CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF SOCAL

I know..I know....I am way behind on posts. We were out of town for a few days in California again. Nice to know we've been missed! I just have not had time to blog so now you get to read a big 'ol mungo post. haha.

We went to visit Discovery Church, that we helped start up 5 years ago, and talk to a couple of our pastor friends there. So we decided to make a long weekend of it and stayed in Newport Beach. The first 2 days were cloudy, overcast and FREEZING! I thought the highs were supposed to be in the high 60's, low 70's so we were totally unprepared and only packed light jackets. The sun BARELY peeked out the first couple of days but we went to the beach anyway (maybe that's why Don is sick now. doh!)

We decided to fly to maximize our time and it was Nate's first flight since China. This time, I remembered the Benadryl and he was zonked out the whole flight. Not that it was very long. Express Jet lives up to its name and we got there in just over an hour. We stayed at the Newport Channel Inn. It was a nice little motel...no Hilton or Hyatt..just basic accomodations but very nice for $79 a night! The rooms were big with a little play area for Nate and a microwave & fridge. It was right across the street from a great surfing beach and next door to Cappy's Cafe that had HUGE breakfasts (it took me a couple days to realize the kid's meal was the size of a normal adult meal!)

On Friday we ate lunch at Ruby's diner at the end of the Balboa Pier. We always liked Ruby's when we lived in SoCal and we could sit and watch the fishermen fish. A couple of young college girls on bikes stopped us and asked to take our photo for us. They were a little too happy and bubbly and were googoo-ing and gaga-ing over Nate. Seriously, I think they would've been great working at Disneyland. My first instinct was "How much are they going to charge us for this?" But they were just very nice, very happy girls and went on their merry way after they took our photo. After lunch we went to a playground on the beach (how cool is that?!) All of a sudden I felt like a mom magnet. All these moms started gravitating toward me and got all chit-chatty. I almost started laughing because that's never happened before. Usually everyone is too busy watching their kids and in their own little world. It was like what you see in the movies. ha! I never felt more like a mom than at that moment. Don was getting a big 'ol kick out of it too. That night we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner and the waitress was also gushing over Nate. She asked to give him some free coconut ice cream so we went against our better judgment and said "ok". BIG mistake. The kid was up all night...every 2 hours so none of us got any sleep. Not to mention our neighbor upstairs was stomping around, moving stuff around until 1am. Ugh!

We had decided to skimp on taking the playpen to cut down on check in items. I thought Nate would be tired enough to fall asleep on the blankets we brought but no dice. He rolled around, talking loudly, kicking his feet against the wall. At one point, he stood up and started banging on the wall. I thought, "the neighbors are going to kill us!" So finally we had enough and made a bed for him in our suitcase. Yes, that's right. He slept in our big green suitcase the entire trip (no we did not close the lid). Good thing he was still small enough to fit!

Saturday, we met up with our good friends, Chris & Gayle who lived about 1-1/2 hours away. They came down to our hotel and we spent the day at Balboa Fun Zone and the beach, despite the cold. I took Nate on the ferris wheel there, which he loved, but I think the guy forgot us because the ride wasn't stopping. Then I started feeling nauseous going around and around so many times and Nate must have too because he started fussing and trying to get out of the seat. Finally a lady on the ride told the guy to stop it because she had to leave!

After awhile, we headed down to the beach and their 9 yr old son decided to catch a few waves. I am amazed at how resilient kids are. It was freezing cold and this kid was having a blast playing in the ocean. Nate was having a good time playing in the sand and then Don decided to bury him up to his waist. Much to our surprise, he loved it and played contentedly while Don built sand sculptures around him. First Nate had big sand legs, then he was in a kayak, then a plane. Finally we took him out and he got all cranky on us. I think he actually liked sitting in the hole! It was a fun day despite the weather.

The last 2 days were sunny and BEAUTIFUL. Sunday we went to Discovery Church in Simi Valley and really enjoyed the worship. Nate did awesome in the nursery..didn't even cry. We caught up with our friends who are the pastor and executive pastors there. The executive pastor, Mark and his wife Michelle were the ones who recently adopted from Vietnam and who I had asked for prayers for. We spent the afternoon with them and it was awesome to see their kids for the first time and share our experiences together. The boys are adorable and really active. At one point all 3 of our boys were running around our legs and all I could think of was, "I'm so glad I only have ONE!" Between the 3 of them, they are 9 months - 2 years.

Monday was our last day and we spent the morning at Little Corona Beach at the tidepools. It was a gorgeous morning and Nate got all messy, playing in the water and sand. Fortunately, I had another change of clothes for him since we had already checked out of our hotel. We were going to spend the rest of the day in Downtown Disney and then Don suggested I take Nate to Disneyland while he stayed in Downtown Disney to catch up on some reading (he was sick by this point). I couldn't argue with that logic so off we went! I had so much fun. Nate loved the rides and clapped after every one of them was over. He didn't even cry or get scared on the Dark Rides at Fantasyland. The first one I took him on was Pinocchio because the line was the shortest. I forgot how scary and loud that ride was but it didn't seem to bother him. I think his favorite though was the petting zoo in FrontierLand. He got to pet the goats and sheep and was very interested in that. It's funny when you take a child to Disneyland how you view things through their eyes. I was getting overwhelmed and stimulated by all the noise and people and being whisked off one ride to the next. I could imagine how Nate was feeling. After awhile, it was too much for him and he conked out in his stroller. Translation...shopping time for mom! It was a fun day that ended all too soon as we had to catch our flight back that evening.

We had more going on than I originally realized so I didn't feel like we had much time to just relax. Needless to say, I wasn't ready to come back home. I wish I could've stayed there another week and and just chill on the beach. But all good things must come to an end. Until next time.....here's some photos for you below.

RUBY'S DINER


FUN ON THE SWINGS


FUNKY GIANT ROPE "SPIDERWEB" THING


NEWPORT BEACH (love that baby face!)


RIDING THE MERRY-GO-ROUND WITH KIM


THE NEVER-ENDING FERRIS WHEEL


BEDTIME


FRIENDS MARK & MICHELLE AND OUR BOYS


OOOOHH...A BELL


POOH'S BIG ADVENTURE RIDE


ARE WE HOME YET???