JULY 3rd ~NEWPORT BEACH

We drove out to the LA area on Saturday the 2nd...and promptly hit the beach by 9:30am on the 3rd. :)

It was overcast until about 2pm...and breezy....and chilly...and the water was COLD!

but the kids didn't mind at all! :)

these 2 were buddies ALL day long -hanging out in the water pretty much the whole time!

this little one stayed in the sand for quite awhile declaring she was too cold to play in the water. :)

we went with 2 of John's sisters and 2 of their kids along with John's mom

the boys took their goggles.

beautiful Janae

trying his hand at the boogie board

playing in the sand -and getting it everywhere

crying hysterically cuz we made her go back in the ocean to wash off the sand that was everywhere!

daddy and his little girl

Becca and her cousin Jessica ~whom she absolutely ADORES!

Janae giving the board a whirl

she's in the wave!

Becca gets a ride on the board with Auntie Paula

hehe -Auntie Paula didn't get Becca out of the way fast enough -she got swallowed by a wave!

Jess and Elizabeth

my sweet boy does this EVERY time we're at the beach

daddy is helping Andrew wash off as much sand as possible ~took a few more scrubbings in the hotel shower to completely rid his body of sand!

after the beach we headed back to the hotel to clean up ~then off to dinner at DownTown Disney.

notice Janae has her sweater tied around her waist....then notice my 2 girls HAD to dress just like her. :)

while waiting for our reservation, we popped into a few stores....Andrew was in heaven in the Le*go store

this store was amazing..what they can do with le*gos is amazing

the girls promptly found the princess section of the Dis*ney Store...tiaras and "glass" slippers were a must!

we took the kids to Rain*forest Cafe ~not cheap -but we thought they'd have a great time -and they did!

MY COUSIN'S WEDDING ~PICTURES GALORE!

My wonderful cousin, Kris, got married in La Jolla, CA on November 20th.

She loves our kids and they all adore her...so we were thrilled when she asked if ALL of our kids (minus baby Joshua) would be in her wedding.

The girls were "wedding fairies" with gorgeous hand made wands to wave and the boys were "bell ringers" ~with bells of course :)...they were paired up and walked in at the very beginning of the ceremony to begin the processional.

The wedding was on a Saturday -so Friday morning our entire family caravan'd over to CA for the rehearsal and wedding. :)

3 vans + 6 adults +13 children =craziness!!!

I swear we took up 1/2 the Carl*s Jr and overloaded the kitchen when we walked in for lunch. :)


We all fit into 3 hotel rooms ~of course they were adjoining so if we left the adjoining doors open, the kids could (and did) run from room to room to room.

It was CRAZY for us adults -but oh my ...the kids LOVED it!!


they were stir crazy from being cooped up in the cars...so there was wrestle-mania going on in our room!


we got to the hotel about an hour or so before we had to be at the rehearsal ~so we had time to change, eat a snack, and head on out.

this is blurry -I know -but I love it. :)

my parents took my sister's little boys back to the hotel after the rehearsal, but the rest of us were able to go to the rehearsal dinner.

Thanks Kris and Jeff for a great dinner!!

the girls with a picture of our penpal son at Kolfe in Ethiopia.
we took the pic along with us so he could be included in the big family gathering as well ~even if from afar.

of course it rained ALL day Saturday.
we were right on the beach.

so Saturday AM my dad and I decided to take some of the kids for a walk, even in pouring rain...just to get their wiggles out and let my mom and sis get b'fast ready for our crew.

we ended up seeing pods of dolphins swimming as well as several seals!

too bad it was raining so bad ~I couldn't get a good pic of them.




LOVE this pic of all the girls w/their hair in curlers!

b'cuz it was raining so hard -we were all cooped up in our 3 hotel rooms -ALL DAY.

have you tried that before?

cooped up in 3 hotel rooms with 13 stir crazy children?

I'd advise against it. :)

although it was a bit crazy...the kids really were good considering the circumstances!

this is how Becca spent much of her weekend -holding baby Joshua

Elizabeth has her hair done!
Auntie Joy did all the girls' hair in up-do's.
I helped blow dry and spray the hair and Joy made them all fancy!

look at my handsome boy!

all dressed up and waiting for family pics before the ceremony.

after the kids ushered in the processional, they got to watch the ceremony from the back of the hall.

it was so cute to watch them watch the ceremony like this. :)


from here on down, these pics are from my sister.
she has a great camera and was able to get so many great shots of everyone!!

Janae and Jordan

Jackie and Becca

they were glued together most of the weekend. :)

my sister and her newest precious blessing, Joshua

sweet Jeremiah

just LOVE this pic of Joanna!

the kids are watching the professional pics being taken before the ceremony

practicing the processional in one of the side rooms

still watching everything going on!

I was thrilled to hold Joshua any chance I could...but I couldn't resist playing with his while he slept.

grandpa and his girls

grandma and her boys

my sister got this great shot of us

my grandparents and their 13 great-grandchildren

Jameson is VERY attached to grandma...as long as she held him, he was a happy boy. :)

here the kids are again, watching the ceremony

my grandpa holding great grandchild #13, Joshua

and of course 1 sweet pic of our newest addition to the family.

he is such the sweetest baby and we all fight over holding him. :)


The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was fantastic ~the kids even enjoyed dancing. :)

On Sunday, our little family of 6 headed to Sea*World.

As we were walking thru the gates I realized I had left the camera in the hotel.

GRRRR.

After Sea*World we met up with 2 of John's sisters, a brother in law, and a nephew for dinner. We are so thankful they took the time to drive down to see us! The kids had a blast seeing their aunties, uncle, and cousin!

And, in keeping with the whirlwind weekend theme, we all caravan'd back home on Monday.

It was a fast weekend ~but full of fun and amazing memories the kids (and adults) will never forget!