The plan was that we spend the first few days in Santa Monica area, and then a week together as a family of fifteen in a home that my parents rented. For me, the trip turned out to be a pretty critical time away because it allowed me a little relief from the day-to-day grind that I'd been wallowing in. The kids were so readily distracted by events and family that I got a break. As I posted recently, that relief enabled me to see how badly I had been doing in the months leading up to Christmas, and also gave me opportunity to figure out what needs to change around here in order for me to take a little bit more care of/for myself. It also felt just plain good to enjoy the warm weather and wear capri pants and sandals again.
I've divided up our vacation posts into four separate posts, and I know that these might not be the most interesting of posts for others to read about (these are mostly for my own record-keeping), so I'll post two of them today and two tomorrow and then be able to move on to other topics in the following days.
So here goes...
I'd been asked by another adoptive Mom, before Christmas, if my younger kids were worried about our trip - perhaps fearing that we were really going back to Ethiopia. I hadn't thought about that, given that Seth had counted down the last fourteen days before we left for LA. But I wondered if I'd overlooked some anxiety they might have on that front. So a few days before we left, I simply asked Seth if this was a concern for him. He looked at me as if I was an idiot and said, "No Mom, we're going to Los Angeles, not Ethiopia." Ok then. In fact, thankfully, I think both younger kids were just fine. They're very forward-looking kids, it seems to me: They love knowing the plan for the day/week and what they're going to do next, and whether it's a big trip or running a quick errand to the grocery store to pick up milk, they're always ready to take it, life, on.
I am thrilled that (so far) all three of our kids appear to be great travellers. We've known that about Matthew for a while already, but this was only our second experience traveling with the younger kids and the first time was when coming home from Ethiopia (when they all three traveled beautifully). The kids all seem able to roll with things, and were ok for the most part standing in lines to check in/get through security/wait to board the plane/endure stopovers. They were also pretty easy to entertain on the plane (even when there were no tv/movie screens on board), and seemed to take late-night arrivals and time changes in stride. They were great!
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On the plane, listening to stories on my ipod or watching tv.
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For the first three nights, we stayed at a Comfort Inn in Santa Monica. We arrived at our hotel shortly before midnight and immediately got the kids to bed. After brushing their teeth and getting them into bed, Matthew suddenly announced that he was "starving." That started a chorus of "I'm starving" from all three of the kids and so everyone got out of bed and indulged in a midnight feast of homemade granola bars and fruit that we'd brought from home!
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Finally, snack finished and teeth re-brushed, the kids climbed into bed and were asleep in seconds. I love this picture. For those who might be wondering, Lizzie's little cap is made of satin and she wears it to bed to keep her hair from getting all tangled and matted by morning.
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We spent a big chunk of the next day, Christmas Eve, at the famous Getty Museum. I could have spent days there, but it's hard to have the kids walking for hours through rooms full of art masterpieces, so most of our time there was spent outside. I must say, though, that the outside was as beautiful as the inside - just as artistic, if in a different way. This first picture is of the view from the train that took us up to the Getty.
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Geoff is standing in front of one of the most beautiful trees I've ever seen. This picture does nothing to capture it. The trunk is full of multi-hued spots/dots that reminded me so much of an impressionist painting...I wish you could see it for real. It's silly, I know, but I actually found my eyes full of tears as I stared and stared at this natural work of creation. Truly, this picture is just a faint shadow of its magnificence.
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We started out by taking a highlights tour, which I was enjoying but which really was too much for the kids. This was the first room we visited...so much beauty on display...it was breath-taking.
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A view of smoggy LA, taken from one of the upper-level balconies at the Getty.
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Aren't these gardens, the stonework, the view, just spectacular?
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Geoff and me, overlooking LA.
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The architecture and the grounds at the Getty were incredible from whatever angle.
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This is my favourite picture at the Getty...I waited for almost ten minutes to get this picture without people walking through it.
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Three other works of art! I was convinced one of them was going to fall into the water as they leaped from stone to stone, but it never happened!
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My two handsome boys
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And my Little Bean.
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From the Getty Museum, we drove to Venice Beach and ate a picnic on the wall separating the walking paths from the beach. It was an oh-so-warm day and I relished sitting there and turning my face to the sun. That light alone lifted some of the low spirits I'd been struggling with. In the background, you can see the exhibition rides on the famous Santa Monica pier.
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I love the 'predator' look on Seth's face as he gets ready to attack Matthew...and I loved watching the boys run on the beach hand-in-hand in their matching dinosaur shirts!
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My always-intense little boy...and his sensitive big brother.
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One of my favourite shots.
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Loving her first-ever real beach experience!
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Matthew wondered if this tiny shell might make it into a world record book for being the tiniest!
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In addition to the palm trees, I loved all of the unique other trees that lined the Santa Monica boulevards.
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A little further down from our picnic lunch, we had a chance to roam some store-fronted walkways and take in the huge skateboard park, where we all indulged Matthew's fascination with skateboarders.
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And of course, the boys could not get enough of pigeon-chasing!
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Seth stalking some poor unsuspecting birds!
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On Christmas Day morning we attended a fabulous, if a little long, church service at the West Angeles church...we lasted for two hours in the service, then excused ourselves. The pictures I took aren't great, but it was a spectacular church. The highlights for me were the children's choir (I have no idea how they were trained to belt it out and dance like that!), the sermon (accompanied by bursts of organ music), and the guest soloist: Natalie Cole!
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We enjoyed Christmas dinner at a little diner...a little unusual for Christmas dinner, but we loved it!
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Matthew loves doing intricate little drawings...like on Christmas Day when we were waiting for our meal.
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Lizzie's look when her hair is freshly combed out. It takes me about 45 minutes to comb it all through until there are no tangles...and that's with a ton of leave-in conditioner and a tangle-reducing conditioning spray! Geoff and I think she looks a little like a Jackson 5 member here!
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The kids' first-ever banana split, which they were thrilled to share on boxing day when we stopped for lunch while exploring the area.
After spending those first few days in the Santa Monica area, and doing a little shopping, we headed to the house that my parents had rented for the next week for all of us. The house, which overlooked the Los Angeles valley, is worth a post all of its own...it was quite something! Stay tuned.
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