So we had a wonderful time with Sean's family for a week on the beach in Newport, California. We had so much fun! It was beautiful weather and we stayed in a beach house right by the the ocean. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Here we are just chilling at the beach house our first night there.
The next day after church we decided to go see the Newport Temple. The grounds there were so beautiful. The flowers and trees were gorgeous. It was a quick walk, but a pretty one. My favorite picture is of all the kids together... (Except Zach)
So then we had some beach time. The kids were pretty excited to get out and play. Brayden was all about digging and Katelyn just wanted to get sandy. As the week progressed, Katelyn had more and more fun running through the waves and Brayden got more interested in playing with boats and stuff in the sand. He wasn't too fond of the water. 
On Tuesday, all the mothers and daughters went to Balboa Island where they have lots of fun shops and things. They had a store that hosted tea parties. Grandma scheduled one for us and we had a wonderful time. It was so fun to be girly and get dressed up. We had so much fun!
When I was little, we used to go to the beach on St Petersburg Florida often for family reunions. We always used to make little drip castles close to the waves on the shore because you have to have just the right amount of water and sand to make it drip. Katelyn, Brayden, and Bryton helped me make a small one.
We had a yummy Mexican dinner at Fashion Island which is a beautiful outdoor mall! Mmm... Lots of fun!
Grandma read some Fancy Nancy books to the kids. The kids really enjoyed story time with her.
Brayden really became attached to Grandpa while we were there. They kind of became buddies because they spent the afternoon with each other while we were at the tea party.
So Sean got there on Wednesday late that night. The next day we all went to the tide pulls where there are lots of little sea urchins and crabs to find in the rocks. It is really beautiful there as well!
So on Friday, we spent most of the day on the beach enjoying our last moments there. The ocean was kind of cold so Sean and Brennon worked together to make a pool/hot tub for the kids to play in all day. We dug a big hole and Brennon went and bought a tarp. It took lots of interesting things to use to fill it with water. Everything from beach bags to garbage cans. We finally filled it and the kids had a great time. Yes, Sean is wearing a wet suit to keep warm. He has an allergic reaction and he gets hives when the water is too cold against his skin.
Friday night Grandpa rented a boat and we all went for a cruise around the harbor. It was a lot of fun! Brayden really enjoyed being on the boat. We also saw a little family of sea lions resting on a boat nearby.
Here are some last moments of fun on the beach. We had so much fun!
