Staying Local

After what seemed like an adventurous long week, the three of us decided to keep it local for our last day with Moe-Joe. We had a nice long relaxing morning at home... and then while out running errands that afternoon, we grabbed some lunch in town.

Once again it was a beautiful day...

so we of course had to sit outside!

Once Allen Jess finally awoke from his morning slumber, Moe-Joe was Johnny-on-the-spot with the bottle!

Full bellies, a sleeping baby, and a gorgeous day meant only one thing: a stroll!

We stopped by a local neighborhood park in Temecula known for its walking trail that goes around the lake there... so we got the stroller out and stretched our legs a bit.

It wasn't anything fancy or exciting, but it was an absolute perfect way to end a spectacular week... as well as a wonderful visit with the one and only - Moe-Joe!  

A Day In L.A.

After Moe-Joe braved an entire night with Allen Jess,

(Thank you Moe-Joe!!!)

Jei & I finally got some much needed rest!

Once we were all up and getting ready to go... Bing knew we were going to leave him behind, so he insisted that he tag along!

We loaded up the car and headed to L.A. for the day! Our first stop & priority was to eat of course... so we stopped in Glendale to eat lunch with Abuela Soch & Uncle J.R. 

Unfortunately, J.R. had to go to work that afternoon, but Abuela's schedule was wide open... so she jumped in with us as we headed up to the mountains (Angeles National Forrest) for a little hike! 

I strapped on Allen Jess's ride for the day, put him in it, and then made sure his fussiness level was turned all the way down by putting him into a milk coma...

And then we were on our way!

My crappy little prehistoric camera definitely doesn't come close to brining out the beauty and the bright vibrant colors of our little nature hike in the mountains... so these pictures hardly do the scenery much justice at all!

There were a couple of real dangerous and terrifying water crossings (wink-wink) along the way, but we worked as a team and except for a wet sandal or two... we all made it across unscathed.

I of course felt right at home with the log & water crossings, rock hopping, and trail hiking... even with my son on my chest! (Although it was a little unsettling with the fact that I couldn't see my feet!)

Whereas the Ladies... they were probably all out of their comfort zone, but thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless!

Allen Jess's first nature hike with his Mom, Dad and his two Grandmas! How exciting!

Fun & exciting for the grownups...

but that milk coma lasted the entire hike! 

"Let's move it ladies... Allen Jess is the only one who gets to sit down & rest on this hike!"

I really wanted to be in the picture too... and have Allen Jess floating in the water somehow, but my better judgement (3 women) told me it probably was not a good idea!

Tired... but still happy!

It was hard not to be happy! We were outside on a gorgeous day, in the wilderness enjoying the scenery and getting some great exercise!

We all were a little spent by the time we made it back to the car... except for a certain little somebody, who decided he was ready to wake up finally.

After we fed and changed him, we told him all about the hike and everything that he had missed... and then gave him a big acorn we had found to pose with which he didn't seem to care too much about.

After a wonderful time hiking in the mountains, we drove down to Pasadena and killed some time by touring the outside of the Rose Bowl and then walked around 'Old Town' for a while... until it was time to meet the Girls for an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory!

We had lots of fun chit-chatting, eating some really good food, and passing around Allen Jess for all the women to adore!

Whew... what a day! A long drive to L.A... lunch with my Uncle... a hike in the mountains... and dinner with my Aunts! I sure am a busy three and a half-week-old little baby! Let's do it aga...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

'Fur-ball' Essences

So one night, while Moe-Joe was holding Allen Jess (gee, what a surprise!), the little Monkey was having a hard time falling asleep. She would rock him, pat him, swing him and cuddle him, but nothing seemed to work. She walked around the living room bouncing him in her arms doing her best to try and get the little Booger to sleep. Finally, while in mid-conversation with Jei who was sitting on the couch, Moe-Joe stopped and grabbed Allen's binky to see if that would do the trick. Fortunately for Moe-Joe, she just so happened to stop right beside/under Ming's perch on the cat tree. Ming of course was on her perch that night and took exceptional notice to Moe-Joe's hairy head!  

Moe-Joe didn't realize Ming was there at first, but after she felt a paw gently land on top of her head, she knew right away who it was. Seconds later... well, let's just say Ming wasn't all that thrilled with Moe-Joe's current hair style!

We of course all thought it was hysterical but Ming was on a serious mission! She licked and licked and licked, until finally she stopped... where she either was finished with her masterpiece, or realized there was just no hope! So not only did Allen Jess finally fall asleep during all of this, but Moe-Joe wound up getting her hair restyled too... by our cat! It was most definitely a good night! 

Hair restyled by cat...

Mark another one off your bucket list Moe-Joe!!!

Homebodies

After an exciting few days of hanging with Dad-Oh & Moe-Joe... watching football games, taking long walks, touring wine country, going to airports, and exploring the beach... it was finally time to sit back, pour a glass (or two) of wine, and relax at home!

We couldn't have asked for better weather, so needless to say... there was a lot of outside time. Moe-Joe demanded it in fact!!!

When Moe-Joe got tired of holding, feeding, burping, and playing with Allen Jess, we gave the swing a try.

While Ming & Bing disappointingly watched over him thinking,

"How come we don't get a swing?"

Can't wait till Allen Jess gets to go to Camp Moe-Joe in Florida...

so he can work on that tan!

Nothing puts baby asleep like a glass of wine and some girl talk!

Nap Time!

Having Moe-Joe here, even for just a short amount of time has really made a difference! He's already learned to hold his bottle all by himself! He must be gifted! (Hah! Just kidding... about being able to hold his bottle up all by himself - but he still may be gifted... he does come from very "special" parents!)

Moe-Joe sure did have the magic touch! Not really sure if he was really that comfortable or just really tired here... but just going off the looks of him, he had to have been exhausted!

Speaking of which, after just a few days of being homebodies and enjoying not having anything to do or planned... Moe-Joe & Allen Jess got ready for bed early, for they knew some much needed rest was required for the next day's big adventure!

Pacific Stroll

The four of us waved goodbye to Dad-Oh... and no sooner did we pull out of the airport were we already thinking about and looking forward to our next adventure! Lucky for us, that just so happened to be the very same afternoon!

We drove westbound towards the coast... and then once we made it to Newport Beach we started looking for a place to grab some lunch. We got lucky and found a magnificent little bakery/cafe right off the Pacific Coast Highway. It was super foggy and a tad bit chilly, but there was no way Moe-Joe was going to eat her lunch anywhere but outside... so we all enjoyed a delicious lunch out on the patio.

Once our bellies were full, we continued on to our final destination that afternoon... Crystal Cove State Park. Allen Jess was a trooper up until we parked and finally got out at the park, so we quickly got him out to stretch, change and feed him.  

And then once he was content again, we quickly but quietly closed the trunk and left Allen to nap while the three of us went to go explore the park!

KIDDING of course!!! 

We once again put Allen in his adventure seat, got him covered up and ready to go for a little stroll.

Needless to say... we all were super disappointed in the weather! We didn't too much mind the chill in the air, for it kept us nice & cool on our stroll... but I think we all would've traded in the chill and the clouds for a nice clear sunny day!

The park really has some beautiful & majestic views! 

It's just a shame the fog had to ruin most all of them.

Moe-Joe was outside, walking, on/by the beach, and with her new grandson... so there really wasn't much at all, to include the lack of sunshine, that could've wiped that smile off her face!

Not only did the white cloud layer make it rather bright out...

but Allen Jess's future was so incredibly bright too...

That he just had to wear some shades!

We all needed a little break... so we stopped at a picnic table, fed, changed and played with the little Monkey a while, and then carried on!

A certain somebody decided to nap pretty much throughout our entire little journey... so he didn't get to see & appreciate such a magnificent Pacific Coastline! (Perhaps he's spoiled already... and figured since there wasn't any blue skies and sunshine, that he'd just sit/nap this one out!?)

No Dad-Oh and no sunshine... but we certainly enjoyed and made the best out of our 5 mile pacific stroll!