shred it: California Adventure- Day 4

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So sorry this is a day late. I was too wiped out to write last night! But look on the bright side- you get TWO awesome posts today :)

Yesterday was our first Saturday in Los Angeles. We were a bit nervous to do the beach on a weekend as it sounds like they can get pretty packed, but there was a little spot that Jon and I were just dying to check out. So we got up super early (being half way between Michigan and California time is quite convenient when it comes to beating the crowds!) and headed to Malibu. Quite a ways up the Pacific Coast Highway at the very north end of Malibu is a small secluded beach called El Matador. Or as Matthew calls it, El Salvador! LOL! We had about a half mile hike down to the beach. Some of it was stairs, but a lot of it was dirt trail... not easy with two toddlers in tow but they were just awesome little hikers. Caleb quickly got distracted when he spotted his first California cactus, which was something on the top of their "must-see" checklist! They were both so giddy with excitement... I can't even explain how beautiful it is to see the joy on their faces when they finally get to see and explore something that they've been so eagerly waiting for. And something so simple as a cactus, which as adults we would simply walk by without giving it a second glance. But to two curious little two year olds, it was like seeing Disneyland for the first time :)

Anyways- we finally made it down to the beach and it was just breathtaking!!! Aside from the one modeling shoot and the one music video shoot, we were the only ones there for at least an hour. All three of my boys ran straight for the rocks and tide pools to do some exploring. Before I had met him, Jon had never been to the ocean and tide pooling was on the top of his bucket list. So to see him get to do it with his two beautiful boys was almost as awesome as watching Caleb get his finger pricked on the cactus. The boys weren't huge fans of the water washing in, but they liked standing on the rocks and touching the sea anemones. Jon even caught them a crab to play with :) And they just LOVED playing in the sand in and around the caves. I think they could sit there in the sand with a bucket and shovel all day if we let them! Jon was able to go off and do some more exploring and tide pooling while the boys and I built sand castles, of which I must note that their favorite part is knocking them down! We had a picnic lunch on the beach and then headed home just about when more people started to show up. And by more people I mean like 10 more. On the whole beach!

The boys zonked out in the car so we took the most beautiful drive home, but I must warn you that Mulholland Highway is NOT for the faint of heart! However, if you can handle it, I highly recommend that it be on the top of YOUR bucket list!!! Especially if you have toddlers. And if its nap time :)

We spent the afternoon at home and made a nice little dinner. We've got such a nice mix of feeling like we're on vacation but also feeling like we're at home. We can hang out, make our own meals, and let the boys ram around all they want to which is really nice! At about 5:00 in the evening we realized that it was our first Saturday night in LA and we thought we ought to be out and about. We packed up and headed to Rodeo Drive. Luckily there weren't any stores that even remotely interested us, but the people watching was fun and we found the bestest most amazingly awesome cupcake shop on Santa Monica Boulevard where we stopped for a little family treat. On the way home we made one more stop at a beautiful little park in Beverly Hills. The perfect ending to a perfect day. Except that we came home and Matthew spent his second night in a row in the bog boy bed, which is still a bit hard for me to handle.

Caleb and his cactus