It's Official...

Summer fun has officially started here at the Dauphins. We just LOVE when Daddy is home and on vacation and so to celebrate this year, we kicked things off with a great trip to the beach. I have to say that the beach hasn't been my favorite place with the kids due to all the sand and clean-up afterwards. Nevertheless, I resolved to be cheerful this time and was pleasantly surprised. It was seriously a blast.



We went to a beach called Hidden Beach in Aptos, that has a great park right next to it. The kids got to play for awhile at the park, eat a picnic dinner and then head off down to the sand.



Yes, Steve really did go down the slide. He commented to me that it was like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube...it was more narrow than he anticipated. That's his "I'm very thankful I didn't get stuck in there" smile. Ha ha. Caleb had been sitting on his lap and was running to go again. Luckily the next time, he didn't need Steve to go with him.





Caleb has always been our child who loves the sand. When he was smaller, he'd eat it by the handfuls (sand from the beach and from the sandbox) and poop sand for weeks afterward. This year he just played in it. He didn't want to leave.




Isaac had a great time too but got a bit cold. It was fairly windy and I was freezing. So I didn't blame him. After awhile of playing in the sand, he was ready to go back to the park. And so we did...who cares?! We don't have to be anywhere or go anywhere! We're on vacation!




Josh, well he was just himself-- an angel. I'm telling you, that kid is amazing. He just goes anywhere and everywhere and he smiles (most of the time). If he's with the family, he's happy as a clam. We've done nothing to make his disposition this way (besides the normal feeding him and making sure he gets sleep). It's just who he is. He's wonderful and I'm loving it. Before long I'll have to worry about all sorts of other things with him but for now, I'm relishing in his babyhood as much as I can. I've already seen that it can go way too fast!

Next week Steve will start teaching summer school in the mornings but we'll still have those lazy afternoons of the pool, bike rides, the beach and the park! Here's to summer and all the wonderful things God's given us to enjoy and experience. May the next few months be truly joyful for all of you as well.