Malibu, Hollywood, Rodeo Drive

Our last full day in California was spent driving around to some site seeing spots. We drove around the campus at Pepperdine University, hung out shortly at a beach in Malibu, went to Hollywood, ate lunch on Rodeo Drive, and walked around Beverly Hills looking at Mansions. Anyway, Brodie seemed to enjoy the beach and the giant tree in Beverly Hills the most. He can run around on the beach letting the waves chase him for hours. I think we have a beach bum on our hands instead of a ski bum. Maybe this winter we can work on the ski bum part.
While in Hollywood we saw lots of strange things. We saw an Elvis figurine and Brodie said, "Look mom, it's Adam." It was the 50"s Elvis dressed all in black. Sadly we saw a lady fall on the escalator and get hurt very badly. That was a sobering thought to think how quickly a fun vacation can turn into a frightening situation so quickly.
Now that we have been home for a week or so I totally miss the cool weather in Sunny Southern California. Wow is it hot here.

LegoLand

Ok, Legoland was a smashing success. Despite all of us being extremely tired we had a really fun day. Brodie kept saying - Christopher would really love this. I have to say I was pretty impressed with what can be done with a lego. When we first got there we could hardly get Brodie inside as he was so mesmerized by the lego stuff outside. It was pretty magical. He was one tired puppy when we left as you can see from the photo in he center. The cheetah on his lap was his purchase from the zoo the day before. He named him Zach and he loves it. If you click on the photos - especially the collage you can see the small photos better.
This morning we went to the beach and watched suffers, played in the water and made a rock sculpture. Brodie loved it. He is napping now, I'm listening to Pandora - greatest thing in the world - and we will be getting ready for dinner soon. This morning at 3:56 the fire alarm went off in our hotel. I can't tell you how frightening that is. Turns out to be a malfunction of the alarm. I got up early and went to have coffee on the deck looking over the ocean. It was really beautiful and peaceful. I finished The Shack. It was really good. I may want to read that again because it is very deep. It has been a great trip so far.

What a fun day at the zoo. After the zoo we ate a great dinner and then headed out for a hike around the hotel grounds and down to the ocean. Although our hotel looks out over the ocean and a golf course it actually sits on a cliff above the ocean. It was a great and beautiful walk. Today is Lego Land!

Sunset at the Beach

We went back to Sea World today and had a great time. We got to dine with Shamu which was really cool to see an animal of that magnitude so close. We got to watch the Shamu show believe and the dolphin show. They were both amazing. After the day at Sea World we headed to a grocery store for snacks then hit the beach to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and fun. The only bad part is I dropped my phone in the ocean whick is so cold. That has been the biggest suprise. I thought it would be warmer. Anyway, it was great. We came back to the hotel for a quick swim and now we are a tired group headed to bed. Other than no phone -life is good.

Our California Adventure

After a really long flight and hassel of luggage and rent car (oh to be rich and have a private jet!) we arrived at our hotel at midnight California time -Two Arkansas time. Needless to say we were tired. At the airport in Arkansas Brodie randomly asked "Mommy, where is Kris Allen?" A girl sitting behind us turned around and looked at Brodie. I responded with, "I have no idea." The girl, Katy Allen, said, "He took a different flight to California." After looking at her I asked if she was Kris's wife and she confirmed that to be true. I was so shocked. She talked to us a long time and then signed Brodie's notebook he brought in case we saw someone famous. Then Brodie wanted to ask her a question. He said, "Do you know Sadie and Stella?" Sadie and Stella are his counsins - three and five - who live in Conway. She was so sweet. She said, "I don't think I do? How old are they?" It was really fun and she was very kind. Upon arrival at LAX she was escorted to a private room while someone waited on her luggage. Then they took her to a waiting car. On the way out she came by and said goodnight to Brodie which I thought was really kind of her.
The next morning we headed to Santa Monica and Malibu. We hung out on the beach for a while and had so much fun we ended up renting bikes and riding to Venice Beach. That is where we saw many of the Freaks I spoke of on Facebook. It is very cool here and the water was freezing. We did have fun running in the water and playing, but I don't plan on swimming in it anytime soon. I was thankful that I threw in a jacket for Brodie and my sweater. I wore the sweater all day even when we were riding bikes. We rode the ferris wheel and a roller coaster too. Around 2:00 we headed to San Diego. It was a beautiful drive by the ocean and through lots of nice towns. Ben was amazed at the extremely expensive cars that were driving around. I really couldn't tell you the name of any, but some were 200,000 dollar cars.
At the beach Brodie wanted to take pictures to send to his friends at New School. He wanted to write Hi, Ms Natalie, I love you and I miss you. I wish David, Xavier, and JC were here. I love all my friends....... I thought we could accomplish all that with Hello New School.
Last night we went to Sea World for a few hours and stayed for the fireworks. We headed back to the hotel and got to sleep as quickly as we could. We were all tired. Brodie got so mad at us he said he was sleeping in the chair. That changed when we turned out the lights! This morning we have had a great breakfast and our attitudes are much improved.

Five years old!

We had pictures taken of Brodie recently by our good friend Kevin Thiessen. He is now five and it is so hard to believe. He can be so grown up looking and acting, but he still loves hugs and kisses from his parents. It really is a fun time. I keep thinking we will reach a stage that is hard or not so much fun, but really it has all been good and each stage of his life brings new joys and surprises. He really is a joy in our lives.

This fall Brodie starts kindergarten. That has so many conflicting emotions for me. I'm so proud of Brodie and the way he is growing up, but I also want to hold him tight and keep him just as he is forever. I look at grown men now and think they used to be a sweet little boy like Brodie at one time. I wonder if I will always think of Brodie as a little boy!