Christmas Break, Part Two

The day after Christmas, we left for the airport.  We headed off to southern California for the 2nd part of our Christmas with Elvin's family.  It's so nice that the kids can now help with the luggage and that we bring booster seats instead of huge car seats.

Gabe got a pair of binoculars from Grandpa Rice and put them to good use at the airport.

Once we arrived, we got situated at the hotel and went out to find dinner.  In the food court area of a mall, they had a large plaque with holes cut out for you to stick you face into.  The kids had lots of fun with that.  You'll notice that Gabe is doing a good job pretending to be a doggie by sticking his tongue out.  Eliana is even facing the right way.

We went to a handmade ice cream shop where Eliana got a cone.  Elvin tried their taro cream.

Karina and Gabe got popsicles.

The hotel we stayed at had a huge chair.  The kids loved climbing all over it and then invited Yeh-yeh and Nai-nai to join them.

The next day, we headed off to the Long Beach Aquarium.  Long Beach happens to be where Elvin and Emily got married...  So before getting to the Aquarium, we stopped at the church were we had the ceremony.  We took pictures in front because we couldn't get inside.  Overall, the kids were not that impressed.

Almost 15 years later...we tried to re-create the picture from our wedding.

Note sure we did a very good job...

The Long Beach Aquarium had quite a bit of things to see.  

Xiao Yu wanted to pose by the guy wearing the otter suit.

There was a sculpture of a hammerhead shark and it was made up of (literally) the heads of lots of hammers.  Gabriel loves puns and appreciated this one.

They had an exhibit with these weird and beautiful looking jellyfish that glowed in the dark.  They were about the size of a golf ball.

They had lots of exhibits where the workers would explain about the habitat and how they take care of the fish.

During lunch, we enjoyed the pleasant sunny weather.

We went into the lorikeet enclosure where the kids got to feed them some nectar.

Once the birds land on you, they don't go away until all the nectar is gone from the little cup.

Later on, Eliana put her hoodie on so that she didn't accidentally get pooped on.

Xiao Yu enjoyed the experience.

Overall, we enjoyed the aquarium.  Here is the main foyer.  This is where we had our wedding reception, with that great blue whale hanging above.

Here is a picture from the day of the wedding, a decade-and-a-half ago...

Afterwards, walking around, the kids found another huge chair.   

The next day, we visited the La Brea Tar Pits.  It's this place in Los Angeles where tar is bubbling up from the ground.  It's been happening for thousands of years and over the course of time, scientists have discovered the skeletons of thousands of animals that got stuck in the tar and died.  They've found creatures from the ice age, such as the well-known woolly mammoths and saber toothed cats, as well as more obscure animals such as the North American camel and a North American lion.

We decided to watch a 3D movie, so everyone got a pair of special glasses.

The workers there offer to take a picture of you in front of a blue screen, and then superimpose the image onto funny backdrops.  Here is one with Elvin and the boys.  We didn't purchase the picture--hence the watermark on it.  But you can make out Elvin and the boys seemingly drowning in a large pit of tar.

Outside, the kids climbed onto a statue of a prehistoric sloth.  They were HUGE back then.

And here is a statue of a pre-historic bear, which got as tall as 12 feet when standing up!

Afterwards, we went to a mall for lunch and Eliana spotted the Sprinkles cupcake shop.  She has been watching the show Sugar Rush on Netflix and recognized right away that one of the judges on the show owns this chain of cupcake stores.

Back at the hotel, the kids this time wanted the parents to get onto the big red chair.

And they wanted a silly picture!

The next day, we decided to stay close to the hotel.  In the morning, the kids played some games, such as dominos.

Then we headed off to the beach, which was right across the street.  It was sunny and in the 60's.  Too cold for the parents, but the kids were not deterred.

They dug a hole and a network of channels.

They also played in the waves.  To keep from getting pushed over by the waves, they would hold each other's hands for more stability.

After that, they went to the pool.  This pool was technically heated.  But not warm enough for the adults!

Even the kids wanted to get into the hot tub to warm up!

Eliana is our amphibian and loves the water, not matter what temperature.

We had a very hearty dinner at a local diner.

That night, we had s'mores at a fire pit that the hotel provided.

It was pretty yummy!

And on our last day there, before leaving for the airport, we got a bite to eat at the food court.  The kids wanted the adults to pose!

And so that was our time in Los Angeles!