spending time with family

HYDE GET-TOGETHER

cousins
I had a great time the last two days visiting with my extended family. Sunday we all got together because my cousin Lisa and her daughter Charis flew into town from North Carolina for a visit. Her son David also spent the day with us, but later that day had to go back to his base. So the day started off eating some yummy fried chicken for lunch (eating is always a good time - hahaha!). We sat around and talked for awhile, catching up and such, and then decided to head out on a walk (outside the mobile home park where my grandparents live) over to the local stores around the corner. We went into the Exotic Birds store where the birds are out in the open and you can pet and hold them...kinda cool! I was a little afraid, not sure why, so I didn't hold any. I just enjoyed watching everyone else and took some pictures of them.David with the birds...
After shopping we went back to the house and spent some more time just catching up. Later that night, after we left G&G's house, I hung out at Cousin Cathy & Don's house for a few hours. Um, yea...they had me trying new foods! For anyone that truly knows me, you know that I'm a picky eater! So this was scary for me! heehee :) Ok, so from Don's garden, I tried some fresh tomatoes, and a raddish. Then Cathy made this stuffed chicken breast with broccoli. So are you wondering how it went? I liked all of it! :) Kinda crazy!!!!

HOLLYWOOD & VENICE

So I took a 1/2 day at work and decided to hang out with my cousins out in LA. The younger girls really wanted to go see Kat Von D's tattoo shop, LA Ink, so we spent the day doing all the fun tourist stuff out there. They got to see the Hollywood sign (which Charis said was more exciting for her than seeing the Eiffel Tower - surprising!), Grauman's Chinese Theater, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame:doesn't Robin look like Seth Green?Charis & Evan "Best Cousin Award"Lisa at Billy Graham's star

Then we were on the hunt for LA Ink (High Voltage Tattoo). We found it and the girls were so excited! We parked the car and took a few pictures in front of the building...and then got a tip that there may be a few of the artists behind the building. So we headed back there, and sure enough...the girls were able to take a picture with Corey Miller and Kim Saigh(two of the artists from the tv show) - they also thought that Pixie was there, but she didn't get up to take a picture with the girls. Evan was so happy...it was the best part of her day! :) Cathy - Lisa - JodyCharis - Corey - Kim - Evan

After the excitement of Hollywood, we headed towards Beverly Hills. We hopped out of the car and took a few pictures in front of the sign and then drove through the expensive neighborhoods, keeping our eyes peeled for famous people out and about. We didn't get to see any, but we did see the Osbourne mansion!Evan & CharisCathy & JodyLisa & Christy

Next, we went shopping on Rodeo Dr. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford to buy anything...but we did see some paparazzi - again, no luck seeing anyone famous.
Last thing we did in the LA area was go to Venice Beach. We walked around, did some shopping, saw the hunks at muscle beach, the girls (Charis & Evan) got henna tattoos, I got some yummy funnel cake, and then it was time to head back to our hometown.
We finished off the fun-filled day with dinner at a Meditteranean restaurant in Claremont. I was a little nervous to try the food, but I really did enjoy it a lot! Cathy and Christy are good at getting me to try new foods! I'm sure I'll be eating a lot more foods than I ever thought I would now that I get to spend more time with them :)

Anyway, it was a great day (and weekend)! I'm so glad that I was able to take some time off of work yesterday to spend time with the girls. Its not very often that I get to see Lisa and Charis, so that was especially nice! Thanks girls, for letting me hang out with you guys yesterday! I can't wait for our trip to NY next year! Let's get planning!!! :)