on a boat

one of the ILs' most favorite place to go for dinner is the crab cooker down in newport beach.  we've been coming here with them for so long that we almost don't even bother to peruse the menu anymore.  the bean loves their chowder and cracker balls, capped with a piece of saltwater taffy on the way out.  for me, it's always the combo cocktail - fresh crabmeat and bay shrimp served with tangy sauce and shrimp on a skewer for my entree.

man, i love that plate so hard.

the ILs' prom was at nearby balboa pier, so most trips to crab cooker also involve a ride on the ferris wheel and a hand-dipped balboa [ice cream] bar.  alas, we were there on a weekday in their off season, and so we were out of luck this time around. time for plan B.

do you love those boots? we bought them for the annual rodeo at school this week, and she loved them so much she had to wear them right away.

plan B involved a fun ride on the auto ferry.

a few minutes later, we reached our destination:

while FIL and i enjoyed a little QT as we waited in line for cupcakes, the others opted for this, just two doors down.

it was actually quite an internal debate for me, but i figured the bean would share some of her frosty treat with me.  she was one happy camper with her red velvet cone of goodness,

i was a little bummed not to be bowled over by it.  while the red velvet waffle cone was really tasty, the ice cream was an overly sweet vanilla with chunks of a red velvet cupcake mixed in and cake crumbles on top. i guess that's one way to use up unsold day-olds, eh?

but no biggie. it was still a really lovely evening with the ILs, and with them permanently in the lone star state, i'll take all of those that i'm lucky enough to get.