It's Always Better on Holiday VII, pt. 9: The End.

And now, a day I hoped would never come (and you've probably thought would never come): My last day in LA.

For lunch Grandma and I split a Happy Boat

Before:

After:

Packing up, I came across this excellent old sweatshirt that you can wear if you want in the fall:

Grandma and I paid a little visit to the Norton Simon Museum, another great art collection close to her house:

There's some pretty good stuff at the Norton Simon:

This artist seems nice.

When we got home my Aunt Afton showed up from Phoenix with cousins Stuart and Scotty (who I hadn't seen in FIVE YEARS).  The first thing we had to do: Go buy Scotty (who probably goes by "Scott" now) an Xbox at Best Buy.

We couldn't find Grandma anywhere.  Oh, wait.  There she is:

I told Scotty: "You set that thing up, I'll be right back..." Because I had an appointment with Tanner for some dumplings in Arcadia.

Look good?  We split five orders.  Meaning: We ate 50 dumplings.  Meaning: We ate like Kung-fu Panda

That is why my dessert at Yogurtland is so humble.  Because I only needed a tiny bit.  But I made up this combo all on my own!  Strawberry with cheesecake bites and Fruity Pebbles.  This is what I'm going to get all the time at Yogurtland now.

Back to Grandma's for a quick hour of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 with Scott.  Did you know both Stuart and Scott are Eagle Scouts?  This means every Taylor grandson has gotten their Eagle so far.  Will Frank's boys be Eagle Scouts?  That question is practically a joke!  I should congratulate Grandma now on her seven Eagle Scout grandsons.

Lots of goodbye arm-around-people photos were taken, but this is the one I'm posting.

Stuart and Scotty both brought their cats.  Both require a little time to feel comfortable in a new space.  Sabu is hiding somewhere under this bed, way in back.

This is Scott and Midnight, I believe.  This cat was under a dresser, quite committed to not coming out but not nearly as committed as Scott was to getting him out.

And then, sigh, off to the airport.  One last picture.  What a great time we all had.  Thanks, Grandma.

And if you're wondering, was my redeye home to New York awful?  Of course it was.  Come on.