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Mitt Romney relaxes during Easter holiday in California

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Boogie boarding, painting Easter eggs, chasing the kids on the lawn next door -- GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is taking an unusually long, but well-deserved four-day break from the campaign trail to celebrate the Easter holiday at his beachfront home in the one of the loveliest (and most upscale) beach communities in Southern California.

The Romneys seem to be enjoying a traditional Easter weekend, beach-style. On Friday, the campaign posted an Instagram photo of Mitt and Ann Romney, surrounded by grandchildren, painting Easter eggs. Romney looked sunburned and relaxed, and appeared to be in the patio area of his beachfront tear-down on Dunemere Drive in La Jolla.

The Romneys, who also own a large lakefront home in New Hampshire and a condominium in a Boston suburb, purchased the home in 2008 for $12 million. The Spanish-looking three-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home was once described by their son Josh Romney as “pretty small.” You can see the house for yourself here.

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Two weeks ago, Politico kicked up a fuss when it reported Romney’s plans for a major remodel and expansion: “Mitt Romney’s Fantasy Four-Car Home.”

The Romneys, who have many regulatory and permit hurdles to cross, are planning to triple the home’s size, and include a 3,600-square-foot basement, a car elevator to facilitate parking for four cars, among other eye-catching amenities.

Saturday was a typically gorgeous La Jolla beach day. On the Romneys’ street, a neighbor a few houses down sunned himself on a butterfly chair on his front deck. “It’s busy,” he said about the bustle around the street, mostly from the Secret Service presence, which included SUVs at each end of the block and a small mobile home-style trailer in front of the house. But, he added, he was not bothered by the street closures and felt safe with all the extra security around.

In the late afternoon Saturday, with agents on the lookout and the short, curved street closed to non-resident traffic, Romney and one of his sons chased children around the massive lawn of the beach house next door to theirs, with a videographer capturing their every goofy move. The lot next door -- about 1 1/4 acres -- dwarfs the Romneys lot. Its lawn slopes gently toward the water, where clumps of teenagers were rough housing and tanning. That property is locally famous; it was owned from 1963 to 2005 by the late actor Cliff Robertson, who grew up in La Jolla.

Earlier in the day, the former Massachusetts governor looked every bit the sun-kissed Californian as he crossed the sand in a short wetsuit, holding a boogie board. His son Matt was with him.

The photo, captured by a Reddit user, was reposted by Buzzfeed.

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On Sunday, in response, Matt Romney tweeted: “water temp was low 60s. I was freezing in my full length wetsuit. Guess my dad was just happy to be out there.”

Original source: Mitt Romney relaxes during Easter holiday in California

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