I was realllly excited for a break from Prenda and normal life responsibilities! We left for Oceanside on Friday, October 2 and got there around 4 or 5pm with only one stop in Yuma for some Chick-fil-A. Having the app so we could order while we were driving and just pick it up was wonderful. No wait! Tanner did pretty good.
We stayed in the same beach house as last year. It has 3 levels of bedrooms and living areas, but with the roof and the beach level it makes 5 stories. We had 30 humans living there. Four, one year olds. Four, three year olds. And eight more kids ages 5-14. There was one kitchen but also an extra fridge on another level. It's weird to have so much space but feel so squished. Travis and I were in a small room with a king bed and Olive and Tanner slept on the floor, taking up almost every inch of walking space. Our bathroom sink was clogged so you couldn't run the water without it backing up. The boys slept with Lane and Rusty in the game room that had two trundle beds. The beach house was a constant disaster zone and there was always noise and barricades blocking hallways and doors so babies wouldn't escape. *I* kind of wanted to escape. Just kidding. But actually, I would at least once a day. I really loved my long runs. It's weird to say I like running now, after a lifetime of hating it, but it's been great lately. I usually ran around 7 miles. It's hard navigating all the cars and windy streets but you can't beat the weather. I ran on the beach for about 3 miles one day too. Into Carlsbad and back. I needed that alone time. I also went on lots of walks down the beach and would Marco with Rach or listen to a podcast. I can't write about the things that were going on that were weighing on me, but there were a couple heavy situations I was dealing with and I worried about a whole week of the family living together. Luckily, the things I was worried about, didn't surface at all on the trip. It all went really smoothly and I enjoyed the time I got to be with everyone. I wonder when we'll ever do it again. I think this year proved we might be getting a little too big for one house.
Now, with all that said, is there anything that can beat the peacefulness of looking out on the calm beach at sunset? Add a burrito from Sanchos and I think not. :)
The kids didn't waste any time hitting the sand on Saturday morning! We had all done Walmart grocery pickup on Friday evening which saved us from our usual, long grocery trip on the first morning! In years past, we've dealt with high tides that didn't go out until early afternoon but this year that didn't happen! We had plenty of available beach early in the morning! I don't think the 4 oldest boys ever STOPPED boogie boarding. They did it from sun up til sun down. The board rash they got on their stomachs and thighs from the sand rubbing them raw told the tale. It was General Conference weekend, so I put my ear buds in and listened to the talks while watching the kids from the rocks lining the backyard. Service was spotty sometimes, but I got to hear most of it. I felt like the first 3 or 4 talks were phenomenal. I had tears in my eyes while Elder Bednar and Sis. Craig spoke. Such powerful talks.
Tanner was a happy beach baby. Until he wasn't and wanted to take a shower and get clean only to want to go back out and play. Always how it goes with kids.
The only picture I got from our girls dinner out on Saturday! The LTH had a long wait so we tried Rosewood Kitchen and loved it! Helped that DQ was next door for dessert too. Our plan was to watch the women's session of General Conference afterward but dinner took so long, it never happened, unfortunately.
Sunday morning, Grandpa made pancakes for everybody, then we all pitched in to make Monte Cristo sandwiches for lunch. Grandma brought everything for taco salad for dinner and I made a big pot of hot fudge for sundaes for dessert. Basically, we ate ourselves silly. I had printed conference packets for my kids to work on and earn some candy. It was a really wonderful Sunday, getting to watch all together. And Abbey gets Aunt of the Year for letting the girls play with her hair.
Grandpa took the boys on a walk to the pier Sunday afternoon. He said the closer you get to the pier, the more "educational" the crowd becomes.
Monday morning we went on a girls walk up Pacific Blvd. to Swamis in Carlsbad. It's a bit of a hike for kids, but Olive did great. She was so excited to be doing something special with me. We shared an acai bowl and she got some French toast too!
It wouldn't be Monday night without Harbor Fish and Chips! So grateful that California has loosened up at least a little bit so you can still eat outside at restaurants. Olive was entertaining Cohen when he was getting fussy and he was loving it! She really likes "babysitting".
At night we played games! Ripple is a favorite!
One night all our power went out! It was so strange! We went to the roof to see if we could tell what was going on and it seemed like maybe a fire was down by the pier but we weren't sure. Luckily, it came back on after a couple hours. In the meantime we hung out on the roof with the fire pit!
A couple of different mornings, us ladies did some High Fitness in the second living room area. It's always more fun with friends!
There is a little walk-up restaurant down the street called Buccaneer Cafe with theeee most amazing acai bowl! It's straight dessert it's so decadent. I couldn't believe my tastebuds when I took my first bite. Grandma treated the boys to breakfast one morning and we couldn't help but tag along. I think they all love eating with Grandma because she lets them get whatever they want plus hot chocolate!
This silky leopard swim suit from Abbey's shop is my favorite, tee hee! My little model.
And my beach babe! So glad Olive and Lindi have each other! They both love doing gymnastics. Back bends and hand stands and back walk overs are the skills they been working hard on!
Chasing waves. Fan favorite since always.
Sushi night is a lovely night! Harney Sushi is our fav.
Friendly baseball game and then learning how to surf!
Us girls always get in at least one day! It was the usual screaming, flailing spectacle. But I was super proud of myself... Katie and I both caught two amazing waves and rode them all the way in! The first one was probably the best one I've EVER caught! It was so fun! But WHY oh WHY did God have to make the Pacific Ocean COLD?!!! Curses.
Tanner kills me with this mask. And had to have the hat on for bed too. When are we going to make him give up that pac?!
When we realized we all had very similar leopard swim suits you know what that means.
Tanner had to join in too!
All the theme parks are still closed from Covid, but we needed a little break so we decided to explore Newport Beach! The Goodmans were all going to come with us but the night before, Lane started throwing up so we just took Rusty and Lindi with us. We had heard Seaside Donuts was good, so we started there! They had a cronut too and I've been on the hunt for a good cronut since Nashville. Eh. It was a'ight. The donuts in general were very average.
We walked down the pier to check things out, then rented some bikes to cruise the boardwalk. I really loved Newport's boardwalk! It was so long and perfect for biking or jogging! And the houses lining it were super adorable! Like out of a storybook. They didn't have enough little kid bikes to rent so lucky Travis got to huff the girls around in this cart! His thighs were loving it. We rode all the way down to the next pier and back which took about an hour. Crazy how much sand there is on these beaches! You couldn't beat this scenic bike ride!
Next, we hopped back in the car to drive a couple miles down to Balboa Village. Stinky Covid had the Ferris Wheel and other attractions shut down, so we got a quick lunch of pretzels and pizza, then rode the ferry over to the island. We really had no idea what to do except to get a frozen banana so we walked along the shoreline, heading that direction. Once again, LOVED all the cute, picturesque houses. These ones were fancy though. I admired every single one. I wanted to congratulate all the home owners at a job well done. Way to win at life. I can't imagine living there. Just looking at them made me happy!
Tanner cracked me up requesting a picture with this "gampa". Then he moved to the other side and wanted a picture with the grandma.
Heck, even the DOGS were fancy here!
It was fun strolling through downtown and looking at all the shops. I guess I'm officially old. I was completely entertained just looking at shop fronts.
We made it to the Original Frozen Banana! There's always money in the banana stand! Thanks, Arrested Development.
But why would you get a banana when you could get ice cream instead? That's what I wanna know!
We let them play on the rich people's beach just long enough for someone to get hurt and cry.
I mean, come ON. This place is amaze balls.
On the drive home, we could see the Newport Temple from the freeway, so we took a quick detour to see it. Turns out, it just went under construction on Monday. So there were dumpsters and construction equipment in the parking lot. There was a temple worker who came to the door to chat with us. In the picture I think he kind of looks like an angel, haha. I'm really glad we stopped. I love seeing new temples and it sounds cliche but there really truly is something special about temple grounds. Just getting to walk around it felt calm and peaceful and like we had stepped into another dimension.
Oh geez. This was the night of Mafia. Got totally out of hand. I don't think I'll ever play this game again. People don't know when to shut up. But it WAS really funny at the end when David and Abbey, who were mafia, won. Ruffled Christopher's feathers, but I thought they did a good job! And David's victory dance was the icing. Nope, it was the whole cake too.
Last day on the beach. Waaaaaaah! Started it off right with some avocado toast and the yummiest smoothie. (I think they must use fresh orange juice to make it.) I made everyone pina coladas on the beach. It was probably the coolest day though so I was a bit chilly drinking it!
Olive and Cohen happened to have matching colored suits and Abbey and I DID have matching suits so naturally.... pictures.
For all my griping at the beginning of this post, we really did have a great time and loved being together. We know it's an enormous privilege that our parents spoil us with an awesome beach house right on the beach every year and we don't take it for granted! Our kids are so lucky they get to grow up with these memories with their cousins. I feel like this trip bonds all of us and provides opportunities for us to strengthen our relationships and have chances to talk and get to know each other in ways we normally wouldn't. It's especially fun to have Christopher's family be apart of it since they aren't usually around. Mark my words, Lucy will make it BIG. At whatever she chooses in life. She's a crack up and should really be in Hollywood.
How sweet is this hand on my back???!!! It's up there on favorite mom moments ever. I don't remember who snapped this picture, but THANK YOU.
After cleaning and packing up, I stole away to Buccaneer for one, last acai bowl. I might be the saddest to say good-bye to this. Travis picked me up on our way out. Some families headed straight home, but us sisters and the grandparents stopped at Phils. Sing it, "Traditiooooon. TRADITION!"
Au revoir, Oceanside! We wuv you.
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