Summer Vacation: Wednesday at Old Town and the Beach

Wednesday was going to be our "spend the day at the beach" day.  Renee and Kamuela's family drove over to hang out for the day and go to the beach with us.  My boys were thrilled to have their cousins there to spend another day together.  Their kids are quite a bit older than ours, but that doesn't matter one bit when they are together.  They just play and enjoy being kids, regardless of age.  I love that.

Well, it started out totally overcast and foggy.  The weather report predicted the sun coming out only later in the day, so we headed off to Old Town for the late morning/early afternoon.  There are lots of little museums and shops in Old Town. 

We found the little Mason School (first public school) and a big garden behind the La Casa de Machado y Stewart, an original adobe home. 

They boys loved the blacksmith shop, where they were doing some metal work demonstrations.

They also spent some time climbing on an old out of use cannon in the middle of the square.

We headed back to Carla's for a quick lunch and then drove to the beach.  We got there after 2 pm and the sun was out.  The water was the same temperature as the air (in the 70's), so it was just a tad cold for this desert girl, but not uncomfortable.  We weren't there for as long as we had hoped we could be, due to the fog, but we took advantage of the afternoon we had there.

The boys loved digging and splashing in the waves with their cousins.

Mr. Two actually boogie boarded and was quite the little "surfer dude," thanks to help from Auntie Carla.  He seemed to just float on top of the waves like a feather.  He loved it.  Mr. One tried to stand on a boogie board as the waves came in, toppled over, declared there was salt water in his mouth and put his surfing aspirations on hold yet again (remember this is the child who declared he would only go boogie boarding when he was thirty?).  He decided that standing in the waves on his own two feet was adventure in the ocean enough. 

Mr. Three did not like walking in the sand, but did like the water and the wet sand along the beach.  We were hard pressed to get him out of the water.

The kids also had fun riding in an inflatable boat that Carla had brought.  Mike got to go out boogie boarding and I watched the kids play.  I love sitting on the beach and getting my feet wet, but no swimming or boogie boarding for me!  We got the kiddos exhausted and then grilled a simple hot dog and veggie dinner and put them to bed with little complaint.

One more item of note:  Mr. One lost his second front top tooth (with a little help from Daddy).  Don't you just love that smile?  The tooth fairy almost forgot to stop by, but luckily made a quick dash for the tooth in the morning after everyone was out of the bedroom.  ;)

Something I love about having Mike's sister Carla around is that she really listens to my kids and spends time being on their level.  They love to bombard her with stories and questions and she takes it all in and savors being in the moment with them.  I always leave her house with a renewed desire to be more like that with my family.  She just loves my kids and makes them feel so important.  We always look forward to visits with her.