Newport Beach

We spent an afternoon at Newport Beach. Our good friends introduced us to the ferry that goes to Balboa Island a few years ago, and we thought we'd do a repeat with Ryan's family. The ferry is a quick ride, but still fun!

I love this picture... it shows what Sophia was trying to do during our whole trip (and usually succeeded). She wouldn't keep her hat on for anything... which wouldn't have been as big a deal if it weren't so chilly!

Traci and Wade and their cute kids came from Washington. We don't get to see them often enough--but it was fun to spend some time with them during the week.

We stopped at a park when we got there and the kids had a fun time playing. Sophia loved going down the slide with Liv.

Then we walked along the quaint little streets and looked at the amazing waterfront homes and dreamed of days when we might own such luxurious weekend homes. We arrived at our destination (Dad's Bakery) for Hippo Cookies and ice cream (it's always about the treats, right?).

Sophia was in heaven with the hippo cookie... she only got to eat a few bites of it, but she enjoyed every one.

The ice cream was pretty tasty too...

...Coleman and Sam got more blue on their faces than in their tums. Why can't I ever remember that bubble gum ice cream is never a good idea?

Then it started raining, so we ran to catch the ferry back over to the "mainland" and there was a beautiful view of the homes on Balboa Island.

We played on the beach for a bit, too.

Sophia loved the feeling of the cold sand... until she did a face plant in it and then tried to use here sandy little hands to wipe the sand off of her tongue. It was sad and hilarious at the same time.

Coleman thinks that jumping off of sand dunes might be the best thing ever... the "dunes" were maybe 8 inches high, but that didn't deter him in the least.

Liv quite enjoyed it too.

Love the action shots!

Sophia was getting excited to go to Disneyland! I love that expression on her face.

What's a cold trip to the beach without kids trying to outrun the waves and getting soaked?

They loved it!

Finally, we drove to see the Newport Beach Temple--it is such a beautiful, unique building. The gates were closed, but I was still so glad that we took the time to go there.

I think I could get used to SoCal life...