LA Trip Part III: La Brea Tar Pits & George C. Page Museum

The entrance to George C. Page Museum

The Lake Pit at La Brea Tar Pits

The outdoor sights at La Brea Tar Pits

Giant Columbian Mammoth

The girls were impressed by the massive fossil finds

A wall of Dire Wolf skulls on display

On our final day in Los Angeles, we were very excited to get the opportunity to visit The La Brea Tar Pits and George C. Page Museum. This has been on mom's list of places to visit for a while now. We weren't sure what to expect with the girls and whether they would really be able to appreciate the museum at their young ages, but they loved the experience! They marveled at the size of the massive Ice Age fossils, especially the giant Columbian Mammoth. 

We didn't have too much time to explore all the excavation sites and pits, but the museum itself was more than enough entertainment for the girls. They enjoyed the brief movie on the history of the La Brea Tar Pits and learning about how all the animals ended up stuck in the tar and eventually became fossils on display in the museum. There is also a spot in the museum where they were able to try and pull metal bars up from the tar, just to show how tough it really was to escape once stuck. Elise was proud to put her reading skills to the test and educate us on what animal was on fossil display and the history behind them. After a fun morning at La Brea Tar Pits, we headed over to the LA Museum of Natural History. More photos to come...

Adolescent mammoth fossils

Fun exploring the Page Museum exhibits

Elise educating us on the fossilized bison

Fossil puzzle piecing in the Fossil Lab observation room

The bubbling Lake Tar Pit

A fun end to our La Brea Tar Pit adventure

LA Trip Part II: A Morning of Amusement at Pacific Park & Santa Monica Pier

View of the beach and Santa Monica Pier / Boardwalk

Riding the Pacific Wheel at Santa Monica Pier; great views!

Our birds eye view of Pacific Park & Santa Monica Beach

Santa Monica pier souvenirs

Fun on the rides, Elise wasn't too sure about the roller coaster

Beautiful flowers on the pier

Pacific Park amusement fun

Our next stop during our LA trip was beautiful Santa Monica Pier & Beach. Pacific Amusement Park had just the right amount of rides to entertain the kids for a couple of hours then we had the rest of the morning to relax. We all loved riding the Pacific Wheel as the views of the sprawling Santa Monica coastline were stunning. They really enjoyed the other rides too, however Elise was NOT happy with Daddy for convincing her that the roller coaster would be fun haha. Although we visited on a Sunday morning, we arrived early enough to beat the crowds so there were little to no wait times on any of the rides, which made for a productive day. 

We had lunch on the pier and then headed to the beach for some relaxation time. The beach was very windy on this April day, so Mom stayed warm by wrapping herself up like a burrito in beach towels while Dad and the girls braved the cold ocean water. They had fun building sand castles and dad helped to build a giant sand pit to shield the girls from the wind! They also enjoyed feeding the hungry seagulls who were skilled enough to catch the food midair. Santa Monica was a great place to spend the morning, and I'm glad we finally got a chance to visit during this trip. We definitely plan to visit again someday.

Cute smiles and laughter all morning long

Voldemort & Barbie are neighbors here in Santa Monica

Lovely Santa Monica Beach

Daddy helped the girls build this awesome sand pit

Sandy toes and beach play fun

Feeding the seagulls; they caught the food in the air!

End of Route 66 in Santa Monica & the end of a fun day!

LA Trip Part I: Fun in the Sun, Water, and Sand at Redondo Beach, CA

Watching sailboats at Redondo Beach

Our little beach lover, Alina

Redondo Beach Landing & Pier

They loved dipping their feet in the waves

Little beach bums

Two very happy girls having fun in the sun, water and sand

Redondo Beach Pier - My grandparents took me here years ago

Last weekend we took our third family trip to Los Angeles, except that this time there was no Disneyland fun/madness; we went to visit my Aunt, Uncle and little cousins in Torrance and got in plenty of relaxing beach time too. It was so nice to have a more laid back family trip where we weren't on-the-go from sun up to sun down. It was also wonderful to see the little cousins spend time together as they are all close in ages and shared so much laughter in the time they spent playing.

We also had the chance to take the girls to nearby Redondo Beach & Pier, which was a great experience for all of us. When momma was little, I used to visit here with my grandparents and had so much fun! It brought back lots of great memories from my childhood, even though the pier has changed so much from what I remember back in my youth. The girls loved exploring the fun little shops on the pier and we even enjoyed seal watching right out our table window at breakfast, which was a great treat for the girls. Their favorite part of all was the beach! They loved running through the sand and waiting for the waves to crash and drench their little toes. Alina was so brave around the water this time. She last experienced the ocean waves in Maui, and was very cautious back then. This time around she waded out even further and didn't have a care when one larger wave soaked her waist level. The smiles and laughter that they shared on the beach that day is unforgettable.

Windy day fun on the pier

Exploring Redondo Beach pier

Bright future indeed!

Walking the pier and seafood spotting

Pink & white shrimp

Seal watching at breakfast, the girls loved it!

Elise spotted this stoic Black Crown Night Heron watching us

Sweet little cousin play time

Happy Easter 2015!

Easter egg hunt fun 2015

Pretty painted Easter eggs

The girls enjoyed their fried egg bunny rabbits

The look of egg discovery

The hunt kept them very entertained

The girls were very excited about their Easter egg hunt this year. The morning began with fried egg bunny rabbits, and a special note from the Easter Bunny telling them that the egg hunt was a team effort this year, so basically two eggs in each hiding spot. Even Mr. Bunny is aware that sisters can always improve upon their sharing skills - Hah! While the girls found PLENTY of eggs and goodies, I think their favorite part was the cute fluffy toy chicks they got. The Easter sugar goodness should last them well until the next big holiday. Happy Easter 2015!

The BIG Easter baskets goods

In sync with their Easter finds

The bunny left plenty of treats along with fuzzy chicks

Look who found the Easter Bunny's special basket

Enjoying the bounty of Easter goodies