I have had quite a life journey these two past months, first, I must share that my little nieces were in town for their annual visit. They are now five and three years old and so much fun to hang out with. I picked them up and drove to Long Beach. Upon our arrival, they asked if I could show them the beach before we went home. So we took a drive down Ocean. It was as if the city was waiting for these two little girls to get here. The sun was shining, the sky was perfectly clear and there was plenty of parking. We walked Goli, my dog, and greeted other dog walkers, at the same time. The little ones loved petting their dogs and ran all over the place giggling and laughing. I love watching their free spirit!
On our drive back home, right before dusk, we stopped at the Pike, rode on the Ferris wheel and headed for dinner at Islands. The girls loved the food, decorations and our server. They ordered burgers from the children’s menu and if I knew any better, I should have ordered them one dish for the two. There was a lot of food left over. We ended that evening with a sleep over, watching movies and eating popcorn. Quite frankly, I was beat and couldn’t believe they had the energy to watch Happy Feet two times in a row!
The next day, Meztli woke up at 6:00 am. Wow, I could not believe her energy. She was ready for the beach. She woke me up and told me that in her eyes she had seen the beach. That’s the way she shares her dreams with us. Such a cute face telling me her dream, I had no choice, but to roll out of bed, follow my mother’s and sister’s instructions on what to pack for lunch, pack enough drinking water for the day and take them for breakfast at Eggs Etc. After, we took off to Mother’s Beach. They played tag, laid out, built sand castles and enjoyed the playground with other children. From a distance, I read and watched them do their thing.
Upon leaving the Marina, we visited Barnes and Noble, such a great place for kids. The girls loved the reading areas for children and enjoyed picking a book. As I paid the cashier for their books, Alina asked if Long Beach had a restaurant where she can have orange chicken. Having such a long day, she was hungry! Meztli on the other hand, had such a blast running in and out of the beach that, like any other three year old, her nap beat her out of an appetite. As soon as we got in the car she was knocked out!
As the Tía that likes to pamper them, I wanted to take them to PF Changs, but I knew that would be crazy on a Saturday evening. So I decided to take them to a family restaurant that served family style food- what else but Chens on Broadway. I was so glad that I picked that restaurant; I didn’t realize that I would need to carry Meztli into the restaurant to pick up the food. I tried to wake her, but Alina stopped me and advised me not to wake her little sister, Meztli because she would be very cranky. I took Alina’s advice and we ended eating inside the restaurant not waking Meztli up. I’m glad we ate there, our waiter gave Alina training chop sticks and she had a blast eating with them. It was her first experience with them. Chens was great!
Our weekend was full of excitement, fun, giggles and only one tantrum! Alina read me her book as a bedtime story and before I knew it, she was sleeping like an angel beside her sister. I love having them visit and enjoy every minute of it! Having them with me kept me so occupied, I didn’t once think about work. It’s amazing what spending quality time with the people we love could do for us.
A special thank you to the servers at Eggs, Etc., Islands, Chens Family Restaurant and the Ferris Wheel employees that made my nieces visit in Long Beach a memorable one.