We made a visit to neighboring Hollywood hills and the boulevards over the weekend. We hiked Runyon Canyon with fellow MU Tigers Sarah and Mark on Saturday. Their son Crew and Ethan hiked it on foot — I was SO proud of E as we did not take the easiest trail!

We had a great view of the city and a decent view of the famed Hollywood sign. (Yeah…you’ve got to do the touristy things now and then.) You can barely see the darn letters in the photos, so I circled them. Click on the pic if you actually want to see them. Let me just say they felt a lot closer during the hike! It’s actually illegal to hike the Hollywood hills near the sign — I’m guessing because there is a lot of money spent in the upkeep of these letters.

Max is as busy as ever! He’s working really hard on saying Doggy, but all he gets out is Dah. He also LOVES books and wrestling with his big brother. Wow – that starts early. Max’s latest trick is waving his arms wildly and singing:

Last night, Max walked about 40+ steps…from his bedroom, across the hall into the master bedroom and to the doorway of the master bathroom. It’s more of a waddle than a walk, but he’s doing great and I think we can say he’s officially walking! As you’ll see in the video below, you’ll also notice he’s a big fan of flip flops. If yours go missing, Max moved them…and probably chewed on them a bit.

Ethan started piano lessons last month and he is doing so well. His piano teacher loves him and says he’s learning the actual notes and is such a joy to teach. He’s pretty methodical, so I think the lessons actually are a good outlet for his meticulous personality. Every week he seems to be making a new friend at school and whenever I pick him up in the afternoon, he’s always playing with other kiddos, so we’re feeling better about his transition. He enjoys spending time with his buddy Crew…though he likes to remind everyone that he’s 4, and Crew is ONLY 3. He also loves spending time with Josh and Kaleb – his much older buddies age 9 and 13 – and their sister Izzy. We like to hit the beach with these guys and their family. Good people – the husband, Lance, works with Eric and his wife Shaunna is super nice.

On a different note, Ethan has begun to explore saying hurtful things when he’s upset – last week I made him mad and he countered with, “I don’t want to be your son ever again!” Of course he crossed the line and got a good dose of corner therapy. When he was released from his sentence and after we discussed why we don’t say those things…I looked at where he was standing…2 dirty handprints were now left on the wall! Sigh. I was angry and amused at the same time. So I took a picture…and then got out the Magic Eraser.

Sarah and I went to a Barneys New York warehouse sale one morning – for fun – though neither of us really had any business going. Lucky for our wallets, the selection was terrible and our expectations were not met. I walked away with a $29 t-shirt and a photo of a $1,700.00 priced dress. I think that’s the most expensive article of clothing I’ve seen with my own eyes outside of a high-end bridal boutique. Wowsers.

I’ve started training for a small local triathlon and I am so excited since my sister is flying to CA to join me for it! I think I could train year long out here…biking along the beach or running beneath palm trees is such a beautiful and peaceful start to a day. Work is going well for me – still keeping quite busy and have gained one local client. All my other clients are scattered all over the place.

Eric continues to love and live Riot — he is such a big supporter of and hard worker for his company. He puts in a lot of hours, but he is so happy. I think it makes such a difference to love and believe in your work. Lord knows we both realize what it’s like to have the opposite, so I think we both truly appreciate our very different, but very satisfying work environments. Happy 8th Anniversary today, EJ! I’m glad you’ve found your dream job!

We’re looking forward to this week’s visitors Megan and Michelle for a few nights. And then next week Gma and Gpa Danker are flying out for the week. After that, we make our first trip back home in mid-Sept. Who wants to hang out??!!