we're not in kansas anymore! {a photo gallery}

{the house sean's family rented has the little mermaid etched in everywhere.

max thinks we are staying in Ariel's house=max's life dream fulfilled.}

...

i am in love with the plam trees here.
i would like someone to figure out how i can keep one alive through the winter in my yard.
{maybe the new furnace we have to buy when we get home could manage it--barf!}
it took us 2 hours to convince brennan that we were not in hawaii.
just that palm trees grow in california too.
11 1/2 hours, one betty boop candy necklace {i made for max}, a police helicopter candy fan for brennan, and a first french fry for chase later we arrived at our destination.
SEAL BEACH.
or heaven.
whichever.
the sand on our beach has millions of trillions of gold flakes that glimmer around our feet as the waves come up and kiss our toes.
sarah and i have agreed to get our pie pans out tomorrow to sift out the gold.
surely, it must be real.
i can't stop leaning over to look at the golden specs up close.
i have come to the realization that i will not be doing my hair or wearing anything other than my comfy clothes and a bathing suit for the next 6 days.
brennan will rotate between his swim trunks and a pair of underwear,
sean board shorts and a shirt,
chase a diaper and a shirt,
max a swim suit and a dress.
there are three things that have become necessities for me already:
1. hair tie {the most important item}
2. sunscreen
3. chapstick
mostly just the hair tie.
{p.s. i brought all of the wrong clothes--fall starting in utah the week before we left really through off my packing for beach weather mood. woops.}
i grew up in a coastal town in northern california,
{fog, beautiful beaches, and cold water--freezing water.}
other than trips to disneyland,
i don't remember spending time in southern california when i was growing up.
my dad took me to san diego once as a little kid.
i remember playing in the sand and going into the warm ocean water.
it's just a different state down here than it is in the bay.
and i love it!
for the last 24 hours i have been marveling at the beautiful southern Californian coast.
palm tree lined,
golden sandy beaches,
WARM, salty ocean smelling air,
humidity {no lotion necessary},
oil rigs and oil drilling along the coast {who knew?!--really, i didn't},
$4.55 gasoline {unleaded--wah!},
cars that zoom past in a completely different fashion,
Lamborghinis,
Maseratis,
and charlie sheen in his jaguar at the stoplight next to us--
{CHARCAT--really, that's what his license plate said, it's true},
visiting the newport beach temple,
taking family pictures,
brennan drawing all over the game table with marker,
{thank you kenny for finding the magic cleaning spray that saved us all our deposit},
dreaming of staying at the Huntington beach Hyatt regency hotel
{10 yr anniversary???
or 25...maybe...someday?!...},
where HWY 1 becomes the PCH,
and it's just more fun to call it a three letter nickname than i ever could have imagined,
church in our living room,
watching paddle boarders and surfers as we sang, took the sacrament, and shared testimonies,
the sound of waves crashing all hours of the day,
my favorite is listening to them as we're falling asleep,
sunsets that glow red orange on the horizon,
kids with sandy bums,
and salty kisses {YUM!!!},
watching landon show cancer who's boss by boogy boarding with sean and kenny for an hour,
brennan and his cousins building sand castles on the beach,
while the babies all took naps,
brennan "cutting" the waves and feeling the sand disappear beneath him as the waves rolled in and out,
piggy back rides on sean,
watching sean race his mom and dive into the ocean,
just like ripping off a bandaid {the faster, the better--that way it's warmer faster},
brennan and the girls collecting sea shells {one word or two?},
with brennan's favorites being honored inside his letter "B" away from the waves,
sean and landon playing catch with the football back and forth in the ocean,
bill and sean tackling each other to catch a pass in the water,
brennan thinking mary the mother of jesus was Pocahontas,
twice.
dolphins of the shore {which i missed, but everyone in the house spotted, twice},
fireworks on the beach,
finding the last box fan in all of Huntington beach with sean at 9:55pm,
breathing the salty air on the balcony,
max and brennan sharing a room,
brennan telling max to stay up all night b/c it was her "chore to keep him safe."
and that was just the first day.

my list of things i still want to do:

1. boogy board with sean

2. build a castle with max and brennan on the beach

3. ride the beach cruiser bike in the garage along beach path

4. go for a run

5. walk along the beach with sean after the kids are in bed

6. hot tub on the rooftop

7. eat at taco surf

8. buy a shirt with bright colors, maybe bright stripes

9. help brennan build up his seashell collection

10. take chase into the ocean, and watch him play in the sand for the first time

...

the end for tonight.

my lullaby waves are calling.

nighty nighty!

it's a rough life,

but somebody's gotta do it.

:):):)