When planning this trip Alexis and I tried to be sensitive on the first day and not cram too many things into Jennie & Meredith’s first day on our coast… we still ended up forcing them to stay awake for nearly 24 hours, but we tried to take it slow the first day.

Our second day, we showed no mercy. We packed it as full as it could possibly get. The interesting part is some of the things on our list Alexis and I had never done so it really was an adventure for all of us! The morning started with the Friday itinerary out with the coffee. HUGE thank you again to my wonderful and talented friend Jenny who designed and printed the daily itineraries for us, if you’re looking for a graphics designer you NEED to check out her work!
Our first stop was Da Vinci Science. The school plays an important roll in our lives… and it’s magical… and we needed to drop Noah off for school, so a tour seemed like the perfect place to start our day. ;]♥Our next stop was the Santa Monica Pier. Fun fact: there are more people living in the state of California than living in ALL of Canada.Someone got a little worn out running around the school and running around at the beach. Stop #2? Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills. I don’t think I have ever walked through Beverly Hills, but when we heard about the Cupcake ATM on Bunheads we immediately added it to our list of must-do’s.The Canadians got cupcakes… the Americans got ice cream. It was hot.Stop #3: The Hollywood Sign. This is another thing I’ve never done having lived in Los Angeles my whole life! I mean, from my house on a clear day I can see the sign but it’s a tiny little speck. I’ve never been *this* close. It was very fun for all of us as we were driving closer, it would be hidden behind buildings for awhile and then we’d turn and be like oh my gosh we’re SO close!! Very exciting.Also, the Hollywood Sign has been on our list for years. YEARS. And just a week or so before Jennie & Meredith came to visit Jennie made a comment that seeing the sign is on her bucket list. Mission accomplished.Next up was the Griffith Observatory. The view of Downtown LA is so beautiful so we decided sunset was the best time for that stop.A few of these images were lovingly stolen from Jennie. It’s nice having another photographer around.♥Then it was nighttime and we gave them a true Los Angeles experience on the way to dinner: rush hour traffic. That wasn’t on the list… but it was bound to happen at some point.Our last stop for the day was La Capilla for dinner.