Andrew helped out a friend of ours on their house. As a way to say thank you, they offered to let us use their mother's trailer to go camping. Jill got it in with a lady at the RV Park last year and wanted to get us all spots together the day school got out. For various reasons, we decided to camp instead and so we were a bit off from everyone else. It was meant to be a busy weekend so when we gave up our RV spot, we were sent to the overflow camping area. It was real nice our first night as we were the only ones up there by the pool. But, I did not appreciate the hour we spent stinking cones on the sprinklers surrounding our tent because the maintenance guy forgot to turn them off for us. Fabulous.
When we first arrived and began unloading, Jackson helped and once there was a lull, he grabbed his jacket and journal and headed to a hillside to write down his thoughts. This kid makes me smile!
School is out and they get to go camping with friends - pretty much the best day ever!
Once unloaded and situated we all headed out to dinner for Gage's birthday. We of course took over 3/4 of the restaurant and I'm sure they were happy when we left. Haha
Ryan has come a long way with bike riding. Really, Ryan has come a long way in many aspects. But for this trip, he was super excited to be able to ride his bike with all the big kids. He can't stop and he has a tough time steering, but he managed and loved it.
It sure got chilly but I expected this. The kids were bundled in their warmest pj's - which is always weird to pack when you're at home melting. But we do need to invest in some sleeping bags. All day Andi kept staying she wanted to stay in the "vehicle" and not the tent. But that night she said she'd go look inside - she walked in a loved it. Said it was the best ever and gave me four hugs before finally going to bed. That girl....
Cole somehow managed to sleep in. All were up at 5:45am, despite a 10pm bedtime the night before, except Cole. I think he made it until 7:45am which I think would even be impressive in the comforts of his own bedroom.
That day we made our way to the beach - which now we know was the wrong way... yep, two years and we're just now realizing this is the wrong way to walk to the beach. Because what you're walking up to is train tracks and a cliff. Looking forward to checking out the beach beach next time. But despite the chilly weather until 2pm, the kids and adults had a blast. Once we threw all our stuff over the cliff and hiked down to the sand that is.
Ryan spent half his time in the ocean boogey boarding and the other half on top of the rock cliff feet from the train tracks. We're stellar parents.
But nothing beat seeing Ryan coach Talia on her way up to meet her. These two are inseparable. Modern day "Romeo and Juliet" balcony scene right here, folks.
I love the way Andi and Cole can play together for the longest time. And then Jake and Cole love working on projects together. Super cute.
After the beach we hit the pool. Some swam, some lounged!
Many more campers started piling in Friday night/Saturday morning but before then, we really did own that side of the campground. And even with all those people piling in, it is always comforting knowing these kids are with buddies. No one is really ever left alone.
Saturday morning we showered and loaded up then headed to Camarillo to watch one of Kenna's games. So competitive and so fun!!! From there we made our way home and eventually met up with Juana, Ito, Grandma Shopping and Grandpa Grandpa. This is one of the reasons we came home a day early.
An evening reminiscing with old family videos, battling with chopsticks and indulging at Menchies all with grandparents and greatgrands - the perfect kick off to Summer
Until we discovered Cole got hand foot mouth disease.....
