in Sherman Oaks

August 18- Excitement & extreme heat!

I believe there is certain criteria that makes a vacation a vacation and although Sherman Oaks probably doesn't sound like it'd pass the test, let me enlighten you.

Criteria for a vacation:
1. Going somewhere that's not home: technically we did leave our "home" on Sweetzer
2. The ability to "Get Lost" & explore: I have no clue what exists in the Valley, in the 5 years I've lived here I think I've gone over the hill once!
3. People in LA pretty much act like driving to the Vally is the equivilant of driving to the moon, & the moon would totally be a vacation!

That's my reasoning, so eat it. On this particular "Getting Lost" adventure, we travelled over the mountains & through the woods to a special land called Sherman Oaks. It's full of happy children, sidewalks, and really cheap dry-cleaning. On this vacation we decided to stay & not return home to Sweetzer. On August 18, 2011 in over 100 degree weather (no joke) we moved from WeHo to the Valley  and bought a house with a yard and a pool because that's what people do when you have a baby in LA, right?!

Here we are signing the docs... 

We just got our keys!

Our first home! 

Yes, in your old home we did used to change Paxton in his closet....not that there's anthing wrong with that ;)

Paxton was a huge help with the move....

 Margarita was a blessing with ALL the packing!

We LOVE our new home & our new little family!

in Stone Harbor and Pittsburgh

July 2011- Family, Firsts & Fun.

Dear John Paxton, we go to East Coast every year (multiple times) & I don't think I'm going to make a post for every time we go visit family, BUT this was the FIRST time you met lots of friends & family & the first time you went in the ocean. Because you & your daddy are such water babies, I thought it most definitely deserved a post. Here's you in the ocean!

You might not think you look like you like it, but I promise you, you did!

We're so excited!

Aunt Kimmie & Aunt Titi couldn't wait for your arrival!

Here's the gang all together... 

And here's the first time you met mommy's best friends from college (minus Cindy who just gave birth to Miss Eloise)

Then off we went to Pittsburgh to meet your cousin Wes & Aunt Kiki!

Luckily Gigi & Opa each had their own baby to hold so there was no fighting :)



Here's the Thompson Gang...

And Gram... 

And you know Gigi loves any excuse for a party so she threw a little sip 'n see in your honor!

in Las Vegas

June 2011- Emmys, lots of 1st for Paxton, hot!

Ok, so we just got home from our 1st trip with baby Paxton and it was to VEGAS basically the anti-thesis of a kiddie atmosphere, but I keep telling myself one day he's going to think it's pretty cool! He had lots of firsts while we were there.... it was the first time he slept in a hotel,

the first time he went in a pool,

      

& most importantly the first time he met Opa!

I was nominated for an Emmy working on Dr. Phil & as they always say it was "an honor to be nominated" of course we didn't win, we never do, booooo! Nevertheless, we had a GREAT time, although we did get LOTS of stares from strangers wondering what we were doing with a baby in Vegas....so I felt the need to keep talking loudly about how I was there for "work." For the first 2 nights we stayed at the Aria & then we moved for the 2nd two nights to the Encore. 2 noteworthy meals were at Todd English's PUB (next to Aria, duck buns = yummy!) & then Blue Ribbon Sushi at the new Cosmopolitan hotel, it was DELIC & so great to finally eat sushi again!

in Carlsbad

January 2011- relaxing, friends, last hurrah before B-A-B-Y.

There's not a lot to do in Carlsbad, CA, but that's ok because it's home to La Costa Resort & Spa & that's all ya need. Our gracious friends the LeMoles treated us to a weekend getaway as a baby gift & we had a great time. Relaxing by the pool, cathing up on eachother's busy lives & finishing the weekend with a Steelers playoff game, made it just perfect. Not to mention it was the last getaway before baby G made his debut!

in Palm Springs

January 2011- sunny, relaxing, & spoiled.

I didn't just go to Palm Springs once, I've gone 3 times this month. Brad recently took a job on a show for the Golf Channel called "Big Break" & they decided to tape in Palm Springs. So Brad went for 19 days & I went on weekends. This past weekend our best friends Ingrid, Katy & Ari, Stacey & John all came along too. Me, Katy & Stacey are ALL preggo!



The cast:

 Rough day at the office!

Brad working with Todd & Eric

Here we are...ALL preggo!

in St. John, VI

December 2010- Iguanas, snorkeling, white sands, clear water & open air taxis.  

6 months preggo & with cold weather on the horizon, we decided on a tropical location for the "Baby Moon." After all, this was the Big Kahuna, the final trip before parenthood. In honor of our soon to be son & the likely chance we were going to name him John after his grandfathers, we figured St. JOHN, USVI was the perfect destination!

We stayed at the Westin Resorts which was perfect because we had our own little kitchen to make meals & chill Brad's alcoholic & my non-alcoholic beverages for Happy Hour. (Oh yeah & if you can remember request Cliff as your cab driver he rocks! And the local Starfish market is the best place to buy all your groceries.) 

The Iguanas were also happy to keep us company whether we were walking to the pool or sitting by it.

During the days we visited all the beaches, Cinnamon Bay, Caneel Bar, Cruz Bay & they were all beautiful. Of course another great way to see the island was underneath the water. We went snorkeling at Loveandgo & Mingo Key. We saw our first Octopus & a HUGE scary Barracuda with TONS of teeth!

Unfortunately there was extremely windy weather the day we chose to go to Trunk Bay & no one was allowed to snorkel, which means we'll just have to go back again one day!

And because we can't resist a few touristy activities we also visited some historic sugar mills like the Annaberg Plantation.

Our new fav mode of transportation...not exactly the safest, but....

Now lets get to the food!

The island is very small, in fact more than half of it is National Park, which is part of the reason we chose it instead of St. Thomas or others, it's the most untouched & has the fewest people. As a result, there are very few places to eat, but we did some research & picked what we think were the best spots!

La Tapa was a sweet sidewalk cafe/restaurant with a contemporary Mediterranean vibe. We noshed on excellent seafood & even had some live music to listen to.

The highlight of our meals was the last night at Asolare, reservations are recommended! It had the most amazing view on the island.

We had the freshest seafood & our waiter literally sang opera at our table, no joke! He wasn't supposed to, it's not that kind of restaurant, but when we asked where he was from (Boston) & he told us he was an Music major, we had no clue he'd offer to demonstrate his singing instead of just telling us about it, hah. This restaurant, although a bit pricey, is a MUST!

This is when I told Brad was actually pregnant & not just fat from all the good food I'd been eating.

I have a sneaking suspicion we'll be back to that sweet little island with it's sweet little town & it's sweet people. Which means, I better get crackin on the next kid!