Avila Beach, Part 1

It's Monday, and we are back from our short trip to Avila Beach, California, for the Steve and Lark Earnest Family Reunion/40th Anniversary Celebration. It was quite the trip!

First, I feel the need to say the following for all my fellow participants in the trip: I really did have a good time. It was cold (for us Phoenicians) and I didn't pack the right clothes, my arthritis was SERIOUSLY acting up so I was in quite a bit of pain, I felt like a beached whale in my maternity ensembles, and my kids decided to throw fits in inconvenient places, so I perhaps wasn't in the best mood a lot of the time. But I'm really glad we came. Our kids had a blast at all the activities- especially enjoying seeing all their cousins- and Marcus and I enjoyed seeing everyone too. A special thanks to Brooke, Steve and Lark, and anyone else who helped organize this event. I don't know who did what, but you guys made it great!

For anyone else reading who wasn't there, I've posted a few pictures below to get you started. The rest are on our video camera and I can't find the cord, so they'll be up later.

Our week started with us staying up until midnight packing and organizing for the trip last Monday. We then got up at 4:15 am to get an early start out the door. It was about a 9 hour drive. The kids travelled really well- we only had to stop twice along the way. We made it into Avila Beach, which is a few hours north of LA, around 3:00 on Tuesday. It was a little before check-in so we played at the playground for awhile. After everyone had arrived, the first order of business was, of course, to go swimming in the hotel pool. After a few hours of that fun, we ate a Costco Pizza dinner. We crashed early, since we were running on 4 hours sleep, though Marcus got to take a trip with all the women to find a grocery store for some staples for the week. Lucky him. I probably should've gone, but I was too tired to think about it.

Wednesday was beach day. We chose the worst possible day for the beach--if you want any sun and warmth, that is. There's always coastal fog in the morning, but this day, it didn't clear out until almost 4:00 pm. So while the kids, who seem impervious to cold, hung out on the beach with boogie boards and sand toys, I played with the kids, covered up in my yoga pants and swim cover up. Eventually we moved back over to the pool. Did you know that if given the chance, kids can swim all day long and not get tired or cold? I think Emma spent 4 hours in the pool that day- and she wasn't the only one.

I took Kyle to the hotel room for a nap. He HATED the hotel room. Every time we would go there, he would scream (and I do mean scream!) "No, Mommy, No!" and cry. He'd calm down eventually, but man. I felt sorry for the people around us. Our room was poolside, and so I tried to lock the doors and leave him there to sleep while I went back to the pool, but after that girl was abducted from her hotel room in Portugal or whatever last year, I'm just too paranoid. So I spent most of the afternoons with Kyle in the hotel room. Not so much fun, but at least I had peace of mind. I thought about skipping naps, but he was SO crabby WITH a nap, I couldn't imagine what he'd be like without them. Sigh....at least I had a good book to read.

Wednesday night we went to a beach around the bend for a bonfire- hot dogs and S'mores. It was cold, the fire was smoky, but it was a lot of fun! We headed back to the hotel for some more screaming, courtesy of Kyle, and just hung out in our room until we fell asleep.

I'm sure you're on the edge of your seats for more details, so I'll write about the rest of the trip soon- along with more pictures.