4th of July in L.A.

My friend Ana took her 2 girls down to L.A. for a week to visit some friends and it just happened to be over the 4th of July weekend... so when she mentioned I should use my miles and fly down for the weekend and chill with them, I thought why not?! :-) I flew down on Wednesday after work and flew back with them on Sunday. It was a blast! I've never been to L.A. and her friends have some sweet hook-ups!!!

The first day Ana, Alexis and I went shopping on Rodeo Dr. down in Beverly Hills. We made a few purchases and saw Larry Joe Campbell (Andy from According to Jim) shopping in Coach! Celebrity #1! :-) Then that evening, Jr. took us to a club downtown called Opera, which was pretty cool. It was a laid-back evening... apparently most of the folks in L.A. are out of town for the holiday weekend... anyone that's "anyone" anyway. But as we were leaving, we did see Marcus T. Paulk (Myles from Moesha) headed in. Sweet! Celebrity #2!

Alexis... shoe shopping on Rodeo Dr.

For the 4th of July we all packed up and headed to Peto's mom's house and chilled poolside for awhile before heading over to one of his brother's house, to BBQ and chill poolside once again. It's a rough life! :-) Unfortunately, there was a dark cloud over our day b/c the friends that we stayed with lost their dog that day. They had the cutest little Yorkie named Chloe, and she was having a blast... jumping in the pool, swimming and barking. But unfortunately, it was a little too much for her small body and we noticed her struggling to stand and keep her balance and we think it was a mixture of all the chlorine, the heat and all the swimming and her little body couldn't take it. They rushed her to a pet hospital, but she didn't make it. It was absolutely heartbreaking... not only to witness the whole thing, to see her suffering, but also to see the kids' hearts breaking. I tried to be calm, but you know me... tears started welling up the minute I saw tears fall down Isaiah's face. Ugh. It was tough... but fortunately, boys bounce back pretty well. They were able to still enjoy the rest of their 4th. And Isaiah was already scheming what his next pet would be! BUT... enough with the sadness... despite the loss, it was still a good 4th... and here's some pics from the pool...

Jayden & Lexi

Lexi starting to freak a little bit!

Lexi, Ana & Jayden

Jeremiah

You know I had to get a self-portrait!

Too sweet!!

On Saturday, Aran, Ana, Lexi and I headed to Santa Monica and picked up their friend Renee and her daughter Reid and we went to the Alley. It's like a swap meet, kinda like Canal St. in NYC. It was fun and I got a cute little dress for $10!! Gotta love that!! After shopping, we ran into and got to meet Renee's neighbor, who just happened to be Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbassina in the Austin Powers movies). We then headed back to Calabasas and showered and Ana & I took Alexis, Jayden and Chris down to Hollywood Blvd. to see all the tourist sights down there... Kodak Theatre, Grauman's Chinese Theatre and all the stars on the Walk of Fame!! After that... we made a quick stop at In-N-Out and headed back to the house to meet up with Jr. to go back downtown to the hot L.A. club Les Deux. Apparently this is one of the hot spots for Lindsay Lohan, Lauren from the Hills, etc. It was a cool club... especially when you breeze in past all the folks waiting outside in line, get your cover waived and then the bartender pays for your drinks all night... just because of who you're with!! I could get used to that!!! The club was really cool... it had an awesome patio with fountains, low lighting, old movies playing on the building's wall next door and girls dancing with fire on the roof of the bar!!! We didn't see any of today's big celebrities... but we did see Pauly Shore!! LOL!!!

Reid, Aran, Me, Ana & Alexis @ the Alley

Santa Monica beach

Ana & Aran

We had to stop and take a few shots along the canyon on the way back to Calabasas

Ana & Aran

Me & Aran

Jeremiah trying out his new scooter!

My attempt at a self-portrait...

... and then Jeremiah's attempt. He was my buddy all weekend!!

Kodak Theatre

Grauman's Chinese Theatre

"Cummings" Jayden's famous... who knew!!

Had to get a shot of them in their "stunners"

Of all the stars walking along Hollywood Blvd... they chose the Tin Man! I was so proud!

What you can't see is the scary horror dude standing behind me with a fake knife above my head... lovely.

Ana & I at Les Deux

Sunday morning, Ana and I got up and drove down to Paradise Cove in Malibu. We were supposed to meet up with my friend Jenna, but she never showed, and I never heard from her, so I'm not sure what happened. I was definitely bummed, but Ana and I still had a nice morning on the beach with no kids, no worries... just a pina colada, and about an hour nap. Plus, we got to see David Arquette and Courtney Cox-Arquette chillin' in the restaurant for brunch! After the beach, we headed back to Peto and Aran's to pack up and get ready for one more BBQ at their friend Ingrid's house and a chance to chill poolside one more time before catching our plane. Her house was beyond BEAUTIFUL!! I would be happy just living in her backyard!!

After the BBQ, we were off to the airport to catch our flight back to reality. As if coming back home after vacation isn't depressing enough, Ana has it in her head that she's ready to pack her and the girls up and move down to Cali. I really need to stop vacationing with her and Lily. It's double-depressing!!


It was a GREAT vacation!! I love Ana and her girls... and it was fun finally meeting Peto and Aran and their 3 boys, which I've heard so much about for the past 6 yrs. I'm so grateful to be young, healthy, and yes, even single... to have these opportunities to travel and just enjoy life!! I'm truly blessed!!! Lily... it's your turn... I'm headed to UTAH soon!!!!