A Week in Paradise

If you know me well, you can probably guess that when I say paradise, I'm talking about the beach. Ahhh .. a beautiful beach, family, and friends. That's all I need. And in August, Luke and I got to fly out and spend an entire week at the beach with my incredible (seriously, they are THE BEST) family. Of course, it wasn't perfect. We were missing a few key people (i.e. Jeff and Jared; and Patrick & Ashley only came for the last two days) who would have made the trip a hundred times better, but it was still pretty magnificent.

We arrived at the amazing 2 story, 3 bedroom beach house on a Saturday afternoon and immediately oooh-ed and awww-ed at the gorgeous views of the ocean from the two balconies.

Luke loved that he could go out on the balcony any time he wanted. This boy loves to be outside, and on this trip, he was almost always on the beach or on the balcony. He was in heaven!

Checking out the view

This crazy kid will get one foot up on anything he wants to climb on top of and then just try and muscle his way up. This is how he takes stairs too - leaning back at a 45 degree angle, one stair per step.

He made it!

Did you notice Luke's new shoes? He's still trying to get used to them.

After we unpacked, we decided to go for a walk down to the pier and on the way, look for the beach house we stayed at years ago, when I was about 12 years-old. We found the old beach house just two streets down from where we stayed this time. It was so fun to see it again and relive old memories of adventures and mischief with our cousins, the Sommers.

Speaking of mischief, these are the condos across the street from the old beach house that we ran amok in. I wouldn't be surprised if those gates were put up because of us. We went through the condos every time we wanted to go to the beach because it was "faster" (barely). We rode up and down the elevators (Shane even brought my dad's big dirty surfboard with him once - Jared and I weren't brave enough to accompany him), got ice from the ice machine, and we even tried out the indoor pool and sauna.

And this is the open staircase that got us caught. My mom spotted us coming down the stairs from the beach house balcony across the street. We were in big trouble. We really turned into little hooligans whenever we got together with our adventurous cousins. My poor mom.

Luke was so happy to be at the beach - just like his mama.

Luke loves all animals, even dirty old pigeons.

Luke laughed, pointed, and squealed every time he saw a bird.

Wishing he could pet his mite-infested little friends

San Clemente is a really cute little beach city.

I LOVED spending time with my sister. I really miss that girl!

The gorgeous sunset, as seen from the lower balcony (the beach house was at the top of a really steep hill, which led right down to the beach).

The view from the upper balcony.

The next day was Sunday, which for us, isn't a normal beach day so we found other ways to entertain ourselves.

In the morning Luke played dominoes with Grandpa.

Luke was trying to knock the dominoes over prematurely, but Grandpa (softly) elbowed him out of the way. Hence, the "Oh no you didn't!" look on Luke's face.

The battle continues.

Finally, Grandpa gave up.

Sweet victory

We found this pink 'Princess' slap-on bracelet in one of the drawers in the house. Luke learned to hold out his wrist so my dad could slap it on him. Jeff wasn't too pleased to hear about this.

Later that morning, we all got showered and dressed to go to church with the San Clemente 1st Ward at 11:30am. Come to find out, my mom read the time wrong; the meeting started at 11:00. Whoops! But we still got to enjoy most of sacrament meeting, in the midst of a very beachy, laid back ward. Everyone was so tan and most of them had messy beach hair. Their clothes were definitely on the casual side. We even spotted a pair of bare man-feet underneath one of the pews in front of us. It turns out he had a pair of rubber flip-flops on the floor next to him, but still! My dad was the only one in the room wearing a suit aside from a couple of men on the stand. He was worried he might get called as the bishop before the end of the meeting (haha)!

After church, Katrina painted my nails. She did a beautiful job. Unfortunately, I didn't have the patience to let them dry completely so they didn't last long.

My wonderful parents

Luke got a hold of Grandma's sunglasses.

We played Rummikub. Poor Katrina ended up with more tiles than she had space for.

Luke and Grandpa sharing a Sour Punch candy straw. I never expected Luke to like sour candy (he tried it in the first place because I gave him a piece hoping for a funny reaction), but apparently he loves it!

That evening, Katrina and I decided to take Luke on a walk down by the beach. We found a swing set near the pier, much to Luke's delight ...

The swings face the ocean and after watching the waves the entire time he was swinging, Luke insisted that Katrina take him down for a closer look ...

So Beautiful!

I love that Luke seems to love the beach as much as I do.

The umbrella stroller didn't do very well on the sand-covered jogging path at the top of the beach so Katrina and I decided that instead of going back the way we came, we would take the stairs and bridge up to the street and walk through the neighborhood to get back to the house. Carrying Luke in the stroller up four flights of stairs by myself was quite a feat of strength.

I swiped this gorgeous flower from a bush at the top of the steepest hill I've ever climbed. We ended up having to turn around and go back down the practically vertical hill and all four flights of stairs, but at least I got this beautiful flower out of the deal.

That night, while we were watching Just Friends, my mom said, "I bet Kira could find a way to make cookies using just the things in this kitchen." Of course, I couldn't pass up that challenge so I rummaged through the cupboards and drawers and ended up making oatmeal raisin cookies using pancake mix, a couple of my dad's perfectly measured out bags of oatmeal (we had to replace those the next day), what was left of the raisins I brought as an airplane snack for Luke, and a few other ingredients that lucky for us, the owners of the house had left behind.

They actually turned out pretty good.

Every one of them was gone by the next day.

The next day was Monday, our first official beach day! I was so excited to go for my first barefoot beach run of the week. Running barefoot in the sand right down by the water is hands down my favorite way to run. I was in heaven. However, I noticed that I was practically the only person running barefoot down by the water, while most of the other runners were wearing running shoes and running on the paved jogging trail at the top of the sand. Fools! Couldn't they see that my way was clearly the best way to run on the beach? Or maybe I'm the fool since I was clearly in the minority with this opinion, but I am happy to be a fool if it means I get to feel the soft sand beneath my feet with each step and the occasional rush of cold water when a wave breaks on the shore and washes up over my toes. Running barefoot is the most free feeling and I love everything about the sights, sounds, and smells of a morning run on the beach.

Silly boy eating breakfast

Katrina and I had so much fun together that week! We talked, laughed, acted like kids, played and had adventures. My awesome parents made it all possible by watching Luke a zillion times. It felt a little like 16 and Pregnant with my parents putting Luke to bed at night about as many times as I did throughout the week!

Katrina made my mom work for the cute picture of us that she wanted.

There it is!

Since it was still a little too overcast at the beach, Katrina and I decided to go for a long walk to Golden Spoon and back (a little over 6 miles round trip). On the way, we received the most bored-sounding cat call ever ("woooo....."), climbed the best climbing tree I've ever seen, and I got a pretty solid sunburn, leaving me with an awesome sports bra tan for the rest of the week.

While we were gone, my mom and her friend Leslie, who was down visiting for the day, took Luke to the beach and when Katrina and I got back, he got to go again! He was perfectly happy to play in the sand and water with the beach toys Grandma bought for him all day long.

But he had to keep one hand on Mommy at all times.

Before he figured out how to use the shovel properly, Luke used the back of the shovel to scoop sand into his bucket.

Back at the house, Luke decided to try on Grandma's glasses and do a little light reading.

That night, Katrina and I went to see Crazy, Stupid, Love at a nearby theater and my mom gave us cash to pay for it (I'm spoiled). When we got to the ticket window, the theater worker told me I owed him $18 for our tickets. I automatically handed him the $21 my mom had given me. The guy gave me a funny look and said, "I'm gonna give you that back..." and handed me back the $1 bill that I had given him on top of the $20 bill. Wow. I'm like a little kid: "This is the money my maaam gave me. I'm sposta give you all of it."

While Katrina and I were at the movies, Grandma and Grandpa brought Luke down to the beach for the third time that day. Luke couldn't believe his good fortune! This time they all got bundled up and went for a nighttime walk on the pier. Grandpa did some crazy driving with Luke in his stroller and lifted him and the stroller up and over a few of the cement benches on the side of the pier. The first time Grandpa skipped a bench, Luke loudly protested by shouting and pointing back at the missed bench. Grandpa obediently ran back and fixed his mistake, but then Luke noticed that they were passing up all of the benches lining the opposite side of the pier and he started yelling and pointing at them because of course, they had to ride over all of those too. But that is where Grandpa drew the line.

On Tuesday, Katrina's good friend Nicole came down to join the fun. We had a marvelous day on the beach, lying out under the warm sun, chatting away, playing with Luke, and enjoying the waves.

Warning: I wore one of Katrina's little string bikinis, hoping to get a fabulous tan for our cruise the following week (I had intended to do some pre-cruise dieting too, but instead, it was a week full of candy, ice cream, and countless 100-calorie-packs. C'est la vie.), so if you think your eyes might burn at the sight of that much skin, either stop reading now or avert your eyes for the following group of pictures.

Katrina and Luke getting their feet wet

Luke on a break away, headed straight for the waves.

I hope Katrina won't be embarrassed that I'm pointing this out, but the tan lines created by the shadow of her bootylicious derriere are among my favorite things.

On the move

Luke amused Katrina and Nicole with his crazy antics.

Happy boy!

I'm sooo white. Katrina and I look like we're two different ethnicities.

Also, Luke and Katrina were twins all week with routinely semi-exposed right bum cheeks.

Luke loves to make lightening-fast 180 degree turns to tangle and confuse whomever is walking him around, especially if it is two people.

Just look at that gorgeous water (and my gorgeous sports bra tan).

I loved spending time on the beach with my boy.

Grandpa and Luke were close pals all week long. They often hung out in the mornings while I went for my morning run and multiple times in the afternoons and evenings, as I ran around like a child loving spending time with my wonderful sister. One afternoon, while I was out playing in the waves with Katrina, Nicole, and an inflatable raft (more to come on that); Grandpa voluntarily took Luke back up to the house, bathed him, and put him down for a nap! What a guy!

Luke is fearless (or oblivious)

After seeing this picture, my dad lamented, "Why do I always look pissed off? I even tried to smile in one of them!" (the 'smiling' one wasn't much different from this one) My mom tried to tell him that it's only because the sun was so bright, but Dad didn't seem convinced.

That night, Katrina, Nicole, and I made the 6 mile walk to and from Golden Spoon swapping stories, laughing, and having a few heart-to-hearts along the way. And when we got back, we stayed up talking late into the night. I was pretty tired the next day when Luke insisted I get up bright and early in the morning to play with him and feed him breakfast, but it was worth it.

And later that morning, Grandma and Grandpa took the little man off my hands again (every time we visit my family, I really enjoy the break, but at the same time, I really miss the little guy by the end of the week)! This time, Grandma and Grandpa took Luke to Zoomars Petting Zoo in San Juan Capistrano. He loved it!

Feeding a guinea pig with Grandma

Feeding a chicken

Luke wasn't too sure about the pony ride. He was afraid of the guy leading the pony so he made sure Grandma stayed close.

The 'scary' guy (hats and sunglasses kind of freak Luke out)

Luke and Grandpa riding the train. Luke liked the girl running the train. He smiled at her every time they went by. He's already such a little flirt!

While Grandma, Grandpa, and Luke were at the petting zoo, Katrina, Nicole, and I finally remembered to break out the blow-up raft we had brought. Katrina and I couldn't believe we hadn't used it until then.

Down on the beach that morning, for the second day in a row, we sweetly, yet firmly turned down the invitation to play beach volleyball with the big group of guys who occupied the court near our 'spot' on the beach every day we were there (they were really good and we knew we would make fools of ourselves; not to mention, probably expose ourselves playing in our tiny swimsuits). Instead, we blew up our raft and hit the waves. I'm sure the guys were jealous. Our activity was way more fun! But we didn't invite them to join us because there is no doubt that if we had, they would have popped our raft and I (a happily married woman) personally, didn't feel comfortable wriggling onto a little rubber raft with a bunch of shirtless 20-something men. I was so glad that Katrina and Nicole agreed.

So excited for the glorious escapade we knew was in store!

I was so happy that Nicole had her camera with her when I discovered that the memory card was missing from mine (I had left it in my laptop). Some of the farther away shots are a little blurry, but they're better than nothing!

The three of us had an absolute blast every second that we were out in the water. We laughed the whole time!

We carried the raft above our heads and fought the waves, determined to get out far enough to catch the big ones. I'm a couple of inches shorter than Katrina and Nicole so I floundered a bit in the deep water, but the girls picked up the slack and we made it!

Here I am climbing into the raft. This was one of my favorite parts, partly because it was fun to struggle to get all three of us into the boat as fast as we could before a wave came, but mostly because I got to watch Katrina flop and wriggle into the boat just. like. a fish every time.

All in!

Once while we were all sitting in the raft waiting for a good wave, I noticed that we were gradually being pulled out to sea by a rip tide. I looked up, and sure enough, the lifeguard on the tower in front of us was watching our raft and starting to get a little antsy. I told the girls we'd better get out of the boat and start to swim before he decided to come out and rescue us. He was clearly considering it. We all jumped out and struggled to swim sideways out of the rip tide as fast as we could, but it was too late, the lifeguard was no longer on his tower! We all laughed and strained to swim faster, hoping we could get out before we were forced to subject ourselves to the humiliation of being towed in by the lifeguard.

With the help of a couple of waves, we made it far enough in that we could stand and walk to shore. The lifeguard, who looked like he was straight out of the 70's with his bright blue eyes and shaggy dirty blond hair and thick mustache, had already started his swim out to rescue us. The moment we were able to touch our feet to the sand, I noticed him, about 15 feet directly to the right of us. When he saw us, he tried to hide! He hunched down in the water so that he was only visible from the eyes up, but the big red lifeguard float bobbing behind him kind of gave him away. When he realized I could see him, he stood up sheepishly and said, "Well that was a fail." Poor embarrassed lifeguard. At least he can feel good about the fact that he actually pulls off the 70's look very well.

The next morning, Nicole went home and Patrick and Ashley came out to stay the night. Luke was so excited to see Patrick. He obviously remembered how much fun they had had together the week of Luke's 1st birthday party. We all spent another great day at the beach and Luke had a blast playing with his fun Uncle Patrick all day.

Patrick and Luke dropping rocks into Luke's bucket of water.

All week whenever Luke played this game, his favorite rock was always the biggest one and once he found it, he would hold onto instead of throwing it back in the bucket.

Ever since Patrick and I were kids, I've known he would be the best dad. I'm so happy Luke gets to have him for an uncle.

Pointing out a huge group of seagulls and pigeons

Chasing the birds. Luke was laughing so hard.

Katrina and Ashley joined the fun. I was sneakily taking these pictures using some serious zoom from about 40 yards away.

Luke, Patrick and I played in the sand down by the water for a while. Luke was having a great time, but when he started to get sleepy, he automatically rubbed his eyes - with his sandy hands. He quickly had sand all over his face and in his mouth, but the more, he tried to wipe it off, the sandier he got! I took him back up to our towels to clean him off. This is his "Please get this sand off of me." face.

But when he noticed I was taking pictures, he had to give me a smile.

That night, Grandma and Grandpa watched Luke (again) while Patrick, Ashely, Katrina, and I went for a walk down by the beach and had a nice long chat on the pier.

The next morning, It was time for Luke and I to head back to Texas. I was so sad to have to say goodbye to my family, especially since Patrick and Ashely had just arrived. I always have so much fun with my amazing family (I wish Jared could have been there too), but I really missed Jeff and I was so excited to see him so Luke and I jumped on our 4 hour flight back home. Thank you so much for an incredibly fun week family! I love you all!