Hey Look! That the OCEAN!!

After AZ it was off to California for a fantastic week on the beach! Ken flew directly to CA to join us for a much needed vacation. Mom & Dad F. planned and paid for a reunion with all of us kids and the 16 grandkids. Our condo was right on the beach and for once I got to have an extended visit with all my family at once! So here are some highlights.

A. & JT traveled really well on the 6hr drive to CA but after a while A. was anxious to see the beach we'd been telling him we were driving to. Finally we got there and he says to me, "Hey look! That the ocean!"
Here is Ken's idea of a vacation. J. was of the same mind...

So I built A. a sand-car to play in but he did NOT want to get in. (We stuck cousin Jon inside instead.) He was probably afraid he might end up like Daddy, whom Uncle Trevor had put in a sand-car that didn't look very inviting....

Ken wanted to be buried face down with a snorkel mask on instead. Maybe next time.
Having just barely started to crawl, we thwarted J's attempt to join the fun by digging a little pit to seat him in. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea, but Graham crackers made up for it. Papa trying to pull off J's hairstyle. So this was our backyard - a fire pit, a bit of grass and there's the ocean! A. became very good at identifying cactus and palm trees on our trip. J got pretty good at leaving his sunglasses on.

Hurray for Norm bringing this "Wave Catcher". Forget catching waves - just get some cousins to get the boat rockin. They must have played on it for a full hour at least!

Here's J finally lookin the part. Isn't he adorable? Oh yes, he is. Actually, I think he's trying to remember where he left his cell phone...

So there is a Fish-Family birthday tradition known as "Ring Toss". You make a circle with a large piece of yarn and then pour candy and toys into the middle. Each kid takes turning tossing a ring and gets to keep whatever prizes fall within the tossed ring. Having never been to a single Fish birthday party, A. had never played before. But let me tell you -- it didn't take long to catch on. He sat there absolutely silent and still clutching his goody bag and waiting for his turn. Eventually he started clapping and cheering for everyone and once we returned home he has layed out several of his toys to play "the birthday game" where he, naturally, wins all the prizes! Goody! Goody!

A. was pretty pleased with kite flying day. Amazingly, he didn't once get it stuck in a tree.

A's favorite beach sport is bird-chasing. At first he was just having fun making the birds fly off, but then Papa started feeding the birds and loured them closer. THEN A. tried harder to catch one and got pretty mad when they flew off. One time he chased a little too far and in his quick retreat from an incoming wave tripped and got sloshed. Unfortunately, he wasn't wearing his swim suit. Ooooh he was really upset.

Everyone loves Uncle Trevor. Who wouldn't with those cool pink shades?

Actually, J. was probably the most popular man there. The kids just couldn't keep their hands off him! It was cute... and a bit worrisome.

I decided that I couldn't spend a week at the beach and not get in the water but after boogie-boarding 1/2 hour my hands were numb and I was having a hard time holding on. Sooo I splurged - here's the wetsuit. It was wonderful! A. liked to play in the waves as long as Mommy was there to help him "jump" the tall ones so his face wouldn't get splashed. He loved to cry-out "I'm sinking! I'm sinking!" as the waves swept out. We would go further out than I had thought A. would ever want to. J. on the other hand didn't want anything to do with that cold water.Mom did so well during the trip. We all thought that having just received a Boniva treatment she wouldn't feel well enough to do anything but rest in bed with the beach and kids in view, but she was out there sitting on the beach more often than not. What a blessing! She was taking a good dose of pain meds, but she was there holding grandkids and beach bumming with the rest of us. Why else could she have done so remarkably better than normal? Hmmm..... well, we didn't let Dad cook....

And when the sun went down Ryan & Lucinda provided movies galore to keep the kids entertained. Thank you Cinda & Yayan! You see the view out that window?

Read it again G'ma Lainey! Look at A - my little book hog. Not used to having to share a bedtime story, eh? G'ma definitely got better attendance for her bedtimes story than Papa did. Infact, they let Papa get away with only reading one!

Poor little J. was coming down with something by the end of the trip. He flew home with a fever and a runny nose. The little angel slept the whole flight home though.

And here it is -- the only picture we took of our two little guys on the beach together. A. really appreciated J sharing his sand-free (ha) mat and crackers with him each day & J loved the company. It was really a fun little vacation being surrounded by all the Fish fam. Thank you THANK YOU Mom and Dad!