California - day 2 (beach)

I had hoped Rose would sleep in on Sunday since we got to bed so late the night before. But instead, just like clockwork, she work at about 4:45am (the same time - 6:45 - she is typically awake at home). Since no one else was awake yet, we occupied ourselves with quiet things in the bedroom, such as a Sofia video, books, and coloring.

Eventually everyone else was awake, we all ate breakfast, we packed up our stuff, and we were off to the beach! There were so many kids involved that we had to take two vehicles - the sedan with two carseats and the minivan with three carseats.

Mitra found a good parking garage for us, and it was only about two blocks to walk to Laguna Beach.

There was a heavy "marine layer," but it was still gorgeous.

The kids were so excited to see the sand and the ocean!

We settled in for a morning / early afternoon of fun :)

After watching the "big kids" for awhile...

...Rose eventually got up the nerve to touch the water herself! Her first time touching the ocean :)

The kids had so much fun splashing and running away from the waves.

Meanwhile, we grownups took turns talking in strategic locations near the kiddos.

It was all fun and games until a HUGE wave came in, knocked Rose off balance, and she fell down. She rolled in the sand as the wave retreated, and we were both clearly terrified that she could have been swept out to sea. Luckily I was only a couple feet away and grabbed her as fast as I could. I think I'll have nightmares about that for a long time to come.

After we both dried our tears from that trauma, we stuck close to the blanket and focused on building sand castles instead.

(check out that huge wave in the background!)

After a few hours, it was time to get back to the car and head home to Mitra's for a late lunch followed by more swimming in the pool!

Rose loved climbing to the top of the water slide (turned off on this second day) and sending a little toy fish into the deep end. Then she would command one of us to fetch it for her so she could throw it again. That game never got old!

Eventually it was time for a late dinner, and then another late bedtime for us.

One episode of Daniel Tiger to get the kids wound down for bedtime.

You might have noticed that we also missed nap time again for the second day in row. Again I hoped that Rose would sleep in a little later the next morning...