Food, Fun, and Family

My family came back down to our house the following week for a few more days. One day, my dad, Denny, and Taya took Brody and Brooklyn to see the movie Gnomeo and Juliet. The kids were so excited and had a really great time.

While they were gone, my mom, Lindsey, and I took the little ones shopping. We hit up lots of stores and the kids even fell asleep along the ride.

The headphones kept them occupied and happy too.

After shopping, we picked up some Costco pizzas for dinner, headed home, and played until Lindsey and the kids left at bedtime.

The next day was St. Patrick's day and little leprechaun's turned our cereal milk green. The kids thought that was the funniest thing ever. (With family here that was the best I could come up with quickly, but they didn't mind)

Later that day, we went to Irvine's Great park to ride the big orange balloon. We had never been before, so I thought we would try it all out while everyone was here. They have a merry-go-round and rock park along with the balloon, and all were free. Here is Piper on the merry-go-round with her Tauee. Love this picture! Doesn't she look so old here? So sad.My brother and Mom having fun just like the kids.My dad, Taya, and Brody. Can you tell Brody is having so much fun? He loved ever minute of it especially the stamp he got on his hand.After our merry-go-round, it was our turn to ride the balloon. They page you when it is your time, much a like a restaurant does when your table is ready. The Great Park balloon is one of the largest tethered helium balloons and the first of its kind in the United States. It flies up to 400 ft above ground allowing you to see most of Orange County on a clear day. The cage is a circular platform, completely enclosed, making it safe for all ages. I have to say, though, the cage sways a bit on take off and with any pick up in wind conditions. I was holding Piper when we took off and it made it a bit harder to balance with her moving around. Other than that, it was pretty smooth and nothing to get scared of. Here is the view from the cage looking up.The Great Park was the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, which recently closed in 1999. The city of Irvine is transforming the land while still honoring its history into a great Metropolitan park. I thought the guy said that it will be bigger than Central Park in New York, but I could be wrong. The economic crisis has slowed production of the park, so a very small part of the land has been developed. Here is the view looking out. You can see the old runways and some hangers, which I was told they were going to preserve some of them.Got to get some pictures of all of us flying high!We were missing John, but someone's got to work to pay the bills.Heights and my dad don't really mix, so he took pictures for us as we were coming down. That's quite a long way down. . . .The guy working there was pretty cool and super nice to offer to take a picture for us when we were done. I think this is a great shot.Here is our picture taker explaining the Great Park project to us. Brody took my camera and took this picture of him because he loved that he looked just like a pirate with his eye patch and handlebar mustache. He said he had the eye patch because of a eye injury and didn't want the dust to get in it. Brody thought it was so cool.
After the balloon ride, we went over to the rock park to let the kids play for a bit while the adults rested.Just like I said, the kids played. Brody loved climbing rocks with uncle Denny, the other big kid in the family.Wow, look at you Brody! Don't fall!Piper was also determined to climb up there.Look at this fun ride!By the time we were done with the park, we were all pretty hungry and ready for lunch. We went to my dad's new must-have hot dog place while he is here to have Denny and Taya try it for the first time.


Berkeley Dog is the newest greatest thing down here and is modeled after the famous Top Dog hotdog joint in Berkeley. That is my dad's favorite place from college and says this place is very close to the original. If you're into hotdogs, it is really good.

After our lunch stop, we took a drive down through Newport Beach and decided to get our McDonald's shamrock shakes before they sold out (that actually happened one year to John and me). Does anyone else get these? I grew up getting them every St. Patrick's day and we have continued that tradition. How yummy do these look!?!
We drove around the big homes of Lido island before stopping and walking around Balboa Island. It is always fun walking by the boats and enjoying the ocean breeze.Here's the girls: aunt Taya, Piper and Grandma.And the boys: uncle Denny, Grandpa and Brody.For dinner I thought it would be fun to have a traditional St. Patrick's meal. So, I got some corned beef brisket and we had mashed potatoes and broccoli. I had cabbage too, but that was taking it a bit too far out of all our comfort zones, so we didn't make it. The meat was a bit strong for me, but everyone seemed to like it. Not sure if we will do it again next year though.

The next morning everyone had to go and life went back to normal. It was a great few days with family and so glad we got to see and have everyone down to visit. Until next time!