07.18.2011: Next Stop, Dana Point...then Newport Beach

Lex & Christina had to get up super early to head back to Newport because Lex had a morning surgery to do.  The rest of us slept in & took our time heading out of San Diego.  On the way to Newport, we stopped in Dana Point for lunch with Glenn & Jan (and Tori...their dog).  They were vacationing there for a week at their friends' house.  It is right across the street from Salt Creek beach in a gorgeous gated community up on a hill overlooking the ocean.  One of my favorite locations in CA!!!  Salt Creek is my alltime favorite beach, so yes, I was jealous!  They had made a great lunch and we got to hang out and visit with them for a while.  VJ & Sarah hadn't seen them since last Thanksgiving so they enjoyed visiting with them.

After leaving Dana Point, we hit the PCH and headed north to Newport!  We settled in at Christina's before getting ready for happy hour & dinner at K'ya.  K'ya is Magicalness!!!  It is actually a restaurant with a rooftop bar that is famous for sunsets.  The restuarant is magic in itself though.  Everything is "small plates" at happy hour "small prices".  And the menu is simply delightful!  A few favorites of the group:  Lobster Ravioli, Lobster Mac & Cheese, Lobster Risotto (do you see a pattern here?!), empanadas, frito pie, lobster & crab pizza, salads...all kinds of deliciousness!!!  Oh, not to mention the happy hour special mojitos as well :)  We had to try every flavor....research.  This is a place that goes on the "must-visit" list when in Laguna/Newport.

After dinner, we headed up to the rooftop patio to enjoy the gorgeous CA beach & sunset.  We had some drinks, took some pics, took in the fresh ocean air.....heaven! 

 

07.17.2011: San Diego Here We Come!

After saying our goodbyes to Riverside, we headed for San Diego to continue our Cali vacation. We had rented a bungalow on the base in Coronado. They were AMAZING! Right on the beach, brand new....pretty!!  They are like little houses/condos...2bdrm, 1 bath, fully loaded kitchen, living room, patios, washer/dryer, etc.

 After we got all checked in, we met up with Vince, Sarah, Christina & Lex to get them on the base.  We also did a store run to stock up on goodies & dinner stuff for the bungalow.  No need to eat out when you have everything you need right there.  We were so excited to see everyone & have all the kids under one roof again!  Vince & VJ grilled fish & romaine....with some saffron rice....and great wine of course!  Perfect dinner for the beach!  After dinner, we hit the beach for some bon fire action.  It was a blast!!  We even "cooked" a JiffyPop popcorn thing....which turned out to be a disaster, but was hilarious doing it anyways.  Drake: "My hands are burning!!!  Aaaahhhhh!!!"  Holding the popcorn too close to the fire...no injuries...he was relieved from popcorn duty...lots of good memories!  Lex melted his flipflops, despite us warning him the entire time it was happening, and him not believing it.  Paisley had a great time too, sitting back & observing what she was about to become a part of!!  Poor thing! :)

07.17.2011: Sunday Morning Good-Byes & Departures

Sunday morning, we all packed up and get ready to say our goodbyes.  The boys wanted to play a little basketball before we left, so they did, and we watched them.  Brent & Alisa were headed back to AZ....and Vince, Drake and I were headed to San Diego for a continuation of our CA vacation.  Vince's kids were all in CA at the same time, so we were going to crash their party!  VJ & Sarah were in CA for VJ's friend's wedding in Beverly Hills and we had not seen them in a long time so were very excited to see them!

 We just broke the news to Avery that she was leaving gorgeous California and heading back to the 120 degree heat of AZ.  She lost it.  She never cries, but this was just too much for her.  Poor baby!  We understand though....as you get older, you will learn to control & surpress your feelings better.

07.16.2011: An Impromptu Durbin Party

Mom (and Dad too) is one of the best people I know that can throw together a full on unplanned party in only a few hours.  Where do you think I learned all my skills from?  We ended up with a fairly good group there for the evening....ALL the Sparks, the Hesketts, the Hughes brothers, Alisa's friend Christina & her family....and all of us.  We had a great evening together & everyone got to meet the newest member of the crew, Avery.  She had no shortage of arms to hold her....she was in heaven!  This was also Aubrey's little coming out party as well.  Aubrey is Erik & Steph's daughter who is about a month old.  She is a cutie!!!  And slept most of the party too.... 
 

 Aubrey Marie Spark

 Drake was using Brianna to do leg lifts...a great workout to end the evening!



07.16.2011: More Grandparent Visits!!

After Sean & Katie left, we deployed over to Gramma & Papa's house to spend some time with them too.  They were out in the garden when we got there watering the plants....so we joined them.  It was pretty warm, so Alisa, Gramma & Avery went into the house for a while.  Papa helped the kids pick some fresh veggies and fruits.  They went to town picking tomatoes, peaches, berries, etc.  The picture of Papa talking to Andrew, he was telling him to throw the rotten tomato he just picked into the alleyway.  Andrew was a little unsure if he should or not...then did...very subtley....it was pretty cute!  Papa wouldn't let us pick the other fruits because they weren't ripe yet.  We missed the apricots by a week...those had all ripened and been picked & canned already.  The boys played with Pokey and Andrew even got dared to let Pokey nibble on his fingers....which he did....Pokey took a little chunk out :) That's our little piggy!  After that we went inside so Papa could visit with Avery.  He loves talking (yelling) at little babies.  :)  She talked back to him for awhile, then was tired of him yelling at her...heehee!  Gramma & Papa always have little gifts for the kids when they come visit...so they were busy setting up car sets, lego games, etc. and we had to drag them home so we could get ready for the party this evening.   They love being spoiled by Gramma & Papa....just like we did :)

07.16.2011: Avery Meets Gramma Katie

Alisa's Uncle Sean had brought Gramma Katie over to the house in the morning so she could meet Avery for the first time.  They stayed for lunch and it was great visiting with them.  They live in the San Clemente area....so about 30-40mins away. We hadn't seen Katie in a while so it was nice having her over and catching up with her.  She loved meeting her newest great-granddaughter too!!  Avery seemed excited as well...see her smiling in the group shot? :)