California - At the Beach

The month of August was a brutal one for us. After closing on our house, the two of us spent every free moment getting it all painted, cleaned, and moved into--all in addition to raising a child, working full time, and having church and other responsibilities. A brutally, unceasingly sweltering summer did not help ease the strain. And after one too many late nights, sick of breathing in paint fumes in our poorly air-conditioned house, sick of finding giant bugs and jumping at strange sounds, exhausted from the never-ending loads of boxes to be moved, that I decided that no one had ever needed a vacation more than we did right then!

Thankfully, sweet relief came when we unloaded our last box from the apartment, turned in the keys and high-tailed it out of Houston to California where, upon disembarking from the plane, it was a breezy 79 degrees. We were off to a good start.

We spent a couple days in Temecula with Roo's brother and family. While there, we spent a day at Oceanside beach.

We were curious to see how Esmé would like the ocean. She was immediately intrigued by the sand.

But once she realized there was an ocean behind her, there was no keeping her out of it. She ran as fast as her tiny legs could carry her towards the waves.
It was overcast that day, and a little chilly even. The water was downright cold, but Esmé was as happy as could be to get soaked by it. The slippery little girl was difficult to keep a hold of! She'd wriggle her little hand out of mine and take off into the waves at every opportunity.

After a half an hour or so of communing with the sea, we noticed that Esmé was shivering and her limbs were taking on a purple color, so we pried her away from the waves. Though, she would have stayed there all day, I'm sure, if she could have--whether or not she could feel her limbs.

To warm up, we took a stroll down the pier, where we saw dolphins jumping (in the water, not on the pier) and had lunch.

We went back to Temecula and had a good nap and a good swim in Barratt's amazing pool. That afternoon, Roo's parents arrived and we were all excited to see each other. Then we all had a yummy barbeque and roasted marshmallows. The beach was great, and so was the swimming and the barbeque, but the best part was being able to spend time with the people we love--and all the better that it was in a hospitable climate!