Kelocity.com

A runner with an appetite for adventure!

Family trip to Yosemite National Park August 6, 2012

Filed under: California,Family,Yosemite — Kelocity @ 1:49 pm
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We just got back from spending four amazing days in Yosemite National Park. Irving’s good friends, Brian and Victoria, love the park so much that they decided to get married there! I’ll save their gorgeous wedding for my next post, but for now, here’s a recap of our first day in the park!

Adele slept almost the whole way there (it was about a four hour drive). We met up with Irving’s mom, who volunteered to watch her while we went to the wedding. She was so excited to spend time with the baby. Adele wore a pretty dress because she was excited too!
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Adele continued her love affair with big hotel beds.
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We stayed at the Wawona Hotel inside Yosemite. It was so cute. It had an old-time rustic feel, but it was really well upkept and offered lots of charm and comfort. We had a great room with a nice balcony overlooking the fountain out front.
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When we first arrived, we spent the time playing on the bed with the new toy Grandma bought for her.
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She loved it! The mirror was her favorite part.
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When the sun began to set and the temperatures finally dropped, we sat by the pool and took in the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.
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Which, of course, turned into a photosession!! Yessss!
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And my favorite photo of the day! (Because if this doesn’t scream ‘national park’, I don’t know what does!
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Weekend at Avila Beach July 30, 2012

Filed under: Baby,Beach,California,Family — Kelocity @ 12:11 pm
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This weekend marked Adele’s second weekend getaway! This time, we headed up the coast to Avila Beach (about 2.5 hours North of Los Angeles). We left after her first feeding in the morning and she slept the whole way up! It’s a gorgeous drive along the ocean and then through Santa Barbara. We love it up there. When we arrived, we found the weather was a good 20* cooler than in LA! Hooray for long sleeves and pants!
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We call this the ‘sleeping touchdown’!

Although we always get excited to leave town for a weekend, our primary motivation was to introduce Adele to Irving’s Aunt and Uncle, Jake and Janie! I think it was love at first sight!
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She was such a good girl, showing off her good behavior and hamming it up for them. After we settled in for a bit, we headed into downtown Avila for lunch. We landed at the Custom House and it did not disappoint.
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Adele let us eat quietly and then decided she wanted to join in on the fun too. It’s amazing to me that even at seven weeks old, she still wants to be a part of the action and she doesn’t want to miss anything! She’s always looking around, trying to take in as much as she can.  
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After lunch, we walked the boardwalk back to the hotel. It was a gorgeous day.
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A little too hot to sit outside in the sun, but a walk was perfect.
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Baby’s first time seeing the Ocean!
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Hi Jake and Daddy! I think they had fun pushing Adele down the pier. She loved the bumps and it put her to sleep!
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After we walked for a bit, I indulged in a Snow Cone!!!! I had been craving one of these for weeks!! Mmmm!
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What a gorgeous weekend for the beach! So perfect. We are so lucky we live close enough to visit here!
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Someday, you can play in the sand with all the other kids, Adele. You will LOVE it!
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Back in the hotel, we rested up, and some of us took a nap. (Again, she preferred the giant bed!) This picture cracks me up. A big fluffy bed, curtains billowing in the wind, and the ocean and palm trees right out the window. She is seriously spoiled!
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We took cues from the baby and made it an early night. Adele usually sleeps in her crib in her own room at home, but that night, she stayed in the same room as us in the hotel. We heard every little coo and sigh and she kept waking us up, but she did sleep for 8 solid hours, so we really can’t complain.  Ok, I know, we REALLY can’t complain.
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In the morning, we all headed out on a sunrise walk along a bike trail nearby. It was so great! We covered about three miles total.
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After that, we stopped at a deli to grab some breakfast. Adele again charmed our audience. She makes the funniest faces!
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The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out, feeding the baby, and reading stories.
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—->Insert Nap here!

(haha costume change!)
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Once Adele had a full tummy and had almost fallen asleep, it was time to hit the road back to LA.
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We had an awesome time and were very sad to be leaving so soon. Thanks J&J for inviting us up!
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The drive back started out really great. Not too much traffic, XM radio blasting, and cool air breezing through the sun roof.
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But let me just give you the bullet point list of how the rest of it went:

  • Baby starts crying 1 hour into the drive. Pull over at rest stop to feed her.
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  • Baby goes back into the car seat
  • We hit CRAAAZZZY Traffic on the highway
  • Baby starts crying… but we’re not moving!
  • Baby starts screaming bloody murder in that “why-do-you-hate-me” kind of wail.
  • We get off at the next possible exit… which is FIVE MILES ahead! And we’re maybe moving 2 miles an hour. Maybe.
  • Finally get off the highway and pull into a gas station. Adele has pooped….EVERYWHERE. And I’d already used up my ‘emergency onsie’. Mom Fail.
  • Clean up baby best we can… feed her a little more.
  • Pacifier falls onto the ground at the gas station. Ahhh Mom Fail. AGAIN! No pacifier for you, baby girl! grrr.
  • Put white noise on in the car… baby finally falls asleep.
  • Arrive home 2.5 hours later than originally planned.
  • …..but once we all go to sleep at home… Adele slept for 9 HOURS straight. That’s my girl Alls well that ends well, right?

Totally worth it though. It was an awesome weekend!
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Adele in the Desert–Part 2 July 24, 2012

Filed under: Baby,California,Family,Palm Springs,Travel — Kelocity @ 4:36 am
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The next morning, Adele woke us up at 6am (After sleeping for eight glorious hours through the night!!) She and I walked with Daddy over to the golf course. It was so beautiful and not too hot yet. We said bye to him and we went back to the room to hang out while he played a round.
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So what do two girls do when they are by themselves for a morning? PHOTOSHOOOOOT!
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And my favorite of the day…
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Oh my gosh, how is she mine?! She’s so beautiful!

We played and napped (both of us!) until we got a text that daddy was on the 17th hole! So we headed back over to the clubhouse to meet him for lunch.
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It was definitely warm out, but I kept the baby in the shade!
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I wish she could have seen how beautiful it was outside… but we’ll have to come back in the winter when the heat isn’t so bad!
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Mmmm Burgers!
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We splurged and ordered fried dill pickle spears! (I know, we’re getting crazy over here!)
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We chatted for a couple of hours overlooking the golfcourse and taking turns holding the baby. It was so nice to get away from home and escape our routine for a bit.
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She loves her daddy!
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Family picture!!
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Irving played a second round of golf in the afternoon (don’t ask me how he was able to be out in that sun all day long?!). Adele and I went back to the room while she napped and I watched trash tv. No shame.
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Once he was done and the baby was rested, we jumped in the car and headed to downtown Palm Springs for dinner.
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We walked the streets and did some people watching. So many awesome shops and restaurants down there.
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When we got engaged, we were staying in Palm Springs, so it brought back a lot of memories for us!

2008

2012
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Even though there were a ton of great-looking restaurants, we ended up at The Old Spaghetti Factory, which is one of my FAVORITE restaurants ever. EVER! (Every meal comes with a salad, bread, a drink… AND DESSERT!) Adele was a little fussy and we took turns pushing her stroller around the parking lot… you win some, you lose some, I guess. To her defense, it was a late dinner and she was DEFINITELY ready for bed. Whoops!
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When we got pregnant, our biggest concern was if we’d be able to keep up the pace at which we like to travel… but this weekend really gave us the confidence we needed to know that life doesn’t end when you have kids. Travel is a huge hobby of ours and we’re so excited to share it with Adele now. It just keeps getting better!
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Got any other kid-friendly So-Cal weekend getaway destinations?

 

Adele in the Desert–Part 1 July 23, 2012

Filed under: Baby,California,Family,Palm Springs — Kelocity @ 5:12 am
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It was bound to happen sooner or later… Baby’s first weekend away! In honor of our third anniversary, we decided to sneak away to Palm Springs for a couple of days in the desert! It would be Adele’s first time in a hotel! (Gotta start em’ while they’re young, right?) We packed our van full of everything we could possibly need for our family of three and hit the road. She did great and slept the whole two-hour drive there.
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We stayed at the La Quinta Resort. We picked it because it looked pretty comfortable and it had two golf courses on the property for dad (priorities!) It was a little far from the main attractions in Palm Springs, but since it was going to be so hot out, we weren’t planning on venturing out much with Adele anyways.
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The hotel had a rustic-chic feel. It is pretty old (built in 1926), but it had a lot of character and it was clean and comfortable, so I’d stay there again for sure.
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Irving and I have stayed in a LOT of hotels over the years…. but this was the first time our end tables looked like this while we were there! Funny how things change when you have a baby!
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When we got settled into the room, we set up her pack n’ play for her to sleep in. When time came for a nap, I tried to lie her down in it and she was fussing a bit. So I put her on our ridiculously comfy king sized bed… and she passed out.
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Uh-oh, we better watch out! She knows a good thing when she sees it! HA!
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We spent the first afternoon just hanging out and enjoying the quiet time together.
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Once the sun set and the temperature dropped (100* down to 80* !?!), we headed out for a delayed anniversary dinner. Cheers to three wonderful years of marriage and to our new addition!
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Water for the breast-feeding mama! Cheers!
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I spy a quiet sleeping baby in the background!

Table-Made guacamole! Don’t mind if we do! I seriously could (and did) eat it with a spoon. OHMYGOSH So good.
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After dinner, we enjoyed an evening stroll around the resort. The mountains were pretty silhouettes in the sky. So romantic and beautiful.
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Day 2 coming in the next post! But first… one more picture of my little girl…just because!
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Back in Time at the Paramount Ranch July 8, 2012

Filed under: Family,Los Angeles — Kelocity @ 5:55 am
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Ok, I know I was just preaching that there is more to do in Los Angeles than just Hollywood attractions…. but places like Paramount Ranch are still exciting to me. It’s an outdoor Hollywood movie set that looks like the Old West. They shot all kinds of Westerns there back in the day and it’s now public property.
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We thought it would be fun to walk around there for a bit to get out of the house for a morning.
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After we got our fill of Hollywood, we walked around the back to hike a little trail for a while.
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It was getting pretty warm out, but it was fun to do a little off-roading with the stroller.
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Spoiler Alert…apparently something punctured a tire on the stroller on the hike because we found it later it went flat!
Note to self: Carry a bike pump in stroller at all times!
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Paramount Ranch was on my LA bucket list, so it was so fun to check it out and cross it off the list!
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Anyone else know of any fun hidden gems in Los Angeles like this? I need to compile a list and do a post about things like this soon!