A Solo Visit to Los Angeles for the Mama!!!

I just returned from my first ever trip to sunny California to visit my beautiful sister, Dara! I had such an amazing time taking part in her life for 4 days! Holy Cow! It's definitely not a pace I am used to, but it suits her and she is thriving in her life and faith while out there. These pictures highlight some of my trip! Dara had the weekend off from most everything and so she took me everywhere there is to go in and around L.A.! Starting at the top left - if you squint real hard, you can maybe see the Hollywood sign over my shoulder. The next picture is of the famed L.A. fashion district's "Santee Alley," this crazy shopper's haven! We went back there twice! The top right is my first night there at the beach at Santa Monica - we went for the pier, but it was all closed due to the fact that it was a weeknight. In the middle is Dara and I rocking our big movie star sunglasses (mine purchased in the aforementioned Fashion District! - they're Gucci's, no really!!!), followed by the two of us on Rodeo Drive and then on the ferris wheel at Santa Monica Pier the second night - we had to go back, it's one of her favorite things to take guests on - it was worth it! A ferris wheel out over the ocean! Whoo hoo! The first two on the bottom are pictures of our trip to Laguna Beach - yes, it's true - I did go to look for Stephen and Kristin and LC and Lo! Didn't see any of them, darn it! I loved the sunset!!! And the last is a picture of Chinatown in downtown L.A. I bought Emma a "Mulan" dress and Dara bought her an umbrella to match! She is adorable, she wore it all to preschool this morning!!! Anyway, it was a wonderful time of refreshing for me as a mom, wife and sister. I got to visit her church home, Mosaic, on Sunday evening. It is so awesome! They go into a nightclub in LA and set up church there! It's an amazing community of artists and actors and people of every culture coming together to worship Jesus. Plus, it doesn't hurt that the pastor is Erwin Raphael McManus! He is a fairly up and coming and famous author and speaker right now. God is doing amazing things there! That's as close to a famous person as I got while I was there - I did get to even hold his microphone! (Dara backstage manages for the services there...)

Anyway, the kids did awesome here with their dad. Maybe he'll post about their time, we'll see how long it takes him to notice this...he hasn't put a post on here in forever! I missed them all like crazy and was very glad to be home, but so thankful for the May vacation!

(you can always click on the pictures on here and they'll come up in a new screen a little bigger for better viewing of the collages...)