Thankful for Beach Week

We got so lucky with the weather this week. Last week was rainy and cold in Southern California, but we had mostly blue skies and temperatures from 65-75 every day.

I took several early morning beach walks which are my personal favorite.

It's magical being out there before the crowds. 

There are always surfers and some dog walkers, but the beach is fairly quite for the first couple of hours and it's a great time to watch the shore birds and just enjoy being out.

It was weird seeing the pier destruction. There used to be a restuarant at the end but there was a fire earlier this year.

And then, most days, we were at the beach for several hours.

Playing lots of Mölkky which is such a fun game. It's my new favorite thing to do at the beach.

Peanut did a lot of sand sculpting.

He built some partially excavated Aztec ruins for their sandcastle contest.

I'm so glad he has gotten to know L better this past year. They spent a lot of time together all week.

We had a really big group this year--seldom that all of us were in the same place at the same time, but with up to 45 people total (8 families), depending on the day, there was usually someone around doing what you want to do.

Bean did a lot of surfing.

She's gotten pretty good. It was fun to watch her out there.

And even when we were just sitting around, it was pretty incredible. I ended up coming down with a cold by Tuesday, so sitting didn't sound so bad.

I did a fair amount of reading, poolside, at the beach, and in bed (although I didn't come close to finishing all the books I brought with me.)

I think I could spend a LOT of days on the beach before I'd get tired of it.

Bean and Peanut went kayaking in the harbor with a bunch of people from our group one afternoon.

And we caught so many sunsets.

One night we stayed on the beach until it set.

There were a few of us that were just having too much fun.

It was a lovely afternoon.

With some cool sand sculptures.

But most evenings, we were in the hot tub by late afternoon and I had to run down from to the beach for a few minutes to catch it.

It was worth it. It's so fun staying in a property right on the water.

And the tropical vibes make you feel like you're in Hawaii.

And then, after dinner, everyone met up in the game room for foosball, pool, and board games. 

Daddy-o loved all the foosball and had some good runs with a couple different partners. I tried one night, but still feel like I have NO idea what I'm doing. But I did play a lot of pool and even beat a couple of the teens who were sure they could take me (including Bean, who has gotten a lot better and depending on the game, was able to beat me, too. But after telling us how much practice she's had and how much better she is (and she's right!), she told me, "I forgot that you're good at this." Haha. I'm not consistently good, but I have my moments.) Both Daddy-o and I are looking forward to his game room in our barn that we will eventually be able to build.

The group we go down with changes a little each year depending on who is available, but it's always fun. With so many different people, it's easy to have a lot going on and people can find something fun to do at any given time. And this property with a large commons room and all the great outdoor spaces is perfect to handle so many families. We're thankful to have these people in our lives--friends who are like family are a fun thing to have. 

Views Around the 'Hood

January has been a month of beautiful skies--whether its patchy clouds over the creek,

Or pink tinged sunsets. . .

and brilliant sunrises.

I love the light at the edges of each day.

And the clouds really grab the color.

They've been pretty intense--lots of cloudy days, with a little rain here and there.

It's been fun to get out and see it change.

And when the sun is out, it's that much more exciting.

It's Autumn. . . Sort Of

October is always a back-and-forth month here in the Bay Area. The treats available may all be pumpkiny goodness (this was our lunch on the Sunday of our church conference weekend--with all the Trader Joes fall offerings.)

But the weather is still summer!

Daddy-o and I took the kayak out at Eden Landing and paddled through the marsh to the bay.

We saw a few types of birds, and harbor seals when we got out to the bay, but I think we'll keep exploring for better sites to put in. The water in the canals there looked pretty gross. We ended up each only paddling on one side so we didn't splash water up on ourselves, haha.

And then, we got one last swim of the season--the pool has cooled down a lot, but is still in the mid-70s and with the air temps in the mid-90s, it felt great!

October 7th--our official last day. 

I think the past two years, we haven't made it to October, so I was happy with this. 

We've had some gorgeous sunrises and sunsets lately. October seems to bring the best colors.

And we made it up to Apple Hill to grab some donuts. (The main purpose was to check out a friend's van build and get some pointers before we start ours, but we couldn't pass up the chance for apple cider donuts when we were in the area.)

We've still had beautiful nights for dinner on the patio. This is actually my favorite time for that because it's warm enough to be really comfortable, but also dark enough at dinner to use our lights.

And yet, with all the summer weather we've been having, we also got just enough rain to start off mushroom season and I'm already seeing fungi poking out from all types of places.

And we're getting the start of the trees changing colors. We have a lot of evergreens, but always enjoy the few trees that do change. We're still probably a few weeks away from needing jackets all day and turning on the heat, but summer is pretty much wrapping up.

Just a Little Bit of Nature

I had a couple days of some serious nature time and thoroughly enjoyed the extra hours outside, starting with a gorgeous sunrise on my way home from dropping Bug off at seminary, and then a long solo hike. Peanut and Daddy-o were on their own adventure for a couple days and I was just on high school duty, which leaves a lot of hours during the day (and I'm hoping I can get them to do their own blog post soon!)

So, here's a photo dump of the fall colors, beautiful weather, and the start of mushroom season.

The End.