March Madness

March must be the month to visit California because we got to see so many great people last week. My mom left on Monday night, my aunts stayed with us on Tuesday, Ross stayed with us on Wednesday, and then I got to hang out with Ashley all day on Saturday. Best week ever!! When we picked up my aunts from LAX on Tuesday it was the middle of rush hour so we went to dinner at...........CAFE RIO. They came all the way from Utah to eat at Cafe Rio with Al and I. I've been dying to go to the new one in Manhattan Beach, so thank you for going with us:) I've heard a few people say that it's not as good as the ones in Utah......hahahahhaha They are the same EVERYWHERE. They were the same in Nevada and they are the same here. It's like California people saying In N Out is better in California. In Utah it's just trendy to go to In N Out unless you grew up with it like Tonya:) Anyway enough about that. After dinner we went and walked around Manhattan Beach which is a new personal favorite.
Look how clean this beach is.

We went to the Manhattan Beach Aquarium at the end of the pier and got to see all 4 fish tanks.

We walked along the beach and admired all the houses that we wished we owned.

This one was my favorite.

Spicy Fruit cart spotted on the 110N
On Wednesday night we went to dinner with Ross at the long awaited Pizzeria Mozza. Al and I have tried to go to dinner here 3 times and there was always at least an hour wait.
We ordered the Caprese appetizer which was barely enough for 1 person.

Al's fennel sausage, panna, red onions and scallion pizza that was really good. The flavors were bold and complimented one another. I wasn't sure what the hype was all about until I read an article that talks about how Mario Batali from the Food Network owns it. That still means nothing to me, but apparently it means a lot to all the other people that are there every night. Pizzeria Mozza is on my overpriced good list.

Saturday was such a beautiful day we decided to check out Runyon Canyon in Hollywood. I have to say Runyon was one of the more interesting hikes I've been on.
When you first walk in there is a little grass area that is covered with people doing yoga, pilates, and other stretches I've never seen. Based on the amount of dogs I saw within the first 5 minutes I wouldn't be laying anywhere on that grass.

There were huge cracks like this all over the trails which I'm guessing are from earthquakes. Maybe even the one that woke me up in the middle of the night two weeks ago.
The view of Runyon. There were so many people and dogs everywhere.
The first look out point....Century City
Los Angeles
2nd Look out Point
Hollywood Hills Houses with the Hollywood sign in the background
The end of the hike where all dog owners fight over water for their dogs
1,2,3,4,5,6,7 dogs walking with these 2 people.....lol
The views were beautiful, the dogs were annoying. Next time I go back I'm going on a week day.
After Runyon we picked Ashley up and I got to hang out with her for the rest of the day. We had lunch with Al at Granville Cafe
It was so much fun to see her and great to have a shopping buddy again. Come back soon Ash, come back.....

Al Goes To Hollywood

Last night was supposed to be Al's big debut on Greys Anatomy. At least thats what the producer told us..... After a company wide email being sent to Als co-workers and telling everyone important we knew, we were ready to watch the long awaited liver tumor removal scene. Everyone kept texting us saying they didn't see him. We thought Al's chance at fame was shot and they cut his scene, but turns out the episode aired last week.
After all the hype and we missed it, our lives are over. Here are some shots of the airtime Al got. Al is on the left. Bottom middle. Isn't the back of his head so hot
Once again on the left.
If you want to watch the episode go to Hulu.com and watch season 6 episode 17. The scene starts around 31 minutes. If you would like one of these pictures autographed I will see what I can do.

On The Go

My mom came to visit us for the weekend and I packed 7 days of activities into 4. The first night we drove her by the LA Temple. It's not like Utah where you can just walk up to them.
On Friday morning we had breakfast at Toast Bakery Cafe in L.A. The food gets better and better everytime I eat there.
How is this for breakfast....fresh fruit, a portobello omelet with fresh avocado and marble rye bread. I love Toast!!

We spent the day in Hollywood with all the tourists. A view from Kodak Theater....I never knew you could see the Hollywood sign from right here.

We went to the Hollywood Wax Museum

The horror chamber was the worst. It had tons of famous actors from horror movies like Halloween, Silence of The Lambs, Frankenstein, Saw....basically anything you could think of. We were so scared we ran out of it...lol Ben Affleck and ME
Good ol Hef

Mission Impossible

Our Next stop was the Hollywood Guiness World Of Records Museum (It was a packaged deal). The museums must be struggling because we were the only ones in there.

There was some random stuff in there. Pretty goofy.

My mom and I as midgets
The worlds biggest fruits and vegetables
Chinese Theater
There were so many performers and look alikes out on Hollywood Blvd....even Big BirdWe went and saw Alice in Wonderland 3-D at El Capitan. All the Disney premieres are here and they always have a Disney movie playing even if it's an old one.
The theater is pretty amazing inside and they decorate it for every movie. Someone plays Disney songs on an organ until the movie starts
They also have a little show before the movie starts with streamers and other fun suprises. Every movie should be like that!!
On Saturday we took her to the freak show at Venice Beach. Al and I have noticed that everytime we go there the same street performers are there in the same spot doing the same thing. This guy must get so sick of painting himself gold.
How would you like to have this on top of your car??
This was another sweet ride we saw....all murdered out
We went to the Fashion District in downtown LA after the beach to introduce my mom to bacon wrapped hot dogs and spicy fruit. She also ended up buying some sandals from this Asian place. They seriously had at least 500 different shoes. You take the shoe you want to the girl and she yells to some guy in the back and gives the description of the shoe. Then the shoe comes flying down a broken conveyor belt and she yells "Your Shoes Are Ready"!! Now that's what I call service.
Later that night we went to The Getty. My mom studied art in college so I knew she would love and appreciate it.
I haven't been to the Getty since I was 20 and I forgot how beautiful it is.
The gardens were amazing.
and so were the grapes
I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack when she saw this Edgar Degas painting.
I almost had one when I saw this Monet painting. When I studied abroad in Europe we went on a tour of his house and gardens and it was so amazing. I think I have a picture in front of this exact spot....if digital cameras existed then I would probably have 20. After The Getty we took my mom to Roys for her birthday. Al and I love Roys!!
I love when the waiters come around and ask you how the flavors are. Roys is all about flavors and I love it!!

Roys is also awesome with birthdays. They give you a personalized dessert and then take a group picture and frame it for you
My mom and I thought it was really cool to wear our 3-D glasses all weekend, so here she is wearing them on our way to church. Everything is cooler in 3-D

Our feet were so sore from walking everywhere we went to this Chinese foot clinic in Alhambra that only charges $15 for a 1 hour foot massage. A few people told me about it and this was the perfect opportunity to try it. I didn't really know what to expect when we got there, but as soon as my mom and I walked in we started laughing. Every single chair had someone in it and I swear it resembled a sweat shop. The massage was pretty relaxing and definatley worth $15. The best was at the end when she just walked off and I was like Uhhhh I guess she is done?? Ohhhh Asians

Afterwards we had our final spicy fruit and it was the best one I've had yet. It had cocunut, cantelope, jicama, cucumber, watermelon, mango, and orange.

Before I took my mom to the airport we met up with my Uncle David that lives in Studio City. He took us to sushi in Hollywood for my moms Birthday and Pinkberry afterwards!!

He drove us around the Hollywood Hills and Bevery Hills showing us famous peoples houses. It was better than any Star Tour which by the way I totally want to go on one. He drove us by the biggest mansion in L.A. that is decorated by Versaille and is for sale for 15o million. This is the best picture I could get from the car.

Check out this mailbox It was so great having my mom in town. I wish we could see her more, but maybe we will all live closer again someday:)