cool pix

so...

I've taken some cool pictues lately.

I say that in humblest of ways...

I do. not. want to sound boastful, but I saw these & thought "COOL!"

sand.
dirt.

water.

me, smile.

OH, and BTW you can click on any pic on this-here blog to see it bigger...just in case you wanta :)

another summer day away...

Why would we?

How could we?

Leave this gorgeous place that so many flock to EVERY DAY.

Because Mr. Sun has been wasting my summer days with gray.

YUCK.

And I'm a fan of fog.

Really!

{Yes, people I wrote that and am in the minority who enjoy chilly weather that makes you feel cozy and want to start a fire}

of course all things within reason.

ITS JULY.

59 degrees is not July, its rude.

SO away we went only about 40 minutes up and to the right... (aka NE) to find sunshine!

again

never mind the S....it was the direction my car was facing....

Notice the difference a few miles make. 88-59=29 degrees!!!

hence the need to flee!

So we did a hop
Skip & JUMP

over to Morgan Hill Aquatic Center.

and the good times rolled!
the kids scattered to each of their desired spot.

the best part was we (friend w/ 3 kids)

just had to watch the littles...

There are lifeguards everywhere!

And since they buddied up (no one was solo)

the frantic mom could chill...kinda

Parker got kisses because Mr. B loves him so...
I got grief because the bag of cheetos wasn't endless.

And quite frankly he was having none of my explaination

"you ate them ALL".

But..

Then I got sweet kisses too
SO proud of herself...

If you want to jump off the diving boards you have to pass a swim test.

(smart thinking!)

And the big girls went & did it no problem...

Then little miss, all by herself went to ask if she could do it.

She was beaming! She passed & got the "Im a cool kid too" bracelet.

Creative. Water. Park.

Big girl jump-Wahoo!

Little miss cannonball. Stinkin cute.
all the girls in line for....
HUGE Waterslides!
Look at that beauty!

Oh & did I mention they have funnel cake?!!

"All this can be yours...IF the sky is gray!"

Fun. Free! Family. BEACH!

who said free ain't fun?

(see previous post for explanation of our day :)

cove

sand

water

boys

any flotation device = hours of entertainment

no tech device required

(or allowed ;)

they don't surf but they honestly love this "coasting" on a wave anyway...It lasted for hours!

With breaks for eating

OF COURSE.

We packed eggsalad sandwiches, bagels, creamcheese, go-gurts, grapes, graham crackers, blueberries, animal crackers, juice boxes & water.

they ate it all.

swim shirts are my favorite invention.

no burnt shoulders, yippEE!

a few sand toys

hours of digging fun.

and if your curious

for some reason the act of digging appeals to all ages,

the bigger the hole,

the faster they can dig

competing with the "other team"

even roped in the teenagers attention :)

although she's one in a million

no picture but she was into it!

and if all that's not fun enough,

heard of Build-a-bear?

How bout Bury-a-friend?

then add, dump water on your buried friend :{

he was a good sport & (all around great kid!)

and with water at hand, cleaned off easily!

A'Hoy there!

does it get any cuter?

Oh this kid gets me every time.

AH.dore.

Tell me you know this trick???

for getting sand off your body after trudging back to the car BEFORE making a sand deposit IN your car...

dump it all over your sandy feet, legs whatever & it absorbs the wet & makes the sand not abrasive.

Wonder.FULL.

any brand of baby powder will do..

a small one (leftover from Mr. B) lives in my swim/beach bag

so that's it. Don't forget to see last nights (previous post)about the day we had.

HAPPY SUMMER!

finally

mark the date. Summer is FINALLY here.

I know it sounds untrue.

But really, today was the first day

it finally felt like SUMMER.

Opened the blinds this morning & was refreshed by light!

This is a great way to start the day.

And is has been gray

overcast

dreary

uninspiring

yuck

weather so far all summer.

Like...

"Kids sure you can sleep in flannel, you'll be cozy".

"How does soup sound for dinner?"

"grab your uggs & sweatshirt kiddos!"

"Umm, we are heading to Carmel....its 52 degrees. At 4pm".

NOT TODAY!!

Sunlight

door open

shorts

tank top

"Let's pack up snacks & text a family & head to THE BEACH!"

That's just what we did.

I haven't done Lover's Point Beach in forever.

FOR.EVER.

It was one of the most relaxing days I've spent so far.

Super mellow water

Kids had a spot on water about 10 ft away

Just enough beach/cove/rocks that all ages loved it

(today we had:13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 6, almost 6, 3, 3 year olds)

(no not kidding)

We played from 1:20-5:00 and it was still nice.

This happens in other parts of the coast, not here.

We are known for a constant 8 degree difference in high/low.

Not festive summer-lovin'-had-me-a-blast.

Pictures to follow..but for now

I'll go shake the sand out of the laundry.

It was a great day...

How we roll......4th in a small town!

We live in a small town.

It is 4 blocks by 5 blocks with a 1 block park in the middle

We walk to school.

We walk to the post office (no mail delivery)

We call kids home by standing on the porch & yelling their name.

We have a volunteer fire department.

And we do Independence Day BIG.

They huge walnut trees that line the road into town

For days leading up to 4th celebration

they line the trees with banners

Cheerful aren't they??

I LOVE em.

Our little cottage sits on a corner.

Every year that we've lived here (since 2003)

we've taken a family picture on 4th morning...

I love that tradition.

And I love that I get family pictures twice a year :)

Here we are.

Our family of 7....RED WHITE & BLUE

In the morning they have a 10K run, the runners start & run through the town & out to fields... Kids have a 1 mile run too.

Cheerful?! Yup, and Boy Scouts hand out water to the runners

(that's where my boy was in the morning)

The local veg growers give runners heads of lettuce & celery.

I know cheesy huh?

Fire Department Glory

A beauty isn't it?

Sweet Boy after race duty

Then we walked home & loaded him up for

Boy Scout camp....for a week. Wowzers.

Such a great kid. Love him & so proud of him

(he's 11...starting middle school)

Kenzie chasing Boston on his bike

we've started not needing the stroller

he is super happy to ride this instead!

The other thing I love is our parade. It goes about 4 blocks :)

Requirements are: nothing.

Show up before 11:50

It starts at 12:00

Have decorations, a bike, a scooter, a flag, whatever.

Everyone is included.

It is cheerful.

Kids love to throw candy.

Old cars, fire trucks, you name it.

Kenzie & her pals at the park waiting for parade to start.

The whole park gets decked out with picnic-ers & families & bbqs & booths for fundraisers. It's super fun. And so small town.

Pack 60. Cub Scouts. Darling.

And this Pack was first chartered by the Spreckels Volunteer Fire Company an 1934, making it one of the oldest continuously chartered Cub Scout Packs in the nation.

Brownie troop.

love the twins on left of photo..

MY girls waiting for treats thrown & waving at friends

My B. Always a cutie. Loving the candy part :}

wagons & unicycle included too!

Isn't it just a perfect backdrop for old cars?

Even a tractor!

Over heated. BUMmer.

But parade go-ers jump in to push it through the last block of the parade

Candy Loot swapping

"we made it fair mom"

that's all I wanta hear!

Our contribution to neighbors BBQ...Wagon of chilled

drinks, beer & cookies

Aren't these pinwheel cupcake toppers to die for! Love it.

Long after leaving all the festivities & resting at home

The girls ran outside to watch fireworks

(they are illegal so we don't buy em but of course the noise entices)

Look what I found when I followed because they'd been outside few minutes too long in the dark....

What cuties- they'd gotten folding chairs & their blankets

set them up in the street (in front of our car!)

and ohhh & Ahhh at what sparkled the night

Sparklers rounded out a great 4th!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA