Oceanside, California 2014

After Violin Camp, we drove to California with Regan. Having him drive with us ended up being the biggest blessing of my life because of the events that happened on our way to California! 

 We drove to Las Vegas and stayed at an awesome resort in Lake Las Vegas. We had so much fun swimming with the kids and just spending time with Regan since we hadn't seen him in a while. The resort was seriously amazing!

 After we checked out of our hotel and got back on the road to get to Oceanside is when all of the trouble started! We were an hour outside of Las Vegas when all of a sudden Regan and I heard a weird noise with our car! We pulled over, let it rest, then started again. Sure enough the sound got worse and eventually the car just stopped, so we pulled over to the side of the freeway with a dead car and 4 children! Did I mention we were in the middle of the Mohave Dessert? Yep! Regan started making phone calls for a tow truck...

 We had some food and water in the car luckily and the next thing I knew, Emery was eating everything we had. I know he is a hungry boy, but man-he acted like he was starving!

 Our first tow truck took us to Baker, California. We dropped the car off at a mechanic shop and we walked to a gas station to get something to eat. Regan was actually excited so that he could watch the world cup soccer game in an air conditioned gas station. The kids were excited that they were able to pick out any treat they wanted to at the gas station! I was just fine with the whole situation because knowing I had Regan there to help me was a huge blessing!

 Yep--the middle of the dessert gets hot!

 The mechanics in Baker couldn't fix our car because it needed a whole new engine! WHAT? This car had 27,000 miles on it!!! We got into our second tow truck...the girls were wiped out and fell asleep in the 2 hour ride to the dealership. Emery just thought it was so cool that we were riding in Mater the Tow Truck!

 You can't really see by the picture, but this picture just makes me laugh! Regan put the keys to our car in the dealership drop box. Well, the tow truck guy hadn't put it in reverse to get it off of his bed and the keys were already in the box, so he asked this motorcycle dude to come help him try and get the shifter from park to neutral with no keys...so in this pic you have Regan, the motorcycle gang dude and the truck driver with 5 teeth. Good times!

So we ended up being stuck in Barsow, California over night since nothing was open. We checked into a hotel and made the most of it by going to see How to Train your Dragon 2. The next morning, Regan walked uphill 2 miles to get to the rental car place to get a vehicle to get to Oceanside. Did I mention it was my birthday? That is why Regan was SO determined to get us the heck out of Barstow and get me on a beach for my birthday!

He really was my knight in shining armor because he seriously did everything in his power to make it happen! When he got to the rental car place, all they had was a tiny car. He took it...we loaded all of our stuff and the 4 kids in this tiny car and started driving to Oceanside.

What happened next still makes me smile and laugh...it's like someone did not want us to get to the beach for my birthday. Emery had been playing the iPad in his car seat, and all of a sudden, he says to Riley, "Ry, you can play the iPad now..." then threw up all over the iPad, himself, the car seat and Riley!!! NOOOOO-I hate throw up, especially in cars on my kids! I couldn't stop laughing because by now, all of this these incidents were funny! Its either laugh or cry, right?

We pulled off of the freeway to a sketchy part of Cali and went to a gas station...No bathroom available. We went to a burger king. I had 2 boys covered in throw up, and Regan was outside taking the car seat apart since it was covered. Turns out, the area we were in was so sketchy that they don't let just anyone use their bathrooms. No, you have to pay coins to get inside the bathrooms due to vandalism or something...I didn't have coins on me, so I left the dripping boys by the dang coin dispenser bathroom door and went to my purse fishing for change. Once I put the change in, I was expecting a very elegant looking bathroom...nope-pretty gross. It didn't matter, I stripped the boys down, put new clothes on them, and washed them off as best as you can in a gross bathroom.
I then switched Regan and he took the boys and I took the disgusting car seat cover and had to wash it out in the sink...ummm....did I mention it was my birthday???

Long story short, Regan GOT US TO THE BEACH ON MY BIRTHDAY! Once we got to Oceanside, my birthday was PERFECT! We stayed on the beach for hours, the kids had a blast in the sand and water and I was in my happy place!

 Seriously, this was one of my VERY BEST BIRTHDAY'S EVER...adventurous, fun, beachy, and with my family!

 Regan's cross fit is paying off...he can do a walking handstand for a long time..I was super impressed!

 Here is the first sand castle of the trip...My Dad has really stepped up his game this year with his sand castles!!! Seriously, the perfect beach day!

 My request for my birthday dinner was to go to Joe's Crab Shack...WE had a huge pot of crab legs and shrimp and it was delicious!

I hate it when you family makes you do the embarassing birthday song, but this was even worse...they made me put my face in whip cream to find cherries! 

 Elle was loving finding sand crabs this trip. I think my kids have gotten the love of the beach for sure!

 Sunny, the sandy mermaid...

 My sister Ashley gave my Dad a book for fathers day all about building sandcastles and he did an amazing job with all of his creations this trip!

 This was the solution to a sandy Emery eating his snack without eating the sand!

One of the days, Angie and I had all of the kids so we walked to the pier with all of them. 

 We went to Old Town in San Diego to eat dinner at our favorite place...El Patio. The reason why we love it so much is because the food is good, they have live singing so we can dance, and props for awesome family pictures! {For the record, I really don't think the hats and scarves are meant for props, but more for decoration at the chairs, but hey-why not use them!}

Regan had to leave for Ohio half way through the Oceanside trip, but we gained Ashley, Brett and Baby Carson. We seriously had the BEST Oceanside trip ever! The condo, the pool, the beach, and the family made for a perfect family vacation!