Back to reality..

I'm baaaaack! Let me start off by saying how much I have missed you! All my friends who continue to visit my blog..I've really missed our daily emails. You guys are so awesome!

The vacation was everything I hoped it would be, and so much more. There's something about being able to take your family to one of the places you love to spend time at. My parents worked hard so that in the summer, we could pack the car and go to places like the beach, camping, and one amazing trip to Disneyland. I have such fond memories of those LONG road trips, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at rest stops, and sleeping in a tent out in the forest. This is what I wanted this summer. And..it happened. Exactly. Here's just a few photos of the journey. I hope you like them. :D

We started out camping for one night, right on the beach. As soon as we arrived and got the tent all set up and firewood collected, (yes, I did feel like Survivorman! :D) we walked the short distant to the beach. You could hear the extremely loud roar of the ocean waves crashing on the sand. That's what I have missed. That sound. As we walked to the beach, I looked at my kids and could feel the excitement building up in them as they realized that pretty soon..they could run in the waves...

The next morning, I was up helping with the campfire, and this is what I saw. The smoke from other campers' fire blending in with the sun that was bursting through the trees. I seriously stopped in my tracks and just stared for awhile.

The next few days were spent at the beach..searching for seashells, looking for crabs, hiking to lighthouses, building sandcastles, and visiting the aquarium. Such a cool place, too. If you've never been..GO! :D Isn't this fish..ok..so I think it's kind of gross..but hey..can't pass up a chance to photograph a fish up close, right?

On the way home, we stopped at a beautiful waterfall. It was one of the prettiest waterfalls I've ever seen. To get to it, you have to hike up a trail, and then you reach this bridge..the perfect spot to watch the water hitting the rocks, and splashing onto you. :D

We also stopped off at the place where my hubby and I were married. It's been SO long since we have been able to make it back there..and this time, to have our kids with us..it was just an amazing feeling. The rest of the drive..we sat comfortably in our air-conditioned car..hey..who says the little things aren't the biggest things?

So good to go..so good to be coming home, too. The trip isn't over yet..we still have a few more stops before we reach home. I hope you're all doing well and enjoying the summer. Keep up your 'changes'..let me know how it's going. Can't wait to hear all about your week.

Until next time...