Steve and I had a busy weekend. Six of our friends came into town to visit and we had a blast. Greg Polka, Steve Vance, Jen and Jason Wenberg, and Andrea and Andy Thickpenny arrived Thursday afternoon and left early Sunday morning. There were so many of us that we had to rent a suburban instead of driving two vehicles around all weekend. Steve and I worked a half day on Thursday and started our adventure by picking up Jen and Jason from John Wayne Airport, had some grub, and then eventually made our way back to the airport to pick up the rest of the clan. Since the boys were still napping we stopped at Zonas and then headed over to Ralph's to pick up some groceries. We got home and I was so happy to see my love bugs---I miss them so much during the day. We all had a wonderful time catching up and I know they enjoyed seeing the boys. Most of them had not seen Jack and Zach since their 1st birthday, while others got to see them when they were in town last year when the boys were 19months old. The boys did well considering Mama and Dada came home with 6 people on their coat tails. J
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| I could get used to driving this truck. It was smooth. |
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| w/ Jen |
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| Uncle Andy |
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| Steveo with Polks...grillin' out... |
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| Auntie Andrea playin' with her boys. Zach was always on the hunt for "Adra". |
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| Play Time... |
Although the plans were to just relax and enjoy each other’s company, we also had a schedule to follow so that we could make the most of their visit. We wanted to show them most of what Steve and I get to enjoy either as a family or sans kids. We started our Friday morning by having breakfast at Turks, followed by a day down at San Clemente Pier, enjoying lunch at Fisherman’s, shopping downtown, pit stop at Baskin Robbins (yummy), went back down to the pier to watch the sunset, and ended our night with dinner at Beach Fire. We had a good time and we were all very quiet towards the end of the day. We forget how draining it can be sitting in the sun soaking in the fresh air. J I went a little nutty taking pictures of the beach and sunset.
We spent most of Saturday in Huntington Beach. We got up and started getting the boys ready. They were spending the day/night with Nana and Papa. We were so excited to use the suitcases from Grandma Smith; the boys had a good time helping me pack. It was cute because Zach started to pack up all of his trucks but I had to tell him that he could only bring a couple of things and that Nana had toys there to play with. He was so cute; looked up at me and said okay. We soon made our way over to Steve’s parents and dropped the boys off. They were having so much fun playing with all 8 of us that they didn’t want us to go, so they cried nonstop until we backed out of the driveway. They have not done that in a LONG time. The boys generally run over to the window and yell bye and blow kisses. Even though it breaks my heart to see them crying that way, it doesn’t last very long. We eventually made our way to Huntington Beach. Our first stop was to walk HB pier. Since it is known as Surf City USA, it is much busier than SC pier/beach. There were a ton of surfers, one even doing headstands while riding a wave, sunbathers, volleyball players, and a crazy person who decided that since it was nice out to get his pet python out of the house. Yep, no joke and I included a picture (Warning for those that don’t like to see reptiles). Eventually we made our way to Duke’s on the beach for lunch. Duke’s is known for their fish tacos and yum, yum, yum good! After lunch we headed over to Harold’s cousins house in the harbor. She was gracious enough to give us access to her house so that we can take a ride around the harbor in her Duffy, an electric boat. I had brought munchies and drinks but I think everyone was full from lunch because we never got out the munchies until after the boat ride. The houses and boats you see in the harbor are out of this world. Definitely neat to look at and then we all pinch each other and wake up from dreaming. J Steve and I had made reservations at Nick’s located in downtown SC and as always, the food was amazing. I never did get my group photo…oh well. I think we were all beat by the end of the day so the last thing on any of our minds is pictures. Since the boys were staying with Nana and Papa, Steve and I were looking forward to staying up a little but not the case. Clearly everyone was tired and not 21 years old anymore.
Sunday morning came quickly. Harold and Joyce brought the boys over as soon as they woke up so everyone could say bye. This was the first night the boys stayed over at his parent’s house and they did an amazing job sleeping in their big boy beds. Steve eventually brought everyone back to the airport and the boys were able to go on the second trip. There is a special place where Steve brings the boys because the airplanes fly right above you. The boys had a good time. Since we were not able to return the suburban until Monday morning, we picked up Harold and Joyce and we went back on the Duffy so the boys could see the boat. They did really good and eventually they were getting restless and wanted to operate the boat and touch all the gadgets and buttons. This was a sign it was time to park the boat. While Steve and his dad cleaned up our mess, Joyce and I took the boys over to a private beach, an inlet for the community. I was bummed because I forgot my camera on the boat and was not able to get photos of the boys running around. Since this part of the beach belongs to the homeowners in the area, it is quiet and you don’t get the waves crashing in, etc. I am sure we will be visiting more once it turns “summer”. J
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| :( saying goodbye to Auntie and Uncle |
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| Airplanes... |
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| Dada and Jack |
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| W/ Jack |
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| Nana and Zachary (looks like a serious conversation :)) |
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| Dada and Captain Jack |
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| This is happiness...Melt my heart. My children can bring the biggest SMILE to my face |
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| Captain Jack |
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| Captain Jack |
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| Nana with Zacharoo |
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| Attempt at a family photo. At the end of our trip...what does this do, can I turn this on, what is this, and over here...touch, touch, touch |
We ended our weekend with our neighbors, Tom and Melissa, over for dinner. We had not seen them in a very LONG time, talked, you name it, and so it was good to catch up like we once used to do. We enjoyed our time visiting with our friends and as of now this has turned into an annual event, so I will end on this note…until this time next year!
Love,
Julie
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