NYE Weekend - California!

Our friend, Ann, lives in California. She occasionally visits us in Bluffton, but we have never been her way (because of the cost of flying a family of 6 to California 😏).

Klint's parents were considering a trip to CA to visit Ann but, instead, asked if Klint and I would like to go while they babysat our kiddos.

Uh, yes!!!

Emitt has been wanting to go to Hollywood for as long as we can remember, so Klint and I made a tradition on-the-spot and told our kids that each of them will get a weekend getaway with Klint and me for their 16th birthday. Since Emitt would be turning 16 on January 2, we told him he gets to come to CA with us. He was speechless and ecstatic 😂.

It was a super quick trip but we were very grateful for the opportunity! 

As we planned for the trip, Klint and I decided that Saturday would be Emitt's day.....and Sunday would be Ann's day. You'll see what I mean as you read on 😊.

(the words in italics are from my Instagram posts)

FRIDAY, December 29

We were all loaded up at 4:08 am and about to start driving to Indy when Emitt asked Klint to recheck the front door to make sure it was locked. Klint got out of the car and ran up to the door while Emitt commented me, “I always like to be prepared!”.

This is a perfect illustration of why it's so easy to travel with Emitt. He's not going to miss anything. 

Indy airport

Breakfast sandwich before boarding

Embarking on the quickest trip to California you ever did see to visit our friend, Ann! 🌴 I’m very happy to be sitting in-between these two guys; birthday boy on my left & the most enthusiastic-to-be-traveling-teenager on my right 🥰. #happy43rd 

window seat, of course!

Layover in Denver!

Introducing Emitt to Panda Express food. He wasn't impressed 😂

This December weather was a DREAM for 3 midwesterners!

Ann was a little late picking us up, but...

....we didn't care!!!

She arrived!

Before we left home, I made a 100-question PIXAR trivia for Emitt. It was mind-blowing how many he got right and how fast he moved through it!

Friday afternoon/evening we ran a couple errands, ate out, and did a little sightseeing around Ann's city.

Viktoriia sent a gift for Ann 🥰

SATURDAY, December 30

Morning eggs with a side of retainers 😊

All packed for the day and ready to go to Hollywood!

The scenery!! 

My backseat buddy

Made it to Hollywood! Emitt spotted all the cool landmarks. 

This is the Hollywood Cross. 

Emitt really wanted to visit the Hollywood Bowl museum (he’s seen in on movies). We drove right past it, but there was no access to get inside.

 “It’s okay”, Emitt said, “I’ve seen it on Google Maps” 😂🥰

1 item on Emitt's Hollywood Bucket List was the Hollywood Walk of Fame! It did not disappoint! 

There are over 2,000 stars dotting the sidewalks of Hollywood Blvd. We walked many blocks, but definitely didn't get to see all of them.

Emitt and I both enjoyed the Walk of Fame. Emitt got a phone for Christmas, but he accidentally left it at home (clearly not addicted yet 😂) so he wanted me to take pictures of his favorite stars.

 I'll admit, I got REALLY into it too!

Don't mind my feet in every picture 🙄. The sidewalks were crowded so I had to capture quickly 😜

For Emitt

For me 

For me

For Ann

For Emitt and me

For Emitt

For me

For Emitt

For Emitt and me

For Emitt

For me

For me

For me

For Emitt

For me

For Emitt

For me

For Emitt

For Klint

For Emitt

For me :)

For Emit

For me

For me

For Ann

For me

For Emitt and me

For Emitt

For Emitt

For me

For me

For me

That was so fun!

Beautiful!

Ann bought this souvenir for Emitt 😍

Another on Emitt's list: 

The TCL Chinese Theater

🥰

It was difficult to find a public bathroom in Hollywood. We walked into an ice cream shop to use the bathroom and the owner said we must purchase something. Emitt was HAPPY to let Klint buy him an ice cream cone — pistachio and bubble gum 🫠.

Klint did such a great job planning our itinerary before heading to CA. He scheduled us for a 2-hour van tour and it was definitely a highlight for all of us!

Our tour guide had lived in Hollywood his whole life, was really comfortable driving through traffic and around the winding turns of the mountains. His 12 passenger, open-air van was very old and very packed. I was squished in the middle of Ann and Emitt, both of them talking to me in different ears while the tour guide interjected all kinds of interesting tidbits over a spotty mic. Needless to say, I was a tad overstimulated  😂. Klint sat in the back, squished between a window and a stranger.

The wonky set-up made for a good memory, I suppose!

The tour guide let us stop on a walking bridge with a great view of the HOLLYWOOD sign, another stop on Emitt's Bucket-list.

I loved looking at all the homes! 

This one is Blake Lively & Ryan Reynold's home

Not exactly earth-quake conducive 

Adele's

Taylor Swift's

There we are (in shadow form) on our tour van 🥰

According to our guide, this is one of the most expensive stores in the world

Where Tim Allen got his start.

Stunning

A food delivery robot

We were walking down Hollywood Boulevard and a fairly tipsy couple was making-out on the patio of this restaurant 😘🍻😘.  They got so lost in their moment that she leaned against the steel railing and it came crashing down on a man’s unsuspecting toes, walking a few yards ahead of us (and very close to my feet!)

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The 4 of us stepped aside and looked back at the incident, recapping to each other what just happened. Emitt, who really has a knack for suggesting better ways of doing things in hindsight, commented matter-of-factly, “Maybe those two should’ve gone somewhere else to do that.” 🤭😂🥰 

Hi Lucy!

Off to Olive Garden for dinner

(since we had gift cards 😏)

What a full day!!! We got back to Ann's apartment around 8:00 pm and we were exhausted!!

SUNDAY, December 31

Dressed and ready for morning Mass!

As we parked our car and prepared to walk into Mass, Emitt assured us: “I will try VERY hard to be a good sport”. 😂🥰

Beautiful church and service

And a tour of Ann's church after the service

Emitt did amazing at Mass and during the tour, but as we stopped to talk to some of Ann's friends in the parking lot, he was DONE. We told him he could wait for us in the car and he was thrilled 😂

Back to Ann's apartment for lunch (and naps for Klint and me!). We also got to meet Ann's family for the first time (over Face Time); we wished each other Happy New Year (they made it to the new year way before us 😆)

Ann told us if her mother (who lives in Kenya) found out we stayed with her for several days and Ann didn’t cook for us, she would be very disappointed 😆. 

•

Ann showed us how to make a traditional Kenyan meal, Ugali. We baked salmon as our meat (that’s not necessarily traditional; I just googled a recipe 😏). Then Ann made Kenyan corn bread on the stove and a veggie dish (kale, peppers, onions, and olive oil). Everything was incredibly delicious! She dished out my plate and I definitely could not finish! (Not pictured: Emitt eating restaurant leftovers from the night before 😆)

Klint trying his hand at skillet cornbread

Just so good!

Off to our next adventure!

We drove over an hour to a mountaintop Monastery!

Did I say how patient this kid was?? 

This morning we went to morning Mass with Ann and toured her church. This afternoon we embarked on a mini road trip to a Monastery waaay, way, way up in the mountains. This convent of nuns live a very silent and secluded life. They grow their own food and tend to cows, goats, chickens, and sheep. (Ann visits this Monastery every couple of months for Retreat).

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When we arrived, we very quietly slipped into benches and were able to observe approximately 45 nuns during their Latin Vespers service. It was so solemn and still; all you could hear was their quiet singing and Emitt’s Rubik’s cube clacking 🥴😆.

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As the Vespers service entered into their 45 minutes of silence, we were able to slip outside to the pitch black and find our vehicle. The irony was not lost on me: “Hollywood yesterday; mountaintop Monastery today!” 😆. This put Ann into a fit of giggles and, when she caught her breath, said, “it’s a balanced life, huh?” 😂🥰

This was such a big day (maybe bigger than the Hollywood day)!  Finally, when we rolled back into town, we visited the hospital where Ann works...

Ann handed us these matching masks and we traipsed through different units of the hospital, meeting her coworkers and really feeling like tourists 😂

Visiting the hospital chapel where Ann spends a lot of time praying

Emitt asked if we were going to stay up past midnight to ring in the New Year. At first we were hesitant because we needed to leave for the airport at 3:00 am on January 1. But, in the spirit of being fun parents, we changed our minds — much to his delight — and the 4 of us watched a movie together until midnight (2/3 of the adults fell asleep during the movie 🤭).  

After stepping outside to see the fireworks and having a New Year's prayer together, the adults headed to bed.

Emitt made himself comfortable in the guest room and stayed up the rest of the night watching movies until it was time to leave for the airport. Happy 2024! 🎊 

Monday, January 1

Made it back to Indy! So grateful for an amazing getaway with Emitt and a sweet time with Ann!

We were only in CA 2.5 days, but I told everyone it felt like a whole week because we packed so much in! Definitely worth it!