Beach #1

Our very first week here in southern California we tried out one of many beaches we hope to visit while we're here.  Laguna Beach was a great place to start exploring the west coast!

It took us less than 30 minutes to get to this beach from our apartment, and we did it all without Zack!  I was very proud of the fact that I was able to get us from the 5 to the 405 and out to Laguna, park the van in the busy town of Laguna Beach on a busy Friday afternoon, and get all nine of us set up on the sand, especially after having been here for only 3 days at that point :)

It was a really nice beach and had lots of gorgeous views

The boys especially loved the pelicans out on the rocks!

The water was ice cold and there was lots of seaweed....a bit different than the Florida beaches that we're accustomed to.

But the kids were thrilled to be at the ocean and the waves were awesome (not to mention a bit scary!!)

We brought our boogie boards all the way from Georgia, and they were great for the huge waves

Matthew was in heaven and continues to ask me, on a daily basis, when we're going back to the ocean ;)

Since we finish school up this Friday, we plan to try out lots more beaches in the coming days and weeks!  Salt Creek and some other places near Dana Point are next on the list.

Laguna Beach had some great tide pools

and Caleb loved climbing over the rocks and exploring the small pools and all the tiny creatures in them

A fun shot I took of Josh as the tide started to come back in through the rocks

And we were treated to a final surprise late in the afternoon when a guy brought his pet iguana down to the beach for a stroll :)

Looking forward to heading to Dana Point this weekend, and although the weather probably won't be warm enough for swimming, we're excited to check out The Pilgrim and the Sea Caves!!

Hollywood or bust

*I almost hate to post this after being glued to the news all day tracking the coverage of the killer tornadoes.  My heart is with those who lost one of their precious babies today.  I will continue to pray for all the victims and their families.  A solemn reminder that life can change in the blink of an eye, and that it could happen to any of us.*

With Allie leaving for photography school in just one week, we wanted to be sure we made it to Hollywood while she was still here with us!  So Sunday, we loaded up the van and hit the five -that would be I-5 if you're not familiar with SoCal lingo ;)  I managed to get a shot of the famous Hollywood sign up on the mountain side, but I took it with my phone and didn't get it uploaded just yet.  So, here's our first view of Hollywood

We headed down Sunset Blvd on our way to the Walk of Fame

Finally found parking in an underground garage and made it out onto the street

And almost immediately, Allie found her man

Yes, she definitely has an obsession with Johnny Depp ;)

We made our way down to Grauman's Chinese Theater 

and enjoyed checking out all the stars messages and handprints

And we even managed to find Johnny Depp's star prints!

Found the fun piano steps that played notes as we walked up each stair

And of course we found the Greatest Candy Store on Earth

Complete with candy-dispensing toilets ;)

And strange brands of soda!!

We especially liked the "kitty piddle!"

Found some fabulous shopping with a fountain for the kids to play in

and saw some gorgeous buildings

Then we piled back into the van and headed out toward Beverly Hills

We wanted to see if we could find some Hollywood starlets doing some Sunday afternoon shopping on Rodeo Drive :)

It was a gorgeous street!

Last stop....

Spinkles!  

And to avoid the very, very long line, we decided to use the ATM machine to dispense our cupcakes :)

I mean....doesn't everyone get their cupcakes from an ATM?!?!

But at $4 a cupcake, we opted to only get four of them to split and share with everyone!  

But I gotta say.....they were worth EVERY penny!  YUM!!!!!

Thanks for all the prayers for my back!  It's doing better every day, and I'll post more about it soon!  This gal doesn't let much slow her down ;)

Fitting in

I feel like I start most of my posts off with something sounding like an excuse for not posting sooner, and once again, I dropped the ball.  I took these pictures two days after we got here, and that was almost 2 weeks ago!  Not to make excuses......(no really).......but the fact that we have such a different routine here has really thrown me for a loop.  Because there is no place for the boys to play outside the apartment, we spend our mornings doing school work and then get out as quickly as possible for the remainder of the day, which leaves little time for blogging.  We've already explored many parks, our apartment pool and even made our first trip to the beach! 

I know several of you are wondering how we're fitting into our new space, and I'll let the pictures speak for themselves

That's our living room above.  Pretty standard for a 3-bedroom apartment.  Josh is currently using the sleeper-sofa as his bed at night, but he'll be moving into the room with the girls when Allie leaves for school in 2 weeks.  

All of our furniture is rented from a company that was separate from the apartment rental, and it all seems to be brand new.  We only got the basics, but it's working pretty well for us.  As you can see, we have one of three dressers on the wall in the living/dining room area.  The big kids are sharing that dresser, and the top of it is where we store some of our school supplies.

We have a small table in the "dining room," but it's used more for school than for eating!

The laundry room is in an interesting place

Yep, it's our here on our deck!  Oh, and so are all of our shoes ;)

The kitchen is small but functional.  I think the hardest part is not having a bigger fridge!  We can only store enough food for about 2 days, so I feel like I'm constantly shopping.  

As I mentioned, the girls are all sharing a room right now

And they also share the bathroom in the hallway

There is this nice space outside the hall bathroom which gives us lots of additional storage for school books, bedding, etc....

And it's also a safe place to keep the printer that we brought all the way from Georgia!

The three middle boys (that would be Noah, Matthew & Jacob!) are sharing the second bedroom

Just enough space in between the beds for a couple small toy tubs, but plenty of closet space

We have things like towels and hats hanging on every door!  There just aren't enough towel racks for 10 people ;)

I was surprised to find a nice-sized master closet.  I actually think it's better than the one in the house we now own ;)

Caleb's in a crib in our room, and the only other furniture we have are the two remaining dressers and a bed

One thing is for sure, it's really easy to make the bed in the morning when you don't have all the extra decorative pillows!!

We were fortunate to get an apartment that is directly behind the pool, allowing us quick and easy access to both the pool and gym facilities.  

The view from the pool is out over the mountains and a lake that's across the street.....it's gorgeous!

And there's a great area for cookouts, complete with gas grills and tables for the residents to use

Seriously, the pool area reminds me of a resort hotel!  I truly feel like I'm on vacation every time we go over there :)  The best part is that it's so close to our apartment that we don't even have to take a cooler!

If you've followed our family for long, then you know how much we love to be in the water

And something tells me that by the time this summer is over, Caleb will be swimming without his floaties :)