Beach Week with Friends and Family

 Monday was a day we stayed at home and tried to get the house in order so we could be away playing for the rest of the week and always come home to a clean house. We all worked hard to clean and do laundry. Jack and Ella had piano and we swam. It was a productive day!

Tuesday we met Sari and her family at 3 Arch and stayed all day! It was perfect. The beach was not crowded and so gorgeous. The kids played so well together non stop and were so happy. It was fun to sit on the beach with Sari and chat for hours. We even got in the water which is my favorite! I have to be HOT to get in the water and the water has to be slightly warm- which is was! Nice! Some boys were flirting and hitting on Ray which is the first time that has ever happened and oh my gosh. Am I ready for this???? We stayed until the sunset and strolled the neighborhood a little bit as the sky turned pink. It's not even more confirmed in m heart that I need to live full time at 3 Arch. We stopped by Chick Fil A on the way home and we all got ice cream cones and it was the best. We were all so blissfully happy with our all day beach day.

Wednesday we met Sari at Salt Creek hoping the kids could play in the water a little more but there was a series of earthquakes throughout the night (that woke up both me and Jack and had our hearts pounding- 4 big earthquakes between 1 and 2am!) and the waves were kinda gnarly. There was a ton of seaweed on the sand, too, and when anyone walked by, there were sand flies everywhere. But we were only able to stay for a couple hours before we left so we could get Ray to her Animal Shelter class on time. She was soooooo thrilled to be finally starting this class to work with animals at the adoption center. Since the facility is 25 minutes away and we'd been driving a ton, we decided to stay and just play with kittens while Ray was in her class for 2 hours. It was cute! But man, I felt like I really needed a shower after that!

That night, Parker finally had his interview to be ordained and go to the temple with the Stake President. I can't even explain to you how frustrating this whole process has been- trying to communicate with these busy men, set and keep appointments, and be prepared with dates and times to go to the temple that work for everyone (including the temple). I literally laughed when he told us that Parker couldn't go to the temple on the date we had set (that Saturday) because he needed to be sustained before he could go for the first time. I explained to him that we'd been waiting over a month to get in with him and that this whole process has taken much longer than it should have and quite frankly all seems like a sick joke. The church cannot stress enough how important the youth of the church are and how it's of the utmost importance to get them to the temple. But here on the ground floor, that seems far from the truth. I know these are just ordinary men doing the Lord's work and Parker was embarrassed and said I was acting like a Karen.... but honestly, I'm super disappointed in our local leadership. I don't know how they are expecting me to feel or react to their disregard of our many many many messages and attempts to communicate. But oh well. We set another temple date and was again told that wouldn't work but Parker finally nailed down what sounds like the winning date- August 19th. We go to  Hawaii the next day so it's perfect. And who knows, the Lord is in the details and maybe this date and time will be significant. I'm just glad we are finally moving in the right direction. 

We got home late from Parker's interview and I was feeling better but still uptight about all the balls we have in the air. Ella's birthday and baptism on the 17th, Parker's temple prep and temple date on the 19th, Hawaii on the 20th, and my mom's big birthday bash on the 30th. We are trying to figure out when the kids have soccer and when MCO starts and have it all organized but the information is lacking... So... ya. 

Thursday I met up with Sari one last time for a fun beach sesh at 3 Arch and it was so fun! I just love spending time with her. We left the beach early, just as Jon was coming down with his family so we could run home and meet Kaitlin for swimming and a BBQ at our house. There was a slight detour to the orthodontist so they could fix Ray's wire that popped out. But then Kaitlin came over with her boys to swim and see our house for the first time and we were so happy to host them! She texted me on Monday morning and said they were boarding a flight to come to California for the week and asked if we were around. Ummm, ya! I'm glad she reached out! How do you come all the way to SoCal and not see your brother and his family?? For me, I always try to prioritize the cousins getting together because I feel like family is so important. But maybe not everyone sees it that way. I was glad she was up for an afternoon at our house even though she said the friends they were staying with kinda teased them for leaving. Tanner came home and made us a yummy chicken dinner. We ate dinner, swam, and enjoyed lots of ice cream before they took off and it was the best! 

Friday, I met Kaitlin, her boys, and their friends in Newport for a beach day. Don't worry, only my kids got saved by the lifeguard. Once for Ray and once for Jack. Apparently there was a rip tide just off shore and the lifeguard was really worried about my kids. Whoops! It was fun getting to know Kaitlin and Travis' friends, Tanner and Tiffany, and Ray became fast friends with their daughter, Mayzee! They were so cute together! Now we are all best friends and I will be expected to be invited on all of their family vacations from here on out. It was interesting to hear all about Kaitlin and Travis' new adventure building a home in Inkom. They bought an acre for $75k and are having their cousin, Josh, build a big beautiful home on the land. I think it will cost them $650k. And I only add these numbers for posterity's sake. You guys are gonna read this in 50 years and go, "Woah! That was so cheap!!!" but right now in 2025 that is A LOT. I'm really happy for them, though, and I know they will love their new home!

The clouds rolled in in the early afternoon and it got kinda chilly. Tanner met us at the beach but was on the phone the entire time. We all packed up and Kaitlin and her family prepared to fly home. We said goodbye and the kids and I went to the food court at Fashion Island for dinner. We wrapped up in towels because we didn't have sweatshirts and we were cold. But we had so much fun eating together! My kids are old enough to just DO stuff with me and it's not hard and they are my buddies and I love them so much.

We've been listening to Twilight all week and in the beginning they were all skeptical about the story but now we are almost done with it and they all love it! One more hour of listening and then we can watch the movie. We'll only do the first book and then maybe we can move on to Hunger Games!

Saturday, Tanner took the kids golfing and to Chick Fil A in the morning and I cleaned up the house a little bit before we headed to Costa Mesa to meet Parker and my parents at the LDS bookstore for all of Parker's temple clothes. He spent the night with them on Friday night- he loves to spend the weekends down there with them and his cousins. There was a huge accident on the way there so it took Tanner and me an hour and a half to get there. We were also in a big argument because I've been telling Tanner that I need his help with all of these August events and he acts like he has no idea what I'm talking about. I'm trying to be vulnerable and let him in but it's much more peaceful for our relationship if I just factor him out. That morning when he was gone with the kids, I assumed he'd be home in time to pick me up so we could meet Parker at the store, but when I texted him he acted, again, like he had no idea what the plan was or what I was talking about. Which may be true! But he also didn't ASK. So I told him he either needed to step up or I can just move forward without him. I just peace and I certainly don't want to be disappointed in him- which is how I'm feeling lately. I can't take Parker to the temple with out him, he's Parker's escort. I can't get Ella baptized without him. I don't mind going to Hawaii without him, but he doesn't want that. And I do need help with my mom's party. So there are some things I need his support with and I want to be a good strong team. But in order for us to be a team, I need him to GET IN THE GAME. 

Anyhoo, we got over that. We got Parker's temple clothes and he was glowing. He's so happy. My parents bought everything as a gift to our future missionary and then we took them out to brunch at a cute place called Social. It was so good and we had a great time talking and catching up. We came home and went swimming for a little bit and spent some time together.

Sunday, Tanner and Parker were finally sustained. Tanner will be teaching seminary and Parker will be ordained an elder. Yay! I had to teach young women and I made Ray sit with me. I felt really uncomfortable in there but the lesson went well and I'm glad its over. The lesson was on Standing in Holy Places. After church we spent 8 hours sitting around which was amazing. I got caught up on the blog, the kids had device time, and we chilled. They are also very interested in swtiching rooms when Parker goes on his mission so they have been designing and using canva, pinterest, and tracing on their lightboard. So creative!

Last week was an even balance of relaxing at the beach with friends and family and being stressed out about upcoming events. But I love Summer so much and I wish it could go on forever!!!!