why didn't i think of this sooner

One of my goals for the week was to get some cute pics of my kids at the beach in real clothes. Not sure why i thought my kids would cooperate? Not only did they not cooperate, they(emma and ben) each threw huge fits during the times we were trying to get pics. Emma was completely done by the time we had walked down the beach where I wanted to shoot and the above pic is an example of what she will do when shes had enough. Our last night there i knew i had not gotten any good pic of the three angels so i did what any good mom would do. They each made 10 bucks for about 15 minutes of looking happy. We walked a couple houses down the street and then one just around the corner. The homes in this little neighborhood were sooo adorable and each one was so different and unique. I couldn't decide which styles I liked best and I loved the way they looked for a background. Hunters hair is a little out of control in the pics but at least there is no spit pouring out of any ones mouth or rolling eyes every second.

Yes, I was sick of my kids after 12 days of no break

Our last night in Lajolla we finally took the kids to the toy store that I had been promising them all week and out for some Mexican food. It was perfect weather to be out walking around and of course they went back and forth over which toys to get with their hard earned money. They all seemed happy with their choices until the next morning when we are in the middle of loading the car and both the boys had meltdowns about their toys. Both of their problems they claimed were my fault. Hunter was convinced he had put a do-it-yourself rubber band ball on the checkout counter and Ben was angry because I had made him choose the less expensive and smaller set of those stick things you can see in his hand. He was sure this was the reason why he was not an expert at them already. Feeling not at all sorry for my boys, i continued packing the car while yelling at them about being ungrateful for what they got. Needless to say, we didn't leave on the happiest note and after a lengthy 5 hours I was more than happy to drop them all off with my Mom and Isaac, run home for 10 minutes and shower and change and meet up with friends for dinner while Dustin slaved away at work;)

Uncle Isaac

We were all happy to have Isaac and my mom come up and stay with us for 5 days. Hunter and Isaac are great friends and they loved having their own room at the back of the house all to themselves with their own T.V. I asked Isaac what his favorite part of the trip was and it was not playing on the beach or staying in such a great house or even more surprising getting to spend 5 days with his favorite sister. His answer was quick. Watching Cable. He is convinced that when Hunter is older they are going to have a house together along with Isaac's 19 kids all with NBA player names. Cant wait to see little Dr. J Gomez running around.

Hunt

Hunter, with the help of his surf coach Mary was able to try surfing and as he says "was amazing". He was very happy to have Isaac come and have someone to play football with and do something other than play hide and seek and color with Ben and Emma. This is also when he became obsessed with the idea of having a pet snake. Thanks to Craig, he now is the owner of two baby snakes. I hate both.

Ben

Ben loved being at the beach more than anyone else and would stay out there long after Emma had gotten bored and Hunter had complained of being bored and hungry and finally just gone up to the house. Ben was in heaven looking for any sort of living creature, building castles and was even lucky enough to find 4dollar bills that washed up in the waves at different times. He was happy just scooping sand and throwing into the waves. Every morning he would get up and just sit at the counter and draw pics which by the end of our trip added up to a thick stack of papers that could NOT be thrown away.

Emma loving her life

Belmont Park

We were ready to get out of the house for a little bit and headed out to Belmont Park for a morning. The kids all thought it was great and loved the rides. Well aside from the giant wooden rollercoaster that Ben thought would be fun until he got to the top and then told Hunter that he had forgotten he was afraid of hieghts. Needless to say he cried into Hunters arm for the whole ride.

Our days staying at the beach were truly a relaxing vacation. We played at the beach everyday and got to spend lots of time playing with Parker, Miles and Mary. The kids were so happy and content to be there and Emma would tell me about 50 times a day how much she loved me and how much she loved being a "beach girl". As you can tell from the above pic of the boys on the boogyboards it took them a little bit to figure out what they were supposed to do with them?? Our return date changed about 50 times and ended up being about a week longer than originally intended. Dusty surprised us by driving in really late friday night and then spending the weekend with us which was soo fun and then Grandma and Isaac came a day after he left and spend the rest of the week with us. It was so nice having my mom there and so fun for the kids to have grandma there to build sandcastles with and go swim in the ocean with. Plus I was ready to have another adult around more. I love my kids and it was really nice to have it just be us there but after a week of just me and my kiddos i was ready to have some more adult help and great company.