Love, Learn, Play: California Adventure- Day 23

Well, Los Angeles made its first attempt at giving us a crappy day... but its hard to slow these Paddock's down and LA is gonna have to do better than cloudy with a few spits of rain!

When we left for the beach this morning, it was cloudy and overcast but we didn't think much of it because its like that most mornings here and it usually clears up by about 10:00am. We headed out to Malibu to check out Leo Carillo Beach because its known for its tide pools :) Jon took the 101 for awhile then cut over on one of the "canyon" roads through the mountains and we learned a very valuable parenting lesson! Jon decided to do some "race car driving" through all the switchbacks and wild twins and turns in the road. When the boys started to fuss, he suggested it was time for their milk so I reached back to give them their milk cups. After they finished their milk, Matthew was still really whiny. No sooner than I said "Maybe your race car driving made them feel a little carsick", Matthew proceeded to throw up all of his milk! Race car driving + Decker Canyon Road + toddlers drinking milk = Seriously Bad Idea! Lesson learned :)

Luckily we had the other set of their swim shirts packed, so we did a quick wipe down with butt wipes and a clothes change and we were ready for the beach. Leo Carillo was quite awesome! The back half of the beach was sandy but the rest was all rocks. The boys dug around in the sand for awhile while Jon and I took turns exploring in the rocks right by the shore. On our way out, we had stopped at the store to get a roll of shiny new pennies and after awhile we tossed them all in the sand and let the boys dig for buried treasure... best fifty cents we've ever spent!! They had a blast digging in the sand and when they found a piece of gold they would squeal with delight and the toss it into the crab shell we were using to collect our treasures. On Jon's next trip to the rocks, he wandered further down the beach and climbed over some cliffs and discovered something we've been searching for since we got here... wild star fish!!! So of course we had to take the boys to see. It was quite a hike and we had to man handle them up over the cliff, but boy oh boy was it worth it! Jon had found the most amazing tide pools ever! They were just full of sea anemones- big ones, little ones, giant ones! And there were five different star fish. Three were out on the next rock and we couldn't quite get to them without getting too soaked, but we were able to touch two! We even got Matthew to stand in one of the tide pools- which was HUGE because they are both quite afraid of the water- and he got to stick his fingers in all of the anemones and touch the starfish!! Caleb leaned down and touched a bunch of anemones, but he wouldn't put his feet down in the water. Unfortunately, while I was helping Matthew touch the star fish, we got splashed with a giant wave that crashed on the rocks and he got pretty freaked out. I felt awful because I had promised him that I wouldn't put him down in the water if he didn't want to, and he was adamant that he didn't want to touch the water, but I didn't see the wave coming! Our Flip camera also took a bit of a hit too :( It was in my pocket when we got splashed and it got some water in it... I didn't think the wave was that big, but apparently it was enough. Its in a bag of rice for the night, so please pray that it works tomorrow! Anyways, back on shore, the boys were enjoying some serious rock climbing. I can't even describe it- they were scaling rocks so high that Jon had to scramble to keep one step ahead of them to keep them safe. It was like they were two little... well, two little Jon's!!!! I loved every second of it, even though my heart was in my throat with every step they took.

The sun never did come out, and by 12:30 we were having a beach picnic and shivering cold. So we decided to pack up and head home, but the boys were so chilly that they wanted some hot chocolate! We stopped at a Starbucks on the Pacific Coast Highway and got the boys a "hot chocolate" to split and a coffee for Jon and I to split. There was a cute little playground outside so the boys played for a bit and then we got back in the car for nap.

After dinner we met up with some friends for some time at the park :) Michele is a mom that I met while researching some of the boys' acting and modeling experiences awhile back. Before we came out here, she was kind enough to help arrange for two pack 'n plays for us to borrow and we've been meaning to get the kids together for the last three weeks! Shelby is 4 and Cash is 2 and they are the cutest kids :) We all had fun at the park, then they showed us one of their favorite frozen yogurt spots- Menchies! The boys just loved it! On the way home, Matthew said "Hey mom! I got an idea! How about we bring Shelby and Cash home with us! To Michigan!" It was really nice for them to get to spend some time with other kids and it was awesome to get to chat with a more experienced mom!

Which brings me to the last highlight of the day... the boys got their first LA audition! They have an audition for a commercial tomorrow afternoon. I'm sure its a long shot, but we're just hoping for a positive experience. Wish them luck!!

Matthew struck "gold" on Leo Carillo Beach!