Newport Beach

This past weekend was what I affectionately call a "Dave has to work, and we get the perks" kinda weekend. We sometimes get the privilege to travel along with him on an installation when the chance arises. He has been working on some effects for a new restaurant opening up in an exclusive area of Newport Beach called "Javier's Cantina," so we travelled out to spend some time having fun. We went in on Friday afternoon, and since he wasn't finished working yet, we stopped at the Newport Pier. We checked out an interesting shell shop, where Austin found the very appropriate frog shell.



Luke found this cute little jar full of miniscule shells hardly conceivable to the human eye. We all marvelled at the fact that God had made creatures small enough to fit inside those tiny shells!


The boys ran down the pier and perused the boardwalk a bit. They jumped off the lifeguard station and chased some poor unfortunate seagulls.

That night, once Dave was off work, we headed to the Best Western Newport to change and get ready for dinner. We headed over to the famous Crab Cooker restaurant, where we enjoyed an awesome seafood dinner. The calamari (this place just plain called it "squid") was perfectly tender and delicious. Dave had the lobster special and the boys and I shared a combination plate with shrimp, scallops and some sort of other mild white fish. I love this place! It is one of those quirky one of a kind places that obviously is a city icon that's been there forever. We went by Dave's jobsite and checked it out, then headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, poor Dave (the cat) had to head out to work, and while the cat was away, the mice went to play! We drove down to the Balboa Pier and peninsula, where we stopped into the charming little arcade area. The boys enjoyed playing a few games and winning some cheesy little prizes (you know, the kind that break before you leave the building).

Austin and Vance braved the ferris wheel! They had a blast, and were the only ones riding!

We went into town for lunch, then came back to take the auto ferry onto Balboa Island.

The idea of it quite frankly freaked Luke out a bit, but once we were on the boat, he loosened up. So much so that he hung himself out the sunroof of the car! Vance got out, sat on the bench, and soaked up the experience. It is, after all, quite a unique thing to do that you don't find it very many places.

It was finally time to enjoy the original, the one and only Balboa Bar and head to the beach for some fun in the sand. All of them wanted their hand-dipped ice cream bars rolled in chocolate sprinkles. YUM! Luke said it was the best ice cream he had ever tasted. I took a few bites and thought to myself that Haagen Dazs far exceeded that. But it doesn't take much to please a kid!

We walked down to the beach, where the boys enjoyed playing on a rope climbing structure in the sand, collected dozen and dozens of beautiful shells, rolled down a sand hill, and dipped their feet in. Austin was digging for sand crabs, when suddenly a wave crashed onto him, soaking him from the shoulders down. He decided to put the icing on the cake, so to speak, and rolled himself in the sand. Such a boy! I just laughed! After all, we had a change of clothes in the car, and how fun! Luke spent a long time looking through the hundreds of shells that had washed up on the sand. He commented that it was as if Jesus just said "Shells, be there" and there they were. It seemed to him a miracle to see them all there, their beauty to behold. Vance played in the sand, ran around, and fully enjoyed the time.

We just really enjoyed our time together. I just sat and watched them, wondering how they got to be so big, so fast. Before long, they will be leaving our home to start their own lives in the world. I am enjoying every minute with these precious boys God has given me. It is such a blessing to be their Mom.