Happy Labor Day! I hope you're out doing fun things and relaxing from your labors today! We're hanging around in Utah today, but I definitely wouldn't mind being back in Oceanside today (or anyday for that matter!)
Andrew's parent's live in Oceanside and we try to make a trip out there once a year (in the summertime). This time, it just so happened that Andrew's work trip landed the week before our scheduled vacation so we were able to drive to CA, drop the kids off with his parents, fly to Chicago for the week, then fly back and continue our vacation. So fortuitous!
The week in Oceanside was everything we wanted and needed. A couple of trips to the beach, plenty of dips in the pool, lots of good food, and catching up with dear friends.
Honestly, I could go to the beach every day and still crave for more. Chelsea would probably feel the same way were it not for the obligatory bath afterwards to wash all the sand off.
The Carnohan's are some of our favorite people. We took a trip to Yosemite together last year and even though it only lasted a few days, it is one of my favorite vacations to date! Click here to see posts from that trip.
Plus, Ryan has proven to be pretty skilled with my camera and it's nice to have someone to get a picture of all of us.
So glad that this crazy, energetic, hilarious little tribe is my family!
P.S. Would it be weird to print and hang a family photo where everyone is wearing swimming suits and I have sunglasses on?
One of my favorite parts of our outing with the Carnohan's was their insane ability at finding little sand crabs! I think it's a 6th sense kind of a thing. My kids definitely benefited from that extra sense.
Of course, I had my own kind of little adventure involving that special time of the month and the lack of product to cover that need, but I won't go into it. Suffice it to say, it all worked out and there were bathrooms nearby both times. :)
The girl's adventures mostly revolved around their swimming lessons! I loved going to watch them. Chelsea was a total natural and loved swimming around in the water. Alexa... not so much! I did learn that her avoidance techniques mainly revolve around asking you questions to get you to never stop talking. Good thing her teacher had been doing this a long time and knew exactly how to get her to get moving in the water! I'm sure Barrett would have loved swimming lessons, too, but I think we'll wait a bit before signing him up!
I even got the opportunity to photograph Lisa from @adieandaden with her two children! Here are a couple of pics from the shoot. Aren't they the cutest?!
I love meeting instagram friends in real life! Lisa's family reminded me so much of my own, especially little Aden's deep chocolatey brown eyes and Adie's fun, energetic personality! Basically, Lisa and I decided to be next door neighbors someday.
Every time I visit Oceanside, I wish I lived there! I love the people, I love the food, I love the shopping, I love the beach (despite the sand and obligatory shower), I even love the smell. But then I remind myself that there are a lot of things I love about living in Utah and that visiting every now-and-again helps to keep Oceanside fresh and exciting! So grateful for in-laws who let us crash in with our three energetic kiddos and shower us with love! Andrew's mom took this photo of me and all my kiddos one of the days we went to the beach and I just love it! I posted it to instagram here with some additional thoughts on why it's quickly become one of my favorites.
P.P.S. The white floppy hat I'm wearing got stepped on by dirty little shoes in the car and is SO not clean now. Any suggestion for getting dirt out of these kinds of hats. I'd be eternally grateful, thank you.
Take me back! I can't wait until our next opportunity to visit the place where my mermaid heart feels most at home! ;) Thanks for stopping by! Can't wait to tell you about the rest of our trip, so stay tuned!
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