Exploring our own backyard.

This morning Libi went straight to her books...

she even selected some for Granpa to read.

Jammy and Granpa left to drive home today and this was one of the last things they saw-- a fairly regular sight here at our home. I love that Libs is so interested in the Disney princesses but I do with she would put all of her princess gear away in her princess trunks so I don't step on it.

I broke out the Mickey pancake/brownie/waffle maker that Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas. We all enjoyed the pancakes and I loved how easy it was to make them.

After breakfast Libi convinced Daddy to dress up with her. Please note that Ron has one dress up outfit on each leg, a skirt on his head, and he was trying to figure out how to get more stuff on himself. I think he secretly enjoys looking pretty :)

For a bit of spontaneity we hopped on the train and headed to downtown L.A. Ariel of course accompanied us!

The train ride had moments that were a bit scary to Libs (sudden stops, lots of folks getting off and on, folks asking for money) but holding her Daddy's hand nothing bad could happen to her.

Our first order of business was to hook up with Grammy and Aunt Andrea so Daddy hopped on the phone.

Libi used her time to converse with the pigeons.

Our train let us off at Pershing Square. Ron and I haven't been here since the teachers union did a protest here-- it was much quieter on this Sunday morning.

Our meeting place was the Nickel Diner which was a few blocks away so we loaded Libi and Ariel in the stroller and headed off.

There was quite a long wait so Grammy and Libi went to their car to play with Gizmo.

This cool place was featured in the Westways Magazine and on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

The food was great...

despite Libi's face! She was just a very tired girl in need of a nap.

The absolute best part of the meal was dessert. They make home-made ding dongs and a peanut salt cake that is to die for!!! Libi seems to agree.

The clouds began to come in on our walk to the L.A. City Library so Libs bundled up.

We saw lots of ironic things on our walk: a pigeon eating a drumstick and this Muslim lady totally covered up and dragging with her a nearly naked Betty Boop :) LA is fun!

Libi was really excited to get here!

It is a gorgeous building!

Libi was amazed with this chandelier...

it was a globe surrounded by the signs of the Zodiac. Uber cool!

We went straight to the children's section and Libi was enthralled with the sheer amount of books. She grabbed a big book and said, "I'm being a teacher."

Then she moved some animals over to get cozy and read some more. If we didn't have a very tired girl we would have stayed longer. We will have to get back soon to see more of what LA has to offer.