Balboa Island

For a fun family trip this year, Jacob convinced us all to go to Disney Land in early January together. He even rented out a condo in Anaheim California for all of us. So on January 2nd, we all headed out for California.

It was pretty crazy going from staying at Jake's all week, to going home, unpacking, doing laundry, and then repacking lol but we got it done and were ready to go, early that Monday morning. 

We picked mom and dad up in Phoenix and from there it was a pretty easy trip. The kids were great.

I always love crossing the border into California too. You can just smell the ocean and I love it.

We got to the condo around dinner time and I was very impressed with it. I was also super grateful because even though we were the last ones to get there, everyone had saved Jimmy and I the best room in the place. It was upstairs and the room was huge! It had a huge closet and bathroom as well. Being pregnant definitely has it's perks =)

We were supposed to go to Disneyland with everyone the next day but unfortunately we had some sickies. Jimmy being one of them. That night he definitely had a fever and said that he just felt awful. So early Tuesday morning, he said that he wanted to wait and go on Wednesday instead. 

Unfortunately, this caused some bumps in everyone's plans. I felt pretty bad. Now everyone had to choose what to do with our new situation. It ended up where Tommy's family and then mom and dad stayed behind with us. Beckham and Holly weren't feeling very good either.

So we now had the whole day in California with nothing to do! Well I got on my phone and started looking some things up and came across Balboa Island. A little island that you have to take a ferry too. It looked super cute and the kids were super excited to go to the beach. 

So around lunch time, mom, dad, and then me and the kids headed out. And we had the best time! Seriously, it was such a wonderful day!

As soon as we got there, we found parking right away and it was perfect because it was right next to this ice cream place with their famous "frozen chocolate bananas" and "balboa bars". So we all got some treats. Dad and I both tried the almond chocolate frozen banana and it was delicious! The kids got ice cream cones, and mom went next door and got a doughnut. It was a good start. 

Oh! And while we were eating, there were so many pigeons around! At first the kids didn't bother them too much but when they started trying to eat our food, they thought it was hilarious to both feed them and then kick or chase them lol. I couldn't believe how many of them there were! 

From there, we got back in the car and went over to the ferry. Again, we immediately found parking which was so nice. The ferry boat was small and super cute and the kids were so excited. It was so fun taking the ride to the little island. You could see that it had lots of fun rides, a ferris wheel, the beach, and then lots of snack places. 

We went on the ferris wheel first and both kids LOVED it! Oh my goodness, what a fun memory for me! It felt so good seeing their smiling faces and over looking the island and the water. We had such a fun time. It also was nice because it was a good sign that they were going to like the rides at Disney land!

After that, we went over to the beach. This was the highlight of the trip for both of our kids. They both are such beach lovers. Lexi even went in the water! 

They both ran as fast as they could to the shore line and of course, before I could really do anything, Izaac had been taken out by a wave. And he was soaked lol. Oh, and then after being soaked, of course, he dropped down into the sand to sulk. Now he was a wet sandy mess. Ughh and he was in jeans!

Luckily though, I had brought both of their bathing suits, even though it was freezing! So right there they both put their suits on. And then they were as happy as can be. Izaac stayed back from the water but Lexi went right in! It was fun to watch her with Grandpa. She was in absolute heaven!

Until, it was time to go... then she was cold, hungry, and tired lol

It was so so nice though because having grandma and grandpa there with me, made it so easy. They helped dry off the kids alittle and then Grandpa let the kids get whatever snacks they wanted. So Lexi got a hot chocolate and fries, and Izaac got a piece of pizza and some juice. They are so lucky.

After some food fuel, we went back over on the ferry boat to the car, and after like 2 minutes, both kids were dead alseep. I am so glad we went! What a fun and memorable day.