Birthday, Beach, Ocean

Here's a record of the latter half of our summer.

This is a scene from Jamin's birthday party: He's on the left, and the group of young people playing volleyball included the younger ones kindly.

The food was a collaborative effort

 Jamin got many fine presents, including this slot car set.

We got right down to business playing with it as soon as the guests were gone.

We had a beach day which was a direct reward for some especially diligent piano practicing...

Uncle G, Aunt MJ, two little cousins, and Luke holding two pails of crabs- this is not a sandy beach, this is a rocky beach full of adorable crabs! They were very little, but had big attitudes which made them very fun to play with. 

 But here there is enough sand to cover feet and dig!

 We spent a weekend with Bruce and Kathy

Then we went to the Ocean for a much appreciated vacation together, just the five of us. Here we are at Duggan's Pizza, late on a Sunday evening, deciding exactly how big our pizza should be. After dinner when the waitress came to ask if we wanted a box, we said we weren't done yet. She was impressed.

This was our time at the mini golf course

 Adding up the final tally at the end 

Lots of digging in the sand

Carefully weighing out the salt-water taffy at the candy and ice cream shop

Visiting the colorful kite shop

Our own wild and crazy kite controlled by Jamin, who is intensely concentrated on this business.

 When the kite crashes, Amber and Daddy race each to it- and just at this moment, Amber has got there first, and you can see what Daddy thinks of that!

One of the funniest moments of the vacation (it was impossible to photograph) was when we bought ice cream cones at McDonald's- the soft serve kind, four dipped and one plain. We were walking back to the hotel and they melted so fast we were leaving a trail of white drips which we later could easily retrace when we went over those roads again in our car on a tour of the town. They should have served them with a straw!

It's the world's biggest sand box. Luke had a great time digging for hours.

 We found more uses for the sand- dune jumping

 I had some leftover bread that the birds were very happy to eat. We decided to feed the one or two birds around, but it turned out to be a huge seagull party.

This is one of the many deer that we saw- they are common as cats in this town. This was taken from our ocean view balcony.

We went out on the jetty on the windiest night at sunset and it was a wild time! First of all it's hard to get up there with three kids, then the wind blew sand and spray everywhere...

Then we were able to watch swells the size of a village go by 

We could lean on the wind and watch the swells crash on the rocks and the pelicans which littered the sky and entertained us with their fishing technique.

Being at the edge of the world gives you a sense of the call of the sea the the sailors felt through the ages, you can hear in your mind the chanties sung while the men worked to stay on course, you feel the pull of the adventure of tall creaking ships weathering out a wild storm on mountainous swells out on the open ocean, the danger of being cast upon the rocks, the sailors clambering over the salty rigging and the swarthy sea captain with a suspicious and hard eye for mutiny. ...Not that I'd enjoy the life of the mariner of the past in person! Give me the couch, book and a fireside any day- I'll enjoy it from there. But when you are on the jetty, it's easy to feel close to that call to adventure.

 Splash!

We spent a LOT of time here... jumping, swimming, racing, throwing kids in the air, playing seals... The seals would bark and I'd feel them chocolate chip cookies.

 Finally, packing... regretfully packing.

What a view from the car window! 

Driving on the beach, which by law counts as a state highway, is a lovely experience. 

 Goodbye to the ocean!