beach babies

We had the opportunity to join some friends from church at a local beach. Actually, it's very local. It's just about three minutes away from where I work, and I had no idea it was even there! We were there for just over two hours and had such a wonderful time. Camille proved to us once again that she is truly a water baby. Not only this, but she is a beach baby, and took full advantage of wet sand and sunshine.

Anna, relaxing on her towel and snacking on string cheese. Mmmm...

Camille, scooping up water with her new favorite pail.

Nathan, feeling nice and secure in Daddy's arms!

Olivia, pulling Nathan around in the floatie.

Camille found another shovel which had been temporarily left behind by its owner.

Nathan was very tired, having skipped his nap to enjoy the beach.

Olivia and Camille filling and dumping pails.

Thanks for inviting us to join your family at the beach, Jonathan and Andrea! We can't wait to do this again!

memorable

This weekend, for the very first time, our family went on vacation (if you can even call it that!) as a family of three. Aaron and I used to go camping with our families, but we haven't been since we've been married. After learning that these friends were caretakers at a campground about 45 minutes from our house, we reserved a campsite and started planning our trip. We weren't sure how Camille, would do, but we decided it was worth a try!

Looking back, I think I can safely categorize our trip into three distinct parts: dry, mostly dry, and very wet.

THE DRY:

Although we had been worried that the weather would be too hot, when we got to the campground we found that it was actually quite nice out. Aaron set up the tent all by himself while Camille and I wandered around. On more than one occasion I fished acorns out of Camille's mouth.


We spent much time taking shoes off and putting them back on. Such is life in a tent. I will be SO glad when Camille has learned to put her own shoes on. But for now, she enjoys taking them off and velcroing them onto her hands.

We took a little walk to check the place out. Visited the pond and the park, woofed at the many dogs we walked past.

And, much to our surprise, she slept GREAT!

THE MOSTLY DRY:

We'd made plans to go to the beach and eat dinner with our friends and some other friends. On our way down to the beach it started sprinkling. We kept going.

The kids had a great time at the beach, despite the fact that it was so windy that one of the children nearly got their head taken off by a fly-away chair. Camille and Small Fry weren't too into playing together, but seemed to enjoy each other's company all the same.

Oh, and Camille at more chips yesterday than she's eaten in her entire life. She also ate more sand than she's ever eaten in her life.

Poor sweet Stellan became the victim of his big sister's sand scooping fun. He didn't seem to mind at all, although his mama was a bit bummed since he had just had a bath the night before!

The kids also ate many cookies. I think I've discovered a flawless formula...cookies + chips + plenty of water = kids having fun!

THE VERY WET: (you'll notice...no photos)

After the beach we drove back to the campsite to enjoy dinner (chicken salad sandwiches on croissant rolls). It started sprinkling again. Hmmm. I decided to go pick up the tent, you know, just in case. The sprinkles turned to drops, and the drops turned to downpours. Before I knew it, we had a tent full of seven kids, four adults, and many chicken sandwiches. Chaos ensued.

We finally kicked the kids outside when we realized it wasn't going to stop raining. Our friends all went home, and Aaron and Camille and I waited out the rain in the tent. It stopped raining just long enough to go to the community campfire for s'mores and get back to the tent to put Camille to bed.

5 AM. More downpouring. Some thunder and lightning. As soon as it stopped raining we packed everything up and headed home. That is, after we had one of our camping neighbors come over and jump start the van because the battery was dead.

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All in all it was a nice weekend, albeit a bit wet. One thing I'm glad we know now: camping is totally doable for us, with Camille. It's great to know that she had a fun time and was still able to sleep. I'm glad that we'll be able to plan more camping trips, knowing that they can be enjoyable. But next time I'll be sure to keep a close eye on the weather forecast!

golden

Our little Camille turned four today, March 4th.

Years from now she may or may not remember her golden birthday, but I will cherish the memories always. We spent a good part of the afternoon exploring Swamis Tide Pools in Encinita. We planned the outing so that we would be there when the tide was at it's lowest, and the reef formations didn't disappoint!

We explored the sand and the water. We looked closely and saw all kinds of plants and creatures. We enjoyed the warm water in the places where it had pooled and been heated by the sunshine.

I prayed and prayed that we would have nice weather for her birthday. And this was the warmest day we've had in weeks! So splashing through the water we all went, enjoying the very light winds and about 75 degrees and sunshine.

We saw tiny starfish, many clams, and even quite a few anemones, which the kids were particularly interested in. In many places the water was less than a foot deep, so we were able to observe and touch the things we saw up close.

Camille has always loved going to the beach, but she (and Levi) really like that the waves were easy to avoid, and that the water was just the right depth.

Yes, it was nice to finally be able to spend time in the water at the beach, and not just dig in the sand. As much as we like being chased onto the beach as the waves come it, this was a much more relaxing way to enjoy the ocean.

At one point Camille was playing in the water with another little girl. The girl asked, "How old are you?" And without skipping a beat, Camille answered, "I'm four." 

It nearly brought me to tears. Just like that, three was forgotten. Three is gone, and in its place is four.

But you know, I think we're going to like four. 

Because for this birthday girl, four is golden. 

So, sweet girl, I wish you not only a happy birthday. I wish you a happy and blessed and golden fourth year of life. I look forward to watching you grow and learn and continue to develop into the little girl God has created you to be.

beach girls

Perfect weather days have been few and far between this summer, what with the heat, rain, and humidity.

But today's weather was perfect.

Aaron had the day off so we wanted to do something special with all the kids. We decided to venture back to a favorite local beach. The first time we were there was almost exactly two years ago. Camille and Isabel were practically just babies back then, but had still enjoyed playing in the sand and water. This time was no different. We stayed for only about an hour and a half, but they were in the water nearly the entire time.

The boys were beach bums and stayed on the blanket with a few toys and mostly just watched the action going on around them. Neither of them is fond of sand, so it was easy to keep them contained in the shade. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be nice out as well, so I'm hoping we can find something else to do outside!

a walk on the beach

That's right, we made it here!
The kids and I arrived on Sunday. Aaron and his brother Michael pulled into the driveway on Thursday.
And this afternoon we enjoyed a walk on the beach.

beach girls

Megan and I took the girls to a nearby beach this morning and we all had a blast! The weather was beautiful, the water was warm, the sand was wet, and new friends to play with were plentiful.

And the only thing better than as great as playing in the sand and water is snacking!

home stretch

We're in the home stretch! I had my 36 week appointment today and will go every Thursday until this baby is in our arms. Time is passing very quickly!

We're enjoying some unseasonably warm weather this week. It's great to be able to wear shorts and short sleeves! Camille spent a lot of time playing in the sand on the beach yesterday. She got good and dirty, which concerned her a bit to begin with. But I reminded her that I could wash her pants and she could wear them again soon. So she kept at the digging and pouring of sand. What a cutie!

eight things we learned (or had confirmed)...

...on our visit to San Diego last week:

1. Camille will still smile for the camera, but only when told not to.

2. Southern California has some breathtaking sights. The view from our bedroom window and porch at the resort made for quite a nice way to start and end the day.

3. Camille loves the water. Period.

4. Levi and my mom share more than just a birthday. They also share a dis-like for all things beach.

5. My dad is the only person in our family who won't torture Levi by trying to put him on the sand (or in the ocean, or in the pool).

6. Little resort friends whose Grandpas play golf made for perfect three-year-old entertainment (and Camille's first golf cart ride)!

7. There is at least one road in California that shares Camille's name.

8. Suckers should be renamed lifesavers (and one should not hesitate to give one to a 12 month old who is sick and tired of being on an airplane).