Beach Camping -- A Whole New Kind of Dirt

Last weekend, we once again joined up with our favorite camping partners for the last official trip of the season. This time, we finally planned ahead, and made reservations for El Capitan State Beach north of Santa Barbara. The site was eh, but it was nice to be so close to the beach, enjoy mild weather day and night and the company couldn't be beat.

Within minutes, Riley became one with the dirt:
Jami:
So pale, so dirty:
Brenny Boy:
Denis was the first to man up take the kiddos into the water. It wasn't as cold as we thought it would be:
Despite fears of the swimming pool, Holden seems to have no problems with treacherous ocean waves:
Riley also attacked the waves with gusto. When they knocked him down, he got right back up. You would not believe how much sand could get into a swimmy diaper:
Josh and Hallie (Yes, Kevin and I are now taking a black and white photography class):
Denis and Cassidy:
No black and white here - couldn't get rid of all the brilliant blues:







Riley's first toasted marshmallow. His first s'more comes later that night:

Holden learned quick that two is better than one:

We let Holden stay up late to watch the campfire. He colored by flashlight:
From here, it's only a small leap to girlie drinks:
The weekend was not without it's drama. Each kid had their own bouts. We captured one of Brenny's on film:





On the second day, we went looking for tidepools. We didn't find anything good, but had a nice walk along the water and fun jumping around on the rocks:





More birds in more places (if anyone knows anyone at AT&T, let them know we've got a photo to sell 'em):

Throw rocks ocean:
Holden's pointing to some dolphins frolicking just off the coast:

First Day Southwood-Preschool

There are a number of reasons we decided to switch the kids from their long-time in-home daycare spot to a more "real" pre-school. In the end, we count ourselves among the amazingly lucky to have found Southwood Pre-School. It's still pretty close to my office in Torrance (even when I move offices in a few months, it's not so bad). The school is cute, bright and cheerful and the teachers seem very warm.

But before we can get to all that learning and playing, we had to say good-bye. The first day was a bit traumatic for the boys (ok, me too).



I'm happy to report, though, that drop-offs are cake now. Holden was over it the next day and, after a few days, Riley's tears turned to a quick kiss, a wave and a "Bye, Mommy!" And despite the tears on that first morning, they both had fantastic days ... and continue to do so.

Summer Road Trip: Celebrating Auntie Princess Di

Auntie Di was kind enough to have her birthday coincide with our Road Trip! When we heard she was having a party, we knew we'd figure out a way to be there. We got a sitter for the kids at my sister's house, and had a wonderful dinner and fun time dancing at a Sunnyvale restaurant we took over.







The siblings: Uncle Kenny, Grandma/Mom Bonnie, Uncle Stanley:
Cousins Marsha and Alan:






Uncle Stan and Aunt Min:

The next day, Auntie Di and Uncle Ken had the fam over to their home in Menlo Park for brunch. It was a wonderful way to end a long trip. Holden and Miles got to play for a bit, and we got to visit with everyone for a little while longer.