I love the beach. My parents grew up in southern Cal so we have vacationed there my whole life. I don't love the ocean because it is yucky and I have a neurotic fear of tsunamis (true story). But, my younger children think that camping is synonymous with beach. This is the way it should be. Warm sand, cool breeze and good book = perfect day.
The campsites sit on a bluff above the beach. The sun sets like this every night, an event not to be missed.
Few things are more fun than playing in the sand. Children can entertain themselves for many hours with just sand and water. My sister, Joy, and her family were staying with their in-laws that week as well so we got together at the beach several days. We had so much fun playing with our cousins. Andria made an awesome castle, we climbed all over the rocks, and Tate turned Zanya into a mermaid.
I didn't go near this water but it didn't seem too cold for these crazy kids. Every day was sunny and gorgeous, not like the summer days which seems to be much more hazy.
The nights were freezing (well, in the 40's which is freezing to us). That is why Hanna and Maranda are bundled up by the fire. Luckily, the sun came up first thing in the morning and warmed us all up.
Reading is one of our favorite things to do while camping.
Our campsite had this secret fort behind some bushes. It was a great place to play. Here, Ruth, Zan and Andria are having a picnic.
These girls wake up way before my teenagers so we go for a walk down on the beach and collect rocks and shells.
Hanna, she's got the whole sun in her hands
This is the only picture of me, nice. I guess that's pretty accurate. We're getting ready for Sea World: quick breakfast, pack a lunch, do everybody's hair, and go.
This week would have been really hard without my big kids. Chandler is so helpful and willing. He can tie knots, pitch tents, take out the trash, start fires and generally do anything else that I don't want to/can't do. Hanna and Danica can also pitch a tent, wash dishes, help in the kitchen and entertain small children.
One thing I wish I had a picture of is taking baths at night. The showers at the campground are token operated: 50 cents for 3 minutes of lukewarm water. So we learned that it was warmer and cheaper to let the littles take a bath in a large plastic bin in the trailer with water heated on our stove. This was also an easier way to keep Maranda's arm dry. We just did an assembly line, one child after the other. It was awesome. We love camping.
Zanya is so funny. She loves to tease and torture her big sisters. She'll do anything to make them scream at her, stand in front of the tv, tap her fork, stare at them. It's fun. She may be a little spoiled because she is the youngest (which I promised I would never do). She is my best buddy and goes everywhere with me including the other kids school classes, institute class, shopping, and Ruthie's bus stop. She knows everything about how our house runs and can't wait for preschool with Miss Peggy next year. She keeps our lives lively and we just love her.
She had an even birthday this year so we had a family party which she planned for weeks (literally).
These cupcakes were designed by Zanya. She wanted flowers and ladybugs. We had to learn how to make drop flowers and other kinds of flowers with buttercream frosting and we made ladybugs from the leftover red fondant. Zan helped with all of this. Then we made pink and purple cream cheese frosting and Ruth and Zan did all the decoration. My great friend, Sharon, gave Zan the cute butterflies one day when we were visiting her.
We love you Zanya!
