The weekend leading up to summer vacation was all about getting ready for our much-anticipated trip to Newport Beach, California. After Girls Camp, Youth Conference and the family camping trip Matt said, "I am looking forward to a vacation where I can actually relax!" Our original plan was to leave on Monday morning at the crack of dawn. I don't love doing that though. I wondered how great it would be to just leave after church. On the fourth Sunday our ward holds a linger longer/pot luck. This worked great because I didn't even have to dirty the kitchen and we got on the road with full bellies. HOWEVER, only driving halfway meant that we had to stay at sketchy Virgin River in Mesquite. The kids were relieved that it wasn’t as bad as I made it out to be, BUT there were instructions in the bathroom on
how to properly dispose of hypodermic needles:/ I sent a text to Katrina, who was staying in the other room with the boys.
Katrina replied, “You get the
designated heroine room, luck you.” There was indeed something hellish about that place. For example, when we pulled in the night before at 11 pm, it was still 98°. I had told Ava that I was going to go to bed right when we got there. As soon as we arrived I pulled out my own blanket, lay down on the bed and said, "Good night." I kept feeling like something was crawling on me. I think it was just in my head. I hope so.
Matt treated us to the duce's breakfast at the restaurant the next morning: two eggs, two bacon, two sausage, and two pancakes. It was a ridiculous amount of food.
I think we got out of there barely spending over $100 for two rooms and breakfast for 8!
Marriott Vacation Villa - Newport Beach California
What I love most about staying at the Villa are the exercise classes each morning. I attended Zumba with Katrina and Ava the first morning but they left to me attend the other classes by myself the rest of the week. I guess it is hard to get up first thing and exercise when you are on vacation. When we stayed at this particular villa four years ago the classes were held on the great lawn, so without looking at the schedule that is where I headed the first morning. Katrina was already doing yoga because she said the class was full and it had been moved to the Koi pond area. I went back to get Matt to see if he wanted to go to the gym instead. He did, but I don't really like gyms and after walking in I realized I would rather wait until the next class. So back to the room I went to get a key, my water and the girls. By the time I got to the class I felt like I had already gotten a workout.
Crystal Cove
We spent our afternoon at Crystal Cove Beach. It is a State Park and California is in the process of renovating the original beach homes from the 1930's. I hoped to see progress but they looked more dilapidated than ever.
For dinner that evening K and G treated us to a chicken dish with homemade potato salad and beets. She is always encouraging us to stretch our taste buds.
After dinner we decided to check out some nearby shops. Callie was a bit sun-stroked (as I predicted) so she stayed behind with Grayson. We took the shuttle to Crystal Cove Shopping Center but soon discovered it was just a bunch of high-end restaurants, closed furniture stores, and fancy boutiques. We poked around Pier 1 and Trader Joe's before deciding to WALK back, my idea of course. We pulled a no-no and crossed the highway so we could go down to the beach at night. The tide was so high! The water had worn a cliff into the sand that Giuseppe sat down on. We soon learned it was not strong enough to hold him when we heard Katrina shout, "Baby!" and saw him tumble in. We were able to rescue him and as you can see all's well that ends well.
I remember when Mallerie and I walked to Crystal Cove four years ago we took a tunnel to go under the street. I was sure I would be able to find it. I couldn't.
Laguna Beach
Fearing that parking would be an issue we again took the shuttle the next day. Laguna Beach was poppin! We were kind of surprised given the fact that the beach was covered in kelp! As I settled into the sand and saw the kids come out of the water looking like mummies from being wrapped in the sticky stuff, I opted to just watch. But those kids, those kids and the beach! Matt and I couldn't get over how they just wanted to play and play and play, and this is coming from Matt who is a beach bum himself!
Each pile of washed-up kelp had it's own cloud of flying insects above it.
In a the hullabaloo Giuseppe lost a flip-flop. This sent us into town to find a pair. While he looked I sat on a bench and ordered the kids a pizza. Katrina showed up at the same time as the pizza.
I texted Matt our lunch plans to see if he wanted to join us. He said Callie was hungry so he had already fed her. We all decided that she looked very serious in this picture.
We decided to send a serious picture back, only Ava didn't get the memo.
On our way back to the beach I said, "Look G, you could have bought some grass flip-flops instead!"
Matt forgot a hat so we coward under my umbrella. He wore a spare hat of mine. He said when he was in the gift shop the guy behind the counter said, "I like your hat...it has a nice weave to it."
My skin can't handle so much sun and I knew the kid's couldn't either but I was unsuccessful at tearing them away from the beach. The shuttle only came every couple of hours so by missing the first we had another full day in the sun!
We sat on the brick wall as we waited for the shuttle at the end of the day. Matt and I struck up a conversation with a couple from Colorado (since now we have a big 'ol connection there). I was BOILING hot. I looked at Matt and saw that he had sweat dripping down his face. He said, "I think I am hotter than I have ever been in my life!" Then as soon as we stood up from that cement wall our internal temperature dropped 20°. Serves us right for sitting on a heater.
Katrina Lucy July 25th Twenty-Two
On the two's it read:...I don't know about you but I'm feeling 22...oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh. It feels like a perfect night for breakfast at midnight...
I was glad we were together to celebrate Katrina's actual birthday since the last two years she was in South Carolina and France on her birthday.
We opted to stay at the villa and have a BBQ for her birthday dinner. We had to scope out the patio early since there was a large crowd from Utah that seemed to take it over every evening.
Matt was in charge of the red meat. Watch and learn Gray.
I attended the Miss Wasatch Pageant just a week and a half before with Katrina, Ava and Callie. The program listed the prizes Miss Wasatch would receive in addition to scholarship money. Katrina noted that it really wasn't all that much. I agreed, "Especially when you have to prance around in a swimsuit to earn it!"
Then when Ava and I were shopping at the Riverwoods, I came across some Stance socks (those were one of the prizes listed on the program). I got the idea to get Katrina the items listed in the program for her birthday. Her birthday card read, "And you didn't even have to enter the pageant!"
Her gifts consisted of:
A new dress
Stance socks
Quench It gift card
Mrs. Calls candy
Lotion (for a mani-pedi)
She chuckled at the gesture and thought it very clever.
She even treated us to a winning wave.
That wave comes out from time to time I can see.
I was glad Giuseppe bought Katrina some Sprinkles cupcakes since the angel food cake I brought from Utah was getting a little stale...I unfortunately snapped this photo AFTER the sparkler blew out.
The two of them met up with California friends for a movie afterwards. You will remember Newport is G's stomping grounds. (The next day they met up with his family at Laguna Beach for another kelp bath;)
Matt relaxed, Ava took the babes to the pool for a night swim and I toured the resort with Gray. We spent quite a while at table tennis. We made the rule that you could play ANY ball no matter what it bounced off of or how many times it bounced. For this reason the game went on and on till one of us bounced the ball into the fountain. Later we walked around the fire pits and played tetherball. It was a nice night with Gray and one I will always remember.
Balboa Island
Before our trip Matt asked what I was most looking forward to. I said, "Probably reading by the pool." He said the thing he would really like to do is rent bikes and ride along the beach, and he made it happen!
We drove out to Balboa Island and surprisingly had no trouble parking. We found a guy who was eager to rent out his bikes and gave us easy directions to get to the ferry. "Oh!" we realized, "We will have to take a ferry." This added to the adventure because well, this is not something we see every day. The ferry could hold 3-4 cars at a time as well passengers on foot, or in our case, on pedal.
The architecture of the homes along the beach is so fun to look at. Many of them have fold-a-way walls so I could see right into the home as I passed. Some were fabulously remodeled, others cozy and quaint.
We came across a beach that was kelp FREE! This made the kids wish they had brought their suits. Matt said he would bring them back. We took a mental note of this unencumbered location.
Matt also said that he would like to get a photo of the two of us on the beach at some point. He said, "Here kids, take our picture." The sand, the waves, it was indeed a picture perfect moment.
Before we rode the shuttle back I said I wanted an ice cream from a shop I had seen called, Cowafornia Ice Cream. I can't remember enjoying a cone more. We sat outside with other tourists and watched the seagulls look for crumbs. Ava took the babes for a churro instead.
We poked around some shops and I found a cute turtle to add to our collection. Without meaning to I have started a turtle collection. He's the little guy in front with glasses.
Our original plan was to attend the Newport Beach Temple but wouldn't you know, it was closed for cleaning. I was so disappointed. We drove by anyway. It is gorgeous! Maybe next time.
The sun was too bright to even be able to SEE!
I read a in a magazine on this very trip about what adults say made childhood vacations most memorable. We conquered all three!
1. Time spent in water
2. Unusual transportation
3. Memorable eating experiences
The last one is next on our itinerary. When were at Crystal Cove at night I saw the Beachcomber restaurant all lit with cozy candles and thought it would be nice to come back, so we did.
We got ourselves cleaned up from our bike ride adventure and headed to the shuttle stop. Crystal cove is only across the street, but by the time you walk around the resort and across the highway and down the path, it takes about 45 minutes. For this reason the shuttle came in handy every day at some point.
I pointed out the cottage from the movie Beaches to Matt and he wanted a photo of it.
Best photo bomb EVAH!
Those kids and the water! They cannot leave it alone.
Unfortunately right when Matt took our selfie the biggest wave came so we missed seeing Ava get doused nearly up to her waist.
Dinner was just as magical as I had hoped it would be. If you can't get a good picture to capture the evening then it means it was nice and dim. There was live music, which always adds to the ambiance.
Grayson ordered what he thought was one thing but due to fancy wording an unexpected dish came out. I don't think fancy is his cup of tea but his comments proved entertaining. I was thrilled that everyone agreed my salmon was delicious. The kids meals came with S'mores. We wondered throughout dinner what they would look like. Pretty basic, bit of a let down.
We decided to walk back to the resort and I found the tunnel!
I knew I wasn't crazy. There IS a tunnel.
With the evening lights shining on the bushes you could better see what is lurking in the shadows. YUCK. But look at the detail of that web!
Graham and I were walking slower than the others and got a good distance behind on our walk back. As we rounded the corner to where the resort begins I saw a footpath. I said, "Do you think this is a shortcut?" Graham shrugged a maybe. We decided to try it. We ran up the path. All the buildings looked the same at night but Graham seemed to know where we were. He said, "Up these stairs, turn here, now down the sidewalk." Finally I got my bearings (it is a big resort!) I was getting winded but we didn't stop. We ran and ran all the way to our building. I said, "Let's make it look like we have been here a while." So we pulled out the bed in the living room, turned on the TV and got settled just as Matt and the other kids came in. They were so baffled to see us already there. Graham and I cheered and whooped and hollered and clapped, and we didn't stop! It was a good one!
The next day the kids wanted MORE beach time. When was my reading day at the pool going to happen?? I opted to stay behind. We would have been a seat shy in the van anyway since K&G wanted in on the outing. Off they all went back to Balboa while I read by the pool. It was so delightful! It was like being on vacation while on vacation. When I got hungry I waved my hand and was brought a menu. When the DJ asked who wanted to play poolside trivia, I waved my hand again. It was a lovely day. As the evening sun set a musician sang cover songs. He was amazing. He could perfectly sing anything from Elvis, to Cheryl Crow, to Pink. I loved it.
Matt updated me throughout the day with what was happening at the beach.
He said the kids didn't tire of running from the waves over and over again. At one point a big wave took out Callie and spooked her. She came and laid by Matt. Soon after he couldn't see her. He must have been equally spooked by the wave because they all searched frantically till Graham saw that she was sound asleep on the beach towel right by him. Matt didn't tell me about this incident till later. Much later.
This time they took the van on the ferry to Balboa Island. During this trip every time we would start the car it struggled to turn. They were in a panic that the battery would die and there they would be holding up the ferry. Luckily the battery made it through the trip but I scheduled a replacement as soon as we were home.
Back in the room that evening Matt ordered a pizza and I played Parcheesi with the guys.
We got a text from some friends in our Stake that have a daughter getting married to a guy from Monument Colorado. Their daughter was visiting his family when she ran into Mallerie at Stake Conference. They were good friends in High School so it was a fun reunion for them. Mallerie got to go to the reception and everything!
Per Callie's request we drove home in one day instead of breaking it up into two. It makes for a long day but I agree it is worth it.
Kind of like the feeling you get when you are unloading a sandy van after vacation. It is a lot of work.
But it is worth it.
