Balboa Island and WHALE WATCHING!!!!

Mom, Dad, and the kids and I went to one of our family's most beloved places...where it all began...Balboa Island/Newport Beach. My dad drove the ferry between Balboa Island and Newport Beach. Mom got on that ferry. Dad thought she was beautiful and gave her a free ride, and it's all history from there! What a ferry tale, eh?! :) We grew up visiting this quaint, beautiful man made island and it is a tradition to go there when ever I go back. So grandma, grandpa and I took the kids, walked around the shops on Main Street, played at the beach, and went WHALE WATCHING!!!!

Outside the toy shop.

Kate feeding the "cheepies!" She earned her beloved stuffed animal pigeon after she was potty trained and was thrilled to be able to feed them outside the donut shop. :)

Cheepies make her happy! :) Sick, dirty pigeons.

Sittin' on the dock of the bay, wastin' time...until our whale watching boat was to take off. Except for any time on a beach is NOT wasted.

Beautiful Balboa Island. If you haven't been there, go next time you are in California. So cute, quaint, ritzy, and fun.

You can walk around the whole island. You will pass several old rich retirees with their snooty, foofy haired groomed puppies. :)

My beach bums.

Zach and Papa in Papa's old stomping grounds. He drove this very ferry. :) I think mom and dad met on the 'Captain,' but the 'Commodor' will do too.

WHALE WATCHING!

I was a bit nervous to bring the girls AND Zach, but I knew they would love it. We got on the crowded boat and headed right up to the bow. That's the front tip, right? Anyway, that is where you should go if you can because the dolphins LOVE to race the boat and hang out there. I am proud to say they all did love it and no one fell overboard!! SO glad Papa and Mer Mer were there to help.

Just some sea lions waving at us. :)

Whales are cool...but the dolphins are where it's at! They were so fun to watch and RIGHT there under our noses. We actually were trying to get on the morning boat, but got stuck in traffic (typical California) and had to do the afternoon one. BAD for my girls/naps and all, but ended up being a blessing because we heard that they didn't see any dolphins on the morning boat and only 1 whale. We saw 2 or 3 different whales and 4 pods of dolphins!!

Kate LOVED watching the dolphins, but was SO tired. The driver let us between the rail and the edge when the dolphins were there and we were going slow, but when we were going faster he asked us to sit back so we wouldn't fall through. Kate DID NOT like this. She seriously bawled every time I had to take her away from the side. "Dolphins...dolphins..." IT was ridiculous! She wanted to see the dolphins and didn't understand that they weren't there all the time because every time we would let her look they would be there! It was a LONG almost 3 hours! When the dolphins were there she was so happy, and when they were, she was SAD and MAD!

A grey whale tail!! With the beautiful California coast behind it.

There's the whale's back...

And another tail shot! Really cool, awe inspiring, majestic, just not as entertaining as the dolphins.

Kate finally found a little peep hole she could watch through any time. We should have have found that earlier!!

And here are the stinky sea lions that are ALWAYS on the buoy right outside Balboa Harbor.

Kate and Mer Mer mesmerized by the dolphins. They followed us so far into the harbor!

Quite often they would turn to the side and kind of look up at you, say hello. :) I think they really loved to put on a show for us.

A lovely day on the sea.

And another beautiful sunset.

Daddy-less Week #1

Justin had to go back to work on January 2nd, so we had 12 days without him. :( Sad because we missed daddy, but I figured we could sit around the house in Lethbridge...OR we could stay in California with lots of cousins and sunshine for 2 more weeks, so we did! In making this decision I knew I'd have to fly back...ALONE...25 weeks prego with my 3 kids. It was worth it. 2 weeks of fun for 8 hours of craziness. :)

So what did we do in our first week without Daddy?

Uncle Harvey gave the kids "Hail to the King" rides in the booster seat. They loved it. He hoisted them up and walked around saying "Hail to the King (or Queen)." :)

We went to the beach again.

Dug muddy sandy holes and sat in them.

Watched a gorgeous sunset (wish he was here for that one!)

Made cookies with Mer Mer in our new aprons (thanks Katie!).

Rubbed Mommy's feet to earn money to go see the Muppet Movie with the cousins.

What good little workers. :)

Smiled after "watching" the movie with the cousins...let's just say the girls weren't super interested in the Muppet Movie. ALL of my treats were gone by the end of it. And the popcorn we bought.

Visited Nanny and ate her candy. (that's what I did when I was little too! Go to Nanny's, eat cookies and candy and watch Nick Jr. BIG deal to us. We didn't have cable! I could watch all the Doug and Rugrats I wanted to at Nanny's! All while laying on my own bed.)

Sharing some of Nanny's candy with her. What generous children. :)

I actually love watching the kids interact with Grandmas and Grandpas. They get this look on their face, a sweet innocent one, and pat them on the hand while they look into their eyes. The best was when Kate did it to my dad. He asked me what she was doing and I said that she does that to the elderly. ;) He didn't really like that. HA!

Nanny had a cute bird necklace given to her by some of the other cousins I think. She used to raise canaries. Kara thought the necklace was beautiful!

Outside Nanny's window. She has bird feeders there and loves to watch the birds come and dine.

Zach helped grandpa trim the bushes, fix a pipe, and fix the fence. He was in HEAVEN. He wants to be a builder when he grows up. I really think he will be. That or an orthopedic surgeon. They are practically carpenters anyway. This kid LOVES tools and projects.

We made egg noodles for Mer Mer's delicious Chicken noodle soup. Zach got to turn the crank.

And we pet the chickens! :)

They were only in the house for a brief moment to show Nanny. :)

I promise.

And EVERY night we called or skyped Daddy and the kids whined and cried about how much they missed him. It was sad and didn't make being away from him any easier. I missed him too!! A LOT!