Life's A Beach!

I've told Jathan that all I want for my birthday (this is true for every year) is to go to the beach. I love the beach, if you know me at all, you probably already knew that. Several years ago, we spent Christmas and New Years in Orlando, Florida. My birthday is New Years Eve, so that means I got to see palm trees on my birthday, I thought that was the best birthday gift ever. That was 4 years ago. I had no idea that a year and a half later I would move to CA where I get to see palm trees every day. Even planted some in my front yard! So now that we are within a short distance of the coast, my birthday request is to go to the beach. The first 2 years we did a quick day trip, but this year we decided to spend the night on the coast. So we headed Malibu and Ventura, one beach one day and the next the next day. We had a great time. I love the beach! (did I already say that?)

I am spoiled, I have to admit, to live so close to so many beautiful things that God created. While driving the PCH (the Pacific Coast Highway or Hwy 1) up the coast, while the sun was setting, we commented how there is truly no artist that compares to God. People can paint or photograph beautiful oceanscapes or sunsets, but He created it! Wow, thank you God for giving us these beautiful gifts. They truly make me marvel at his wonderful works.

Here are some pics from our trip.

First Stop: Malibu
Before the kids were allowed to play in the sand, I took pictures. Several pictures. Thankfully a few turned out not so bad!

The timer feature on the camera didn't do too bad. Unfortunately you can't really see the water. But oh well, we are all smiling so that should count for something. (well Clay is kinda smiling)

Paige took the picture below. I think that she did a great job.

Alright now that the picture time is over, the boys have stripped down to their shorts/swimtrunks and Paige decided to put on some more comfy beach exploring clothes.
Below is Drew running from the waves.

It turned out to be one of the best beaches for our kids. There was sand, there were rocks to climb, there were tidepools to explore and waves to chase (or run from!) And it was beautiful! We found tons and I mean tons of starfish.

The boys and I explored a bit to find a good view of the sunset. It involved climbing rocks, so Clay was all for it. At the moment he was pretending to be a buffalo, so it went a long with his acting. (Do buffalo climb rocks?)
While the boys and I were exploring, Jathan and Paige were practicing football. Jathan is very proud of how well Paige can catch the football. He wanted to make sure I was able to get a few shots of her.


Second Stop: Ventura Harbor Beach
It was another beautiful day, a little chillier than the day before, but the sun was shining so I will not complain.

One of the battles of being a mom is accepting that projects involving kids may not (or should I just be honest and say will not) turn out perfectly. So when I decided to make a dolphin in the sand and Drew wanted to help, I had to bite my lip and accept that my plans may not turn out like I had in my mind. Thankfully, in this instance, Drew has a short attention span so he helped for about 90 seconds.

Below is my dolphin. Because Clay decided to offer some help it has rock eyes and a blowhole (he likes things to be accurate)

My dolphin inspired Clay to make his own beach crocodile.

Clay can just go off on his own with his shovel and little jeep and be in a world all of his own. I think he likes the beach as much as me.

Paige is trying to stay warm while eating lunch. Most of her problem is that she soaked her clothes in the very cold Pacific. She didn't want to wear her swimsuit.

A little sand in a PB&J never hurt anyone.


To conclude our day, we took a walk next to the harbor marina and toured the Channel Island National Park Visitor Center.