IKEA and Santa Monica/Venice Beach

Today, we went to IKEA in the morning and had the breakfast there. Last year when my parents came out to visit, I took them to IKEA, they had never been. So, my Mom went home and told my family about the store, so we had to show them what it was all about.

After our adventure to IKEA, we headed to Venice Beach and Santa Monica.
My niece, Amara, had never seen the Ocean or been on a Beach. So, this too was exciting.

Here are some pictures of the girls time at the beach. And YES, they even got in the water. Once we arrived at the beach, our goal was to head straight to the beach. My parents were going to set up there and keep the girls there, so we didn't have to walk them on the boardwalk at Venice. My Dad didn't think the girls should be exposed to that. So, we started walking out there, as soon as we hit the sand, Amara (she was walking w/Jason), started jumping up and down. Jason asked her if she wanted to walk in the sand without her shoes, and she didn't even respond verbably, she just kicked her shoes off for him to pick up. Next thing we know she is walking along the sand towards the beach with everyone in tow, stripping her clothes off. As soon as she got close, she just jumped right in the water. We were all shocked, we didn't have a chance to warn her that it would be cold. She didn't care, it didn't seem to affect her one bit. Hannah just followed right in the water. Neither one of them cared how cold the water was, they had so much fun and really enjoyed themselves. It makes me so happy that they had a great trip. Tomorrow is the day they leave. I will miss them.

Maybe this will be an annual family trip!