San Diego, Day Two

Our second day at the beach was a lot more fun for everyone!  The girls new what to expect, and we were more prepared.  Apparantly, the beaches in La Jolla (where we were staying) are rougher than elsewhere so the girls had some major waves to contend with.  They turned it into a game of who could outrun the waves fastest and had a blast.  More than once, one of them got knocked off their feet. Shelby nearly caused me to have a heart attack several times when she ran way to far out just before a huge wave came crashing in.  She would throw herself at me and I would hang onto her with one hand and try to keep us balanced with the other.  I'm sure we were a great source of entertainment for the people around us!  Macey got so brave, she swam out past the waves with her daddy and came in on a boogie board.  She was so proud of herself!  Abby even warmed up to the water and had a great time.  At the very end, Bret decided to swim out a little ways with each girl. Abby went last, and of course that would be when the biggest wave we had seen all day showed up!  It knocked Bret off his feet so he just held onto her and tried to stay on his knees.  My poor baby was scared to death and looked half drowned when Bret carried her back to shore.  She was SO mad that it was almost funny.  Now she is happy that she can say she "swam" in the ocean and got clobbered by a huge wave.

Here is Macey going out for the first time.  I have to admit, I was nervous!

Yes, my baby was inside this wave!  You can just make out the color of her swimsuit.

See how she has her lips pinched closed?  It's because she has salt water in her mouth.  When she and Bret got back to shore, he told her to spit it out and she refused (because it's not ladylike). Finally, she realized that there was nothing else to do but spit it out or swallow it so she got down on her hands and knees, dug a hole, spit in the hole, and covered it back up!  I laughed so hard, and Bret just shook his head.  That's my little lady!

This is how you make sand castles when you don't want to get sand on your bottom. 

Shelby was so excited about finally getting to swim out in the water.

Macey loving the water and being held by her daddy.

Abby didn't really want to go out, but she didn't want to be left out either.  She finally agreed after both Bret and I assured her it would be fun.

You can just see that the wave is getting higher and higher.  It was huge!!! I can't even imagine what was going through Abby's head.  I didn't get a picture of them getting hit by the water because Shelby was in the middle of  one of her "let me see how far out I can run before mama starts screaming."  Even she turned around and realized just how big this wave was going to be. I was running towards her and she threw herself at me just as the wave hit them.  My focus was on keeping my camera from falling in the water and getting a good hold on Shelby before the wave tried to pull her away.

She was not a happy girl!

All cleaned up and out to dinner to end the day.

San Diego, Day One

The week we spent in San Diego was wonderful!  I think all of us would love to go back sometime soon.  Here are a few pics from the first day of  our trip.   We spent our first day in California at the beach.  This was the first time the girls had ever played in the ocean.  They were so excited as you can tell from the picture of them sprinting down the sidewalk.  Macey and Shelby loved the water, but it wasn't until the second day at the beach that Abby warmed up (which is why there aren't as many pics of her!).

Kindergarten!

It's hard to believe that my little tiny baby is big enough for kindergarten!  I felt the same way when Abby and Macey started too, but it's harder with Shelby, probably because I know she is my last one.  Once we got to school that morning, and I saw how happy she was, I wasn't teary eyed anymore.  It's much easier leaving her when she is having so much fun and is so well cared for.  For those of you who don't know, we decided to leave Shelby at her preschool for kinder rather than move her to A and M's school.  Shelby was not ready for an all day, academic program, and the class at her preschool is half day. She loves this, and I love having more time with her.  I am more than happy to give her the time she needs to grow and mature.  If I have learned anything with my three girls, it's that they all get it, but it has to be in their own time.  I am anxious to see where this year takes Shelby and how much she learns.