Newport- part one

Wow, another wonderful trip. No more diapers, no more naps to worry about, no night awakenings, and the boys were SO thrilled and loved every minute. Brayden of course, cried the last night because he didn't want to leave and return to "normal, boring life." Me either kid, me either. This year we rented a beach house with Jeremy's family and another family, friends of theirs/ours, The Hatch's. The Hatch's have 7, we had 4, Figgins had 4, and Mindy & Dave had 3. So yes, 18 people total in a 3 bedroom/2 bath beach house. Whoo! Luckily most of the 18 were teenage boys and didn't care to shower or ever be in the house ;) The boys did so good on the ride up and back, Brayden decided on his own that he wasn't going to ask, "are we there yet?" and was amazed at how fast it went. I surprised them with these little Dollar Spot Dr. Suess goodie bags on the ride up. This year we didn't do any theme parks, so it was simple, and pure bliss just to wake up and beach it all day.

Brayden loved the ocean so much, he would get in up to his neck every day, and when the waves would wash over him, he would jump up and give me a thumbs up! I was expecting it to scare the crap out of him, but he loved it. And he loved boogie boarding and digging for sand crabs.

Of course, with Huntington Beach 10 minutes away, we went there a few times. One of which was the US Open, and Brayden and Kosty scored a bunch of free stuff.

We bought this giant yellow shovel for Kosty and he named it "the shobel of fun!" He used it as a broom, a wand, to dig, and mostly as a walking stick. The shovel never left his side.

One day, Brayden, Cede, and I felt like an adventure, so we rode our bikes over to Via Lido island, a charming and fancy little place with beautiful homes and gorgeous scenery. Brayden thought these leaves were pretty cool, Cede and I thought they looked a little suspicious. He thought it was super cool that he rode his bike to his first 'island' visit.

All the ladies in the house went for our annual pedicures!

Kosty, Brayden, and Scottie Hatch

Kosty's favorite thing was to walk to the donut shop every morning, yes, EVERY morning.

Grandma, Zach, Brayden, Kosty & Scottie

The boys played a little night Frisbee

Kosty brought his Robin suit, and when he wasn't at the beach, he was Robin.

He loved standing over the fan so his cape would blow

He LOVED the sand, and being buried, and usually asked several times per day! And he liked to sit straight up for his burial instead of lay down, so that consisted of me digging VERY deep holes. And very often.

Nightly bike rides and walks to Jane's for treats

Every time they see a mannequin, they pose.

This is what the garage looked like with 18ish bike owners!

Kosty loved his shades! And wore them all the time after he learned they prevented sand from getting in his peepers!

He even wore them at night, and usually pulled his hoodie up too, Jer nicknamed him the Uni-bomber!

More to come...