Newport Beach:Part 3

Fun in the sun! The mornings were usually overcast and a little chilly, but the afternoons were perfect for the beach!

P2 hated the beach. The waves scared her, and she didn't even like playing in the sand because it was "dirty."

Grandpa was the master sand castle builder, and P1 was the master destroyer.

I caught a fish with my hands twice. This poor little fish was swimming on his side, and I caught him. But then I noticed that one of his eyes had been pecked out. Gross! I threw him back in, but he just washed up on the shore a few minutes later. I was going to just leave him, but some other girls were trying to save him, and would squeal when he would start flopping around. So I went and tossed him back in the water. And then a seagull flew down and grabbed him. Poor fish. 

P1 was willing to get in the water as long as he had a hand to hold onto. He also liked filling the buckets up with water, but the waves usually tried to carry him and the bucket away.  He would take the water back to the sand castles, and use it to wash his hands and feet. Once, he had both feet and both hands in the bucket at the same time. It was hilarious, and he almost tipped over. I wish I had a picture.

Newport Beach: Part 2

Our beach house was right on the beach, which was awesome! This was the view from our porch:

Sunday morning we found a LDS church to attend. During church, they had all the visitors raise a hand, and a good 3/4 of the congregation were visitors. It was a good meeting. Grandma took P2 to nursery, and was actually able to leave her there. I took P1 to primary and had to stay with him during sharing time. They practiced a song for Father's Day, and P2 sang it super loud. The leaders asked if he would be here on Father's Day, because they really liked his enthusiasm. I was able to leave when he went to class and go to Relief Society with my mom and sister. I was glad we had stayed the whole time, because the Relief Society lesson was really good. On Fast Sunday, they ask someone to share "Why I Believe" for the lesson. The sister that shared this week did a wonderful job, and it was so fun to hear her story. She and her husband (and 2 kids) have lived in a few different countries where they have been teachers. One place was Saudi Arabia, and it was fun to hear what it was like to live there. I kept thinking that this is what PE would have loved to have done. I love to hear other people's stories.

After church and naps, we went exploring. Grandpa brought some airplanes that P1 loved trying to fly.

They have a park on the beach, and P2 loved that. I think it was her favorite place on the beach.

While we were walking, someone commented how P1 was the best dressed at the beach.

Walking on the pier: 

Newport Beach: Part 1

We went on our first family road trip! 

Destination: Newport Beach

Distance: 707 miles

Driving Time: 11 hours

We left Friday night after dinner and stopped in St. George for the night. When we pulled into St. George, we noticed that our AC fan was making grinding noises. We decided to have it looked at first thing in the morning. We spent the night at the Red Lion Hotel. We got a good deal on the hotel through Priceline Express Deals, but we were a little disappointed in the quality of the hotel. We had 2 queen beds, so P1 and I shared a bed, and P2 and dad shared a bed. We kept the kids up during the drive, so they would crash when we got to the hotel. But alas, they hardly slept. P2 kicked dad all night, and P1 would randomly give me kisses and hugs. Silly kids!

First thing in the morning, I took the car into a repair shop. They replaced the blower motor for a couple hundred dollars. More than we wanted to pay, but we were still feeling good that we were able to get it fixed so quickly (under an hour).

We left around 10 am for Las Vegas. We stopped at Memphis Championship BBQ for a delicious lunch. Then we stopped at Duck Creek Park for the kids to play. It was a nice park with a splash pad.

It was very hot! So we got back in the car, ready to drive the rest of the way! Well, about 45 minutes outside of Baker, California, our AC completely died. It was hot and miserable. Baker is the only town close by, and they have 1 auto repair shop. So we made the stop, and learned our AC compressor was busted. And they could fix it that same day for a mere $1300. Yikes!!!

Well, we got the kids inside the air conditioned gas station, and got some drinks to cool down. We considered driving to Barstow (an hour away) to get it fixed for cheaper. We made some calls, and learned it would cost about the same. And did I mention it was 110 degrees outside? An hour ride would have been miserable.

We decided to have them fix it, but turns out they had to send someone to Barstow to get the parts. We were stuck in Baker for 7 hours, with 2 toddlers. What a nightmare!!! I kept wishing that I would wake up!

The kids really did pretty well. We watched a lot of shows on my kindle. At one point, P2 was throwing a fit, and I was trying to hold her. She just kept screaming and crying. One of the ladies that was working at the Subway in the gas station came over and gave the kids Zootopia stickers. It was so nice of her, and I may or may not have started crying.

At one point, I cried out in my mind for Heavenly Father to let me see His hand, and know He was aware of us. Instantly, my phone received a text message from a friend asking how the trip was going. I was able to vent to her, and feel better about things. It is easier to go through trials when we know that Heavenly Father is watching over us.

We survived the ordeal and were back on the road at 8:30 pm. We pulled into the beach house at 11:30 pm, tired and exhausted!

Note to self: Next time rent a car!!!! (If there ever is a next time...)

Somersaults

My kids learned to do somersaults! P1 accidentally did one after falling off a little rocking chair. The rocking chair gave him the right momentum to do it.  P2 picked it up quickly, without the rocking chair. After much practice, P1 could finally do it without the rocking chair too.

After perfecting normal somersaults, they decided to do somersaults on dad.