That time we went to the beach

School is almost out for my girls. It's awesome because we have a lot of summer plans. I'm signing them up for either dance or music classes (or both), and we're going to explore all of the great things Los Angeles and beyond has to offer. I'm talking about the beach, farmer's markets, museums, the beach, the zoo, the beach, picnics in the park, the beach, oh, and did I mention the frickin' beach?

I'm sorry. I love Malibu. It's one of the reasons why living here is so awesome for me. I never thought I'd be a beach bum (especially considering I can't swim), but hey, here we are. The first time I visited the ocean was magical. We'd lived here for only 2 weeks and I needed to see the Santa Monica pier close-up. We drove all the way there just to realize that it's much colder in Santa Monica than it is in the valley. The girls had on dresses and no jackets. Thank God we had a throw from Ikea in the back of the van, so we could throw it over the twins who were 2 years old and still in a double stroller! I put my jacket on Ani and of course the husband wasn't cold. Ever. I'm pretty sure he's never been cold in his entire life.

Photo from that day, Santa Monica 2012

Nevertheless, we walked around the pier and then I announced that no matter how frickin' cold it was, I was determined to stick my feet in the ocean. I'd never been to the ocean, so I was going to stick some part of my body in it! So we all did. We took off our shoes, walked across the cold sand and stood there waiting for the tide to come in. It was so refreshing and cold! I giggled. Ani giggled. The twins cried. They were NOT having it!

I found it invigorating. We left right after that, going back to the van and apologizing profusely to the little ones. A great time was had by all. Well, not Mia and Laila. They were not happy after that. Don't worry, they fell asleep in the van 5 minutes after we drove off. Now they're beach bums too. They can't wait to go to our favorite place in the world, Zuma Beach!

Because Sitting in the House Sucks

At the park yesterday when some dude and his baby photobombed me.

I'm so tired. I probably shouldn't be up this early. After having a toothache for the past 3 days, I've been having trouble sleeping. The Advil works (the 600 MG my doctor gave me), but my dentist can't see me until Thursday for this root canal, so I'm kind of in hell right now.

Yesterday I said "screw it" and took the Advil and Orajel with me and we had a picnic in the park. Now see, that's not something I ever really thought about doing when we lived in Chicago. We had a park and playground near our house in the suburb of Chicago Ridge where we were living, but I don't know, I don't remember seeing other people doing it so perhaps that's why it never dawned on me.

The pic they'll use of me on the news if I'm ever arrested for drunken rowdiness.

Here in Los Angeles, there are so many parks you go past and you just see people hanging out in the grass, laying on a blanket, having barbecues, all the time! So why the hell not, right? We frequent the parks near our house, but after being in the house for the past week, I decided to go a little further and we ended up in Beverly Hills to his beautiful little park called Coldwater Canyon. It's not too far from home, maybe a 30-40 minute drive, depending on traffic. We drive through the valley then take this winding rode that goes through the hills. It's quite an adventure for someone who still can't get used to the high-ups and the wind-ings!

Me and my little Anneka during our picnic

Mia about to step into the water at Coldwater Canyon Park in Beverly Hills, CA

Either way, we had a great time. There's a little wading pond for the children and we let them take off their sandals and play in the water with all of the other small children. Unfortunately, I saw no celebrities. Let me tell you about this "famous park". Every time we're not there, I see online or on the news that some celeb mom was there with her kids like Jessica Alba, Gwen Stefani, Selma Blair. Hell, not too long ago, Mark Wahlberg was there! The day we go, no celeb parents there! It's okay, because that's not why we go there, we go there for the pond and the serenity of it all, and to just get away from our usual parks. But still...

The twins chasing bubbles their dad was blowing

Armed with my Orajel and Advil, I will conquer this world! Until Thursday when I won't need either anymore...then I'll conquer the world without those two things. You know what I mean!

Worth It

Griffith Park

It has taken me over a week to recover from Disneyland. It was hot as crap and there was a lot of walking involved. Obviously, I knew all of this, especially since I'd been to Disney World 4 times in the past. It was totally worth it, though. We had a lot of fun and the kids got to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse. We got a lot of great pictures and I was able to flood my Instagram, Twitter and Facebook with pictures.

Disneyland!

I always expect someone to say "Okay, Angie, we get it! You like your kids!" but no one is usually rude to me like that online. I'm not sure why either. A lot of people are rude online, but not to me so much. I get creepy people coming at me from time to time, but that's it. Which is a good thing because I'm the type of person who'd get angry, then upset, then just stop tweeting for a few days.

I did stop tweeting last week for a bit, perhaps a day and a half. Not because someone pissed me off, it was because I was just tired. After the Disneyland trip, I was just drained. We stayed at a hotel the day before and got in the pool with the kids. Bry even got into the pool with swim trunks on and his iphone in his pocket! Don't ask me if I laughed. Don't ask. Okay...I laughed. I laughed a lot...until I realized that his phone was completely broken! That was messed up.

Me and my lovelies in Griffith Park with our matching Frozen shirts on.

Then this past Sunday we went for a hike through Griffith Park. It was my idea. I'm trying to lose weight but not so much to a point where I'm weighing myself constantly, but I really want more energy. I want to be more physically active. I don't eat a lot of bad foods, I just never lost the baby weight from back-to-back pregnancies, one of them with twins! The most active I am usually includes loading a dishwasher, dropping off and picking up Ani from school (which really is just driving), and other cleaning things around the house. I also would like to be more outdoorsy. There's no reason to not be where we live in California. All of a sudden, I feel like I just want to explore more.

So yes, my muscles are sore from all the walking, plus I've gotten on the treadmill a few times in this past week. Advil helps. I'll be alright. The sore muscles are worth it!