Happy Birthday, Tinner!!

Today is my big sis's 34th birthday!! I have called Christin, "Tin", for years. According to my mother, when I was little I couldn't pronounce all the letters of Chris's name, so Christin became "Tin". Since then, it has morphed into multiple variations....Tinny, Tinner, Tinski, etc. Even my friends refer to her as Tinny. It's quite funny to hear Foil ask..."How's Tinner and Mike?" I'm pretty sure Gina calls her Tinny most of the time as well. I love how the nickname has stuck, decades later.
I love this photo of Mike and Chris. It was taken in Canada, on a trip they made to visit Mike's family. They both look so great, and the sunset is gorgeous.

This is probably one of my favorite pictures of Chris and I. It was taken in 2005 (I think) at the Capital Club, for LeighAnn's birthday.

Chris came to visit me in California in June, it was a great weekend. We did a lot of relaxing and sightseeing. This picture was taken in the cactus garden at the Getty Museum. Some of my favorite Getty pictures are from this trip. It was also during Tin's trip to California where I discovered the hell and frustration that is LA traffic. I thought Seattle traffic was bad, it pales in comparison.

Today Tin and I are spending the day in Ballard, and I'm really looking forward to it. On the itinerary? Breakfast at The Dish on Leary (best Eggs Benedict in the city), then some boutique shopping in Ballard, followed by a movie at the Majestic Bay Theater (Burn After Reading, I think). Should be a super fun day!!!

Welcome to California, Chris!!

Chris came to visit John and I this past weekend. She arrived on Thursday morning, and stayed until Monday afternoon. We had a blast! And I can't wait for her next visit!! On Thursday I picked her up at the Burbank airport and we headed back to Valencia. I showed her around the area that we live in, and we went to the pool for an afternoon dip. That evening we went out to dinner, then went and saw Sex and the City. Great movie if you are a fan of the HBO series!!

On Friday we headed out for some fun at the beach. Although the temperature outside was mild, the sun decided to hide the entire time we were at the beach!! We went to Zuma Beach in Malibu.
The Hilton girls with their cameras, what are you gonna do?
We had the pleasure of watching a lifeguard rescue while we were at the beach. There were like 8 girls that managed to float out too far from shore and had to be helped back in by like 4 lifeguards with the help of the lifeguard boat. No one was hurt.
Here is a shot of the Baywatch boys on their way back to their post. Unfortunately, we didn't see any gratuitous running scenes on the beach. Then again, they didn't have Pam Anderson sized breasts either.
We enjoyed a super yummy lunch at Howdy's Taquira in Malibu. What is up with the public restroom situation in Malibu? It is like they shun you for having to evacuate your bodily waste. The only restroom we could find in the little complex was the one by Howdy's, but there was always a line like 5 people long. We went to Starbucks thinking they would have a restroom, but they didn't (and they made really crappy drinks! Side note: Starbucks, you are dead to me. I will blog about you another day when I have more energy).
Unfortunately, no celebrity sightings for us in Malibu. Maybe next time!

The Observatory at Griffith Park

On Saturday, Chris and I went to the Griffith Observatory at Griffith Park in Los Angeles. Griffith Park is over 4,000 acres, and is apparently the largest municipal park in the United States. There are tons of hiking and biking trails, as well as picnic locations. We decided to check out the Griffith Observatory, then have a picnic lunch.
This is a shot of Chris with the Hollywood sign way back in the distance. It was the first time I have seen the sign since I moved here 2 months ago. It is quite a strenuous hike to get to the actual sign, so we declined since we were both wearing skirts and flip flops. It would definitely be fun to do at some point though!
The actual Observatory is pretty cool. Awesome architecture. Those two dome like structures on the right and left sides of the building have huge telescopes in them. As you can see, the one on the right was partially open.
This shot is looking south to Los Angeles.
There are these cool archways around the largest dome of the building.
Awesome mural right in the entrance of the Observatory. I think Griffith Park might be my new go-to place when visitors come to town! There is so much to do and see, I'm excited to bring John there. I'm sure he will be all over the bike trails.

Last visit to the Getty for awhile.....

Chris and I made a trip to the Getty Museum on Sunday. It was gorgeous up there, as usual! The sky looked amazing, lots of bright blue with contrasting white fluffy clouds.
Here is a shot of Chris near the cacti gardens.
My attempt at taking a picture from a perspective other than my own. I like the way the yellow looks against the blue and white of the sky.
More of the flower gardens.....
I'm hoping that this will be my last trip to the Getty for awhile:) Not that I don't love it there, but I have been there 4 times in less than two months. I've been there so much I have started to critique art that I have no right to critique. Example: I told my sister that Claude Monet "phoned in" his painting titled Sunrise. What can I say? It isn't one of my favorites:)