Trip to LA

so i had this crazy idea of giving Phil a break and taking the girls by myself to visit my good friend Mary and her husband Martin in LA. of course, i wanted to see Mary before they have their first baby next month and it would be good for Phil to get some work done, but as the trip drew near, i kept hoping i wasn't biting off more than i could handle!

the flight going out to LA was fine and the girls were fantastic. the only serious challenge was bathroom runs. Skye has a tendency to go every 20 minutes or so. "Mummy, i have to go!" "But we just went!" we'd have to drag all our carry-ons and all 3 of us squeezed into the stall. and of course, the auto-flush toilets freak both girls, so we have to scramble to dash out of the stall before the toilet flushed! but we arrived in LA still feeling really good about the whole trip. my friend Mary's parents were going to pick us up from the airport and i called them to see where we should meet. they were stuck in traffic and that was fine too. we could take our time getting our bags and making potty stops. when Mary's parents finally arrived, we piled into the car and drove out of the airport to realize the traffic was so bad the cars were moving at a snails pace. it took about 3 hrs to get to my friend's house! and she doesn't live that far! yes, i was very close to tears and we stopped at a mcdonald's for a potty stop and to get some food for the kids who were starving. by the time we arrived at Mary's house, both girls were asleep from exhaustion and hunger. Claire had been crying so much and finally fell asleep in my arms (yes, i had taken her out of the car seat - i couldn't bear to sit there next to her watching her screaming).

other than the rough start, it ended up being a great trip. nothing beats really great weather and we had plenty of that. the girls were so happy to be running around outside and Mary and Martin were so great with them. here are some shots from the trip. our friends took us to the Huntington library's grand opening of their new Chinese garden. it was beautiful. but Skye and Claire loved the children's garden best where they had lots of fountains and water and sand and rocks to make any child happy.

we were sad to say goodbye to Mary and Martin when we left, but were happy to return home to Phil. it is very cold in Madison still and absolutely no signs of spring. and i think it's crazy that we feel the weather's getting warm when it's in the 20 F! will the snow be gone from the ground by Easter? i have a feeling not, but we keep hoping anyways!