LA with Janie

Abby Jane and I just got back from a long weekend in LA with sweet friends! On Jake's last research trip out there last month, he and our sweet friends, the Roberts, hatched the plan for a free trip based on a flight voucher of ours and a flight voucher of theirs that as about to expire! HOW amazing, and so gracious of our friends. It was Abby Jane's first trip back since we moved, and it was an indescribably fabulous time from beginning to end. 

She has no memory of the 11 flights she has been on before this one, so it was all new and exciting!

 Layover in Denver...

 The Rockies!

Our precious buddy Sam excited to show Abby Jane the bucket of goodies he had put together for her!

They were a little smaller the very first time they met.

Little Judah has grown so much since we saw them last fall! He turns one  next week and is one of those pleasant, laid back, sweet hearted little children you could just eat with a spoon. 

The Roberts' new home has a great back yard, and the kids had fun with the sprinkler. It was shortly after this that Abby Jane spun around with the sprinkler and directly shot into the open door of the house!

There was no stopping this pair of hooligans.

They had so much fun at the beach that afternoon, despite the overcast, chilly weather! She was so much more enthusiastic about the sand and water the whole weekend than she was last summer on the Atlantic that it made me wonder if there's some intrinsic part of her that remembers the distinctive sand and smell of those LA beaches after going to those beaches multiple times a week for the first 18 months of her life.

The Roberts fam!

The Wades joined us, too!

My girl and I!

They started out that first night sharing a toddler bed with plans to "giggle all night. And when we wake up, we'll still be giggling!" They didn't end up staying in the same bed, but they did do a lot of giggling!

After the little ones went down, Les took me out to their new fav ice cream place, Sweet Rose. It's my new favorite too. A-mazing.

Bubbles before 7 a.m. in PJs...

They even took a ride with Uncle Jake on his scooter!

Judah supervised Sam and Abby Jane's movie and dinner date while Les and went out with the girls!

Judah had a little help watching the big kids.

The ladies and I ate at M Street- my first time there- fabulous dinner, even more fabulous company. So blessed by the friendships of these sweet girls! Also particularly honored that Laura (next to me) joined- it was her first social outing since Dylan was born just a couple of weeks ago!

Breakfast at Huckleberry, a fav of the Roberts. My culinary desires were wonderfully met on this trip!

Our last day, just Janie and I ran over to Malibu to make a few important stops and see a few wonderful people! First stop, Country Mart, where she and I clocked countless hours on these swings, and where I acquired the opinion that pushing a swing is best done with an English breakfast tea latte from the Coffee Bean. My girl now...

My little girl back then (yes, that's Sam!)...

Then and now...

Before we headed over to Pepperdine, we made a vital stop at Crumbs in the Lumber Yard. This place was one of my happy spots when growing twins.

Then we made our way over to campus to hug a few of the necks we miss over there and kiss on a few new ones!! Sweet Katie was kind to open her home to us!

Abby Jane made herself right at home with all the girl toys in that playroom, though by this time, she was a little meeting-peopled out, and not exactly the most sociable. But she sure enjoyed the toys little Lindsey shared so well, while I had a wonderful time catching up with our old neighbors and coworkers!

We couldn't leave Pepperdine before running up to Heroes Gardens, which overlooks campus. It's just a breathtaking spot that really shows off the majesty of that view.

Then and now...

On our way back down, we stopped by our old apartment complex so I could show Abby Jane the courtyard we spent time in almost every day.

By this time, I was really needing to hit the road to get back to Brentwood, but I couldn't bear to not make one more stop at the beach we went to multiple times a week. Really, the Country Mart, the courtyard outside our apartment, and this beach were probably our three places to spend time- it was extremely sentimental for me to see my big girl scamper through these places where she helped me learn how to be a mom and where I learned who God gave me as my first child.

Same bit of real estate...

Our old small group meets on Monday nights there at the Roberts, so I even got to be there to see anyone I hadn't seen yet and meet some new folks. It was such a blessing to have that time with those precious people. Saying goodbye was sad, but I'm grateful that Jake's graduation is within sight, so we have another trip out with the whole family just around the corner!

I thought this would be a funny picture to take on our layover in Vegas, but the gaming official that made us leave didn't agree.

On our way home yesterday, Abby Jane decided to start coloring in the lines for the first time in her life. Just like that, no more scribble scrabble, and much more detailed artwork instead. 

Leaving LA would have been much harder if I didn't have two ladies I love and my favorite man in the world waiting for us at home. Jake had decided he was going to potty train the girls while we were gone, and he was amazingly successful. Running out to meet us at the car were two little girls in Auburn shirts and princess panties, proud as they could be!

I'm so thankful for my husband, who would plan this out and so graciously send us on our way for what was obviously immensely meaningful, blessed time. I sure love that man.