SUMMERS END

I know, I know.. summers not technically over but when you are married to a teacher and he goes back to school, it feels like it is over:) I must confess I LOVE being married to a teacher! I LOVE that my husband gets the summers off although he is always keeping busy with extra work

 to earn more for our family! But the flexibility of summers is awesome! 

Mark went back to school this past Tuesday and the twins will start school this Monday 

so in a sense, the carefree days of summer are winding down here. 

We celebrated with a trip to our local neighborhood pool- 

Ben Franklin Pool- 

it was just wonderful, relaxing, cool and 

just plain awesome

 to have a whole afternoon swimming, splashing and

 just enjoying each other in the last moments of summer!

yes, the twins went down ,went under and swam to the side of the pool all by themselves!!!!

the first time she used her floaties but after that- she took them off and did awesome

They have a splash pad for the younger ones

this slide went REALLY fast and the twins LOVED it

they make the kids sit out for 15 minutes for adult swim

Mark and I took advantage and showed the kids our mad diving board skills:)

I really feel like they grew up SOOO much this summer! 

Sophia jumped off the pretty high diving board into the 11ft water!

It took Arianna a bunch of failed attempts but she FINALLY jumped! 

 That night we walked to the school to play on the playgrounds and fly our kite- 

wonderful family memories! 

San Diego: Day 2

 We started day 2 off with breakfast at The Cottage in La Jolla. It had to die for hollandaise sauce. The weather was cloudy as usual. They call it the marine layer- basically cloudy skies till around 11 or 12. So after breakfast, we drove along the coast and stopped to explore the rocks and beach of La Jolla.

 It was SO pretty! We walked along the rocks and I found a ton of tide pools

 with little crabs and sea creatures.

 Since the sun was lazy making its appearance we walked along the many shops in La Jolla and stopped by for a sweet treat at Cups, a cute little organic bakery. 

Megan got a creme brulle cupcake and I got the double chocolate. They were so yummy! 

The coffe was delicious too.

 We spent a few hours laying out in the sun and surfing the waves at La Jolla Beach and then stopped by The Cheese Shop for lunch, which oddly enough doesnt sell cheese but sandwiches.

 I had the smoked salmon on a bagel and it was awesome!
On a side note, I got pummeled by a wave and lost my new sunglasses- very disappointing and sorta scary. I have a traumatic story of getting crushed by a wave when I was little and flashbacks definitely crossed my mind as the waves were pounding me into the sand. I survived, but my sunglasses didnt.
Dont ask me why I was wearing them in the water in the first place- it was very sunny.

 That night we drove down to the Gaslamp Quarter but weren't very impressed.. it was FULL of restaurants and since we werent starving, we decided to explore Little Italy and grab a panini instead. 

Of course we found a cool red door to take a picture by! 

 After dinner we went to the Glass Door, 

our hotels restaurant to check out the view. 

It was SO very pretty! 

It was a fun day of sun, surf and food:) All my favorite things:) 

Well, not ALL my favorite things.. 

I really was missing my hubby and kiddos too by day 2! 

Embrace the Camera: August 4th

I love my kids. A lot. I missed them when I was in San Diego. What do you say, did I miss?

I missed the way Elijah grabs my face and kisses it with such spontaneity it melts my heart.I missed the hearing Ella address me as her "twin". It cracks me up! I missed Sophia always being there to help me with whatever I need with no complaining at all! I missed Arianna's endless handwritten notes inviting me to her tea parties! 
It was a refreshing and restful trip that made me appreciate my munchkins even more and made the little things they do every day seem so much more important! 

San Diego: Day 1

Are you ready for a gazillion pictures

 from one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen 

in the United States?

Well, you have come to the right blog post:) 

San Diego was AMAZING!!!!!
Mark sent me away on a little vacation with my friend Megan
for 4 days to relax and soak up some sun on the beach!
I SO wish Mark and I could have gone together
but leaving 4 children behind is quite difficult.
(Also this winter is our 10 yr anniversary and
we want to go away somewhere tropical to celebrate!)
Anyhow, San Diego.... 

The weather was a perfect 70-75 degrees every day and nice and cool at night. 

The beaches were picture perfect and not crowded at all.

The food was out of this world! 

 We arrived after a very short flight and went right to our hotel to check in- we stayed at the Porto Vista which was right next to the airport and about 5 minutes from downtown. It was an older hotel that they remade to look vintage with large black and white murals covering one whole wall in the room.

After checking in, we proceeded to Ocean Beach where we grabbed a bite to eat at Hodads which is very famous for its burgers and fries! It didnt disappoint! We loved how everyone was SO laid back in the tiny little kitchen flippin burgers- there was a nonstop line to get into the place since it was the size of a large kitchen! The walls were lined with liscence plates.. and surf boards

 I was so excited to snap a bunch of beach photos before going into the surf to swim! 

I love how they turned out! 

The water was pretty warm once you got in:) 

but this beach had TONS of seaweed and kelp.

That didnt  stop us from riding the waves- it was so relaxing!

 That evening we came back and took pictures along the pier. It was just beautiful.

All the surfers tend to come out in the early morning and later in the evening-

 the waves are so much bigger. It was fun watching them.
I would love to someday try to surf.

.

 We ate dinner at SouthBeach Bar and Grill which is known for its fish tacos-
 they were SO good! 

I tried the Wahoo and Lobster variety and
also downed a plate of raw oysters on the half shell- 

they were SO fresh and salty- delicious! 

 After dinner we proceeded up Sunset Cliff Boulevard- 

the sun did not cooperate but we still got some pretty pictures. 

 Then we headed back to the hotel- the San Diego airport is in the middle of a very busy section of the city- so as we were walking to the hotel it looked like planes were landing feet away from us- 

they flew SO low and it was very loud! 

the view from the hotel balcony

We retired early since we had been up since 3am to get our plane!
Stay tuned...More ocean to come....
But let me leave you with a classic poem by Robert Louis Stevenson about the ocean.

At The Sea-Side

When I was down beside the sea
A wooden spade they gave to me
To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup.
In every hole the sea came up,
Till it could come no more.

Beating the Heat

Hope you can find a way to 

Beat the Heat

 today:)

Happy Summer!