Balboa Island - June 2010

At last, a promised vacation post with a plethora of pictures. They're all crunched into collages but that counts, right?

At the end of June, we met up with my immediate family and my extended family on my mom's side for a fabulous week on Balboa Island (some other folks were either at the Newport Coast Villas or in houses on the peninsula but we were fortunate to be on the island itself). The house that my parents rented for most of us to stay in was in the PERFECT location. Third house from the beachfront on a quiet street, a 5 minute walk from downtown, and a 5 minute walk from the ferry over to the peninsula. In addition to the great locale, we were fortunate to have the best weather EVER while we were there. Every day was in the low to mid 70's - far cooler than normal for the summer months. Forget this post...I'm going to pack my bags and go back!

We all had a most marvelous time, starting with a chunk of the 1st afternoon there spent on the little beach just down from the house. My kids initially went into the water up to their knees (Claire a little further) in their clothes so we took them back and suited them up. We have one niece who couldn't wait for her suit to arrive from the villas where their family was staying and she went in the water in her jeans and tee shirt. First up to her knees, then to her waist, and then up to the top of her shirt. I cringe thinking of how uncomfortable that must have been with those clingy wet, saltwatery clothes (though she sure didn't seem to mind!). The kids all had a blast making drip castles, digging in the sand, wading and/or swimming (or scooting around on body boards) in the water, and soaking up the sun.

One of our evenings there, we met up with my sister and her family (minus her eldest daughter who decided that girls' camp was more important - and fun - than hanging with us) at the Fun Zone. It's a great little stop just across Newport Bay (large waterway on that saide of the island) on the Newport Peninsula. No, it's not a coincidence that Claire and her cousin Becca are in the same outfit. The girls love dressing alike and considering that my sister and I like a lot of the same clothes for our girls, it's not too hard for us to pull off. We obviously failed in the hair department that evening, though, as Becca had pigtails and Claire's hair was mostly down. Poor communication on our parts. The girls were tickled to have pictures taken in their little outfits and we all enjoyed watching Ben on the big-bounce/stunt trampoline. Most of us went on the ferris wheel, and then we took the ferry back over to the island and walked back home.

On another day, we went and rented a boat with my sister and my baby bro and his family. My middle brother also came with his family but arrived later than we did and rented their own boat. It was a very exciting ride with maximum speeds reaching something like 10 mph. Wow...good thing I didn't wear a hat. It was actually a nice little thing with an iPod jack (thanks for the tunes, Jordan!) and a table with cup holders in the middle. We took off right around lunch time and having not eaten, the setup made me wish I'd brought snacks/lunch with us. It was a nice, relaxing cruise around the harbor and a couple of the little islands there. The kids had fun climbing around the boat and when Jordan and Steve weren't driving, Ben and Hudson each got a turn steering the boat. Hudson was all business when it was his turn...serious stuff. I'm bummed about the washed out picture of Hudson and Becca on the lower right but I just had to put it in. They're our two little peas in a pod...born exactly 2 months apart and the greatest of friends. Oh - and please note that we succeeded in having Claire and Becca match outfits and hairstyles that day. I'm so proud of us.

Towards the end of the trip, we spent another afternoon down on our little beach. This time my middle brother's five kids came over for the party so we got a picture of all the kids together (minus my eldest brother's kids...we were sad they couldn't come on the trip). This time they all worked together and made some sort of water city or sand city or something like that. It had drip castles all over with a few bridges and lots of streams running throughout. The best part? It kept them happily occupied for a solid hour or more. I'm all about my kids being self-entertained so that I can sit back and be lazy!

At the end of our afternoon in the sand, my dear friend Becky came to visit for a bit with her two darling little boys. Becky and I have known each other since the beginning of time (I think that's about accurate). She was one of my best friends when we were in early elementary school and then her family moved to another part of California. We kept in touch off-and-on throughout the years but she's always been a great friend. It was a short visit as she got caught in traffic on the way and we were headed to dinner shortly thereafter but it was SO good to see her for the 1st time since Hudson was a baby. Both of her boys are so very cute and I'm fairly certain that her baby loves me. I think I may steal him next time we get together. Thank you again, Becky, for coming out to see us!!

Our last night on the island, we made our final trip (of many) downtown to get Balboa Bars at Dad's - the best and ONLY place to get them - and then took a walk around the island. I love a good bar with everything and Max always goes for the rainbow sprinkles. Hudson started the trip out with bars like Max gets and then soon switched to rainbow sherbet cones instead. I love the shot of him and Becca with their cones...obviously happy kids! While on the walk, we stopped briefly at the place on North Bay Front where there is a dinosaur statue in the front yard (those of you who also vacation there know the place). A couple of the kids got pictures with the dino and while he was excited at the notion of doing so, Hudson changed his mind when it came to getting up close and personal with the beast. I just love his posture and the look on his face.

In addition to all of our morning and evening walks around the island, consuming of Balboa Bars, and visiting with my family, we had fun going to Corona del Mar (our favorite body boarding and body surfing spot), spending time with extended family, going shopping, swimming at the villas, and kicking back at the house. Oh - and one night, when Max and I took our kids and Becca to dinner, Hudson fell asleep while we were eating. Probably the 2nd time he's ever done that...guess he was a bit tired!

I don't think a single one of us was ready to pack up and go at the end of the week but all good things must come to an end. But we took that thought and decided that it didn't have to come to an end just yet. And we headed up the coast to my hometown...