Summer Vacation 2011

This was our second time staying in Long Beach and although it was a bit more of a challenge this time around with two more kids and even more STUFF to squeeze into the car, we made it! We had been wanting to buy a car top carrier for a while and it was one of the best purchases we've made in long time. But still, we were packed to the gills, and I thought we were packing light. Ha. We stayed right by the Bolstad Beach access point and everything was within walking distance. We loved being able to walk anywhere we wanted to go and also being able to pack a picnic and go drive along the beach with our car to find the perfect spot to hang out for the afternoon. The kids (and mom and dad) were absolutely worn out every night and we tried to pack in as much fun into one week as we absolutely could and I think we did.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

*Flying kites on the beach

*Building huge sandcastles

*Going for ice cream at Scoopers almost every night

*Walking the boardwalk

*Staying up late having checkers wars

*Spending an afternoon in Seaside

*Watching the look on the twins faces when they saw the ocean for the first time

*Taking a hike to an old lighthouse

*Having a big bonfire/hotdog/smores roast on the beach with the Trevino's

*Beach combing for shells

*Fresh caramel corn and fudge from the candy shop

*Mini golf, go-karts, the arcade, and Kendle went for a horse ride on the beach

*Kendle got to get her ears pierced

*Listening to the kids playing and having fun together

This has been such a crazy busy year for our family and we definitely needed a good long week away to spend time together and just have a break from it all. I have a lot more pictures to post but blogger is being funny about posting them sideways so I will try and fix them and post some more later.