Wednesday, September 03, 2008

One Last Horrah


Even though it's been four years since I've traveled with a newborn, it still hasn't been long enough for me to forget what it's like. There are so many things about having a baby that I am so excited about, traveling just isn't one of them. That's why we decided to do one last family trip before the little dude pops out. We took a quick beach trip over Labor Day weekend and it was the perfect getaway. It was so relaxing spending a couple of days on the beach with friends. The kids had the best time playing in the waves, digging holes, building sand castles and finding shells and sea creatures. I'm still trying to clean the sand off of them. It was great as always to hang out with our Cali friends, Shawn, Melinda, Nate, Tara and their cute kids. My only complaint about the trip was that it wasn't long enough! Besides the beach, we went to the Orange County swap meet, went to dinner with Jason's aunt Polly, swam at the hotel, grilled it up at Shawn and Melinda's and of course ate at our favorite joint, Wahoo's. Kylie's favorite part was when we went with the Morris' to the tide pools at Laguna beach. She was in awe with all the sea creatures like the anemone, sea cucumbers, hermit crabs, snails, crabs and all sorts of other things. Jayden wasn't as impressed, he thought that beach was too stinky (hence the oh-so-joyous look on his face in the family picture). His favorite part of the trip by far was the hotel (and the $1 generic lego airplane that he got at the swap meet and still hasn't put down since). We went straight to the beach the first day and about every half hour Jayden would run to me and report that he was so excited to go to the hotel and kept asking how much longer until we could go there. I still don't get what the hype is about a hotel for him (when I asked him why he was so excited to go to the hotel he responded "I so excited to see what color it is inside!"), but as we were pulling away on the last day he had tears streaming down his face as he was begging us to let him stay and live at the hotel. Give that kid a hotel and McDonalds (or "DicDonald's as he calls it :) and he would be about the happiest kid alive. Needless to say, we had a great time and I couldn't help but realize how different our next trip will be....pack n' plays, naptimes, bottles, dirty diapers, screaming in the car, diaper bags, sand covered binkys, schedules, nursing under the beach towel, staying out of the sun....of course we're so excited for the new change coming, but I admit that I did smile a little bigger as I sat on my beach chair absolutely all day just watching my kids play.


Huntington Beach


They loved the hole Shawn and Jason dug, especially when it got filled with waterJason and Shawn boogie boarding
finding hermit crabs and snails at the tide pools One of the many hermit crab pets Kylie found (and tried to convince us to let her bring home) Tara and her too-cute-for-their-own-good twin boys

15 comments:

Kandice said...

What a great vacation and I love how you describe the baby stage. It was right on, I should know I live it every day. :) We just got back from Oregon and it would be nice to not have so much equipment. But I'm trying to enjoy it because they grow so fast. In no time they will be independent like yours. :)

Nichols Family said...

Huntington beach, my favorite for sure! Glad you got that last trip in!

Chelsea said...

2 things to say...

first, why didn't you bring me a burrito from Wahoo's? Some friend.

Second, uh...are you trying to talk me out of ever getting pregnant again?

Marisa said...

I'm so glad you got to get away on a last baby-free vacation. Isn't it funny how once you realize how liberating not having a diaper bag can be that it's a little hard to go back? Obviously baby's are so fun and so darling (no one's arguing that) and you wouldn't trade their sweet cuddles and smell...but it is nice to be able to actually relax on a beach and just watch your kids play? I'm getting more at the stage where Blake's independent and he and Kelsey just play all day together and I'm finding it hard to decide when/if we're ready for another one. I'm so crazy about sticking to the schedule and so I finally relax when they're like two :-).

Jodee said...

OH I miss that place sooo much! Too bad we are no longer your Cali friends, just the washington ones... I am glad you got to relax at the beach one more time before the infant stage hits. I know you will love that too; the soft head, squishy cheeks, chubby hands... you'll remember.

Suni said...

I just don't believe another baby will slow you down Jamie! You are a go getter! I love how Jayden says "DicDonalds"....so funny!!

Mindy said...

How fun!!! It is great that you did get to go enjoy yourself. It is so much harder with a little one. But, it is do-able. It only takes 1 year for it to get a whole lot easier though. I can't believe how much easier this summer was than last. Best of luck with your last few weeks of pregnancy!

Andrea said...

Just what you needed - a nice relaxing vacation on the beach! There's nothing like it! You deserved it! I'm glad you had a great time!
I'm with Suni, I don't think another baby is going to slow you down! You are quite a fantastic momma! Lucky Kids!
(Huntington Beach, Swap Meet ... it all brings back a lot of great memories of my youth. Thanks for sharing!)

nicole said...

I got depressed reading about traveling with babies. me and maggie have a trip to utah planned in october and now i'm having second thoughts...I love Jayden's face in the first picture!

ann said...

Fun, I'm Jealous!

Janessa said...

I'm glad you got one last baby free trip in. Way to live it up! Good things babies are so darn cute and sweet because they really are a lot of work. Good thing they're worth it! Kylie and Jayden are so independent and I'm sure they'll be great helpers. You'll only have to do like half the work that you had to do with your first two:) Cute pictures! Jayden's face in the first one cracks me up!

Heidi Ann said...

NOTHING beats the beach. And I agree that traveling with a new born is zero fun! You look great by the way!

Shanen said...

Ohhh I was almost so sad reading that you were in HB, but I quickly remembered that I just got home last night from the beach and I haven't even put my pictures up yet. We just spent 5 days at the beach, and there is NOTHING better. HB is where I grew up and we always love to visit, 3 kids will be a piece of cake. -)

Pays said...

I love Huntington Beach. We were there last year! Seeing this makes me want to be there. Looks like it was a great time!

Alisa Larson said...

Man you look good in a bathing suit with only 1 month till the baby! I'm glad you got to get away again, b/c it really is no fun with a newborn!