The Beach

We headed off on our long-awaited and much-anticipated beach vacation this past week. Dana Point, California was our destination. Our beach condo was right above Strand Beach and Salt Creek Beach and it was so gorgeous. The weather was heavenly the whole time we were there. Never above 80 degrees, warm sun, and a constant cool ocean breeze. You were never hot or cold. Gotta love CA weather! We enjoyed a full week of beach-hopping (we tried out Doheny State Beach, Aliso Beach in Laguna , Strand Beach, Baby Beach, and Crystal Cove Beach in Newport), walks, grilling, scenic drives, boat-watching, a whale safari (Ben and Emma), reading, people-watching, laughing, a little shopping and relaxing. It was such a great week--we loved just being together and having fun. The kids were wonderful and had such a ball. The only hard parts of the trip were (a) the drive--Rachel had a hard time being in the car so long and she is not a movie-watcher, so we had a hard time entertaining her and (b) Luke was an exceptionally early-riser every day: 5:30 a.m. to be exact. So we were a bit sleep-deprived and (c) I got a REALLY bad sunburn on my back halfway through the week and was in a lot of pain for a few days. But I can't complain--being at the beach made it all worth it. I already miss the ocean so much!
Note to readers: this is an insanely long post--too many good pictures to share!

Ben catching some waves with the boogie board

Ben pulling Emma around on the boogie board--she loved it, except for when she fell off and was doused in saltwater.

Luke loved the sand and ate a fair share of it. Nothing like a little stomach exfoliation, right?

Face-plant in the sand. We laughed so hard (and felt a little bad that we were laughing so hard at his expense, but it was too funny).


Ben took Emma on a Whale/Dolphin Safari one afternoon. They didn't see any dolphins, but they got a great view of a giant whale, and some sea lions.



Gotta show off my cute pedicure

Baby beach--there was a little alcove by the Dana Point harbor that was free of waves and very shallow. Perfect for little ones, hence the name. The girls enjoyed playing in the wet sand, pulling each other around on the boogie board, and playing in the water.



Love watching the beautiful boats go by.

Cute Rachel in the sand

It's not a beach trip unless someone gets buried, right?

Takes after her mother. Loves to read magazines, especially at the beach.

The only semi-decent picture I could get of all three kids. Why is it so hard???

I love Luke's swim trunks.

Sand castle 101

Playing in the waves







Family toes. We just need Luke's in there.

The sunset at the beach below our condo




A trip to Fashion Island mall in Newport Beach--the ritziest mall I've ever seen. The girls loving their dad

The mall carousel

Balboa pier in Newport

Luke's favorite spot to play in our condo: the kitchen island. He loved that thing! It was like his little hideout.

So long, beach! Back to reality.....

Luke's 9 month pictures

Oh, I love this baby so much! He clapped for the first time yesterday (one of my favorite baby milestones) and it is so adorable! He's crawling all over the place, pulling up on everything, eating anything he can find on the floor. He loves to dance and instantly moves to the beat whenever he hears music. He loves his daddy so much these days and it is so sweet to watch. He sticks his tongue out when he's excited (I'm so glad the photographer caught one of him with his tongue WAY out!). He is very affectionate and gives us all many loves and kisses. He has me wrapped around his little finger! There really is something special about mamas and their boys.

Granby and Aunt Ali

I was so lucky to spend a full week with my mom and sister. I only get to see them a few times a year--Texas is too far away!!! It was a great week and we did so many fun things together.

Swimming at the Scera Pool


Chuck E. Cheese--a tradition whenever my parents come to visit
Skee Ball was a favorite with all--it's so addicting!


One of the best parts of their visit was a little getaway my mom and I took. We left the homefront about 3:00 p.m. on Friday, went to get pedicures (with rhinestones, of course--this is girls night out!), ate out at Wingers, chatted and watched TV at our hotel (love the Hampton), and spent Saturday shopping at Gardner Village and IKEA. I surprised my mom with a tea party at Gardner Village and it was so much fun. My mom's a big fan of herbal tea so I knew she'd love it. I loved having her all to myself for a full 24 hours.

Playing with Aunt Ali. The kids just love playing with her.

Wienie and marshmallow roast up Provo Canyon (where we saw my old neighbor and friend, Tiffany--so crazy!)
My sweet Aunt Lisa. I love how both her head and Rachel's head are tilted to the same side--so cute.




Crazy spaghetti dinner. Have you ever done one of these? They're a blast. You just eat spaghetti with a weird utensil instead of a fork. Rachel didn't really get into it (probably because she doesn't like spaghetti), but Emma loved it. And watching my hubby eat the messiest meal on the planet with beaters was so worth it.




My mom and sister are going home tomorrow. And I will miss them so much! My kids really loved having time with them, and so did I! Tonight as we were saying our goodbyes, Emma started crying and saying how much she wants them to stay. It just broke my heart. We love you mom and Alexandra!

Water Fun

It was a hot one on Saturday. Oh, what am I saying--it's hot every day now! So we decided to bring out the hose and water balloons and cool down. Well, the water balloons we'd purchased were these puny pathetic little things that only held a little water and did not break! I pretty much bruised Emma's back trying to get them to break! :) So we played with the hose instead. A fun night...

Doing Limbo under the stream of water from the hose









Love this little devilish grin...

Busy

What I've been doing this week....(sick kids who crash on the couch at odd times)

I was so late posting pictures of the Fourth and Ben's birthday, which was this week. I meant to post sooner, but strep throat has afflicted our girls! Yes, I said strep throat--in July. Who would've thunk? Needless to say, the past three days have been spent holding Rachel and trying to keep the girls hydrated, cool, and happy (they both have such high fevers!).

Cherry Pie

Ben's actual birthday was Tuesday and he requested cherry pie. This was my first fruit pie ever and I was a little nervous. But it turned out great! The crust was tender and flaky and the filling was delish! We even picked the cherries ourselves from a neighbor's yard. So this pie was about as homemade as you can get! Yum!

Surprise! Happy birthday Ben!

I threw a surprise birthday party for Ben on Monday. It was so much fun! My brother, Cameron, is a DJ and he provided the music for the party. He also arranged for us to use sumo suits for FREE for a few hours (the connections you can make when you're a DJ). We had a fun evening and I'm glad I could surprise Ben. Happy birthday honey! Love ya!

We had a great turn-out--just about everyone came!

Cute Luke danced to the music and enjoyed all the craziness

DJ Cameron and Ben.

My Aunt Lisa did the chicken dance with the kids

Emma and Lauren dancing to the Chicken Dance

My grandma and father-in-law watching the dancing

Cameron made Ben get out there and dance, which I was so happy about because I LOVE dancing (I'm not saying I'm good or anything). He played some fun dancing songs and I was so proud of Ben for shaking his stuff!

Little Rachel and Kaitlyn getting in on the dancing too--it took Rachel a bit to warm up. I loved watching the little kids dancing--so cute!

Sweet Rachel taking a break

Bill and Ben with their boys--love this picture!

My cousin Rachel and her boyfriend were the first to sumo. They were great.

Cameron and I face-off.

This is Cameron just about to fly on me. Sumo-fighting is seriously so much fun! Yes, the suits were very hot in the 90 degree weather and they stunk a bit, but it's a blast! Next time Cameron is so going down....


It was a fun night and thank you to everyone who pitched in with the food and brought gifts. And a big THANK YOU to my good friend Sarah for being my photographer for the evening. She got some great candid shots!