Road Trip and Newport Beach, CA

I decided I didn't want to miss the beach house this year. So I made the long trip out to California with my three little boys. My sister didn't want to miss it either, she had to drive from Chicago to California. She stayed at our house for 2 nights then went on the SLC. We met up in St. George a few day later.

The drive from Denver to St. George was 651 miles. We did it in one day and it took 12 hours (including 3 stops). The drive through Colorado is so pretty and we went through 6 tunnels which the boys think is so fun. One of the tunnels is 1 1/2 miles long. The first stop we made was at a rest area in Parachute, CO. We got out of the car and Rusty started walking, then he stopped and turned around and he looked so scared. He said, "There is a dead man on that table!" I said, "He is probably just sleeping." After we went to the bathroom, the "dead man" was still sleeping and as we walked by him Stone said "He's wearing princess shoes." and Rusty said "Those aren't princess shoes, those are Grandpa Wayne shoes." And we all started laughing.

The "dead man".

The next stop was in Green River, UT. This is the last stop for services for 106 miles on the I-70. So I thought we should get gas before we crossed the land of desolation. The first part of that 106 mile stretch was pretty boring, then the scenery became really interesting. Stone said it looked like Radiator Springs from the movie "Cars". There weren't very many cars on the road and it was easy to go faster than I should. I had to keep slowing down because I would realize I was going way too fast. We finally made it to civilization again. Our last stop was in Beaver, UT to use the bathroom. Then we made it to St. George. Stone and Rusty kept asking who George is. I tried to explain to them that it is a city not a person. My sister had been there for a few hours already and she had dinner for us. Thank you to Scott and Lori for letting us stay in your condo.

The next day we made it to California. The boys were so excited to finally be there. Even though it had been a year and a half since we were there, Stone remembered where Grandpa keeps the Gatorade. The beach house week was so much fun. Luke flew in on Friday and was able to stay until the next Sunday. Van and Rusty always had so much sand on their faces. It was a lot of fun to be with my sisters again. We stayed up late playing games and singing karaoke. We went to an Angel's game while we were there and met up with some of Luke's friends.

The three babies finally got to meet each other.

Getting donuts with Grandpa.

The Angels game.

The 12-pack.

Rusty and Leah loved playing in the waves.

The rope tower.

My sister had her birthday while at the beach house. After eating at Ruby's for breakfast, she had this brilliant idea that we all jump off the swing at the same time. We had to do it so many times before giving up. This is the closest we all got.

Here are some karaoke pictures.

We stay in California about 2 weeks after the beach house before we drove back. I will post pictures of that later. I hope you enjoy the post.