Recovering

Getting back from vacation takes me about a week or so to recover.  I did probably 15 loads of laundry today,  it is currently piled on my bed so I have to fold them before I crawl into bed, but for now I'm avoiding it and looking at the cute pictures of my kids from our trip to the Cali coast.  It has been a tradition in officer's family for 40+ years now  to go diving the first week in August, when Abalone season opens.  Whenever we can we try to be there.  We stay in Officers hometown for a couple days to break up the trip and then head to the coast.  It's beautiful, and I love that we miss the super hot weather that we have in July/August here.  It's usually overcast and chilly - we wake up seeing our breath, drink lots of hot cocoa, wear lots of layers, chat around the campfire until late, and of course the ocean.  It is so much work, but such a fun tradition for our family.  I love that Miss Peanut is at the age where she really is making lots of memories.  Not going to lie,  it was a challenge for me this year with 3 little ones - I just don't have enough hands.  I was grateful to have a tent trailer this year and my sister-in-laws' hands to help with my babies.  So with that here is an overload of pictures.

Missing Binky...looks like this.

 Unexpectedly - we lost our last binky on this trip so it was as good a time as any to detox from "bink-bink" as Handsome calls it.  He was ready to a few months ago, but I waited because it was about the time we had Cupcake.   It has gone well and we are now about 1 1/2 weeks binky free.

 Thanks Carl for making us feel at home while we stayed in V-Town.

 I made hats to keep us all warm - kind of a fun tradition I think I'll continue.

 4 three year olds.  These guys we all born within about 3 weeks of each other and they were great entertainment for us and they were great buddies.

 So grateful for Mar-Mar helping with the kids!

 Bathtime at camp looked like this...times 5 kids. I was so grateful for my sister in law - she is kind of my camping hero - I'm learned lots of thing from her to make camping with kids go a little more smoothly.

 Swinging in the hammock

 Beach day.

 sand angels

 nap time with uncle Aroni

 Cupcake stayed bundled up with me most of the time.

 checking out dinner.

 This kid has been a picky eater - he's still getting teeth so that's part of it, but he'll pick sand over other things unless it resembles so kind of sweets/ chocolate, etc.  However, he put away an entire plate of fish,  no exaggeration.  We love fresh fish, it's really so so yummy!

 checking out the tide pools

 So cute - they kept saying le-me-see when ever I took a picture.  I have a dozen like this with their silly sticky smore faces.  

 Miss Peanut learned to ride her bike while we were there - she still has training wheels, but until this trip she had a hard time with the pedalling - now she's riding like a champ!

 Love this face! Check out how dirty their hands are.

 Our attempts at a family picture.  It's always breezy at the beach there, but I was hoping for an overcast day when we got everyone bathed and dressed, no such luck, but still - a picture with all of us in it.  Cupcake was not digging the wind.

 Trying to be so big!
 All done camping,  the last night we went to a place called "Cowlicks"  and talked about our favorite part of camp.  I forgot my camera of course, but I think that just might be the start another tradition for us.

Foster Freeze milkshakes.  Handsome and I shared he would say  "My turn" at least three time for every one of my turns.  So cute- he is talking up a storm.
Okay, so now I have to play catch up with the pictures and video from swim lessons and while my brother's family came out to visit before this trip.  My kids are going to have cousin withdrawals this week after almost a month solid of cousins everyday.  We already miss all the cousins and family!