A Day at the Beach

 Our family loves the beach, and we do not go nearly enough.  It seems like this entire term has been jam packed of weekends with long lists of to-do's, so we decided to take advantage of our lack of Saturday plans and head to the beach!  It was a little colder than we would have liked, but at least it reminded us of the Oregon coast.  Never-the-less, we had a blast...although we have decided we are definitely going to the warm southern Cali beaches on our next trip to L.A.

Frankie was thrilled he could fly his kite all by himself!  And I must say, he did a great job. 

Sadly, our kite got stuck way up on top of the cliff. 

But luckily daddy-of-the-year saved the day and got it down! 

Found some great caves the kiddos thought were basically the coolest thing on the  planet

Daddy and daughter

This lagoon was so amazing!  It was really warm and shallow enough for the kids to splash around in

Ms. Elena takes her baby EVERYWHERE!  I think it's time this little dolly gets a bath!

Did I mention Dede has named her baby "Bandon"?  In toddler language this translates to Band-aide.  Can you guess what her two favorite things are?  Yup. Babies and Band-aides! 

Franklin very proud of his climbing abilities.  And he should be, he was awesome! 

And my little Miss wasn't far behind.  This daughter mine is fearless and full of determination!  

Aren't they crazy?!  And aren't I crazy for letting him jump off these cliffs with my babies in tow?! 

And here goes Ms. Fearless wanting a turn all by herself! 

Everyone took a turn getting buried.  Well except mommy.  Someone had  to take pictures right? 

Loves of my life. 

I almost forgot!  The highlight of the trip was a whale sighting!  It was glorious! She swam near the shore for quite  a while, putting on a show for all the gushing spectators.  There are rumors going around that a certain mommy in attendance was crying like a baby from all the happy emotional excitement.  But, I admit nothing!

Taking a load off

This may make me sound like a horrible mother, but I literally get giddy that moment the kids finally go to bed.  Do not get me wrong I LOVE my kids.  Like really really LOVE them.  And not just because I am "supposed" to, I like thoroughly enjoy the little people that they are, who they are, and what they are in my lives.  However, can I be honest and transparent here for a moment?  As much as I adore my little ones, by 8:00 p.m. (ok, since I am being candid, more like 7:00 p.m.)  I am ready to be "off duty.”  And I am going to go ahead and admit that I skip down the stairs a little after we have said our good-nights.  I really look forward to my couple of hours of reading/ T.V. watching/ guitar playing/ non-interrupting showering/ blogging/ mindless internet searching.  And on a really good night, actually getting to spend some time with Nick!  Oh sure I fold some laundry, pick up the days train wreck of a house and I am blessed that Nick is the official dish do-er, but other than that, I vegg.  And you know what?  I do not feel bad about it at all!  Sure, I could be doing something more productive and constructive, but at the end of the day when I weigh my options, vegging usually wins, and I am totally ok with that.  And mamas (and papas), you should be too.  Take a load off!  Read a book!  Watch your favorite teen drama!  And give yourself a little pat on the back for successfully raising a little human being another day!