Oceanside 2013

Notice that I put the year date after "Oceanside" in the post title, because I think this marks the first of many "Oceanside" trips.  IT WAS THE BEST TRIP EVER!!  This will be a total dump of pictures, but it was just super fun and we had to take lots of pictures to document it....

We got to the beach late Sunday night and the boys went right to sleep... they woke up early begging to go to the ocean.  Since it was out our front door, there was no keeping them in, and I was excited to go and see how they liked it.  As much as Taylor loves water, our boys have never been to the beach before.

 Natie was in his element.... sand, sand and more sand!  He started the week off with his shirt be as the days rolled on, he wore less and less clothing to the beach.

 Sam loves the water... but was super nervous the waves would carry him away... so he spent most the time playing on the beach with Nate. He started to get brave the last couple days, just as long as Taylor was by his side.

 Jake and Luke jumped right in the water and boogie boarded all day.  It took them about one try to figure it out and they were hooked!

I was even a little nervous to get out in the water, it seemed cold and fierce.  So, I was surprised (shouldn't have been) that they loved it from the second they got in!











So, here is a gazillion shots of what we did for a week.....

Went on fun walks (and skate board rides - thanks to Grandma)

 Played at very cool beach playgrounds...

Searched for sand crabs and found a million...















 

 Played in the sand... Especially Sam and Nate.  I love this picture cuz it shows both their plumber bottoms!  :

 Rode cool "peddle golf carts" around the pier...

 Had yummy treats, and ate at RUBY'S on the end of the pier. 

By the way... I have to say that taking grandma on the trip was the BEST!  She kept me company on my solo drive Sunday without Taylor and was just so fun and easy to have around.  She did everything we all did.. including boogie boarding!  We love grandma Ruby.  Thank you for coming with us!!

 People Watching on the pier was one of my favorite activities.  There was a man there blowing huge bubbles and the kids LOVED it.  He did it just for fun and was there every night we were there.  Super Cool!

They Chased birds on the Pier...

 Watched fishermen catch cool sand sharks and fish..

 Of course we had to get some cool sunset pictures, but they never are as neat as in person!  We had a lot of fun on the pier and loved to watch the surfers below us.















 Me, with my man.  I always love to see him in his element.  And when it comes to goofing off and playing, this is what he loves to do.

Most the time was spent in the water boogie boarding... here a just a few of the million I tried to take

 You will see SEVERAL pictures of Taylor helping the boys.  They rented a couple surf boards one day and he just kept towing them out and letting them surf the tide in... He was so patient and willing to help them all have a good time.

I had to make this picture XL so you could see how cute... Sam was a fierce battle-er when Taylor went in with him.  He dove under and through and around all the waves with a huge smile.  He hung pretty tightly to Taylor the whole time though.....

I guess everything is a little better with dad around, right? 

 One of Taylor riding the wave in.

 Luke surfing on the boogie board



















Jake getting up on the surf board

 Dad helping Jake

Dad helping Luke

Nate and Sam running from the waves

 Love these 2 boys!  I can't believe how fun a vacation is with just your own family.  I thought we'd get bored of each other.... but they were all the best behaved I've seen them in a long time.  How refreshing that was!

 We even played a little woofle ball on the beach..

 And of course, we took plenty of time to relax and enjoy our vacation.  I have not slept so much for a long time.  It was so chill and I didn't even need a vacation from my vacation.... pure bliss (Plus, I have cute painted toes to look at while I was relaxing)

 Nate

 Jake















Luke

Sam held out at the beach and didn't nap till he was inside on the couch.... such a funny position to fall asleep in though. I guess he just wanted to be poised and ready to see just in case anything fun happened.


















So, we didn't eat out besides our outing to Ruby's and some treats here and there, but we did go see Despicable Me 2 one night and we also took a day and played at Knotts Berry Farm.  Taylor is not a lines and people kind of guy, so I knew disney was out of the question, but we got cheap tickets to Knotts and had a great time to break up the week.  Here are the dump of those pictures....

 Sam's favorite ride... it was a little boring for Nate, but SAM finally felt in control for the first time this week (remember, didn't like the ocean).  HUGE smiles for him.

 Me and Taylor with the little boys on the train ride... everyone loves the train ride.

 Taylor gearing up for SideWinder... Jake and Luke weren't nervous at all... in fact, this was the first year Luke REALLY dared do the big rides.  He had fun, and Jake was so glad to have a ride partner this year.

 Grandma and Nathan on the ferris wheel.  I think that was my favorite ride.

 I rented a stroller first thing... I knew it would come in handy and all 4 boys used it at some point during the day.... I guess you never really out grow sitting in a stroller. :)

 Each boy got a treat and Jake chose the funnel cake!  he was pretty pumped about that.

Love this picture of Taylor on the kiddie ride... doesn't seem safe to have a guy that big with all the littles does it?

 One with all my boys (and a stray Knotts Go-er) below...

 

Pretty fun day at Knott's Berry Farm

I guess I'll end the post of our best vacation yet with a few family shots... we had plenty of them. :)

 Goodbye Beach House and beautiful Ocean.... We'll be back, oh we'll be back!