Our Family Trip to Los Angeles!!!

For years Luke and I have talked about wanting to go to L.A. and have him meet my west coast family, well, this is the year we finally pulled it off! After much discussion about timing and working out details we bit the bullet and did it! Off to Redondo Beach we went to see my brother Augie, his wife Dove and their rock-n-roll kids, Sierra and August!!! It was so great to see my famliy again and to have the kids all get to know each other was a dream come true! Our families are so similar in so many ways! Our trip was jam-packed with fun! Above is Aliza with the Gaffney pets (apparently it's genetic to have strange pets!).

We went to the beach and basked in the Southern California sun for a day! The kids had a great time playing in the waves, burying each other in the sand, and flying a really great cyclops kite! The beach breeze was perfect for it that day! Now my kids have seen both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans while in my care! I'm so glad I could provide them with those experiences!

 Kaleb and August got along like peas and carrots! They played video games, and August showed Kaleb how to rock out some beats on his drums! They shot each other with Nerf guns and had an over all great time getting to know each other!

What's a trip to SoCal without stopping at the one and only,....DisneyLand?! Thanks to Augie and Dove for making a dream come true for the Narlees! We had an amazing day, the wait for rides was short, the weather was impecable, the kids were happy and we had a BLAST! We stayed till after the fireworks display and headed home with some TIRED kids!

Here are Kaleb, August, and Aliza at the Armed Forces Day Parade! Augie was not about to miss this, even though the rest of us were whooped from the day before! The kids had a grand time playing with snails, sitting in helicopters and watching some good old fashioned marching!

We went for a tour of the Palos Verdes area of the coast with the best tour guide EVER - my brother! We saw amazing views of the coastline, crazy cool fountains, and neighborhoods over run with peacocks!  We then met up with my old friend Terra, her husband Mike and their beautiful daughter Astrid to frolic in the tidepools of Abolone Cove! Here we found crabs, starfish and plenty of sea anemonies to inspect and adore! It was an absolutely wonderful time! I wish I could share ALL of my pics on here...but alas, space limitations!

On our last day in L.A. we headed up to Hollywood to see the sights!  Although no actual stars were spotted we had a really great time with the Stars on Hollywood Blvd. and Mann's Chinese Theatre.  Here we are in front of the Hollywood sign in the hills...although it was a cloudy day and you can't see it in the pic, it's there behind us, I swear! Another great day in California!!!

We were there for 6 days, and it went by completely too fast! Amazing connections were made between all of us and the experiences the kids had together will make memories for a lifetime! Izaak is already waiting with baited breath to find time and money to head back...he and Sierra Sam are amazing friends in addition to cousins!  I hope with all my heart these kids stay in touch throughout their lives one way or another! It's amazing how close they all became in just a few days, the bonds of family never cease to amaze me! Thank you Gaffney Crew for hosting us and giving us memories to cherish a lifetime!!!