Beach Bum! (Another make up post)

BEWARE: THIS WILL BE A LOOOOONG AND LONG OVERDUE POST!!!

Here goes the long awaited vacay post. It seems like we waited all year for our annual trip to Oceanside, because we did. And now it's taken me almost as long to post about it:). I'm sitting here in a midst of clothes, suitcases, empty bags, shoe boxes and miscellaneous crap helping Chelsea pack for Jerusalem. I feel like it will never be done but I need to take a break from the shopping and packing and organizing to do something else. Especially since next week I will need to post about my trip to Utah. I need to think about my vacation and let blogging take me away to blue water and the sound of waves.

This was our 11th year to go and spend a week at the beach, but there is a history of beach going long before that. I am an Arizona native and although I was born in St. Joseph's hospital in Phoenix nearly a half a century ago, my family moved to Southern California when I was in 2nd grade. My dad was a professor of music at Cal Poly in Pomona and we lived in Upland.

Upland was about 40 minutes from the beach, Disneyland, the mountains or the desert. We lived too far from the ocean to go for a few hours and too close to stay overnight so for me, staying at a beach house was an absolute dream come true! Especially for a mom with little kids, (which mine were when we first started going:). As a kid myself, we would get sandy and sunburnt and have no where clean to change and I would have to rinse off with my swimsuit on and drive home for an hour feeling miserable.

At the beach house I could just take the kids in the house and rinse them off every time they needed it. I only mention this to explain that I truly appreciate the opportunity I've had to go there every Summer for the past 1o years. We have even been able to stay for 2 weeks for the past 2 years, but this was probably the last year we will be doing that. It is just too hard for Steve to leave his practice for that long and it gets more expensive every year.

Anyway, I love the beach as a family vacay because all the entertainment is literally right in the backyard! Everyone's happy and it is truly relaxing. I seem to get the best pictures because I have all the time in the world to take them and the backdrop is already amazing! I will try to include some collages, but for time's sake, I may just have to post a bunch of favorite pictures cuz there are just too many for me to edit them away:).

On the boardwalk.....

This is what the dinner hour looks like. At least for the first week this is how we do it. Every family takes a day and cooks breakfast and dinner for 60 plus people! This was my day:).

It's hard not too make every post about Hayden or the food. These pictures are my very favorites because they capture the pure joy in his face and the movement. I LOVE it!!!

My own baby....goofing off for the camera:).

We rented jet ski's one day during the second week and Steve, Spencer, Sean and Chelsea were the daring ones who tried it out. I took this with my telephoto camera from the beach house.

Carly and cousins Jasmine and Hanna

It just wouldn't be a beach post w/o a toe picture. These are of three of my girls with their glitter toes...

Another tradition...Going out to eat with all the brothers and sisters on Wednesday night...Here we are at Dominic's, our favorite place for pizza and clam chowder!

A new tradition....Surfing! All but one of my kids learned to surf this year. I think we may need to buy a board for next year. Amy's friend Jen and her husband Gonzo live in San Diego and and very good surfers. They came for several visits and offered to teach whoever was interested and boy did they have their hands full! Thanks...Jen and Gonz!

My Girlies....All together...

Cute little family...

Hayden chillin' with Pappa....more often than not...

Austin and Christian....

Endless Waves to play in...

The cousins playing catch....wait for it....

boardin'

This is Austin boardin' backwards!!!

This was a rare moment with all six of my children in the water at the same time and same place. 4 are boogie boarding and 2 are surfing:).

And of course here is Hayden,....

Hayden

And more Hayden...

wearing his new hat, from Surf Ride...

Arizona may have some amazing sunsets....but what can compare to this...

And here is Camelback Mountain, just waiting for us when we got home.....