We started at the Museum of Natural History, which isn’t a new spot for us, but is definitely a favorite!

What I especially loved about this visit was my Kindergartener’s interest in taking pictures of all the exhibits. . .

I got the only family picture of our trip with my timer while had a snack break outside the museum.

After our snack, we walked across the street to begin the new part of our adventure with a ride on the metro!

Our destination was iconic Union Station, with its art deco design and proximity to some of the oldest parts of Los Angeles.

We had lunch at another iconic locale, Phillipe’s.  Delicious French Dip!

Then, we walked a few blocks to Chinatown where we shopped for treasures (my 4-year-old found a fan embroidered with a dragon!) and enjoyed the architecture.

A few more blocks and we had a taste of a different culture at Olvera Street.

We headed back to Union Station to catch the metro back to Exposition Park, site of the History Museum (and our car).

Once back at the park, we strolled through the Exposition Park Rose Garden. . .

. . . and wrapped up our adventurous site-seeing day by flying the kite we bought in Chinatown earlier that day!

We had an amazing day playing tourist in L.A.!

10 on 10 is a monthly installment, 10 images (or maybe a few more!) posted on the 10th of the month, with 10 (or maybe a few less!) photographer’s playing along.  So, go check out Milwaukee Photographer Melissa Schuett‘s 10 for this month!

Last month, I participated in the most challenging running event of my career — Ragnar.  It’s a team relay race stretching almost 200 miles, broken into 36 different legs.  The traditional Ragnar team has 12 runners, each covering 3 of those 36 legs.  I did that last year and it was amazing.  This year, we took the challenge and craziness to a whole new level, doing it as “Ultra” team, which means we had only 6 runners covering the 36 legs.  So, we each had 6 legs to run.  My legs ranged from 4.7 miles at the shortest to 6.9 miles at the longest, and all told, I covered 34.1 miles for my team.

Teams start early in the morning on a Friday and don’t get to the finish line until Saturday afternoon.  Our team took 34 hours to cover the nearly 200 miles through SoCal from Huntington Beach to San Diego.

The fun (or crazy, maybe?!) part is that your team is responsible for getting each runner to and from the exchange points.  So, you rent a big van and after your runner takes off, you drive to the next exchange to get the next runner ready.  Repeat that 35 times, non-stop, throughout the night (along with over 600 other teams!) and you get one crazy fun event!

Runners are a fun, spirited, encouraging group.  And we’re a little wacky.  Ragnar is not complete without goofy team names, decorated vans, tracking “kills” (other runners you pass during your legs), fun outfits (like tutus and costumes), and more.  It’s kind of like a good-spirited, fitness-minded college frat party (minus the booze — that’s not til the finish line!).

Before we get to the finish, though, we have to start.  Our team start was at 6:45 a.m. on Friday morning.  I had the pleasure of being Runner #1 for Team Hexagon[e] (a nod to our 6-person Ultra status, and that we’ve “gone” a little cuckoo for attempting it!).

Our lovely team captain and driver made us some pretty sweet tutus to sport. . .

And we chugged through the miles in good spirits and with no injuries, even in the scorching afternoon heat of Corona!

The going gets tough once the sun sets.  The fatigue of the miles you’ve already covered sets in and with darkness all around, you just want to curl up and fall asleep.  But, there are miles ahead and mile to tick through, so you deliriously chug on. . .

And once the dawn comes on Saturday, it brings a renewed hope that you’re through the tough part and that you will actually make it to the finish line!

But you still take every chance you can to catch some zzzzzz’s.

When you hit your last leg, it’s a crazy, exhilarating, humbling, and joyous experience.  Proud to have not let your team down, proud for pushing your body to the limit and proud to have done it with such an awesome group of people.  One last hug to send our final runner off on Leg 36, bringing it on home. . .

Alas, 34ish hours later, we reached the finish!!!!!

We enjoyed some pizza and beer, headed back home, slept like babies and woke up the next morning with Ragnar withdrawal. . . wanting to pull on those running shoes and pink and blue tutu for just a few more miles!

Now, head over to Spokane Photographer Creatively Yours for a little more “10 on 10″ excitement!

We spent a day on the downhill slopes, but our true love is cross-country skiing.  It’s a perfect family activity and something my boys have already grown to love.  Seeing them out there on skis fills me with joy!

California Spring skiing is the best way to do it.  Nearly 50 degrees with gorgeous sunny skies. . . don’t forget the sunglasses!

Our old lady dog, Maggie, is 13 years old and still going as strong as (if a bit slower than) she used to.  In her younger years (when she was our only “kid”), she came along on many ski trips with us, so it was great that she could join us on this one.

Even though this is “10 on 10″ I’m sharing one bonus image for the day, the only family picture we got during our trip.  We skied to Minaret Vista for a picnic lunch and enjoyed the stunning view of the Sierras, feeling like we were literally and figuratively on top of the world!

It’s not a true “10 on 10″ without a little sharing, so head over to see what Spokane Photographer Creatively Yours by Kelly Q has for this month!

We’ve never been very big into Valentine’s Day.  Of course we love each other, but we would never be considered sappy romantics.  In fact, my practical (like me) husband and I went out on a celebratory date last night to avoid the crowds and hustle and bustle of tonight!  Now that we have kids, though, I love the idea of Valentine’s Day being less about the sap and more about the love.  Watching my boys happily open all their valentines at their school parties this week was the highlight of the holiday.  They showed such innocence and joy, truly delighted that they got a sweet little note from each of their classmates.  It’s that innocent joy and the feeling of being special, loved and appreciated by so many is the best part of Valentine’s Day!

Uh oh, gotta keep your eye on the ball!

Now, go have a peek at Milwaukee, Wisconsin photographer Melissa Schuett‘s 10 for this month!

We are an outdoorsy family.  We love to hike and camp and just get outside!  While having kids has slowed our pace down a bit, we still like to get out for a camping trip at least once a summer.  This past summer, however, we just never found the right weekend.  The perk to living in Southern California is that the weather is warm enough (and probably even better!) for camping in the fall.  This trip marked a first for us, however, with the rental of a pop-up camper.  We have been 100% tent campers up until this point.  But a few months back, my husband got an itch to put a hitch on our mini-van, knowing that it would make it look tougher AND that we could pull a camper!  So, we rented a little A-Liner for the weekend and headed to Ventura County.  My boys were in heaven!

It was cloudy where we camped, but we headed north through Ojai into the mountains.  We went over one pass and then the sky was completely clear blue.  We hit a fun trail that crossed a stream numerous times, which was quite the adventure for my little hikers.

As we got back to our car my husband says, “Well, we did it!  We found a place near L.A. that we didn’t see another person for over 2 hours!”

As we drove back toward our campground, you could see the clouds oozing over the mountains.  As we drove back up into it, it was so cool to see the exact line of 2 completely different weather systems colliding!

In my opinion, the downside to camping with a camper or RV is that most of the campgrounds feel more like parking lots than actual camp sites.  The perk of going in October is that the campground was only about 30% full, so we had plenty of space to stretch out and the other trailer pads made a great spot for bike riding and casting practice.

It’s not camping if there’s not a little relaxing, right! 

And my absolute favorite part about camping is the smores!

We woke up on Sunday and drove out of the mountains toward the ocean.  We found a fabulous little park and picnic area at Sycamore Cove in Ventura for our picnic lunch.

We had time for a little more casting. . .

Running our toes through the water. . .

Playing in the sand. . .

And we even had a little visitor, right off the beach. . . a sea lion!

When I get caught up in the hustle and bustle and crowds and rat race that is Los Angeles, it’s so nice to have a weekend like this to make me truly appreciate the beauty of California and the good fortune that we get to spend a few years living here!

Even though this was more like a “22 on 10,” I still do this as part of a project with some other fab photographers.  Head on over to check out what Chicago Photographer Britt Anderson has for this month!

As a runner myself, I was eager to go cheer her on, camera in hand, of course!

The race started with a 1 mile swim at Venice Beach.  We arrived at dawn to a beautiful and peaceful scene, the full moon still hanging low in the sky over the ocean.

As the sun came up, the waves of competitors started.  Emily was in the wave with all the women, which was the 8th or 9th to start.

Throughout the morning the waves kept coming, in, well, waves.  It would be relatively calm for a few minutes, then these enormous swells would come in.  As luck would (or maybe would not) have it, just as Emily’s wave started, the swells got huge.  At this moment, I was pretty darn glad I was on shore as a spectator!  But, Emily is a great swimmer and the waves didn’t get her down.  She charged through and came out of the water as one of the top swimmers from her starting wave!

Next, she hopped on my borrowed road bike for a 24 mile trip to downtown Los Angeles.

I hopped in my car to get there and due to infamous L.A. traffic, she actually beat me!  I did make it in time to see her smoking the 10K run (in 36:42!).

She did amazing!  And her efforts earned her a 5th place finish in her age division, which meant special recognition on stage and a nice shiny medal to take home!

As always, you can check out what some of my talented female photographer friends have been up to with their take of “10 on 10″ by following our blog circle.  There’s no better place to start than with Milwaukee Photographer Melissa Schuett!

So we built a simple homemade pinhole viewer so we could safely view the eclipse and headed toward the coast.  And when we got to the beach, the coastal clouds were in full effect, creating a natural filter for viewing, not to mention some pretty spectacular skies.

I love that we got to enjoy this rare sight in such a beautiful place!

And it’s not just the interior that holds treasures.  In front of the library is a charming little park, filled with fountains and sculptures and {trees}, perfect for 2 little explorers!

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

I have 2 images to share that I feel sum up the experience.  The first is our team, heading for the finish chute approximately33 hours after we set out on the journey.

The second image was taken with my iphone as I ran the final mile of my fourth and final leg (Leg #27).  In my exhaustion, the beauty of the foggy coastline did not escape me.  Nor did the camaraderie of other runners, not participating in the race but who just happened to be out for their Saturday morning workout, who cheered and offered encouragement.  It’s quite different than the finish line of a major marathon (what greeted me the last times I covered over 26 miles in less than a 24-hour period), but no less a cause for joy and celebration and relief!

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

Our first stop — after a few pitstops along Palos Verdes Drive to soak in the scenery — was the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, with views of the Point Vicente Lighthouse.  You can spy Catalina Island off in the distance.

And while coming back for a sunset view from this scene is now on my bucket list, the harsh midday sun does brighten the crashing seas below to a beautiful shade of turquoise.

The Point Vicente Interpretive Center is a whale-watching hub.  There’s a beautiful (and free-of-charge) museum to explore and volunteers are set up on the balcony outside to watch for migrating whales, which travel the channel between here and Catalina.  My youngest son was on the lookout and we actually spotted a couple of whales while on watch!

Although, we had a better view of the life-size models inside the museum!

Some wildlife above the waves put on a nice show, too.

Heading south around the peninsula, our next stop was Abalone Cove Shoreline Park where we enjoyed more fantastic views and a picnic lunch.

Our last stop was Wayfarers Chapel, a small, beautiful church made of glass and stone with beautiful gardens and beautiful views.

Certainly a place of peace and reflection, it was also a fun place for a 5-year-old and 2-year-old to run and be silly.  We had pushed our outing right up to naptime and were in danger of going past the point-of-no-return.  Before complete melt down mode, I managed to get a few pictures of my 5-year-old, and this is one of my favorites:

There you have it, 10 images of one of my favorite places.  If you ever find yourself in Los Angeles with a few free hours, you have to go explore Palos Verdes!

Be sure to visit the other photographer’s taking part in the “10 on 10″ challenge for this year.  Hop on over to North Shore and Lake County, IL Photographer, Britt Anderson’s blog to see 10 fabulous macro images, a perfect welcome for spring!

I was quite pleased with my haul from this week and had set up these pictures before I even realized what this week’s theme was — finally, an easy week for me!

So, here it is, what $25 buys you at the El Segundo Farmer’s Market:

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

We love the little Roundhouse Aquarium at the end of the pier, watching the surfers, and sometimes locking up our bicycles and heading up the hill to the central plaza.  A couple of weeks ago, with my Sister-In-Law out for a visit from Pennsylvania, we treated her to a day doing some of our favorite things!  The bonus is that it was a Tuesday, the day of the weekly Manhattan Beach Farmer’s Market!

We enjoyed the warm February day on our bikes, watching the waves, picking out some organic produce, and feasting on some tasty bites. . . definitely a perfect SoCal day!

Please check out Savannah Photographer Britt Anderson‘s Ten next!

This week is {spirit} and after coming up empty-handed all week, the lightbulb clicked late this afternoon when my 2-year-old ran into the family room with swim goggles on and said, “C’mon, Mommy, let’s go in the sprinklers!”  Who could argue when the temperature was 80-degrees here in SoCal, so the kiddie pool and sprinklers came out!  At that very moment I decided that my interpretation of {spirit} was going to be {spirited} otherwise known as {spunk}.  This boy had plenty of whatever we’re calling it to go around!

Since I was going for {spunk} I grabbed my wide angle 16-35mm lens.  It’s the newest addition to my arsenal of lenses and it’s been fun to play with.  The distortion is a lot different than how I usually shoot, but at times, I’ve come to love it.  Just like today.

And, since I’m going way out there with my loose interpretation of the theme, and my crazy lens, I figure I’ll get even wilder and post 3 pictures for this week.  I might as well really go for it, eh?   So, here it is, my 2-year-old, full of {spirit}!

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

1. Trader Joe’s Swiss Dark Chocolate with whole hazelnuts.  This is, hands down, my absolute favorite chocolate.  Brimming with whole hazelnuts, they add a fantastic texture to the smooth dark chocolate.  Yum!

2.  For a little healthier snack, I discovered these apple chips at Costco a few weeks ago.   They are crispy and slightly tart, with a good dose of sweetness, too.  A fantastic swap for potato chips in size, feel, and texture.  And while they don’t have the salty zing of a good potato chip, that tart apple zing more than makes up for it.  These totally satisfy my craving for potato chips.  And my kids love them!

3.  My morning coffee.  I’m not exactly addicted to coffee, but my day is much better when I start out with a good mug.  My favorite way to make it a little more exciting is to sprinkle some cinnamon over the grounds, so as the water drips through, it picks up just a hint of cinnamon-y goodness. Cinnamon has all sorts of good things for your body, and can help reduce your blood sugar.  So I get a 1-2 punch with my little trick — a super tasty cup of joe AND some goodness for my body!

4.  Words With Friends.  I was introduced to this when my girlfriends visited a couple of weeks ago and now I’m hooked.  I hadn’t played scrabble in ages, so I had to dust some cobwebs off.  I lost every single one of my first games (I think I started about 10 or 12 the first night I played).  But I’m on my 2nd and 3rd round with some games and I’m starting to get the hang of the tricks. . . I may even win a few games this go round!  If you have an iPhone or iPad, you have to get this game.  There’s a free version (you just have to deal with a few ads) and it’s so addicting!

We discovered a little stairway to the roof and were treated with a stylish garden and fantastic views of Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles.

Of course we had some dressed-up nights out on the town. . .

And we enjoyed way too many sweet treats, eating our way through L.A. with stops at Bouchon Bakery and Sprinkles Cupcakes!

We did the touristy stops to Hollywood & Highland, seeing the Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

We also trekked over to the seaside, driving up the coast to Malibu and cruising the Santa Monica Pier.

We finished up our weekend with lunch at another iconic Los Angeles spot — In-N-Out Burger!

I loved playing tourist in my new hometown, and of course loved hanging with my girls!  Any other great L.A. spots that I need to add to my list?

It’s not technically perfect, but when I think about my husband entertaining my silly request to kiss me in the driveway while juggling (and hiding from the shadow) my camera as at least a dozen cars drove past I know that this is {romance}.  He certainly knows the way to my heart!

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin

As always, you can follow along with several other talented photographers in the Photo-a-week project for 2012. Here’s here’s the list!
Michelle, Heather, Jenn, Heather. Rhonda, Tracey, Stacey, Andrea, Jessica, Amanda, Sarah, Janet, Lesli, Carla, Lena, Rose, Naomi, Tracy, Heidi, Veronica, Amy, Kristin