Life is a Beach

We had an amazingly nice, fun and relaxing weekend at the beach. Sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to still live at Camp Pendleton now that we have kids with the beach right there and so much to do in North San Diego County. But the fact of the matter is that frankly it is too cold for my tastes, not to mention the traffic and high cost of living, which I can do without. That said however, I still love the beach and find it to be the perfect escape from the desolate desert, not to mention the heat.

We arrived on Friday afternoon giving the kids a chance to play on the beach and splash around in the water. While Jake's favorite activity at the beach turned out to be making huge race tracks with his cars in the sand, Jadyn on the other hand enjoyed getting dirty in attempts to make sand castles, most of which turned out to just be an excuse to dig giant holes. Our cottage was located on a marina with rock jetties separating the water from the rest of the ocean. This turned out to be perfect because the kids could play in the water without the fear of giant out of control waves. Later that evening, we drove up north to one of Joe and I's favorite restaurants from our time in the area, Sonny's Pizza and Pasta where I enjoyed a thin crust white pizza with an alfredo sauce to die for.

Splashing in synchronicity:


This is so precious. I only wish there wasn't another swimmer in the picture. Jadyn was scared to go too far out in the water so Jake took her hand and led her out into the water:

Running back in from the water:

There was probably one picture of the three of us that was a little better than this but I wanted to show everyone what we go through to get the kids to take good pictures. They were at the beach for goodness sakes. Of course they didn't want to stop and pose for pictures!

Saturday we enjoyed a leisurely day by the water followed by a BBQ at some old friends of ours who are currently stationed at Pendleton. It was so nice to see Cruz and Tara and I would be remiss not to mention their hospitality and thank them for such terrific food and conversation.

Early Saturday morning we made our first walk out the walk jetty. Here is the view of our cottage from the rock jetty:

Watching the waves crash against the rocks:

Back at the beach, Jadyn quickly started water runs to make a new hole:

With the help of Scottie and Daddy, Jadyn completed the hole quickly and promptly got inside:

Jake enjoyed the holes too, although not quite as much as Jadyn did:

Jake swimming with a kickboard:

Tired and cold afterwards:

Since we had Scottie and Ali with us, who have never been to San Diego we did the tourist thing on Sunday visiting the USS Midway, a retired Navy aircraft carrier that has been converted to a museum and took a harbor cruise in San Diego's North bay. While both were fun experiences, we were all tired by the time we headed back up to our beach cottage. We ended the evening with Chinese takeout and a bonfire on the beach during which time both Jake and Jadyn fell asleep after roasting some marshmallows.

The kids and I in one of the aircrafts on the flight deck:


The seals we saw during our harbor cruise:

A view of the city from the bay:

Sunday sunset before our bonfire:

Monday, before leaving for home we took a quick walk out on the rock jetty for the second time. This had to have been Jake's favorite part of our beach trip, which is pretty ironic. I guess all those hikes up in Joshua Tree are rubbing off on him. We then grabbed a quick breakfast at Ruby's on the pier in Oceanside before returning to 100+ degree temps at home.

To prove just how relaxing our little beach trip really was, let me mention that I was able to read Testimony by Anita Shreve while I was lounging on the beach and might I add that I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a great quick summer read. It was truly thought-provoking and engrossing.

And shamelessly stolen from Laura C's blog post on their beach trip, I took the following pictures and although not the first time it does quite obviously reveal what the Funny Nose title is supposed to be covering up (like at this point who doesn't know our real last name anyway?)

Do you know what I loved most about taking these pictures? How easy it was since it does not require everyone to look at the camera and provide decent smiles. And that was how our weekend felt, easygoing and fun.

But wait, I would be even more remiss not to thank Scottie and Ali for allowing this trip to happen and joining us on our beach adventure. It wouldn't have been the same without you guys!

Flashback Friday - Memories at the Beach

Since we are going to be at the beach this weekend and I didn't have time to get together posts on swim lessons or any of the funny things the kids have been saying (which they have been by the way), I decided to share some of my favorite pictures from past trips to the beach. Here it goes:

Here is Jake with Daddy his first time at the beach at 10 months:

Jake at 16 months in October 2005. What I remember most about this trip was the fact that we had just recently found out we were expecitng our second child:

And here Jake is during our trip when Joe ran the Carlsbad Marathon. Jake was 18 months and please don't judge me for taking the picture before cleaning him up. Seriously he looks SO pathetic. He was a little too excited about the water and took a tumble while running on the beach to get to it:

In October 2006, Jadyn's first trip to the beach:




And finally some pictures from our trip in July 2007, taken by our very talented photographer friend Walter. I have a couple of these framed in our bedroom:




We have had other trips to the beach when Joe was sent to Pendleton for work but it has been awhile since we actually went during the summer and when Joe could enjoy the trip with us so I am very excited and will be sure to share the pictures I take on this trip shortly after our return.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

What's Wrong with this Picture?

This picture illustrates two preschool class pals posing excitedly for their first day of the summer t-ball training league in Joshua Tree. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these two adorable boys.

We could probably pick apart the picture as far as its technical merit but that is not what I am referring to either.

You see the problem is that Jake has been placed on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the season and coming from a household that considers themselves die-hard Angels fans, this could present a potential problem. Realistically, it's not really problem but it is still pretty ironic.

And all is not lost as my Dad was a huge Dodgers fan. I grew up going to Dodgers games and my brother Tony is still a fan of the Dodgers as well. So while the Funny Noses might consider themselves Angels fans, during the summer training league we will be rooting for the Dodgers. Go team!

Magoomba Monday #12

1) Swim lessons took up the majority of our mornings last week and both kids continue to make improvements. We have been going early so I can walk a couple miles before lessons. Jake rides his bike and Jadyn hangs out in our little Maclaren umbrella stroller. In the half hour period between Jadyn and Jake's lessons we have usually been going to the park next to the pool. By the time we get home I am personally exhausted, although it seems like the kids just keep going like an Energizer bunny.

It was a huge step for Jake to go from the preschool swim levels to the grade school levels where he is now actually learning to swim with no help. Sometimes he gets discouraged or scared but for the most part he is doing really well. Today he went off the diving board without a life jacket and swam to the side with minimal help.

It was a huge step for Jadyn to do anything where I was NOT right there with her, hence the screaming bloody murder on the first day, continual sobbing the second day and brief protesting on the third day. However, by the fourth day she went to her instructor with only the briefest whine and also went off the diving board with no tears. She continued to do well today, even after the last three days off and one of the other caregivers on the sideline even commented, "Oh my gosh! I think she is actually smiling."

2) Joe came home Thursday evening making our family once again complete. It had been a long 2 weeks without him. It took him about 5 seconds for him to fall in love with our new kitties who are now fully acclimated to our home.

3) Friday the drive-in was actually showing a family friendly double feature - Up and Night at the Museum 2. Even though I had already taken the kids to see Up, Joe had not seen it and I think it was definitely worth it to see it again. I cannot recommend this movie enough to anyone of any age with or without kids. Night at the Museum was really cute too. Unfortunately, neither Jake or Jadyn was able to stay up long enough to watch more than 15 minutes of it but it was a nice night out at the movies. It won't be long before the temps will be too unbearable to sit outside for that long, even in the late evening.

4) Saturday we made the trek to our hometown of Upland to get my hair done, but more importantly to have a family dinner in honor of Father's Day and my mother in-law's birthday, which is next week. I made the strawberry walnut salad and a no-bake cheesecake to compliment Joe's chocolate fondue with other goodies for dessert. We also had chicken and beef shish-kabobs and twice baked potatoes making it a most delicious meal shared with great company. A great time was had by all.

5) Because we had such a busy day Saturday, although we were originally planning to spend the day at the river for Father's Day, Joe opted to stay home and relax. The kids had painted rocks for Daddy to use as paperweights that read, "Daddy rocks" and "You Rock" and I gave him the Indiana Jones trilogy on DVD, which he had been wanting. When Jake woke up in the morning and I handed him the gift and card to give to Joe, Jake asked me what it was for and I reminded him that it was Father's Day to which he replied that he wanted it to be a Kids Father's Day so he could get a gift. Nice try Jake but growing up I always remember being told something along the lines of everyday being a kids day. Overall it was a nice day and I think we were all able to recharge.

6) And it's a good thing we did too because this week we have the conclusion of swim lessons, as well as Jake's first week of his t-ball summer training league not to mention the fact that we have to make preparations for our upcoming long weekend at the beach in Oceanside, something I have been looking forward to for the last 2 months. It's hard to believe that 4th of July is less than 2 weeks away. Where does the time go?

Hope everyone's week is off to a productive start!

Funny Nose Friday #2

Funny Nose kids: Superman's alter ego and Princess Jadyn:

Funny Nose furbabies: A snapshot of my work station and apparently a new favorite napping spot.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Big Morongo Canyon Preserve

So.........

We are day 2 and this is how swim lessons are going with Jadyn:

The good news is that 1) Ms. Katie is an amazingly patient instructor whom both the kids are familiar with from the past 2 years. 2) Jadyn is actually swimming and doing everything Ms. Katie asks her to and 3) The crying went from screaming bloody murder on day 1 to a consistent crying/whimpering today.

Jake on the other hand is out of the preschool levels and working on skills level 1. This is when they really start learning how to swim. Today they worked on the flutter kick and he can get himself from one end of the pool to the other with the use of a kickboard.

And as for our new kitties, everyone is adjusting quite well. Poor Utah, he wants to be friends with them so badly but they still aren't quite so sure.