california, last week

A quick California recap, instagram style.

Leslie flew into my town and then drove with me to California to see my other sister, Julianne, who was visiting with her kids (including brand new darling Helena). The three of us span the distance of the United States and it's not very often that we are all together.

There is just something about the ocean breeze and the sound of the waves pounding the sand. I don't get to the beach nearly often enough, and it felt so good. Especially because I was there with my sisters and my mom!

I have two brothers still in Southern California. Lincoln is a dentist. Elliot and Lincoln's son, David, are best buddies. And Stella and cousin Sadie pick up right where they left off every single time. Cousin friends are the best kinds of friends.

My other Southern California brother is Matt, of Album Surf. We visited his shop in San Clemente and loaded up on Album stickers (which now cover everything in my house) and Album shirts and baby Helena smiles, too.

We spent a really nice morning with my grandparents, who live in Orange. I grew up just a minute away from them and their house still feels like home.

And of course, Ruby's! My cute sister-in-law, Mimi, snapped this photo of our crew. Fun times. Yummy veggie burgers.

Can't wait to go back.

a quick trip to California

Mike and the boys and I headed west last week, and we didn't stop until we reached the coast. I have two brothers and my grandparents still in southern California, where I grew up, and it was high time we had a visit. Since all of the girls were in Utah for granddaughter's week, the boys had the run of things.

Cousin Henry, visiting from Massachusettes, showed us his muscles. Cousin David showed these out-of-towners how to dig.

That's my oldest brother, Elliott, in the background. (He lives in Massachusetts.) I don't think Oliver came up for air once he had that boogie board in his hands. He also tried surfing (thanks to my patient brother, Matt) and it makes me wonder what he would be like if he was able to do these things more often. I don't think I've ever seen him smile so big.

One night, we all got together at my brother, Matt's house and celebrated my beautiful grandmother's 86th birthday with my sister-in-law's fresh peach cake.

And then the next night, we went to my grandma's cozy house, one of my favorite places to be.

My brother, Elliott, and his wife, Ginger, and their youngest, Henry, were there with us. Album Surf shirts are sort of the family uniform.

My grandpa was there too, of course. There were lots of old photos to look at and stories to tell and yummy food to eat and good company to enjoy.

It was a quick trip, but I got to see the ocean, laugh with all three of my brothers at the same time, hug my grandparents, drive by the house I grew up in, and eat a veggie burger at Ruby's! A success all around, I'd say.

beach pictures

We had a little photo shoot with our tripod while we were in California last summer, and Mike finally had a minute to edit the photos. I wanted to post them here before too much more time had passed.

I love this big family of mine. We are spread from Southern California all the way to Germany, with many stops in-between, and we don't get to see each other nearly often enough. This trip to the beach last July already feels like a dream. It was the first time we'd all been together in more than four years. For the sake of our children, I hope we don't wait that long to do it again. The time we all spent crammed in a beach house together provided some really great memories. My kids still talk about it all the time.

The original Parker 6. One-time blogger and current English teacher Leslie, me, surfboard shaper Matt, dentist Lincoln, business consultant Elliott, and soon to be PHD grad Julianne. We were all raised the same way, but I love to see the different directions our lives have taken. We share many similarities of course (things like our faith, our focus on family, etc.), but we are all living in such different places, with our own traditions and way of doing things!

The grandkids! Plus, my parents. I love this one. My parents look so happy. It must be because they are surrounded by their most favorite people in the whole world.

Oh, what I wouldn't give for a minute of this night with my family and that ocean breeze right now.

San Diego

We left Orange County for a beach house in Mission Beach. All 33 of us. It was the first time in more than four years that my parents and all six of their children and their families had been together. It was crazy crowded, but so fun.

As soon as we dropped our bags in the house, we headed to the ocean, where I of course told all of the kids not to get wet, but they got soaked anyway. It is impossible to resist those waves, I guess.

These cousins are the best of friends. I always say that Mabel needs more Annie and Audrey in her life. It's really too bad that they each live in a different state.

Baby Ben was still the main attraction.

Stella and Sadie played for hours and hours together everyday.

And oh boy, the three musketeers, Elliot, David, and Henry.

Getting ready for family pictures at sunset. We used a really great photographer. It is called my tripod and a self timer. Mike needs to work his photoshop magic on the pictures, and then I'll post our favorites. I'm sure you can't wait! ;)

Silly Uncle Neal and really silly baby Dane.

By the end of our three weeks away, we were ready to come home, even if it meant coming back to the desert heat and a new school year. But we made some really great memories!

Orange County

We left pretty Sundance for pretty Orange County and the first thing we did when we got there was squish baby Ben, who had just flown in from the UK.

He graciously allowed much squishing.

My brother has a fantasy backyard. There are always lots of cousins, a darling play house, a trampoline, go karts, baseball games, not to mention year round perfect weather! My kids had so much fun.

Silly, silly boys.

And Ruby's! Ruby's played prominently into my adolescence, and a trip back home isn't complete without a veggie burger and a banana cream dream shake. (Although I was very strong and skipped the shake this time, a decision I regretted immediately.)

We don't see cousin David nearly often enough.

A walk to the nearby park rounded out a very fun few days. Up next, the beach!

And then this happened.

Mabel turned eleven while we were in San Diego. On her birthday, she and Mike disappeared for an hour or so. When they returned, she had pierced ears and a big smile. He said she was a little nervous while they were waiting.

Your average mall accessories shop doesn't cut it for Mike. This guy was the real deal. (He has a 5 star rating on Yelp, even!) She said it only pinched a little bit. I can't even really look at these pictures.

Officially a tween!

I left my heart in California, part 4.

Aside from relaxing on the beach, we didn't really do much while we were in San Diego, and it was glorious. However, we did visit the Mormon Battalion Visitor's Center (and sat in their pretty rocking chairs) which was lots of fun.

One afternoon, we met my old roommate, Amber, and her four boys at Balboa Park. We rode the old carousel, visited the pretty botanical gardens, and enjoyed the company and ambiance. I'd love to go back there some day to spend more time at the museums. It was such a beautiful place.

See you next summer, California, or else!

I left my heart in California, part 3.

And then there were the late afternoons. This one was particularly fantastic. Just me and my boys on the sand. I can still hear those waves pounding the shore.

Every night at sunset, we would put on our sweaters (!), cuddle up, stand at the wall on the edge of the beach, and watch the sun make it's way past the horizon.

We have so much fun with Mike's family (pictured here: brother Danny, his wife Lindsi, and father Steve).

Who wants to go in on a beach house with me next summer?

I left my heart in California, part 2.

Because I grew up in Orange County, we hardly ever had a reason to visit San Diego, so this was my first real trip there. Mike's mom had a major birthday this year, so she decided to take us all on vacation to celebrate. We even had matching t-shirts. Isn't she the best?

We stayed in Mission Beach, and we had the most wonderful time. It was gloomy in the mornings (which felt wonderful to my desert-parched soul), and sunny in the afternoons - perfect for sitting under an umbrella in a sweater with a good book. Oh, it was heaven!

Stella is my bathing beauty. And do your husbands bury your children in sand, too? Why is that such a dad thing to do?

The cold didn't seem to bother Oliver one bit. He was almost always wet, especially once we put him on a boogie board.

What's more fun than being at the beach? Being at the beach with cousins, of course! I love Ellie's face in this one (she's in the pink suit).

I seriously never wanted to leave.