Our California Adventure - Part 2 - Relaxation

When we last left our heroes, Mark and Jonas were wandering the airport trying to hitch a ride to Southern California, while Tricia, Isaac, and Elliot were settling into their lovely new vacation home.

Though tired from a day of traveling, I
still have enough energy to hold the
fridge up and chat with Rachel...

...as she slaves away preparing
chicken for the next night's dinner.

Mark and Jonas finally made it in at midnight after flying to Burbank, renting a car, and driving another 2 hours. Jonas had fallen asleep, as you can imagine, on the drive in and didn't realize that he didn't have a bed to sleep in. The room the boys shared had 2 twin beds, so Mamie Rocks and I laid out some bench cushions in their closet. With a fitted sheet and some comfy blankets, Jonas had an instant bed and a little space away from his brothers.

The next morning (Sat Oct 2) we got up and began our vacation.  

  (Here's where our photo album portion of the storytelling starts.)

What else are you supposed to do
on a Saturday morning...

 

...if not watch Saturday morning cartoons?

While the boys were busy not doing anything, I took  time to walk around the house and snap some pictures. This house had many little details I love: picture mouldings, a large porch, and built-ins all throughout were among just a few.

 Oh! I forgot to mention the claw-foot soaker tub in our bathroom.

Isaac saw this tub and said, "Mom's going to like this!"

It was a beautiful day- it turns out the nicest we were going to have- and we decided to head to the beach.

 

What fun there is in chasing after waves and building sandcastles right next to the tide line. They all rolled around in the sand, tried digging for water, and did a little body surfing. By the time we were done, I could see that showers were not going to suffice in getting them clean. We probably brought home a cup of sand in Isaac's hair alone. When we got home, I went straight into Mommy Mode cleaning and restoring. I knew I could trust Jonas to take a shower and actually get clean, so he headed off to one bathroom while I escorted El into our bathroom and the wonderful soaker tub! In he went with enough water to float in and plenty of room for the sand to sink to the bottom. Oh what a mess, but the bath worked, and Elliot emerged clean and fresh faced again.

 Now time for Isaac. I called Ice into the bathroom and turned to give him a little privacy getting into the tub. "Uh oh." I looked back and on the floor where he took off his swimsuit was a large pile of rocks and pebbles that were hiding in his suit. "Did you know those were there?" I asked. "Nope." I guess we weren't done with the beach quite yet.

 It took some time and work, but finally all are clean- even the bathrooms make a full recovery. This is our last night with Rachel, who headed back to work the next day, so we get to have a little birthday celebration. And lots of pictures!

Elliot had a store in the opening
between the kitchen and dining room.

Jonas hiding from El in the orange tree.

A little porch time.
This was one of the most comfortable areas of the house!

Sparkling Cider is oh so good!

A toast to Poppy!

Now, THIS is how vacation should be!

(Many photos courtesy of Rachel and Mamie Rocks via Facebook.)