Cheryl Hines -- Hey Miley, the Kennedy's Are Waiting for You!

Cheryl Hines says the Kennedy's would welcome Miley Cyrus with open arms.

We got Cheryl -- who btw is awesomely hot and smart -- at LAX Friday and asked her if life is different now that she's a Kennedy ... she married Robert Kennedy Jr. last August.

Cheryl was pretty candid, saying the Kennedy compound is a lot tamer than in the Teddy heyday.

But our photog couldn't let her go without asking if Miley would be accepted if she followed in her shoes, now that she's dating Patrick Schwarzenegger.