Mt. San Jacinto - January 2011

I've never been to Palm Springs and technically, I still haven't gone, but I was near it!  We took the Palm Springs Aeriel Tramway up to Mt. San Jacinto.  Amazing!  We went from the desert floor at a comfortable 60F degrees up 8000 ft. to 35F degrees and snow.

January 2011 - Wayfarer's Chapel

I'd never been to Wayfarer's Chapel in Palos Verdes.  My aunt was married there in the 60s and I knew it was a place that shouldn't be missed.  However, I kept missing it.  The chapel was designed by Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1951.  It is a glass chapel nestled among the trees overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

1961

John F. Kennedy is inaugurated President of the United States
The Dodgers move to LA
The first human goes into space
West Side Story wins the Oscar for Best Picture
Pascual and Carmen are married
and Jessie & Amado have their first daughter

While I think of ways to celebrate my birthday this year, I thought I would plan some stuff I've never done in my time on this planet...

January: Palm Springs
February: Mission San Gabriel
March: Yosemite in spring
April:
May: the new Getty Villa
June: Monterey Aquarium, Alcatraz, & the Redwoods
July: Venice Beach, The Grove
August: Sacramento
September: The Gamble House
October: Museum of Latin American Art, the Skinny House, Rancho Los Cerritos
November: Oak Glen
December: Disneyland during the Holidays

Christmas in San Francisco

Rachel is 8!

Blogger swag

So I've been doing my Long Beach Family blog as a hobby.  I'm always finding events and passing them along to friends.  I figured I'd just put them in one place and not send so many emails, haha.  Well, I got onto some kind of publicity list and now I get alot of emails asking if I would mention this event or that product.  Some of the companies even offer to send me samples to try.  After all, how can I write about it if I don't know anything about it?  That is all well and good.  I've been getting kid/family DVDs like Tooth Fairy and Percy Jackson, but I also got Avatar.  They offer to do giveaways and the companies send DVDs to some of my readers.  I get all kinds of other products, too, like baby equipment, lotions, supplies, as well as stuff for older kids and families.  We also got tickets to a Dodger game and various other events.  Well, I was recently invited to a "blogger" lunch in Manhattan Beach.  Very swanky and surprisingly relaxed.  There were companies there like Pottery Barn, Dyson, and Toyota giving away samples and prizes.  I ended up winning a bunch of toys from Backyard Safari.  Rachel loved it.  It's been quite fun getting this swag, especially now when we don't have alot of funds for extra stuff.  Here are some pics:

Nature Center