an overcast day at the beach is better than ANY day at school

 Yesterday was our first summer beach day. Even though the temp in the couple of days before was in the 90s, we woke up to cloudy skies. Didn't stop us.

These two girls cozied up.

Cold? That doesn't stop the boys from getting in the water!

 My nephew Nathan's first time at the beach!

 Peanut Butter sandwiches always taste better at the beach.

 A school of dolphins swam back and forth and did some flips just past the break. The kids were mesmerized.

Welcome Summer!

Mom's Choice Saturday

Last weekend Har had ditched us for a roadtrip with his BFF, Norman. We had no birthday parties, school concerts, church activities...nuthin. I love that rare Saturday where no one expects me/us anywhere. Love it.



Take that Saturday and add some beautiful, sunny weather. What other choice do we have, but to go to the coast?

So I grabbed my latest issue of Family Fun with an article about Ventura - one of my favorite places to hang out when I was a kid - and decided to do some things in Ventura we haven't done before. No solid plans except to hang out with my kids in the beautiful weather. Emma & Nashers. Why do I love these things you put your head in?

Dedan the octopus

We beached, we boated, we ate...it was a lovely, fun day. My children are amazing. I'm so blessed to be their mother. I love hanging out with them and watching them play together and enjoy each others company. As a mother, there is no greater joy than to see my kids love each other...is there?

Fantastic day. I wish every Saturday was so perfect. Well, it could've been more perfect....if Har was with us, but we won't fault him for hanging with Uncle Norman.

There was this little hat store where we tried lots on. Emma seemed to prefer the funny food hats.

My gator boys.

Ice cream tastes better at the beach, especially if there's a giant cone outside the store.

We got to the beach and my kiddos played together in the sand "dunes" by the parking lot for 20 minutes before we even walked down to the water.

Emma is a big nerd who is teaching her brothers her "model" pose. Seriously.

Nash & me at a little hole in the wall fish & chips place on Seaward...

the whole place is decorated with dollar bills that people wrote on. Pretty cool.

A Day at the Beach

Tressa (best sister ever), Mom and I took the kids to the beach we remember going to all the time as kids. The one in Ventura with the park and the big pirate ship....fond memories!

It was a little chilly. Emma and Tressa wore jackets the whole day, but the wind didn't stop the boys from.......being boys.

Baby powder is the secret weapon we use for keeping the sand out of our car. Thanks Tami!

Great day!

First Annual Carpenter/Knowlton Vacation

I could just call the it the First Ever Carpenter Vacation. Yes, we've travelled. Yes, we've called those travels vacations. But EVERY vacation we have ever taken together has involved visiting our family. But I digress...

This time around we planned a week long camping trip at South Carlsbad State Beach with our BFFs the Knowltons. Rachel and I have been best friends since we were 15. Our husbands, kids and dogs are all the best of friends. Rachel likes to say they have no choice :-) but they really do all love each other. Here's the proof...

What we did on our summer vacation...

We had lots of visitors! Some of us looked cute. Har surfed for the first time.We all played in the waves. We relaxed in the shade.We had an impromptu Pirate Day.Nobody liked this stuff, and there was LOTS of it. Everywhere.We enjoyed the view.We paid 50 cents for 3 minute showers. Well...some of us may have paid more for longer showers.We roasted marshmallows. Some of us ate s'mores.We enjoyed cool treats. Some of us were messier than others.And we exercised...lots.