Family Vacation 2014: Mission Bay

Josh and Julie headed up an outing to Mission Bay, a lake-like bay where we could swim and paddle board. Such fun!

Anna, Amelia, Adam

 Sammy

Isaac

Jonah, Caleb, Adam, Elsa, Anna, Grace

I'm saving this one for Isaac's wedding video.

Ben and Sam

Amelia and Anna

Dad and Nate

Grandma, Amelia, Anna

Grandpa, Ben, Matt

Jonah and Dan

Jake, Jonah, Michelle, Dan

Nate and boys paddle boarding

Family Vacation 2014: Sand Castle Competition and Family Barbecue

Nate and Kelly put together an awesome sand castle competition. Names were drawn out of hat for teams. There were three rounds: sea creatures, tallest structure and favorite characters. 

That evening, Jeff and I hosted a cook out in the cottage courtyard. 

Anna, Amelia, Sam, Grandma, Annabelle, Elsa, Grace

Eli, Kanon, Joseph, Caleb, Ian

Adam, Grandpa, Dan, Michelle, Isaac

Ben, Nate, Jeff

We attempted some pictures with all the grandkids.

Top row: Joseph holding Clara, Kanon holding Jane, Adam holding Simon

Middle Row: Grace, Caleb, Anna, Amelia, Ian, Elsa, Taylor, Lily, Jacob

Front Row: Ben, Sam, Isaac, Eli, Annabelle, Oliver, Jonah

Family Vacation 2014: The Cottages and Point Loma

Dan and Michelle were in charge of the reunion this year and they did a fabulous job. Each family rented a room or cottage at The Beach Cottages which was right on the beach. The access and views were incredible. (I stole a bunch of these photos off my sister-in-law's blog. Thanks, Julie!)

View of the cottages from the main hotel building.

The cottages from the beach.

Because of a booking mistake (my fault), we were a day late to the reunion. We went straight to the first activity, playing in the tide pools at Point Loma.

Joseph, Eli, Kanon

Taylor, Isaac, Josh

The Sollis' minus Anna

Jeff and Isaac

Sammy

Nate

Family Vacation 2014: Disneyland

We love Disney. I know it's not for a lot of people, but we always have a good time and make lots of good memories so we decided to squeeze one day at Disneyland into our trip. 

We packed light and didn't bring my camera so we only had Jeff's iPhone. The coverage of the day was a little sparse. We did manage a few gems, though.

Gotta love Splash Mountain.

Disney is exhausting! This was taken while we were waiting for our lunch reservation at The Blue Bayou.

During our awesome lunch. You can kind of see the "bayou" in the background. It's also the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Watching a parade. Crowds, much?

Anna loved the new Pixie Hollow.

Small World selfie.

We finished the night on Star Tours. It was Isaac's favorite.

Other memories made:

Ben was endlessly entertaining on rides. He finished each ride in a high pitched voice, "It's not scary! See, it's not scary!" Also, his facial expressions on rides are the best. 

Fritters and Mint Julieps. Yum!

Isaac was so excited to ride Indian Jones but was too short. He was sad, but handled it like a champ. Jeff and I may have been more bummed out about it then he was.

Favorite Rides:

Ben-Winnie the Pooh

Sam-Snow White's Scary Adventure ("That scary witch one.")

Isaac-Star Tours

Anna-Indiana Jones

Jeff-Mr. Toad's Wild Ride

Rach-Indiana Jones and Storybook Land

Family Vacation 2014: Balboa Island

Sunday afternoon we rolled into Newport Beach. Our vacation just happened to overlap with Larry and Marlene's 40th Anniversary getaway to California. We met up on Balboa Island for dinner and exploring. 

The harbor was gorgeous and it was a lot of fun to watch the huge yachts come in and out. 

This was the first sighting of beach on our trip. The kids were thrilled even though it was only about four feet wide.

Despite being a tiny beach, there were lots of shells. 

The kids loved walking up the lazy main drag and looking in all the shop windows. 

 

You must get a Balboa Bar when on Balboa Island.

We ate at a cute little Italian restaurant, Amelia's. Ben insisted on buttering his own bread. The restaurant was nearly empty (it helps when you decide to eat at 4:00pm), which was perfect for our little crew.

 

We also spent some time swimming at our hotel. The kids were in heaven.

Such a fun afternoon and evening.