Since we are having a staycation this summer and don't have any real vacation plans, I thought it would be fun to have the goal of getting to the beach once a week. I've shared many times about how my kids aren't big "beach kids" (until we actually get to the beach), but we may have turned a corner because all three were totally on board with going this time. We went Tuesday morning at 10:00 and got a great parking spot at our favorite beach.

In the past I've often let the kids invite friends, but this time it was just the four of us, and it worked out so well. It was neat having time with just our family, and the kids had a blast. At one point, I was sitting in my beach chair enjoying the lovely weather, watching the kids frolic at the beach and I thought, "This really is paradise."

The water was frigid, but these two still had so much fun jumping in the waves.

I could hear their squeals and laughter every time the water got them.

This girl was a little more unsure about the appeal of freezing cold water. She much preferred finding shells and cool rocks. She did want her floaties on anytime she got her feet near the water. Funny that all three of my kids are naturally so cautious!

 

One thing my kids do love about the beach is that there's always so much to do. 

The kids found lots of sand crabs and even a regular crab wandering around on the sand.

They worked on some rock art.

And more rock art.

 

These three are my favorites!

Ellie's friend Cameron was enrolled in a little theater class through the city. Cameron asked Ellie if she wanted to join so Ellie tried it out and loved it! It was an eight week class, and then they had a little performance.

They did an abridged version of Trolls. 

Ellie was King Gristle,

and Guy Diamond.

 

Oh my goodness, she loved being on stage! Not an ounce of stage fright!

 

Ellie's first performance ever warranted a trip to Fro Yo Love!

Last Tuesday was the kids' last day of school. We had our annual pool party/taco night with their friends. This year it was Matias, Joey, Nate, Lola, Hannah, Chloe, Ellie, and Cameron.

A couple of weekends ago my parents and I hit the road for another cousin's wedding. This time we were headed to Las Vegas. Our drive was going great until we were about thirty minutes outside of Las Vegas. Apparently an RV caught on fire about two miles ahead of us, and it turned into a brush fire. The freeway came to a dead stop and we didn't move again for two and a half hours! It was much nicer than being in stop and go traffic though because we could get out of our car, read, relax, etc. You can't see it super clearly in the picture, but the traffic was backed up all the way to the horizon. It must have taken hours and hours to clear up!

The kids wanted to make the coziest place possible.

In fourth grade, kids learn about their state's history. California kids usually do a project on the California Missions. For Joey's Mission project, he chose to go to Mission San Luis Rey and make a scrapbook about his trip. I took Joey and his friend Logan, and we took a bunch of pictures for their projects.

We're still rocking our orthodontic appointments. The kids get extra points for wearing these shirts and taking pictures in front of this background. They're hoping to save up enough points to get a $25 Target gift card.