Love Us Some Beach

I think when Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh tell us over and over again that they're just happy to hangout around the house... just as long as they get to spend time with Allen, I actually tend to believe them! But with that being said, I know my mother. And if she had a choice to either spend time with Allen at home... or spend time with him at the beach, well... that's an easy one for sure!  

So we took a chance one morning that the weather wasn't going to be crummy (like the last time Moe-Joe was here!), loaded up the car, drove over the Ortega (Woo-Hoo!), stuffed our faces in Newport Beach for lunch... and then finally made our way to the beach.

Back again at Crystal Cove State Beach...

but this time the weather was absolutely perfect!

"Well... it ain't New Smyrna... but it'll do."

Time to walk off that big lunch! A casual stroll along the walkway

on the cliffs of the coast was just what we needed.

Allen made sure we were all there behind him

as he peeked around the edge of his stroller.

"Okay guys... lookin' good. Just take a few more steps back...

a little more... almost there... keep going...!"

"No Dolli... we can't move out here!

This is the land of fruits & nuts, remember?!"

Happy to finally be out of that stroller and on his own two feet!

Mommy & Daddy take turns showing Allen the amazing view.

We love us some good weather,

we love being together,

and we love us some beach!

Allen was quite enthralled with the view.

"Mom... please can I go down there and play on the beach!?!?"

With no clouds to hide any of that wonderful sunshine, it actually was quite warm out... so Allen & Moe-Joe made sure to keep hydrated during our walk. 

Only one of us got a free ride and relaxed the whole way... so the rest of us needed time to rest & re-energize for the walk back.

Much to Dad-Oh's shagrin...

Allen's Bulldog hat was super cute! 

That surreal moment when you both realize you're thinking the exact same thing: "Man I wish we were all on that sailboat out there!" 

After a long beautiful stroll along the cliffs... we finally made it down to the surf where Moe-Joe took Allen to watch the waves come in and feel that cold Pacific water.

I don't know how she did it...

but Moe-Joe sure did order up some great weather!

On our way back to the car, the girls stopped for a potty break...

while the boys found some shade to hangout in.

Spending time with Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh at the beach with gorgeous weather... an absolute perfect way to the spend the afternoon!

The walk was definitely fun... but the funniest part was watching Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh race each other to see who could put their shoe on faster! Allen thought it was pretty funny too!

"Thanks Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh for taking me to the beach
and taking me for a stroll... I loved it!"

Spring Visit

I just can't imagine what Allen must have thought. One minute he's playing with his Mom & Dad around the house... he goes down for a nap in his room for a few hours... and then the next thing he knows Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh are on his bed staring right at him! I bet he totally thought that he was dreaming! Either way, I'm sure he was perplexed... becuase his reaction to seeing them wasn't what we all expected. Sure it had been several months since we had seen them last, but I definitely didn't expect for Allen to act like he didn't know who they were!  Needless to say, it took him a while for him to fully wake up and grasp the fact that his Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh were here to play with him... and for more than just three days too!!!

Happy to see & hug his Moe-Joe!

After an eventual warm reception, it was too nice of an afternoon to not be outside playing... so we all went out to the backyard and did just that.

Moe-Joe (accidentally?) hit Dad-Oh in the head with the ball...

and Allen apparently approved and congratulated her with a high-five.

Dad-Oh obviously didn't think it was very funny

and didn't appreciate Allen laughing at his expense!

Sometimes we forget how easily amused an 18-month-old can be... Dad-Oh simply tossing the ball up into the air made Allen laugh hysterically!

Allen eventually got bored with the ball...

so we brought out some reinforcements:

The pinwheel was fun...

But trying to catch Moe-Joe's bubbles was even more fun!

Allen just couldn't resist playing with his balls (gee, that sure doesn't sound right!), and insisted Dad-Oh do some more hilarious juggling.

The fun continued inside where Dad-Oh proceeded to teach Allen how to blow on a beer bottle to make it whistle (It's a guy thing!).

We wrapped up an exciting day with Moe-Joe

reading Allen a bedtime story... which he liked very much!

The next morning Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh took the little guy off our hands for a while and ate breakfast together, played, and of course took a nice long walk around the neighborhood.

Apparently it was a busy and exhausting morning... because once noon rolled around, Allen, Dad-Oh, and the cats all decided to take naps.

"Okay, I'm up... ready to play again Moe-Joe!!!"

Allen loves it when his Moe-Joe prepares his lunch for him!

That afternoon we decided to get out of the house

and visit/feed the ducks at the duck pond...

Enjoy a nice stroll around the pond while taking a few family pics...

And of course a mandatory pitstop at the playground was a must!

The next morning Moe-Joe surprised Allen...

with his very own set of golf clubs!

We headed out to the backyard and gave it our best shot at trying to teach him how to swing and hit the ball, but he didn't quite catch on as quickly as we had hoped.

After a little golf in the morning, we decided to go to the park...

where we ate a nice big lunch and played as hard as we could.

First thing Allen wanted to do was have

Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh push him on the swing!

"Higher Dad-Oh... higher!"

And just when we thought the swing was his favorite...

Moe-Joe introduced him to the super fun slide!

kind of a random pic here... but I only include it because it was taken immediately after Dad-Oh had tripped over (some sand?) the raised edge of the rubber floor where it meets the sand and fell pretty hard!  Allen was oblivious... but the rest of us got a really good laugh out of it! (Sorry Dad-Oh.)

When Dad-Oh wasn't tripping over himself...

he was busy spending some quality time with his Grandson.

"Mom? ...Dad? Moe-Joe? ...Dad-Oh???

Oh come on... my poopy diaper can't be that bad!?"

Surprisingly, Moe-Joe, Dad-Oh and Allen

were all up for a friendly game of dodgeball!

Or in Moe-Joe's case... not so friendly game of dodgeball!

You wouldn't think it'd be hard to keep Allen entertained... being at a nice big park and all, but without his afternoon nap, the attention span dropped while the crankiness level rose. But as sure as the grass is green, we came prepared... balls, bubbles, and golf clubs galore!

It wouldn't be an Etheridge family outing at the park...

without an intense game of Pro Kadima!

And when all else fails to entertain and keep Allen from whining and being a turd... 'Nemo' comes to the rescue!!!

So nice to have Moe-Joe & Dad-Oh with us.
Life is definitely good!!!