Beverly Hills & Hollywood

My sister, Leslie, has come into town to visit us for a couple of weeks! Natalie jumped out of her car seat and quickly opened the car door to give Leslie a big hug when we picked her up at the airport. We are a little excited to see her. ;)

Visitors equals another excuse to explore the land we live on. Leslie has never been to Beverly Hills and I haven't been to parts of Hollywood. So, lets go!

Our first stop was at the famous Sprinkles cupcakes. Tim and I have decided that even Sprinkles doesn't compare to the red velvet cupcakes in London. Hands down Sweet Couture wins. So to avoid a cupcake disappointment I ordered the raspberry cupcake instead. MMMmmm good!

We took our famous cupcakes and ate them at the famous Beverly Garden Park across the way.

After our treat we drooled some more as we window shopped along the famous Rodeo Drive. The only thing that would have truly topped our morning LA experience is to have seen a famous person.

After lunch Tim dropped me and Leslie off at Hollywood Blvd to quickly scope out the famous walk of stars. (Darren was asleep in the car and this tourist destination is crazy busy. Not really a place for three littles in tow.) We just walked up and back down on the opposite side of the street and made a few necessary stops along the way. It was pretty cool and pretty Hollywood.

And what is more Hollywood than the famous Hollywood sign?

Peace out, LA.

4 year check-up

Weight: 32 lbs 10-25%

Height: 40 inches 50-75%

Likes:

Fruit, especially strawberries.

Favorite color: pink

Picking up snails and collecting them.
Playing with legos.
Lollipops.

Dislikes:
Tomatoes, hot dogs, and pizza.

Snow White (Hates her hair and dress.)


We love our spunky, sassy, and sweet Natalie!

golden 4th birthday

Celebrating your children's birthdays is one of the many highlights of being a mom/parent. I love seeing their genuine, innocent excitement as they await their special day.

For Natalie's 4th birthday she chose breakfast at Ruby's and a little shopping spree from the Disney store and Lego store. We have had such pleasant weather this summer in SoCal this year so eating outside near the coast with great company and yummy food was just the right ambiance for a birthday celebration.

On her actual birthday we opened up more presents...

and had homemade mac-n-cheese and cupcakes per her request.

She got a little shy during her Happy Birthday song.

Happy Birthday my little Natalie! We love you!

Old San Juan

To satisfy our weekend cravings we are going to have to turn in our European castle exploring to California mission exploring. And lucky us, the birthplace of Orange County is right around the corner!

The mission was filled with everything CA. The beautiful aroma of various flowers mixed with colorful and quaint Mexican architecture made me smile. I sure love where I live. 

And Natalie true to her personality couldn't help but pick some flowers.

We felt very much at home with audio guides around our necks and pamphlets in our hands. The girls were in their element as well, exploring and asking questions about history. I just love it!

strawberry lemonade slurpees

What American children ask what slurpees are? Oh, mine. 

I think that was one of the first things we re-introduced the girls to when moving back.

Happy 7-11!

Newport Beach 2013

Here I am again, writing about another year, another beach house year. (Previous years since Marisa, here: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012).

An entire week of non-stop activities, sun, laughter, and lets be honest, pure exhaustion! I love having another child to introduce this family tradition. It highlights the best of the week all over again!

And what is the beach house without breakfast at Ruby's? 

In true Hart fashion, we are always the first ones to arrive to the restaurant and we take up the entire inside. I love family traditions.

I think Grandpa gets more excited about giving the kids chocolate milk and donuts than anything else about the beach house week. ;) He has been talking about giving his two youngest grand kids a taste for months now. Lucky Darren, probably too young to eat donuts, still managed to get permission from me to eat one. I mean, who can say "no" to his smile??

All in all, we all left with memories that will last a lifetime. Until next year...!