it was the first time Delaney addressed being homesick from Boston – which made us sad, but happy that she loves our life in Boston too.

On Friday, we headed down the hill to rent some bikes with kid seats and set off to Venice Beach! Our first stop was brunch at a neighborhood favorite in Hermosa, Martha’s. By the time we got there, the kids were a little nuts, but we got an outdoor table and waited patiently for some eggs for Owen, pancakes for Delaney, a burrito for me, and a scramble for Jordan. Brunch was so good! And sitting in the sun next to the beach probably made it even better — and the fact that they had almond milk lattes for me!

We got back on the bikes and made the 13-mile journey to Venice. Halfway through, we were in a bit of a no man’s land and I got a little anxious because we had been biking for so long and Owen was bound to lose it, but we got close enough that turning around wasn’t an option! I’m so glad it wasn’t, too, because we had a great day. We stopped at a huge playground next to Muscle Beach and the kids played, ran around and sat (after hours on the bike!) on the swings overlooking the beach. Afterwards, we walked around, got Owen a new pair of croc knock-offs because he lost one on the journey, watched street performers and skateboarders, and took Delaney to get an ice cream at Ben and Jerry’s before riding home.

Riding through so many beaches and watching the waves is one of my favorite things and I just love being able to get to such new, fun places without a car. Such a fun day!

We did our first hike in the Pacific Palisades, which is near Malibu. We drove up and finally got our bearings (after looking and re-looking at the map a million times) before setting out for a very simple 1.5 mile hike to the waterfall.

The hike took us through a canyon, duh, so we spent the time talking to Delaney about what canyons are and going on a hunt for different color flowers and different animals. Owen struggled his way through the hike trapped in the backpack on Jordan’s back, while I helped Delaney over rocks and on her animal/flower hunt. She did awesome in the grande scheme of things, but did need a piggy back ride eventually up that last big hills. We saw 6 different color flowers, some butterflies, squirrels, birds, and a SNAKE.

The weather was great and the only complaint was the flies! We hadn’t and still haven’t really had any bugs other than this hike and we weren’t prepared. The flies got the worst up by the waterfall, so we didn’t stay too long to enjoy it but it was beautiful and Delaney was so proud of herself. We could see the ocean from where we stopped and turned around. Owen made it nearly the entire way back before falling asleep in the pack. Once we made it back, we all did a victory dance (a long 3 miles!). We tried to celebrate by letting Delaney pick dinner – and that backfired so we will end this story with our gratitude for the sweet kids that enjoy travel, adventure, and nature as much as we do.

We had a great first full week last week and got some of the kinks out of our new routine, meaning, we have very little routine or plans or structure and 0 friends, so it’s actually quite a change that we had a little more trouble navigating even though we were prepared to feel this way! We are a structured family and we have no problem being this way. We are not rigid…we simply thrive on having a rhythm, a sketch of a plan or a least of list of possible activities on hand, places to be, and every one of us does best when we get “up and out!” as I like to say over and over again in the mornings.

After a full first weekend, Jordan started work on Monday and it’s incredible having him around so much. He left at around 1pm Monday-Thursday and was usually home around dinner at 6ish or earlier, which gave us a lot of morning time to each workout, have a slow morning with the kids etc. This was fun for about 2 days, haha, but this is just not realistic for us. When our kids just “hang around”, getting them out is damn near impossible. They get grumpy. They get frustrated by nothing. They want to watch TV, but not in a way that they’re happy, in a way that they’re fed up with life and can’t manage anything and everything is awful unless they lay there watching TV and then crying because they’re hungry and bored! You have to see it to believe it but I’ve been living with my kids since birth and this is just in their blood. We do not do well laying around. We have to earn the laying around and there has to be a time limit to said laying around….OR ELSE! haha seriously, moods are terrible otherwise, including mine.

So, by Thursday, we rectified some of our plan and I went to a workout class at 7:30 and Jordan went running right after me so we were ready to go do something by 9:30. We went to Art Zone and the kids loved it! We also have bought the kids more entertainment items than they have at home haha including a bike for Delaney, a bball hoop for Owen, and chalk, bubbles, and coloring books to share. And most importantly, we basically just tried to start living the way we do in Boston – with a plan!

Following our few days of fumbling around, it’s been really great — but it’s still an adjustment being somewhere so different for the kids and for so long, because Delaney specifically is just having a hard time understanding what the heck we’re doing here, how long two months is, when she’s going to see her friends, and all the other typical things any highly intuitive and thoughtful 4 year old would be thinking about! She obviously doesn’t express this all in words, but by her behavior, I can tell. She’s working through a lot and above all else, we are so proud of her and how well she is doing being here.

We are living in paradise and we are so lucky. The realities of moving your family across the country for an extended time knowing almost nobody and having no school/activities/etc are still there, Owen being awake for hours on end screaming for no apparent reason still happens in another zip code, but I’m proud of us for taking this leap and I feel beyond lucky that Jordan got this opportunity for us all. I’m also grateful for something Jordan said to me the other night while we were in the midst of our first few days of his work that: “I’m really grateful for how self-sufficient you are.” The work of motherhood is often invisible and the work of motherhood even in times of pure bliss like being in California is still here. I can get stressed out and I can get overwhelmed, but I also do a lot and am very independent as both a wife and a mother. He understands that being here with two kids and finding things to do with no car while he’s gone can be kind of tricky, but we’re doing it and we’re loving it and I like to believe that all four of us are stronger and braver and closer because of this adventure already. We are soaking up every minute and I’m proud of that.