Oceanside

Whoever said, “Life is a beach” know what they were talking about.

I spent my life growing up at the beach, and it was a great life. I miss it so dearly. I miss the smell of salt water, the ocean breeze, the drives along PCH, the walks on the pier, the surfers, the carefree people, the sand and waves, the summer sunsets, the bonfires. I miss it all. I was so lucky to live there for 18 years. I wish the boys could grow up with the beach as their backyard like I did.

But, as crappy as it is, and as much as I’d like to change it, that’s not gonna happen anytime soon.

Crap. And crap again.

So, instead, we have to settle for our two weekly trips each summer and make them the best we can. I’m happy to say, these trips never disappoint.

We headed to Oceanside last week and had a wonderful time. My parents graciously get a condo on the beach for the month of September and selflessly let my sisters and our families bombarded them throughout the month. It’s our fourth summer doing this and I hope there are forty more! I love it so much.

The boys and I headed out the day before my birthday and Austin met us a few days later. There was nothing planned. No schedule. No appointments. No meetings. No work. No place to be. No agenda. Just playing. As a family. On the beach. And enjoying every last second of it.

Here are some of our favorite things from the week (and a trillion pictures!):

The early morning walks along the beach with Wyatt. For some reason the beach was covered in seaweed and rocks. I think it had something to do with a storm off the coast from the week before, but I have never seen a CA beach with so much seaweed before. I think it’s ugly, so I just shoveled it away from my view each day while the boys helped and my mom laughed. And usually we hunt for seashells and beach glass, but this year, it was all about the rocks. Either way, those morning walks are always a great way to start the day. Sand castles, hopscotch and kite flying. Those three things provided hours of entertainment. Dax is an unbelievably good hopscotcher and watching Wyatt try and keep up is just as fun too. We always pack a kite on vacation. Austin grew up flying kites with his grandpa and it’s a memory he wants the boys to always have with him, so kites are a must. And of course, sand castles. We built most of them during the day, but one night after baths when we were winding down we went out to watch the sunset in our jammies and the little neighbor kids from Nova Scotia were outside, down the rocks, on the beach, building a sand castle at dusk. Dax looked at me with his big green eyes and I could not deny him playing with his friends for a while before it was dark. They worked hard, got completely sandy and soaked, had a blast, he got another bath, and off to bed he went. I hope he remembers that because it was one of my highlights of the trip.
A park on the beach equals a child’s dream come true. I put the boys in the jogger stroller a few mornings and ran to the pier. A little south of the pier is an adorable park with swings nestled in the sand. I’m absoultely sure it’s a little piece of heaven. I love that these park pictures, unlike any other I have, have 4-foot waves, endless sand and an awesome pier in the background. Oh, and don't forget the McDonald’s across the strand where we stopped for chocolate milk before heading back. The boys were delighted!
Of course, lots of sun sea and sand. I finally convinced Dax that playing in the whitewash was fun and not scary and when he finally trusted me there was no stopping him. Wyatt wasn’t hesitant in the slightest. They had so much fun splashing around! The love being there with their grandma and grandpa and spending time with them one on one. My parents are so good to the boys and love us all so much. We are so lucky they keep inviting us back because we have such a marvelous time! We can't wait until next year.

shocked.

Shocked that these are my boys.

Shocked that it’s been a week and I am still shocked.

Shocked that after Dax saw all his curls on the floor that he still insisted he was only getting a “trim”…and I cried.

Shocked that Wyatt’s first haircut came at 20 months old…and I cried again.

Shocked that Wyatt looks a year older, they both look a foot taller, and their eyes look double the size.

Shocked that they look more alike now than I have ever thought before.

Shocked that there was so much cuteness under all that hair that I was missing out on kissing.

Shocked that I wasn’t shocked that despite all that adorable hair that was cut, that also mimicked their crazy personalities, that they are still the cutest boys in the whole world to their mama.

Grow back fast little hair....I miss you already.....see you next summer.

Say cheeeese.....

Piggy Bank

I sat watching Wyatt the other day. I couldn’t help imagining what he must be thinking as he picked up the copper coins one by one, placed each one strategically in-between his little fat fingers and concentrated as hard as he could to carefully drop it in the little slot and then smile as he heard the clink. I decided he must be dreaming of all that he was going to buy with his riches. I figured something along the lines of …

…some dinosaur models, some video games, an engine, a caboose, and 35 trains, comets, records, baseball card, a football, helmet and some shoulder guards…

Except, that’s not really how the dream went for either of us.

See, the little list above is a Christmas song I learned when I was little that went on a tape cassette that we followed along to in a Little Critters book. I sing it to the boys all the time---in the toy isle at the store. One might think this is ridiculous to fill their heads with all these thoughts as we wonder down the toy aisle; especially with all the eye candy staring right back at them. But that’s not how it goes at all. I sing this to them as fast as I can to distract them while I unload the cart of all the treasures they have grabbed and dropped in while they laugh hysterically and say, “faster! faster!”. I in turn, sing the song over and over again at lightening speed. But I also unload the cart even faster. With this tactic we manage to get out of the store happily singing and smiling and have managed not to break the bank that Wyatt or Dax has patiently filled.

But I think Wyatt may be on to me.

The day I took these pictures I dumped out all the coins from his piggy bank for him to put back in. We didn’t count out a few dollars to take to the store. I was simply desperate for ways to keep him busy while I worked and Dax was at school.

Well guess what? It worked. Like a charm. He played like this for a good half hour.

I think today I will take them to Target. And we’ll of course sing the song. But this time, maybe once, I’ll let them keep one of the toys that miraculously land in the cart.

And I'll pay.

When the cat is away....

…the mouse will give his mom a heart attack by getting into anything and everything because he has no one to play with (or fight with) while his big brother is at school and is bored and the only way he knows how to keep himself busy is to climb on top of things that are not meant to climb on, not to mention incredibly difficult to climb onto, and then smile and laugh when I get him down only to do it again for the camera.

He's not a mouse at all. He's a monkey.

And a little turkey.

i can do it all by myself

You totally wanna be my friend, huh?

Pre-School

Today was Dax’s first day of preschool. I can hardly believe it!

It’s hard to imagine my little boy is starting his journey of school. We are so proud of the little boy that he is. He is such a sweetheart. He really makes my heart melt when I see that handsome smile. I can not stay mad at that face…he’s definitely going to work the ladies with that trait! He is always coming up with all sorts of crazy things that make us laugh. And his laugh is so contagious. He looked so big and brave walking up to the door without a single hesitation. I know he will make new friends and love learning at his new school.

I’ve been thinking about him all morning wondering how he is doing. I wonder if he is being good and if he is using his manners. I wonder if he is going to tell his teacher when he has to use the bathroom or just twirl around doing his pee-pee dance. I wonder if he’ll talk to the other children and remember what he learned so that he can tell me all about it when he gets home. I wonder if he smiled pretty for the picture his teacher took that will go next to his name in the classroom. I wonder if he’s going to ask the second he gets home when he can go back. I wonder what letters they talked about and if he learned all the other kids names. I wonder if he stayed in his seat and took turns and shared. I wonder if the next time he goes back he’ll remember where his backpack goes and that he needs to move the frog with his name over to the lily pad so his teacher knows he is there.

I really do wonder all those things; it’s just a part of being a mom I guess. But the thing I find myself wondering about the most…

…is if he missed me as much as I missed him. Somehow I doubt that.

Update: A HUGE success!! He loved his first day! He talked all about the books they read, the cupcakes they ate (hooray for someone's birthday the first day of school), playing bean toss and the paint brushes they used with the "little hair" that they pretended were crayons. In true Dax fashion, here he is posing with his first art project.

Smiles

There are times when I try and try to get my kids to hold still, look at the camera and smile at me. Not very often, but every once in awhile.

More times than not I prefer the candid expressions or capturing them in their element where they don't even know I am taking a picture. I think it tells more about their personality and the reality of their little lives than a posed picture.

But, there are definitely times when I would like them to look at me and smile their pretty smile. I like to capture those moments when they are doing something for the first time, or for the first day of school or when they look especially cute that day. Or perhaps a family picture, or sitting on Santa's lap, or after the dentist when you want to see their clean white teeth.

Why is this so hard? Why do I get so frustrated trying to get my kids to look at the camera and smile for these occasions? Is it really that hard? For me, for my boys, it is.

Until I figured out the trick.

Apparently shopping at Old Navy and finding a beanie that is marked down to $1.07 and bringing it home to put on your son when it is the end of July and over 105 degrees outside will get you that award winning smile you've been asking for. Who knew?


There may not be a "story" to this picture that I can tell him about one day. It wasn't a memoriable day. It wasn't the first of anything. Heck, the back drop is boring and he doesn't even match.

But at least one day he will see the smile that he really smiled when he was three.

The smile that makes me smile right back.