Grandma Ruth's Birthday

We celebrated Grandma Ruth's birthday. It was a very fun afternoon with delicious food and excellent company. I'm so grateful for my mom. She is a great example to me. She is so kind and loving. She is beaming with the light of Christ. 

Fall Soccer

We wrapped up another season of soccer for everyone. 

Tag' team:

Marshall is coaching Lynnlee's team. They have fought hard and come a long way. They didn't get a win but I know if they keep working hard it will come in the spring. 

I need to get pictures of the other kids and their teams. So for now this will save the place.

Catalina

James and I ran on the track that morning. It was a very small track so you had to run eleven times around it to make a mile. It was better than nothing though and James was too young to go to the fitness center.

We got of the ship at Catalina around 8:00-9:00. We rented three tandem bikes and a single cruiser. We rode around all over on every road that was aloud for bikes. We found a fun park with workout stations to play on. 

We went to the grocery store and everyone found something good to eat for lunch. We took it to Descanso Bay and had a picnic lunch. The kids had fun playing in the water. The weather was warm but not hot so I didn't want to get in the water. (The water was cold) Thankfully the kids were all having so much fun that I didn't have to get in with them.

We went shopping after everyone had plenty of time to play on the beach. Everyone found a souvenir and had fun shopping. We got on the ship around 4:00. It took awhile to get on the ferry and then ride back to the ship.

We got ready for fancy night. Kade, Tag and Sienna had trick or treating with their kids club so they didn't want to go to fancy night. They went to kids club instead while the rest of us went to the dining room for dinner in our dressy clothes.

After dinner we went to a show and then James, Lynnlee, Kade and Tag all went to the kids clubs. Sienna didn't want to go so she stayed with Marshall and me. 

Weekend in Oceanside

We got off the ship early Friday morning. We went to the Newport Beach Temple. Marshall went in with Lynnlee and James to do baptisms. 

We saw this sign while driving around.

We checked into the hotel that afternoon. Lynnlee, Kade, Tag and Sienna played in the pool and hot tub. Marshall and James took a nap. Later we all went to the beach and stayed until the sunset. It was a beautiful night. Everyone had fun playing in the sand and water.

Saturday morning James and I went on a run along the beach. I'm so much slower than him especially post marathon. My muscles were still recovering but he stuck with me.

We took a boogie board from home and then found four more at the dollar store. They were more than a dollar. It is one of those sneaky dollar stores that actually isn't a true dollar store, like family dollar. The boards were still really cheap though so it worked.

We spent the day playing in the sand and water. The waves were awesome for body surfing and boogie boarding. Marshall rented a surf board and wet suit. He and James traded off surfing. He let me wear the wet suit for an hour and so I could boogie board. The water was so cold so I didn't want to swim before wearing the wet suit. 

It was a really fun day! 

The minis didn't want to leave until the sun went down. We didn't have any sand toys. The closest thing was a bunch of plastic cups from the hotel. Tag and Sienna helped me make a sand castle with the cups.

They also made a sand creature of their own.

We went to dinner at Chilis that night. It was nice and the kids were all so good. We get a lot of stares outside of Utah so I was happy they were behaving so well.

The Top Gun house is in Oceanside. We drove by it but I was sad the motorcycle had a cover on it since it was closed for the night. 

Sunday we found a 9:00 sacrament meeting in Oceanside. We saw this pirate ship playground on the way to church. It looked like a lot of fun! Random side note about sacrament meeting. We saw a family from our stake in Lehi. They are a family we used to be in the same ward as. It was so random that we were both in the same sacrament meeting together.

After church we drove to Hurricane. Cam and Brooke were staying at a really airbnb there. It was way more fun than our hotel. After eating dinner with them, they talked us into staying the night. We made smores around the fire pit in the middle of the lazy river. The kids had fun swimming around and the adults enjoyed sitting around the fire. 

The triple bunk bed was queen size! My boys made need to upgrade their twin size triple bunk bed to this size when they are all teenagers. 

Monday morning Marshall and Cam went riding. James and I went for a run. It was a beautiful morning. 

We drove home that afternoon and got home around 2:00. It was a great family vacation. The length of time was perfect because it was nice and long so we were all ready to get back home and get back to our schedules.

We were so blessed to all have good health the whole trip. We were safe, and the weather was as warm as it could be for the fall. Everyone got to divide up and do what they wanted to, eat what they wanted to, and stay up late every night. I really couldn't ask for a better vacation.