We left early in the morning and drove to the other side of the valley before stopping for breakfast. We avoided all the rush hour traffic that way and started our trip off right - with pancakes at IHOP! I got some strawberry cheesecake pancakes, Dustin got some Cinnabun French toast, and Jason chose a chocolate chip funny face pancake. He sure was excited to eat it!
Then we drove into Orange County, and the boys did great on the car ride, even with a hour traffic delay on the I-10 due to a big rig accident. We enjoyed dinner with the Clarke family and then headed to the Haddocks (Dustin's cousins) where we would be staying for the week. The next morning, the Haddocks watched Evan for us while we took Jason to go see Cars 2. It wasn't as good as the other Pixar movies, but we still laughed and Jason loved it, which is all that really mattered. That evening, we went and enjoyed dinner with our friends the Liu's and the Neilsens. I forgot to get any pictures of that; I was too busy chatting and basking in the glow of friendship that never dims no matter how long its been since you've seen each other.The next day we met up with Dustin's sister Holly Gooch and her family. We started at the OC Swapmeet where Dustin got a new hat, I got some black hair flowers, and Jason got yet another red toy car. Jason loved holding hands with his cousins Spencer and Isabelle and it was sweet to see them so happy to be together.
After the swapmeet, we traveled down to Balboa pier to spend some time on the beach. Big Mistake. seeing as how it was a Saturday afternoon, Fourth of July weekend, the beach was ridiculously crowded. So much so, that after 30 minutes of driving around looking for a parking spot (the Gooches found one after 15-20 minutes), Dustin finally dropped me off with boys and said he'd keep looking for one by himself. An hour and a half later, he finally found one. It was 25 minutes walking distance away, and the whole situation had left us all a little frustrated and put a damper on our beach excursion. But he did finally get to come join us. As first, Jason didn't want to step foot onto the beach because he got sand in his sandal. He hates having sand on him. yet he was the one asking to go visit the beach. But he eventually toughened up and even started playing in the sand with his cousin Gavin.
Evan just slept in his car seat most of the time. I couldn't believe how long he slept!
When Dustin finally was able to join us, he took Jason into the water. Jason was nervous about the waves and didn't want to stand in them, but he enjoyed Daddy holding him while the waves hit, and occasionally dipping him down into the water to get splashed.
Evan eventually woke up and we all enjoyed some time fun in the sun. Here are a few more picture from that afternoon.
Later that night, we enjoyed dinner and hanging out with our friends the Sepulvedas. Again, I was too busy visiting, I didn't get any pictures taken. Sunday morning, we visited our old ward to see lots of friends we used to go to church with. After church, we popped in for a surprise visit to the Flores family. Guillermina Flores used to watch Jason every day when I had to go back to work. They couldn't believe how big he was!
After the Flores family, we headed off to dinner with the Cox family, and were excited to see that the Neilsens were there to join us. Emily Cox, Noah Neilsen, and Jason had a lot of fun on the tire swing together.
The next day, we started celebrated our independence by visiting the Spectrum. We had fun riding the Ferris Wheel as a family (Evan did well sitting up on his own). We rode the train (Jason made sure to inform me he was riding in a "freight car") and the Neilsens even stopped by to ride the carousel with us, enjoy some ice cream and visit some shops. We sure had a blast that morning!
After the Spectrum, we went back to the Haddocks for a family Fourth shindig. I'm not sure which we enjoyed more, the hot dog bar with all the fix-ins, or the plethora of cousins and second cousins that seemed to be running around everywhere. We even got to see little Jameson Hemsath (Dustin's brother's little baby) and he is just the cutest little guy.
When Dustin finally was able to join us, he took Jason into the water. Jason was nervous about the waves and didn't want to stand in them, but he enjoyed Daddy holding him while the waves hit, and occasionally dipping him down into the water to get splashed.
Evan eventually woke up and we all enjoyed some time fun in the sun. Here are a few more picture from that afternoon.
Later that night, we enjoyed dinner and hanging out with our friends the Sepulvedas. Again, I was too busy visiting, I didn't get any pictures taken. Sunday morning, we visited our old ward to see lots of friends we used to go to church with. After church, we popped in for a surprise visit to the Flores family. Guillermina Flores used to watch Jason every day when I had to go back to work. They couldn't believe how big he was!
After the Flores family, we headed off to dinner with the Cox family, and were excited to see that the Neilsens were there to join us. Emily Cox, Noah Neilsen, and Jason had a lot of fun on the tire swing together.
The next day, we started celebrated our independence by visiting the Spectrum. We had fun riding the Ferris Wheel as a family (Evan did well sitting up on his own). We rode the train (Jason made sure to inform me he was riding in a "freight car") and the Neilsens even stopped by to ride the carousel with us, enjoy some ice cream and visit some shops. We sure had a blast that morning!
After the Spectrum, we went back to the Haddocks for a family Fourth shindig. I'm not sure which we enjoyed more, the hot dog bar with all the fix-ins, or the plethora of cousins and second cousins that seemed to be running around everywhere. We even got to see little Jameson Hemsath (Dustin's brother's little baby) and he is just the cutest little guy.
Here Holly and Belle get some quality Evan lovin'.
Kanan and brother Jameson pose next to their cousins Jason and Evan.
All the little cousins and second cousins together for a big photo. It was hard to squeeze them all into the same shot, but we did it, sort of.
The next morning, we packed up, went to Tustin where I got to teach my student Amanda in person (I usually just teach her piano over Skype), and then headed back to AZ. We stopped at Claim Jumper for dinner and made it back just as the giant haboob (dust storm) was hitting our area. We hit it just outside our neighborhood, so we're grateful we only had to drive in it for 5 minutes and didn't get caught on the freeways with zero visibility. Here's a video to show you just how massive the haboob was, and a picture taken inside our garage when we got home to show you just how dirty it made my car in 5 minutes!
Kanan and brother Jameson pose next to their cousins Jason and Evan.
All the little cousins and second cousins together for a big photo. It was hard to squeeze them all into the same shot, but we did it, sort of.
The next morning, we packed up, went to Tustin where I got to teach my student Amanda in person (I usually just teach her piano over Skype), and then headed back to AZ. We stopped at Claim Jumper for dinner and made it back just as the giant haboob (dust storm) was hitting our area. We hit it just outside our neighborhood, so we're grateful we only had to drive in it for 5 minutes and didn't get caught on the freeways with zero visibility. Here's a video to show you just how massive the haboob was, and a picture taken inside our garage when we got home to show you just how dirty it made my car in 5 minutes!All in all, it was a fun trip and we're glad we made it back safe. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
oh my goodness look at those Evan cheeks!
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