Tamarack State Beach

Well, we asked for heat and we got HEAT, so it was off to another beach day this week to try and stay cool. Unfortunately when we made our way home from Oceanside on Tuesday, there was a car accident on the 76 and it took 2.5 hours to get home. I am done with the 76 for now because it is one way each way for several miles and there is so much construction. We have been meaning to try new beaches so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. A friend suggested Tamarack State Beach in Carlsbad. Wendy, Teri and I left home about 9:15 (already felt like 100 degrees) and hit the parking lot a few minutes after 10. Not bad! We parked, paid and unloaded inches from the sand and couldn't believe how easy it all was.

The kids quickly bolted for the rocks, collecting sea creatures and having fun climbing.

But our fun was short-lived. The lifeguard truck began putting DANGER NO SWIMMING flags all around us. Excuse me? Apparently we were at a SURFERS ONLY beach. Ugh! After further questioning the lifeguard, its seemed we needed to walk "forever" down the beach to the swim area.

We packed everything back up with a lot of whining and made the trek down to Tower 36. Poor Teri had to lug Denton in his carseat the entire way, along with her cooler and beach chair. We were dripping sweat by the time we plopped our stuff down in our new spot and got right in the water. The kids dug huge holes, searched for sand crabs, played in the waves and boogie boarded. Once we were all settled, we did enjoy this beach, but not sure we will be going there again...too far to the bathrooms and parking.
The craziest part of the day came on our way home. It was very hot and humid all day and thunderstorm-like skies surrounded us in the late afternoon. Once on the 78, we saw some amazing lightning strikes and even saw some rain. By the time we got home and unpacked there was roaring thunder, stunning lightning and quite a bit of rain. I think it even set off a fire or two. Crazy summer weather!

SO CAL CUP- Oceanside

Last week I received a call from the Oceanside Breakers team, asking us to participate in their upcoming tournament. He would allow us to play for $100 (normally $575) so how could we resist? With little notice to our players, we were able to put most of our team together and then borrowed two girls from the Hawks Red team to help us out.

It was a great opportunity to get more practice before the regular season and tryout some different line ups and hey...maybe even come out with another championship! We also played against two of the teams that we will see in the Presidio League so now we have a better feel for our competition. All in all, it was a fun weekend with lots of exciting soccer, but the scoreboard certainly didn't reflect that. We lost 1-0 against the Hotspurs, 2-1 to Oceanside (although we would like to protest this one!) and 3-2 against La Costa Matrix. We battled hard in all 3 games, but broke down on defense during key runs by the opposing teams and couldn't put the ball in the net.

Taylor played left midfield and left forward for all 3 games. She should be proud of her effort and stamina, but I think she would be the first to say, "This isn't REC anymore"! She really needs to work on making her moves quicker, passing sooner and improving her speed. The level of play is much more physical and intense.

We will see La Costa Matrix in our 1st game next weekend in the Carlsbad Tournament and we are hoping for some redemption. Until then, the girls can count of working hard at this week's practices...

La Jolla Cove

I feel for the poor people who paid for a sun-filled vacation to San Diego in July. It is not working out so well for them, but lucky for us, we wore sweatshirts and jeans and walked around La Jolla before Allison's doctor's appt. today. We never saw the sun, but had plenty of fun eating our picnic lunch along the cliffs and watching all of the seals frolick in the water.

This great beach has turned more into a seal beach than a human beach. It is not off limits to humans, but there are signs posted all over politely asking visitors to respect the wildlife.

Unfortunately, the first seal we saw didn't look so good. He was hidden in a corner, was quite pale and skinny and looked very lethargic. We found a lifeguard and asked for help, but he merely replied that it was nature taking its course. So sad!

The gorgeous, yet overcast view from the breakwall.

Luckily, we saw lots of happy seals relaxing on the rocks. We loved the sweet face on this light-colored one. Many swam around, chasing each other and working hard to fight for a spot on the rocks for a nap.

After our walk, we ate lunch and the kids had fun climbing this cool tree. We also walked down to the Children's Pool and the girls can't wait to return for a day of snorkeling when the weather improves.

Since We Can't Go To The Beach...

I thought it would be fun to take the girls and their friends hiking at Santa Rosa Plateau. It was the perfect weather day to do the 1.7 mile hike out to the Adobe Houses. Lunches and waters were packed in the backpack and we took off on the trail. The girls spotted huge ant holes, a few lizards and plenty of animal scat.

Lorien was the trail guide with Allison following closely behind. The big girls, on the other hand, were scaredy cats from the beginning... "What do we do if we see a snake?", "What was that noise?", "The weeds keep hitting my legs and I think it is a snake." and "I don't want to do this anymore." I kept telling them to stop being paranoid and keep walking. Snakes are more scared of us than we are of them, although they assured me that wasn't possible as their hearts raced. And then I heard the screams...

Taylor spotted this large snake peering its head out of the weeds and onto the trail. Lorien, Allison and Maylie had all past it by, but Taylor's eagle eyes did not. My heart was racing too, but I remained calm on the outside and quieted down the screaming so I could snap a picture. I knew it was not a rattlesnake, but it was pretty big...at least a few feet long and quite thick. That was the end of the hiking for this crew. There was a bench just a few yards up the trail so we could stop, calm down, get a drink and snack and contemplate our next move. The little girls and I were ready to continue, but Taylor and May had had enough. They wanted piggy back rides to the car!

Unfortunately, we had to pass the same spot to make it back to the car and walk about a mile. Lorien and Allison were hoping to spot the snake on our way back, while May insisted I hold her very "clammy" hand the entire way! As I suspected, the snake was not there when we returned...probably slithering his way across the path once we left.

These are the faces of 4 happy girls who successfully made it back to the car without any snake bites or fainting spells!

They felt their brush with death warranted a trip to 7-11 for a slurpee to make it all better!

Maybe we are better off staying in the safety of our own backyard swimming and playing Littlest Pet Shop...

Independence Day

Our holiday weekend continued with another pool party at Charlie and Mary's house. The pool was full of Dads and kids jumping off the rocks, lounging in the hot tub and having water fights.

Taylor spent the night there earlier in the week and she painted this cool tiki, which she spotted right away displayed in their backyard.

One of their many turtles was treated to lots of veggies and flowers from curious kids.

Taylor, Maylie and Allison make their first jump.

Allison and Reanna in mid-air.

Leslie was sweet and put french braids in Taylor and Allison's hair. I really need to learn how to do this!

Matt caught mid bite. Charlie made sliders, hot dogs and corn on the cob on the grill and the kitchen was full of so many side dishes to top it all off. I got lots of new recipes today. The craziest was a snack of cool whip, vanilla pudding, granny smith apple chunks and snicker bar bites all blended together. Weird, I know, but delicious!

My buddy, Lauren

Once the sun went down and the temperature dropped, we all headed inside for a few rounds of Rock Band before walking up the street to see the Sports Park fireworks. The kids seemed more interested in the poppers they were playing with, but it was a pretty impressive show this year and I loved the finale.

Water Balloons, Swimming and Smores

Thanks to Mr. Marine Layer, our beach party turned into a pool party at our house to kick off the holiday weekend. Taylor and Emily spent much of the morning filling up over 100 water balloons for the afternoon.

From the get go, Matt seemed to be their main target.

The girls plotting their attack.

He even got all of the water left in the cooler, but was a very good sport!

Reanna, Allison and Dominic spent all afternoon in the pool. They all had fun playing with Dominic's animals, jumping off the waterfall and playing in the inner tubes. The big girls swam too, but spent more time making bracelets and finger knitting upstairs.

Maylie's aunt Booey brought a fair favorite, chocolate covered bacon. We all tried it, but I can't say I will be ordering it at the fair any time soon.

We topped of the night with smores. I was excited to do this at the beach by campfire, but we improvised and used the grill. Still tasted yummy! As much as I wanted to be at the beach, it was actually nice to avoid the crowds and be guaranteed sunshine at home.

Chef Allison

I love her imagination! While I was working this morning, Allison put on her Halloween costume and apron and pretended to have her own Food Network cooking show. I heard her telling her "pretend audience" how to make a marinade, how to grill steak and burgers and how to bake a cake. She had most of my utensils out on the counter and seasoned all of her "pretend" foods with real salt and pepper.

After her show was over, she used the pens and notepad from her apron to take orders from the audience. She numbered all of the tables 1-4 and served her delicious creations. Taylor eventually helped with the dinner service and it kept them both busy for most of the morning. I love that they got so creative with their free time!

Twilight Trilogy

With Chipotle burritos and enough candy to feed an army stashed in our purses, we made our way to the back of the already growing line at 4:00pm.

We were given wristband #'s 287-292 and waited for about 2 hours with the rest of the Twilight groupies for an evening with Edward, Jacob and Bella.

We were in line to see the Triple Feature of Twilight @ 6:30, New Moon @ 9:00 and Eclipse @ 12:01. Our line wrapped around the theater next to Lucilles. The group in front of the theater had been camping out most of the day for just the midnight showing of Eclipse and still had several hours to wait as we entered the theater at 6:00.

They were certainly prepared with beach umbrellas, beach chairs, games and plenty of snacks to pass the time.

As we herded like cattle to the front of the line, Wendy suggested splitting into 2 groups to race into the theaters looking for the best seats. The idea paid off as Chessa, Amanda and Teri found us seats on an aisle close to the top. Our hearts were racing as we tried to secure seats, but once seated we inhaled our burritos and waited for the lights to dim.

I have only seen the movies in the theater, unlike some of the ladies who I think watch it daily :), so I was happy to get a recap watching the first two. I did sneek in a quick nap during New Moon and was refreshed for the newest installment, Eclipse. It was even better than I expected... suspenseful, intense, romantic and 100% entertaining. I was in bed at 2:50am and think there is a long day ahead of me. Now the countdown begins for Breaking Dawn, November 2011...

A Pool Full of Girls

The girls each invited some friends over today for an afternoon of swimming. It was the first time Taylor's friends had all been together since school got out.

Jaden, Demi, Courtney, Shelby and Taylor enjoying lunch and catching up.

Allison and Karis sitting by themselves and waiting for Lorien to arrive.

Once Lorien arrived, the girls all had fun making funny hairdos...

doing jumping competitions...

playing inner tube bumper boats...

having "soaker ball" wars...

snorkeling in the hot tub...

playing chicken...

and just enjoying being together!