In the dead of winter I'm not sure there's anything better for my soul than warm, sun-filled days. We were lucky to spend the better part of this week in southern California, joining TJ's parents in a house there while we all visited TJ's sister and her family. We flew down Wednesday and returned late Sunday night and I wore shorts - glorious shorts - every day we were there.
Wednesday - we were the very last ones to board the flight heading down (which I fear gave Nana quite a fright!) After landing we drove down Pacific Coast Highway, gawking at the beauty of the beaches and the ocean, as the kids napped in the JEEP WRANGLER the rental car company gave us. Huntington Beach was so incredibly beautiful. Made me want to move there! We met Nana and Papa at the park near Sara's house and all the kids played together outside (while I spent a while on the phone helping my parents book a direct flight home from their cruise, given how poorly my dad was feeling). TJ helped Colette build a little house out of twigs, the boys took turns driving Wesley's little Jeep (sometimes with screaming involved) and dumped water and mud all over the volleyball court, and all of us soaked in sunshine. We met sweet Olive with her wild hair :) and sat and chat and enjoyed being there. Papa and TJ picked up dinner while Nana and I drove the kids home (somehow arriving after them) and we did dinner and bed!
Thursday - after a low key morning we headed to the beach! I'm not sure what I was thinking but I didn't actually pack any beach things, so I went to Target and spent $300 on swimsuits and hats and toys and was pleasantly surprised that we found functional things for TJ, Reed, and Holland. I did self checkout and failed to remove the ink tags from my stuff, so saved us some money there. :) Maybe because it was 60 degrees out (and 59 in the water) and a week day, we had the beach to ourselves! It was pretty amazing. Colette and Wesley ran straight into the water, leaving Wesley shivering in towels for the remaining 2 hours and 58 minutes we were there. Reed could not get enough of digging in the dirt and Holland ate what probably amounted to half a cup of sand, her little hands shoving fistful after fistful into her mouth. TJ and I traded off using our new camera, trying to figure out the right settings to capture all that goodness with those people we so love.
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| Took this one my phone as we were walking to the beach then used the camera the rest the trip, but I'm too lazy to pull the camera out for a better picture. Ha! |
Both our kids loved the water. :) It took Reed a while to warm up to the idea of going in but then he insisted on standing on shore - letting the waves wash over his legs - until he couldn't walk he was so cold. Holland kicked like crazy while the water came near and did not want to leave it. Just before we were leaving I told TJ to catch a few waves on the boogie board. He was brave and jumped in and came in smiling. After watching him a few times Reed said he wanted a turn and laid right down on the board! We helped him ride a few waves before getting him showered off and wrapped in a towel to get warm. Mexico is going to be a blast with these kids!
Friday - we headed out first thing to the Irvine Spectrum Mall with Nana and Papa (where I returned the $200 of stuff we didn't use to Target). The mall is largely outdoors and has loads of fun things. Reed started on the playground and then we headed over to the carousel. [While there we got a phone call from sweet Julianne who was at our house delivering us lobster tails as a Valentine's Day gift! Can you believe that? Gosh, we love her.] Reed was so stoic on the carousel I don't think he smiled once, though he did love it. Holland was a bit more expressive, especially when I ran around the carousel a few times keeping up with her as she rode with TJ. After the carousel we headed to the Ferris wheel. Reed has been wanting to ride the Ferris wheel at Scheel's but Holland isn't tall enough to go on it and Reed can't go alone, so this was especially thrilling for him. All six of us fit in one bucket (what's the right name for that??) and we had spectacular views as we went around a few times. I also realized I have a decent fear of heights, ha!
Just steps away from the Ferris wheel is a Haagen Dazs, the source of Nana and Papa's favorite dessert in all the land. We all got ice cream and sat in the sun, letting Holland crawl around the pristine turf, taking pictures, and chatting. Reed's ice cream had a big spoonful of mini M&Ms on it and he was content to just spoon those off and ignore the ice cream. :)
After Friday naps all the Muirs (including Kipp!) came to the rental house where we had a pretty delicious dinner together. The kids ran around like banshees and the games we hoped to play together never happened, but it was a good get together regardless.
We were lucky to be in town for citrus season and there were trees everywhere just dripping oranges and lemons. The trees came in every shape and size and they were gorgeous. The backyard of our rental house had an orange tree overflowing with fruit and Colette climbed it and threw down dozens of oranges. TJ persuaded her to pick them all up by telling her he'd make fresh orange juice: bless him for spending a good hour hand squeezing orange after orange for everyone's enjoyment at dinner.
Saturday - the Muirs had plans with Kipp's family all day so we headed out with Nana and Papa to Irvine Regional Park, which we had heard so much about. What a park! It was pretty unbelievable. We went on the train first thing - it was leaving about 4 minutes after we parked - and had a great ride. It was especially exciting for Reed. After the train we went over for pony rides (where Holland missed out because the minimum age is one). TJ led Reed's pony around and Reed had a great time on his horse (Gypsy). We walked along beautiful paths to get to the zoo, stopping to look at birds on the way. There are a number of woodpeckers throughout the park and Poppy played a woodpecker sound from his bird app and a half dozen woodpeckers came right over! We also spotted wood ducks and cormorants and a heron at the lakes.
The little zoo was a perfect fit for us. It was just $2 to get in and really small, making it super accessible! Peacocks, bears, a bald eagle, a golden eagle, snakes, mountain lions, porcupines - it was a neat place. One of the zookeepers was out holding a falcon that we could see up close and Reed just soaked everything in - he was especially fond of the button at one exhibit that played different bird calls and pushed it probably 25 times. Holland was exhausted and fell asleep in TJ's arms which is a real rarity (it's still more likely for Reed to fall asleep in our arms than Holland).
As we were walking towards the parking lot to leave Reed asked to ride one of the surreys the park rents out. As I debated whether to push for naps or ride the surrey I couldn't help but think, "Live in anticipation of the memory." Rentals were half off before noon so at 11:58 we rented a surrey that held all six of us and spent 30 minutes pedaling around the park, pausing frequently for breaks from fatigue. Ha! Those suckers are not easy to pedal. My favorite stop was when we saw a man with a huge camera lens - he was shooting a barn owl, perched in a tree about 20 feet from the ground! Poppy said it's pretty rare for them to be seen during the day so we stopped and looked at it for a few minutes. So gorgeous.
While the kids took (3+ hour) naps Nana and Papa went out for acai bowls. When they got home we grabbed dinner for the kids and TJ and I got to go on a date of our own! I really wanted to go to a place called South of Nick's but they were booked solid from 6-10 PM! Can you believe that? We went to another place called True Food Kitchen, which was delicious. When we go back we're getting a double order of those brussels sprouts. :)
Sunday - we got everything packed up (thanks in large part to Nana and Papa) and left the house by 9:15 to get to the Muirs for baby Olive's blessing! Austin - who was in town for a cheer competition - grabbed an Uber to join us at Sara and Kipp's house. Kipp's parents and a couple cousins were also there. It was a really beautiful blessing and we were so glad we were able to attend. We took some pictures afterwards and TJ and I took our kids to Sacrament meeting while Nana took Papa to the airport (he had a required choir practice at the tabernacle and needed to be home early).
After church we stopped at Cava (delicious Cava) for a long lunch before driving Pacific Coast Highway again. Our hope was for both kids to get long naps and Reed complied beautifully, sleeping peacefully through Holland's singing and humming and yelling and crying and talking (she stayed awake the full 90 minutes). We got gas and returned the rental car - and still Reed slept! We were flying out of LGB, which is a tiny airport, so I stayed at the car while TJ went and checked our luggage. We opened the back window of the Jeep and let Holland just play back there - and still Reed slept. He probably slept for an hour after we parked, airplane and car noises, Holland playing, and us opening and closing doors to consolidate our packing notwithstanding. What a kid. We headed in the airport, got through security, and were the last ones to board the flight (again!) about ten minutes later. :) Holland was so tired but couldn't sleep on the flight - she fell asleep within about two minutes of getting into her car seat in the van.
As I think about the week I realize that we didn't do anything really big or grand but I think it's the little moments like these - a ride around the Ferris wheel, an afternoon at the beach, a surrey ride through the park, fresh squeezed orange juice - that stick out in memories. So grateful to have all these experiences to remember and cherish!
