San Onofre Beach - Camp Pendleton

This weekend was a chance for me to get out of town, out of the house, and out of my routine. It was a wonderful and welcome break from the upheaval of last week, and I'm so grateful we went! When we got there, it was a little overcast, but still beautiful. We set up our tent, arranged our campsite, and then headed down to the beach to play for a bit.


San Onofre Beach - Camp Pendleton, originally uploaded by Miska195.

Later we returned to our campsite for dinner and s'mores. This was the sunet...



Saturday we spent the entire day at the beach. We were briefed by the head life guard about the rip current, the shore characteristics and other safety items. Then we headed out for some boogie boarding. It was a beautiful day and we all had so much fun! Little Dude insisted on trying a bit of boogie boarding. He learned quite quickly that waves bigger than he were not to be trifled with. After being swept away by two consecutive waves, he opted for the safety of burying himself in the sand.





Otherwise, the day was a huge hit with the kids. They all thoroughly enjoyed the day with the rest of our Scout Pack and playing in the ocean for hours and hours. All told, we were in the surf and sand for 8 hours! Little Miss spent the entire day in the water...but then took a two hour nap before dinner, heh. She was exhausted!





I wouldn't mind doing something like this again. It was so much fun, and I even discovered that I really enjoy boogie boarding! I think I'll try a beach with a little less surf next time, so Little Dude can get out without being attacked by the big waves! Maybe the gentle slope of North Island will be a good start. Life is good!

Birch Aquarium

last wednesday we took the day off from school and went to the Birch Aquarium at La Jolla. it was in the 80's at the coast and quite a beautiful day. here are some of the things we saw:

A sea cucumber:

an enormous lobster (11+ pounds):

hermit crabs that tickled:

seahorses:

sea stars:

abalone:

lots of jellies:

some weird fish:

we also stayed to play in the water tables. we raced boats over and over again!

then we watched the sunset and went home!

it was a fun filled day and a great break from our daily routine.

When in doubt...

When your main line is backed up and you have no toilets and four kids who use the potty and you have to go yourself...pack up the kids, head out to the library (to use the potty, not to check out books) and then off to the beach for the day. It's a sanity saver.

For your viewing pleasure...some pictures from our trip to the beach:

This is where we went. La Jolla Shores, just north of the Children's Beach. It was a perfect day for the beach...why? Well, because there was no one else there except us, of course.

Here's Monkey Boy doing his monkey boy thing: Scoop up the water, dump in the sand, transport it somewhere, empty the bucket. Repeat.

Little Miss having a quiet moment on a rock. She needs her quiet time, you know. That special time to contemplate life away from the noise of her little brothers.

Oops! Hey! I thought this rock was high ground! Where'd all the water come from???

Little Dude, doing his little dude thing: Hi Mommy!

It really was a gorgeous day. I'll give up a rainy Saturday to do school in order to get outside and explore on a day like this. It does wonders for your mental health!