California Dreaming...that it was 10 degrees warmer!

In June we headed out to Newport Beach, CA, fully aware that it would be cool, or at least not hot.  It was what worked best for my extended family so we went for it.  It was COLD!  On the first morning we tromped out around 10 am and sat wrapped in our towels, coverups on, and even put up the tent to screen the kids from the wind.  Of course we wised up and followed the locals, staying indoors until around lunchtime when the chill had burned off.  I'm here to say, the chill never burned off.  It was always a little chilly.  So, I stand a firm supporter of the Atlantic side and the Gulf Coast.  However, we had a BALL!

My cute sister found a gorgeous spot in a very nice house and we squished all of the kids into the master bedroom.  It was perfect.

Boys, boys boys!  There are a lot of boy cousins which happened to be a good fit for our kids.

I laugh every time I look at this picture because we are all a bunch of raggedy travelers out for a hike.  It was pretty cool to explore that part of the country though.

We were in Newport over Father's Day so we did a bit of toasting and roasting and celebrating the dads.  My mom bought these hilarious umbrella hats and Christian quite enjoyed himself.  Who says he doesn't have a Marriott silly bone in him?

Lego Land!  The kids had a great time, but I would say it's a on-time kind of park.  And it's really for younger kids, so it was perfect for us.

Sharing shade with Nana.

The amazing cities and displays went on and on and on.  Truly incredible.

Cozying up with dad on the patio.  I wonder what movie they are watching?  Tarzan?  Mr. Fox?  Lion King?  Badger night cam?

Laurel is just a natural mothering person.  She took good care of Georgia

My darling mom after a day at the beach.

Georgia and Ava sporting the shades.  This was their first real experience getting to know each other.

Happy Charles, no matter the temperature of the water.

Best buds.  Jack was thrilled beyond words to hang out with his cousin he never gets to see.

Wrapping up warm with daddy.

James and Charles

Christian took a surfing lesson and really loved it.  We watched him take on the waves and he actually did a pretty good job staying on.  Not sure it holds a light to sailing in his eyes, but he had a great time and the wetsuit's not bad!

Digging the most giant hole possible.

Padme.  Don't you think she looks like her with her hair and hood?  So funny.  We were freezing.

Dinner out at the Crab Shack, I think it's called.  Great food served on paper plates.  

Last Day of School

Charles' preschool has a tradition of walking to the park for lunch after their last day of school.  The parents meet the kids there and Georgia gave Charles a happy greeting.

These two women have been the teachers for all three boys (except Jack who had one different one), and in the fall Georgia will be in their class.  They are simply marvelous women.

Picnic on the lawn at the elementary school.  What a great community we live in!

"Prizes" from Mrs. Wintheiser, my favorite teacher of all time.  Can I say that on a public blog?  She really is something special.  

Wow, it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything, so looking back at the last day of school seems, well long ago.  There's nothing like walking out of school into the sunshine of a promising summer.  I remember it well and it matters not what grade you just finished, it always feels free.

Little Sister Turns 2

Is it spring that got so busy and full that made Georgia's birthday sneak up on me?  At least she's only 2, right?  The princess had a great time with cake, balloons, and presents.

The fingers hardly came out of her mouth even for chocolate cake.

Christian bought her fake pearls on an elastic that she loves.

Feeding the tiny dog a bottle.  My boys wouldn't have done anything that careful and tiny.

So careful with her fairy stickers.  Fairy stickers?!  We really do have a girl in our house.  I'm still kind of amazed at that, but I'm still really enjoying it.

A Medal! (Finally)

Jack has gotten to be a great soccer player.  Of course there are kids better than him, but we're pretty proud of our boy.  We have, along with Jack, decided not to play soccer games on Sundays so that we can keep the Sabbath day holy and do things that help us to keep a good spirit with us all day.  That means Jack often has to miss the last day of weekend tournaments and that also means he doesn't get his medal.  Not this time!  The tournament was all day Saturday and he played his heart out.  It was really fun to watch and he was ecstatic to get that medal.  My hat goes off to him because he's so obedient and not at all resentful about it.  His coach was supportive of this from the very beginning, but he told me, "One day Jack is not going to like missing these Sunday games.  We can talk later when this happens."  I just smiled and knew that if the time comes for that I won't have to worry about what Jack will choose.  He's an example to me.

I had a donut cake!

On Charles' 4th birthday we had a very, very busy weekend.  However, we managed to get a few presents together, take the family to see an IMAX about animals - Charles' favorite thing in the whole wide world - and have a donut cake.  Christian was brilliant.  Since Dunkin' Donuts just opened up in town he took Charles alone to pick them out.  Long after the "party" he would tell people "I had a donut cake!" as proud as any kid could be.  I don't even think he remembers the gifts we gave him.

More Emerald Coast

Clean...for a moment.

Christian's dad and sister came for a couple days (his mom had to work) and the kids had such a good time with them.  I'm not completely sure they got the relaxing beach vacation that I did, but the kids loved having extra adults around to dote on them.

I'm hoping that there are other women in the world that look like me - no make up and wild hair - while at the beach for several days.  I think this is the first beach trip that I haven't painted my toe nails.  I guess that just shows how much I just wanted to sit and do nothing.

This was Georgia's first beach trip where she could actually play and she loved the sand.  

Just a little glimpse of the houses around Seaside and Seagrove Beach.  So charming.

There were lots of brackish lakes nearby and we got the kids a net to try their hand at catching fish and crabs.  Winfield was so determined that he would march off for the little inlet at the end of a long day.

Building sand castles

I walked out our back door and to the steps off of our deck to take this picture.  Isn't it remarkable that at 11 am during spring break that "our" beach was this empty?!  I LOVED it.

Happy kids.  Happy parents.  

Goodbye to Seaside, at least for another year.  We are definitely coming back!