California 2016 (First Day)

Jake on the balcony of our hotel

Ava sitting on the balcony

Jake learning to boogie board (Brad in the background)

Eli racing Brad on the beach at San Clemente

Powerful waves!

Ava got a wave in the face and the boys were all making sure she was okay.

The boys holding back the laughter once they realized she was going to make it.

Dennis carrying his girl back in after her traumatic experience.

Jake body surfing

My beautiful daughter enjoying the beach

Dennis sure is a handsome man! He was so in heaven at the beach! He absolutely LOVES the water and sunshine!

My little trouble maker getting ready to chuck a handful of sand at me!

Jake's favorite trees in the whole world. (They are a symbol of sunshine and hot weather)

Ava, looking out over the San Clemente pier.

The view from San Clemente pier

These two had a blast together! It was the best vacation and they thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.

Ava all fixed up after our day at the beach

Does this kid ever look like he's not up to something cringe worthy?!  :)

I think Jake asked him to smile.

Boy oh boy, what a vacation! Our Dodge Journey broke down as we were driving through Death Valley. Temperatures were 115 degrees and we had to turn the A/C off and drive at about 45 miles per hour until we reached Barstow. Luckily, thankfully, they had a Dodge dealership in this little podunk town and they were able to look at it. It took about 3 hours for them to get to us but they finally did and told us the computer module was done. They then told us they located a new one but it was in Florida and wouldn't be there until Friday, which was just fine with us since we were going to be in California until Sunday.  So we tried to rent a car with Hertz but they only had little sedans. Well, we didn't want to drive two cars everywhere so we went to Enterprise and they only had a crew cab truck that would fit our family so we went with that.

We finally got to our Hampton Inn in San Clemente  at about 6 or 7 pm. We unloaded all of our things and went to find a place to eat since we were all starving. We found a little Hawaiian restaurant named HaPa J's. We quickly realized what they mean when they say prices are high in California! Ava and Eli wanted to split a kids mac and cheese and it cost $10! And the bowl was a small little bowl. Crazy! 

The next morning we went to "Ralphs" grocery store and bought a bunch of lunchables and snacks for our little cooler and water and headed to the beach. We found a hill right before the beach that we could park on for free and off we went. We had a beach umbrella (from Dean and Alisa) and a little pop up shade canopy to store things in. We had a few camp chairs too. We stayed for probably 7 to 8 hours and had so much fun! The water was perfect. A little cold when you first step in but so refreshing as it got hotter during the day. Dennis tried to get Ava to go out further but she wouldn't. The one time she did, she got a huge wave in the face (pictures above). But once I got in the water and started to go out further to ride some waves, she wanted to join me. We had a total blast together, riding the waves and laughing. Jake caught on to boogie boarding really fast and looked like a pro after just a short time. Brad preferred to just body surf but he and Dennis would trade off and on with the other boogie board.  Later, we decided we would go look for the Hollywood sign which was about an hour north but Jake had talked about it the whole time we were planning this vacation.  Well, we grabbed Taco Bell on the way up there and then we realized what a mistake it was to try to see the sign. We found out later from California natives that NOBODY sees the sign up close. People don't even know how to get to it. It's hidden on a mountain behind neighborhoods that were built to keep people out. We got stuck in a massive traffic jam of "innocents" like us who thought they could easily drive up to it and take a picture. We almost ran out of gas before we made it out of that mangle of vehicles. Jake was SO disappointed. He was silent the whole ride back to San Clemente and just stared out the window. Poor boy!

The next morning we went back to "Ralphs" and loaded up on the snacks and waters again. We were so excited to get to the ocean. Dennis' cousin Margy, told us to check out Treasure Island Beach (part of Laguna Beach). We went there and it was absolutely breathtaking. So well kept and more secluded. But the surf was NOT kid friendly. The beach had a massive drop off as you entered the water and then the waves were ferocious. We took some pictures but then decided to pack up and head back to San Clemente where we knew the sand was soft, the waves were mild, and no drop off. Well, little Ava was walking down the hill and slipped on some gravel and fell and scraped her foot, knee, and elbow pretty bad. Brad carried her down to the lifeguard stand and they washed it out and bandaged her all up. She tried to get into the ocean but the salt water stung her cuts so bad she had to just sit under the umbrella. She cried and cried that her vacation was ruined. I sat with her as the boys played in the ocean. I took her to the little snack shack on the beach and bought her an ice cream cone. 

We stayed until about 4 pm and then back to the hotel we went. Dennis and I were meeting up with Natalie and Alia for dinner and we needed to get ready. The kids wanted pizza so we ordered them Domino's. Then Dennis and I left. We had a good time at King's Fish House in Carlsbad, California. That was about half way between all of us. We had such a good visit and it was nice to go on a date with Dennis.

When we returned, we found out that while we were gone, Eli opened the little fridge and stuck his tongue to the ice box inside. It of course stuck to it and he pulled it and tore some skin off his tongue. The boys said it bled a lot and he cried and cried. He was asleep when we got home but he told us all about it when we got up the next morning.

Saturday morning it was more of the same. But little Ava was bored just sitting under the umbrella. She tried to get in the ocean again but it still stung and then she got sand in her cuts and was just miserable. I asked Dennis to take us (me, Ava, and Eli) back to the hotel. He did and then went back and played with the boys for a few more hours. After they got back to the hotel and cleaned up we looked up "cheap" places close to us and everyone thought "Biggie's Burger" sounded the best. Again, it was pretty pricey (not for California though) but the kids loved the shakes and fries so it was a hit.

Sunday morning we packed up and checked out (after eating the complementary breakfast-that Dennis and the kids enjoyed every day we were there) and drove back to Barstow to pick up our car and take back the truck. We had called the dealership twice to check and make sure we would be able to pick up our car since the service department would be closed on Sunday. They assured us we would be able to and they would leave the keys with the sales department. I was uneasy about that so I called to make sure that would really be the deal. Not a shocker that when we got there, no one knew a thing about our car! The manager finally got a hold of the service manager and tracked down our car and keys. It took about an hour and a half to get our car. Then we took the truck back and headed back to Utah. We got home around 11:30 pm. 

Our pups were safe and sound but they sure missed us and Popi chewed or scratched the bathroom door up a bit. Brad's friend, Mitchell took care of them for us. He would let them out 3x a day, feed them and walk them every day. I'm sure he earned his money with those two little rascals!

So, even though it was eventful, it was "THE BEST" vacation according to the kids. :)