friday: july 22nd, tony, the kids and i headed west bound from arizona to newport beach. this was our 11th year going, and staying at the same beach house. we love it. parker has made it clear, that this is a vacation he cannot do without. it's such the perfect family vacation. parker stayed in az to work, and would be driving over with grandma karen on sunday. we left early on friday, so the kids slept the first couple hours. so did tony. we had mc donalds for breakfast, i hadn't had that in years. we stopped at the outlets, and it wasn't that great, so we continued on. we got gas at costco, and lunch at chic fil a, and then finally got to the beach house around 2pm. the cousins were so excited to be reunited. it was us and the davids up stairs, and one of davy's co-workers (and friends) the ruckers down stairs. the kids changed into their suits and tony took them to the beach, while i unpacked. that night we had salmon, courtesy of grandpa wayne. another tradition, the day we arrive. and had sheet cake for dessert. it was the perfect meal.
saturday: one of the first things on our "to do" list was seaside bakery. you haven't had a donut, till you've had a seaside donut. we go every year, almost every day. tilley has had a donut obsession since birth. she used to say "go nuts," which i loved. before we got there, we had been warned of the cool*er weather that they had been having this year. which was the main reason for the stop at the outlets. to get the kids sweatshirts. the kids, however, didn't seem to mind too much while playing on the beach. we spend the entire day at the beach. quincy and calee found a starfish, and it took both of their strength to pull it off the rock. they searched for seashells, played paddle ball, and dug in the sand. tilley and sally may have been the funniest two to watch. they were non stop with their boogie boards in the waves. they would stand there, catch a wave, sometimes fall off, and then giggle, and do it again. it was so funny. that evening, was the adults "date night." every time there's a date night planned in cali, it seems like i'm solo. this time big guy was my date. we ate at a restaurant we had been to a few years back. and left just as disappointed this year as we did the time before. a few of us don't eat seafood, so we loaded up on the appetizers. which i didn't think were too bad. you can't mess up garlic fries!
sunday: the babies and i walked to albertson's to get a few things for sunday dinner. it was long for them. the complained about being tired the whole way there, but didn't make a peep on the way home. candy always does the trick. we went to 1pm sacrament, at the ward building that we've attended every year. then we just hung out at the beach house...and waited patiently for parker and grandma to arrive. we prepared dinner, and literally just before the prayer, they walked in! after dinner we played kickball down on the beach. shed a few competitive tears, and then of course the kids did, what i hate most. got in the ocean, fully clothed. i hate washing clothes in the coin operated washing machine. it kinda grosses me out, so i avoid it at all costs. how do you do so, with sopping wet clothes. nothing hang dries with the cali humidity. parker let them in, so he got to bathe them when we got back. and em had hot chocolate chip cookies waiting for dessert!
monday: parker was up early, and was on a donut mission. we rode bikes down, and brought some back for the others. we beached it till around 4 and then came back to the house, to get ready for our hobos on huntington. it's our family night activity. this year was extremely cold. everyone was in sweatshirts, and bundled up in blankets. the kids probably stay warmer than the adults cus they run around. the dinners were amazing, as they always are. it's always my favorite meal in california. besides the huge task it is preparing, and then taking everything over to huntington, it's always worth it. we had smores after we ate, and then packed up quick to head back. it was too cold, and super windy even by the fire.
tuesday: after a good nights sleep, we hit the beach. i'm not quite sure who found the starfish today, but i know little p was trying to make a buck off of them. which he found out is illegal to sell starfish. the babies giggled when we had them hold them in their hands. seriously nothing is like having a nap on the beach. this year, i did so more than most years. mostly cus the sand was so warm, and the wind was so cold. that if you were laying down, you were "kind of" warm. we had salads from mario's and chronic taco's on most beach days. salad has been off my list of foods since baby number 5. soggy letus makes my stomach turn. i couldn't resist a grilled chicken salad from mario's on the beach tho. so as long as i ate super fast, before the lettus could get soggy, i was good. this was our shortest beach day. we were headed to knotts berry farm, and wanted to get there by 4. after 3 is the discounted pricing. while we were getting ready for knotts, grandma karen and grandpa david were packing up to go home to az. sad. sally has been waiting a whole year for the log ride. her and tilley couldn't get enough of it. everyone had their turn, or turns, taking them on the log ride. since i couldn't do any other rides, i think i took them 3 or 4 times. till i was too wet and cold i couldn't take it anymore. the car ride home from knotts always seems like forever...especially in a 12 packer, 17 passenger van! we made it tho, and again...slept like champs!
wednesday: street sweeper day. this year wasn't near as chaotic as years before. it helps when there's 2 golf cart's there to help save spots, and 2 spots in the back as well. we beached and rode bikes the majority of each day. it wasn't till the night before that i even knew my bike had made it to cali, in the truck with big guy. the tire was fixed wednesday and i was cruisin with tilley. we ordered laventina's "the big cheese" pizza and had that on the beach. really, there is no better cheap pizza than "the big cheese." after dinner we drove to the wedge. it's not so great at night. the surfers all go there in the morning though, i guess it has really big waves. we got there just in time to see the sunset, and for the kids to run out some energy. headed to balboa. we always take the ferry boat over. it's like 30 seconds long. juts long enough to get out of the car, take a picture, and then load back in the car. we got balboa bars, and frozen yogurt. and this was the first year i let my kids go in the balboa candy shop and pick out their own candy. i always get a bag full of peppermint salt water taffy. it tastes so much better there, and the shop is darling!
thursday: breakfast at the sugar shack. seriously one of my favorite places for breakfast. my favorite meal is breakfast. and their french toast is seriously too die for. i'm pretty sure they dip it in pancake batter. parker usually gets an omlet and we switch half way. perfect. my kids love their hot chocolate, and micky mouse pancakes. we shopped for a little bit and then headed back to nb, for the last beach day! garrett wilcheck and jon west met us at the beach, and helped load up the david's who decided to pack up that night and drive home to make a funeral the next morning. we cleaned out the fridge and freezers, and gave away the goods. we stayed to soak up our last night in cali. before the trek back to utah. it was a quiet night. we did most of the cleaning and laundry that night, so the next morning we just packed up and headed out. although this may have been the worst night, sleep-wise for all of us. conway had a tooth ache that was giving him a lot of pain. parker ran to albertsons and got children's something and even that didn't help. it was so sad. he cried off and on all night long.
friday: we almost forgot the annual picture at the beach house. usually it's everyone, and we're up on the balcony. how sad that we didn't get that picture this year. luckily a neighbor saw we were leaving and wanted our parking spot, so we had her take our picture. then we met jon, carrie and their cute lucas at sugar shack...again. we visited and walked around. the us open was just starting that day, so it was pretty crowded. quincy picked out a backpack, the boys got shirts, and tilley of course wanted a dress. they all used their own money. quincy owes us $44, cus she only had $4. girl is a spender! after we said our final good bye's it was time to pick up garrett and be on our way. one problem. where in the world was garrett going to sit!? we were seriously jam packed. busting at the seams. we crossed our fingers and headed to pick him up. he walks out with 2 suitcases, bedding and a backpack. all of which went on his lap, under his feet, and across all the kids. we had to do something. this would never work for 10 hours! we passed rack n road, and made one of the best purchases yet. a rack for up top. we could breath! we have needed one for years, and finally took the plunge. it was a good investment, that will get lots of use. and till next time cali!
