February was a whirlwind of fun for the boys! We’ve been blessed with several visitors over the past few weeks — our friend Ginger, Grandma & Grandpa Danker and the Fitzmaurice family have kept us entertained and smiling ear to ear.

Ginger and I were pampered at a makeup bar called Blushington and then shopped our hearts out at the new Athleta store that opened at the Grove shopping area. (We also got to see a taping of Extra with guest Suze Orman while there.) We enjoyed a hike through the Santa Monica mountains and of course paid a visit to the happy cactus. Ginger experienced her first hot yoga class and, after gentle coerhercing (and a few glasses of wine), first sushi tasting. Luckily, she was a fan of both. (Unfortunately, she is not yet a fan of my green juice recipe!) It was an amazing treat to have her all to myself for a few days!

Grandma and Grandpa were game for our standard fare of the Creperie, soccer practice and farmer’s market. Eric and I were able to squeeze in a long hike and yoga class while the boys spent quality time with the grandparents. Rosi and I spotted Owen Wilson and his son at a very empty Douglas (Dogless) park one unusually cold and gloomy day…and then while we were dining at Duke’s in Malibu, Max and I had the pleasure of meeting the real Gidget. No not Sally Field who played Gidget on TV, the actual Gidget that the stories were based upon. Her dad wrote about her surfing adventures in Malibu and then movies and TV series followed. She was a very nice woman who tried to help me soothe the wild beast we know as Max, but without luck. He wanted nothing to do with her. In any case, we had one of the best restaurant experiences we’ve had as a family since moving to California. Great service, nice people, delicious food, beautiful view right on the water. They liked Ethan’s coloring of their kids menu so much that he got to help them hang it in their kitchen and was then rewarded with an amazing sundae. No doubt, we’ll be looking for an excuse to go back.

Jen, Shawn and Hope visited and of course, easily talked Ethan and I into a Disneyland date while they were here. Ethan had a blast hanging out with his old buddy Hope that he’s known since he was only 12 months old. Together they visited the Santa Monica pier, went on a hike at Will Roger’s and had lunch at the beach. When I asked Hope if she’d come back to visit us again, she said, “Well, probably not tomorrow…” I’m sure she’ll be excited to get back to her toys and routine, but she was an awesome little traveler. We only hope the crazy drivers and bad parking doesn’t keep our friends from coming back.

Looking forward to our next round of visitors!!!