Beach Friday 2014

This is the 6th year we've done our tradition of going to the beach on the day after Thanksgiving. It was a beautiful day! We went to 17-Mile Drive and played on the beach for a few hours. It was warm enough for Lucy to take her dress off and play in her undies. The boys got completely soaked by jumping in the waves.

 We went to Carmel afterwards and ate at our favorite bistro. It was a quicker trip than usual because we were short on time, but it was still very sweet!

Chapter Book Readers

We have some new chapter book readers in our house. One day Ben decided to pick up a chapter book and read it from cover to cover. I was so proud of him! We went to the library later in the day and got a bunch more books for him to read.

Not to be outdone, Tommy picked up one of the chapter books I brought home from the library and read it in an hour. Now we had two chapter book readers! To celebrate, we went to Barnes & Noble to pick out new chapter books and then got frozen yogurt.

 Their heads have been stuck in books ever since. It's been wonderful to see!

Beach Therapy

On Sunday we woke up and decided to go to the beach. The previous week and weekend leading up to that point was very tense and stressful. Saturday in particular was a day where no one was very happy with each other. So instead of pushing through it and heading to church like we normally would, we packed up and went to the beach. 

The beach always brings us perspective and family bonding, and this day was no exception. We had a great day. We actually tried to go to Big Sur, a spot we've been wanting to hit for a while. But we were partway there when we realized that Google Maps tricked us into thinking it was much closer than it actually is. So we did an about face and headed to Monterey instead. We spent a lot of time at the beach, strolled around downtown, Monterey and ate crepes. 

It was everything we needed. 

Tommy's 8th Birthday

Here's what you did on your 8th birthday! 

You had birthday waffles for breakfast. We've always done birthday cereal, but since you can't have milk, preservatives, or artificial colors or flavors, that pretty much nixes the whole birthday cereal thing. Instead you requested pumpkin spice waffles with sunflower seed "sprinkles". 

Your presents from Dad and I were few, but very thoughtfully selected, and you loved everything. You spent the morning putting together your Lego Technic hotrod with Dad. 

We went to your favorite restaurant for lunch, Sweet Tomatoes, then to go-kart racing with your cousins.

In the evening we had your family party with cake and presents. It was a whirlwind, really fun day! You did the things you love most with the people most. It was a great day. :)