We started our summer by heading to Dubai for two days to visit my sister. She just moved there a few months ago with her husband and has since hardly gone a week without someone coming to visit! They both seem to be loving it and I hope the novelty doesn’t wear off since this will definitely become a habit for all of us I guarantee you.

The flight there was simple and uneventful and the kids were happy and excited when we arrived. we had 2 great days in Dubai that were constantly overshadowed by the thought of the 16 hour flight ahead of us!

With IPads fully charged and new games and movies loaded and nanny well rested we boarded the plane and set off to L.A. It was the flight that never ended! It went on and on and on and no matter how many movies you watched and how many times you napped and how many meals you had you were still not there! All in all (besides that fact that J didn’t sleep a wink unless she was laying on me) it wasn’t a terrible flight.

Our time in LA was great. But I always get the feeling that there is so much more I could have done while I was there (And making the kids do).

The kids did manage to do many things they loved while we were there. B as well! I was worried about finding a place that would be suitable for him but we did and he loved them.

The Treehouse Social Club on South Robertson was  great. It’s an indoor play area with a tree house in the center. The food is great and if you are lucky enough you might see some stars with their children! the only problem is it is only open between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. monday to thursday (which now sounds like a long time but for some reason we had a lot of trouble fitting it in at that time!).

Another favorite of both J and B was Giggles and Hugs in Westfield Mall Century City. I spent more time here than in Treehouse so I can tell you more about it. They always had something going on during the afternoon. From puppet shows to princesses to face painting to a band. The food is quite good as well. It is cheerful and colorful and best of all it’s in the mall! Just outside Giggles and Hugs there is a really lovely climbing frame which J was on for a good 40 minutes without getting bored.

There are not as many easily accessible, fun, parks for the kids to go to unfortunately. Usually in London parks are the answer to almost anything. As long as it’s not raining (too hard) then the kids love the park from S’s age to B’s.

The older kids had a full schedule. I enrolled them in camp 4 days a week for 3 weeks. It didn’t go exactly as planned for J as she went between tolerating it to really not being impressed. But more about that later. It’s midnight now and I should get something to eat as I am fasting. I broke my fast at 6.20 and need to start it at 3.43 am again. I can’t believe Ramathan is half over!

*All pictures are taken from the official websites for the places mentioned.