Ah the beach! We love the beach! This beach day was extra great because the tide was so low. There were long, wide stretches of sand bars and little pools for the children to play in. We found a ton of sand dollars and other shells. It was so fun! Greta loves, loves, loves sitting on the beach with a bucket and shovel. She fills that bucket and dumps it repeatedly and could do so for hours! It's amazing! I love being at the beach. I love California!

Our girls, Greta especially, woke up early in the morning, around 6am. I surprised myself by being rather willing to get up with them. The draw of a fresh morning outside was pretty huge for me. We got up and had breakfast (homemade granola, yogurt and fruit) and did our best to be quiet. Not quite Greta's strength. She spoke in a whisper I couldn't hear or she spoke loudly. Both methods of communication were adorable. We ate our breakfast, chatted, played with friends, packed up our tent and belongings and prepared for a morning at the beach! That was the best part. A leisurely morning at the campsite and still at the beach by mid-morning. Perfect!

Note: Greta became the unintentional leader of the little girl gang. She was older enough that she was a draw but was still playing in ways that the other little girls could do so alongside her. It was cute! Although I think Greta felt a little territorial.

The sun set was really pretty! I don't take enough time to enjoy sunsets. Unless I'm in the car, which rarely coincides with the sun setting. The sun setting and the ocean. A perfect combination. I'm glad we went camping and took the time to enjoy the beautiful world we live in. (Top 4 photos are by my friend Leia)

We went camping this past weekend for one night and I took a lot of photos! It was just too fun not to. We went with a bunch of families (6 total) from our ward and the best part is that we were camping at our favorite beach ever. Sunset Beach is 16 miles south of Santa Cruz and is a complete gem in my opinion. I love it! I felt like I hit the jackpot the day I first discovered it. 

A few highlights:

• playing in the dirt with shovels and buckets (Greta)
• having friends around all the time (Holly)
• the sun set
• sleeping in a tent with all 4 of us in a row
• seeing the moon's reflection on the ocean at night time
• the girls slept through the night (10pm-6am)
• eating breakfast outdoors on the beautiful, clear morning
• visiting and laughing with friends
• playing hard at the beach
• a scenic drive home
• everything all working out despite the things we forgot

 

This is a really cute craft! I gave the girls a rectangular piece of cardstock each and then let them glue circles of cardstock onto it. I had to give them some guidance on how to place the circle around the edges and on the blank spots. They liked to stack the circles. Overall, I try to let the girls do their own thing and allow them creative license, but sometimes I think guidance is a good idea! We put googly eyes on the clouds and then I hot glued ribbon to the back of the clouds. Holly and Greta wanted to put their clouds on their bedroom door. I consider this craft a success! 

The original idea can be found here.