The Beach
I took the kids to the beach for a couple of days before the cruise. Danny only had off on Thursday and Friday so he was going to fly down on Wednesday after work. We left Monday early morning with our boogie boards, coolers, and canopy. I got a room at the same place we stayed last year which is right by knotts berry farm. It has 3 beds, which has become a must for me. It is affordable, has a nice pool and hot and worked last time. I have realized that when I travel alone with the kids, being familiar with the location makes me more at peace.
We got there in great timing and the kids did great (for us--it is all relative) on the drive. I didn't let them do electronics so they found ways to entertain themselves. Parker kept trying to get out of his seat which was the most stressful part. We tried checking into the hotel but there were no rooms until 3 so we headed to Seal Beach and had a GREAT time! I felt like I was at my happy place. All the kids loved playing in the sand, going in the ocean. Parker laughed and laughed and it was a beautiful day.
Got back to the hotel without meltdowns and slept great. Hanna is a champion sleeper when she is in the dark so I put her in a sliding door closet in her carseat and she slept the entire night which is such a game changer for me.
We went to Corona del Mar in Newport the next day. I like familiar places and this is a beach I go to a lot. We went there because Tyler and Kira were a little scared to go out far in bigger waves at Huntington so I thought this would be great for them. The waves were a little too small, but the beach was beautiful. We were done around 4 and Michelle and Jared had gotten in and were about 30 minutes south from us at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna so we headed to meet them.
The kids were tired but we were all excited to see the Olsons. I didn't bring the food down to the beach and was pretty ill prepared but wanted to spend as much time with them as possible since they were going to the Disneyland the next day. We stayed about another two hours with no major meltdowns. It was like a marathon beach day.
The beach was cool. It was perfect for skim boarding so Scott had fun with his new skim board. The tide would go way out and then come in from all directions which wasn't the safest beach for Parker and I didn't bring his flotation device but was too lazy to hike up to get it. I should have prepared better. Overall, it was soo pretty but probably not a beach I would go back to with small kids. I felt like I couldn't really sit and talk with Chelle and Jared like I wanted but excited that I could catch up on the cruise.
The next day we were going to meet Glen and Janine for our third day at the beach. David and Juliann were originally going to go to Disneyland but changed their mind and Lisa and Adam decided to come down a day early to hang out. It was so fun once they got there. Lisa and Adam actually made it from Las Vegas before the McMillans but we finally were all together around 12 or 1. We had a great day. The cousins had so much fun playing together, building sand castles and just talking, boogie boarding and hanging out. The weather was perfect.
Around 3 or 4pm Scott said he thought he broke his arm so we packed up and went to Kaiser. A couple of hours later he had a splint on his arm and broken elbow diagnosis. He was worried he wouldn't be able to have fun on the cruise, but he got a blessing from Adam that blessed him to be able to have a good time with his family and make memories. I kept assuring him that he was still going to enjoy the cruise because of the blessing. I am so grateful for the priesthood. I didn't know what would bring me the most comfort but those words were what we both needed.
I came away from the 3 days with a lot to reflect upon.
My mom likes to fit everything into a vacation and a day, which is somewhat in my personality as well. Somehow in the past I felt like the more we do, the more we will get out of the trip. I really don't love Disneyland. It is so crowded and just not that fun to me but the Heidi from a couple of years ago would have wanted to go. Not exactly sure why I would have wanted to go. It wasn't because it was where I would truly have fun, but more the idea of it. When I asked the kids if they wanted to go, they all said no. They didn't need to think about it. They just wanted to play at the beach.
I felt relieved and excited to just chill. We didn't have an agenda of what beaches we would go to or how long we would stay. We were just going to do what we wanted to do and had a great time. When the kids were ready to go to the hotel in the evening, we left. If they wanted to do something else, we would have. If they wanted to go to the hotel pool, we would go. If not, they didn't. It was such a great feeling to vacation to really vacation. Not have to fit in A, B, and C. I felt like I was growing for the better. I feel like I got to know Los Angeles and the beaches better this trip. Traveling the PCH is so beautiful. The different beaches are beautiful and different. I am excited to make a beach trip an annual trip or two for us. It is only about 6 hours away to LA and closer if we go to Santa Cruz or Pismo. Grateful for where we live!
Seal Beach/Huntington Area
Corona del Mar/Newport
Treasure island/Laguna with Olsons
Huntington w/ McMillans
We got there in great timing and the kids did great (for us--it is all relative) on the drive. I didn't let them do electronics so they found ways to entertain themselves. Parker kept trying to get out of his seat which was the most stressful part. We tried checking into the hotel but there were no rooms until 3 so we headed to Seal Beach and had a GREAT time! I felt like I was at my happy place. All the kids loved playing in the sand, going in the ocean. Parker laughed and laughed and it was a beautiful day.
Got back to the hotel without meltdowns and slept great. Hanna is a champion sleeper when she is in the dark so I put her in a sliding door closet in her carseat and she slept the entire night which is such a game changer for me.
We went to Corona del Mar in Newport the next day. I like familiar places and this is a beach I go to a lot. We went there because Tyler and Kira were a little scared to go out far in bigger waves at Huntington so I thought this would be great for them. The waves were a little too small, but the beach was beautiful. We were done around 4 and Michelle and Jared had gotten in and were about 30 minutes south from us at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna so we headed to meet them.
The kids were tired but we were all excited to see the Olsons. I didn't bring the food down to the beach and was pretty ill prepared but wanted to spend as much time with them as possible since they were going to the Disneyland the next day. We stayed about another two hours with no major meltdowns. It was like a marathon beach day.
The beach was cool. It was perfect for skim boarding so Scott had fun with his new skim board. The tide would go way out and then come in from all directions which wasn't the safest beach for Parker and I didn't bring his flotation device but was too lazy to hike up to get it. I should have prepared better. Overall, it was soo pretty but probably not a beach I would go back to with small kids. I felt like I couldn't really sit and talk with Chelle and Jared like I wanted but excited that I could catch up on the cruise.
The next day we were going to meet Glen and Janine for our third day at the beach. David and Juliann were originally going to go to Disneyland but changed their mind and Lisa and Adam decided to come down a day early to hang out. It was so fun once they got there. Lisa and Adam actually made it from Las Vegas before the McMillans but we finally were all together around 12 or 1. We had a great day. The cousins had so much fun playing together, building sand castles and just talking, boogie boarding and hanging out. The weather was perfect.
Around 3 or 4pm Scott said he thought he broke his arm so we packed up and went to Kaiser. A couple of hours later he had a splint on his arm and broken elbow diagnosis. He was worried he wouldn't be able to have fun on the cruise, but he got a blessing from Adam that blessed him to be able to have a good time with his family and make memories. I kept assuring him that he was still going to enjoy the cruise because of the blessing. I am so grateful for the priesthood. I didn't know what would bring me the most comfort but those words were what we both needed.
I came away from the 3 days with a lot to reflect upon.
My mom likes to fit everything into a vacation and a day, which is somewhat in my personality as well. Somehow in the past I felt like the more we do, the more we will get out of the trip. I really don't love Disneyland. It is so crowded and just not that fun to me but the Heidi from a couple of years ago would have wanted to go. Not exactly sure why I would have wanted to go. It wasn't because it was where I would truly have fun, but more the idea of it. When I asked the kids if they wanted to go, they all said no. They didn't need to think about it. They just wanted to play at the beach.
I felt relieved and excited to just chill. We didn't have an agenda of what beaches we would go to or how long we would stay. We were just going to do what we wanted to do and had a great time. When the kids were ready to go to the hotel in the evening, we left. If they wanted to do something else, we would have. If they wanted to go to the hotel pool, we would go. If not, they didn't. It was such a great feeling to vacation to really vacation. Not have to fit in A, B, and C. I felt like I was growing for the better. I feel like I got to know Los Angeles and the beaches better this trip. Traveling the PCH is so beautiful. The different beaches are beautiful and different. I am excited to make a beach trip an annual trip or two for us. It is only about 6 hours away to LA and closer if we go to Santa Cruz or Pismo. Grateful for where we live!
Seal Beach/Huntington Area
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