We’ve really enjoyed going to the beaches here in California. The views are gorgeous and the water is so fun.  I’d take the kids every day if the aftermath of sand in every crevice of the van, house and little bodies wasn’t such a chore to clean up afterward.  So I try to make it out about once a week and this was our trip last Friday.

Here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, most of the beaches require a hike down. So I wore Shoo-Shee Muffins and had the boys pick a buddy to take care of. There was a little grumbling and fear of the rattlesnake warning sign and how big the waves were, but we all made it and settled down to have a great time.

Favorite highlights:

– Everyone squinting or closing their eyes in pictures and Joo-Jee physically holding his eyes open! (They’ve had such a hard time with pictures in the sun here!) :)

– Joo-Jee throwing handfuls of mud at the waves.

– The group of “mudmen” Potatoes made, imitating Calvin and Hobbes’ snowmen. :)

– Shoo-Shee getting in on the sand action.

– Potatoes lounging in his sand chair.

– Bubbers and Boots digging furiously.

– Joo-Jee digging furiously because his brothers were also digging furiously.

– Watching the kids enjoy the water.

– How relaxing it is to hear the ocean.

– And actually feeling that relaxation while I’m there with my kids. (It’s taken me a lot of trips to the beach this summer to feel more comfortable with my kids playing in the ocean.)

– The *gigantic* grasshopper Boots caught and let his brothers take turns holding. (We don’t have grasshoppers or crickets where we live in Washington.)

– Being grateful I could physically and emotionally handle an outing like this by myself with five kids.

– Baths when we got home! I’m so grateful that Heavenly Father made our bodies washable.