Day 3

On day three we....wait for it....went to the beach! We checked out Crystal Cove and Laguna Beach (btw, when I become a millionaire I want to live in Laguna Beach) but the boys were not impressed by the waves there so we went back to Newport. This time we went to the other side of the pier where the waves break much further out. Xander likes it better at that part of the beach because there are rocks to catch crabs. First up: Boogie boarding! At one point I lost track of Evan. I looked over and he was climbing the rocks with Max. I about had a heart attack! I ran over there and one lady remarked, "Is that your son? Because he's climbing skills are impressive!" I was too busy freaking out to even respond. Max was proud that he had caught a crab - and then I had to burst his bubble by reprimanding (that's a nice way of saying yelling) him for going over to the rocks without Ian or I.

The boys would play in the ocean and then bury each other in the sand to get warm.

Evan and Ian built sand castles.

On the third day Ian and Ben were out boogie boarding when Ian spotted a school of dolphins about 20 feet from where they were. He started to point them out to Ben and then noticed that Ben had taken off toward the shore. I guess Ben thought they were sharks and was out of there! Nice that he left his dad behind. The dolphins stayed for quite a while. Steve told us later that the dolphins like to play with the surfers at Newport - knocking them off their boards.


I love this picture of Xander.

Ian and Evan spent a lot of time building a massive sand castle. Many people came up to admire it. Evan loved the finished product!

After the beach we went back to the hotel to get ready to go Steve and Elise's for a BBQ. I ran to Corner Bakery and got some baked goods and we headed over. We hung out, ate, watched SYTYCD (while the kids told ghost stories downstairs) and had a blast! Some of my favorite parts of the trip were when we were hanging with Steve and Elise.

Day 2

I know you all were on the edge of your seats wondering what the heck we did on our second day of vacation. We slept in. This is the view from our room. See those 2 people by the lake? That's Max and Xander. Xander was catching fish with his bare hands. I kid you not. That boy is obsessed.

We decided to go to Newport on day 2. We went to the part closer to the Balboa Peninsula - which means the waves were breaking right on shore. When we got there Evan and I went for a long walk down to the shops while Ian and the boys boogie boarded. When I got back Ian had buried Ben and Xander in the sand.
Evan got some sweet shades.

Max loved running into and from the waves.

This was the day I got brave and swam in the ocean with Ben and Xander. We had a lot of fun screaming out stupid things like, "Rock and Roll!" or "Freedom!" and then we'd dive under waves or let the waves carry us to the shore. I'm pretty sure we were making spectacles of ourselves but hey, that's what I do best!

After we went back to the hotel, Xander, Max, Evan and I went to the biggest mall EVER. Seriously. And the boys didn't even appreciate it. Ben was sunburnt bad from literally spending 2 days in the ocean so Ian stayed back at the hotel with him. I swear I think I saw that kid for a total of 30 minutes when we were at the beach on both days combined. He's a fish!

Beach Vacation - day 1

We were able to go to the beach the week before school started up. We left on Sunday and stayed with our good friends Steve and Elise Sunday night. We had so much fun chatting and hanging out. The next morning we walked with the kids to get doughnuts at a little shop near their house. Then Elise, Ian and I went to Target to find me the perfect beach chair. We gave Elise a little glimpse into the wacky relationship that is Ian and Sheri. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the show :). And I did find the perfect beach chair! Woohoo!

So...we had planned on spending most of our time at Newport Beach, but luckily Elise knew of some better beaches. On the first day we went to Salt Creek Beach in Dana Point (right by the Ritz Carlton). It was gorgeous and fun!



I was so glad that Elise and the kids decided to join us (Steve had to work). We had a blast hanging out and catching up. And all of the kids got along great!
Ben spent about 90% of his time boogie boarding with Ian. Xander and Max boogy boarded for a while, and then went to find crabs. They came back with a bucket full and stuck them in a big hole on the beach.



Evan thought he wanted to boogie board - but quickly changed his mind.

After a while, Evan, Xander, Kaz, Addy and I decided to go exploring down the beach.

We saw many sea creatures in the rocks. Xander is holding a sea slug.





Elise buried Zoe and Max while we were gone.

We stayed at the beach all day long then checked into our hotel in Costa Mesa. Steve and Elise got us a room at the Wyndam resort - free of charge! We are so thankful for their generosity. We feel so lucky to have such awesome friends!

Ian stayed home from work yesterday. Consequently, we had no internet, phone (land line) or t.v. from about 3:00 pm until now. It was almost like I was stranded in a desert without water. Seriously.

Now that it's fixed Ian and I are on much better terms :)

CA pics:

Evan walked around with that red bucket on his head for atleast 10 minutes. He had most everyone around us cracking up.

4 days and 3 pounds later

I should really go get the camera and download the beach pictures...but I'm too lazy. We had lots of fun - just chillin' on the beach. Alexander scoured the rocks for crabs (he caught quite a few) and went boogie boarding with Ian, Ben & Joe. Max helped Ian and Brian dig a really BIG hole and was so excited when the tide came in and the hole filled with water. He called it his swimming pool. Evan loved being outside in a humungous sand box. I just loved being on the beach with my mom, sister and family. We didn't really do much else. Which was nice.

Have you been watching SYTYCD? I've watched the "No Air" routine atleast 4 times and I get goosebumps everytime. Seriously.

Tomorrow summer starts for me. Swim lessons and boredom - bring it on!

On the way home from Cali we stopped to get gas and I bought Max a little Spongebob coloring book. Later, after we were home Max asked me, "When can we go back?"
"We probably won't go back to the beach for a long time" I replied.
"Noooo! Not to the beach! To that gas station."
Obviously the vacation made a lasting impression on Max.

Day 1: Are We There Yet?

Football at the beach

Room with a view

We left around 9:30 Monday morning. Ben rode with James in Tricia's car and we took Michael with us. Really, I want to adopt Michael. He was so pleasant and helpful. Anyway, the whole way there Max talked about the hotel. You see, my mom has a love affair with Embassy Suites. One of the reasons why she was able to take us on this trip was because she had a few free nights there. Last September my parents took Max to Disneyland as a treat for being potty-trained. He remembered the hotel and knew we were staying there again. He was so excited! "You can have pancakes and sausage and bacon for breakfast. And grandpa will bring you orange juice and then the lion will roar." Let me clarify - one of the major perks about Embassy Suites is that you get a complimentary breakfast. This basically includes ANYTHING your heart desires. Eggs, bacon, sausage, french toast, pancakes, fruit, yogurt, made-to-order omelets, cereal and the list goes on. Apparently it made a big impression on Max. He also remembered the fake lion on top of a rock that roars every hour or so. So everytime we stopped, Max would say, "I don't want to eat here - I'm waiting for the hotel". We had to explain that we could only get breakfast there and he might want lunch and dinner before that.

Every 30 minutes or so someone would ask, "Are we there yet?". I really didn't mind it until the last 30 minutes or so when they started to ask every 2-3 minutes. Anyway, we finally made it about 5:00. We were on the 11th floor - which scared the bajeebies out of me. I had major vertigo at first. Then I just stayed away from the railing that overlooks the atrium area. The boys were facinated with how big the bathroom was. That's another great thing about Embassy Suites - LOTS of room! We had 2 seperate rooms, 2 t.v.s, a dining room table, microwave, sink and refrigerator. The room could've slept 6 comfortably.

After unpacking we headed for the beach. We forgot that it was Columbus Day and therefore the beach was crowded. Oh well, we hung out there for about an hour until it got dark and I got sick of trying to keep Evan from eating sand. We got back to the hotel and my mom got us a pizza from room service. It was one of the best pizza's I've had in my life! Part of that could've been that I was incredibly hungry....

Stay tuned for Day 2: I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up (sorry mom - you knew it was coming...)

*Note: Don't expect alot of pictures - I was busy just trying to keep track of all my kids and trying to keep everyone happy. Hopefully Kim & Tricia will e-mail me some of their pictures.