California Adventure - Day 5

We were on the move today - heading from Anaheim to Carlsbad... (just north of San Diego)

We loaded up two SUVs to the brim - and hit the Pacific Coast Highway.  We did not get too far before we could see the ocean and lots of palm trees.  After driving for about an hour, we stopped in Laguna Beach - and got to go in the ocean for the first time. 

We all love sand - so the sand drew us in.  Then, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Papa and Renee took their shoes off - so we did, too.  They headed towards the water, and we followed.  Kylie and Neela were the first to get their feet wet - and it was COLD!  That didn't stop us -- we headed in for more!

The surf was a bit intimidating for Brooke, so she needed some help from Mom and Dad before she'd go in...

After we got used to it, we all tried wading in - and got our clothes super wet! 

(Good thing the cars were FULL of suitcases - with warm, dry clothes!)

Daddy showed us the "surfer stance" - we thought it was a really fun pose, and managed to pose in the ocean many times... "Surf's Up, Dude!"

Somewhere, we'd learned the term "Cowabunga" - and we kept saying it over and over as we played in the waves.  (It reminded Mommy of Uncle Tony and his love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!)

We also decided the beach was much larger than our sand box - Daddy helped us start making roads and castles with our hands!

You can't go to the beach without trying to take a family picture - and it was a beautiful day for a family picture.  We thought we were far enough away from the water...

Guess again!

Grandma & Papa did much better with us - and we all looked at the camera for them!

Another fun thing about the beach was all the shells... we collected a giant bag of shells to take home!  Kylie thoroughly enjoyed the shells - and looked so beautiful carrying them around (Mommy loves this picture!)

Neela found a great rock, "The Queen of the Nile", and Daddy used it to write in the sand...  He wrote each girl's name - and our last name - and only Brooke's washed away super fast.

He wrote it again... but Brooke did not really want to stand still with her name (since she doesn't really recognize her name!).  Daddy drew her a box to stand in by her name - and that was the most fun for her.

The big girls enjoyed watching Daddy write every letter - and posing with their names...

Kylie got really good at "surfer poses".

...And Neela was not so bad at them either!

Another of Mommy's favorites... our last name, with the waves rolling in...

Then, with the almost 5-year-olds by their last name!

When we finished writing our names, we decided to dig a hole to China -- or build the Great Wall of China to stop the water from getting to our castle.  (Tracy's son, Parker, is heading to China soon - so we are talking a lot about China!)  Daddy taught us to scoop with two hands between our legs to help us dig even faster!

A final shot from the beach... Mommy & Daddy needed one of them, too!

When we got to the resort, we unloaded everything and checked it all out.  We headed straight for the pool - in the new swimsuits Mommy packed (another surprise!).  Mommy and Daddy had a quick date night for seafood, we ate pizza in our rooms... Grandma, Papa, Renee and David went for seafood - and we had a movie night.  It was our earliest night of the week - but we need the rest... who knows what is planned for tomorrow??