We spent a lot of time on the beach, but we did go to The Aquarium of the Pacific for a day. They had lots of really neat exhibits. You can touch starfish and other sea animals.
Annalisa spent the whole day on Ryan's shoulders. She held on to his ears like this most of the time. Poor Ryan, his back was really hurting after hours of holding her.
David, Katie, Ryan, and Annalisa looking at some cool jellyfish. They looked like they had moving neon lights on them.
I wish we would have thought to bring a stroller. David was smart.
Tayvin and Elayna looking at some really big fish.
Some Lorikeets. Katie and Elayna opted to see these pretty birds. I didn't spend $5 to get a tiny cup of nectar for the birds to drink from, but I think they are very beautiful and it was fun to walk around their enclosure.
There was a huge 2-3 story tank that held lots of fish. Some were huge.
There is a man in scuba gear in the bottom left corner. He has fish covering him, but you can see his bubbles. Anyways, some of the fish were bigger than the man was. It was crazy.
There was a sting ray pool. You could theoretically touch them, but I had to put my arm almost all the way in to touch it, so the girls didn't get a chance to feel how cool they are. They have felt them before, at another aquarium.
The pool also had small sharks in it. I can't remember what these are called.
Elayna, Katie, Ryan, and Annalisa in front of a beautiful container. Of course I couldn't get Elayna to hold still. I'm not very good about taking pictures. Most of the pictures from this trip are from Kristine, Janica, Alisha, Amanda, etc. Thank you gals!
I let Katie take pictures with my phone at the Aquarium. She loved this pink fish.
Outside of the Aquarium was this neat fountain. It was beautiful.
The first day, playing on the rocks. It was kinda cold and overcast most of the time we were there. That didn't keep us out of the water or off the beach though.
Anna did NOT like the sand. For a couple of days. She wanted to be carried everywhere.
Elayna, Gracie, and Abby.
The second night we were there, I checked on Annalisa, and this is how she was sleeping. Poor thing, she was exhausted.
Elayna and I playing in the sand while Mom watches those in the water. We (my parents especially) are very cautious around the water. We always try to have a couple people just watching.
Zach, Mike, and Katie jumping over waves.
Elayna didn't go in the water much. She loved the sand. She would lay in it, roll in it, dig in it, etc.
Climbing on the rocks again.
Katie and Abby.
A view of the beach houses from the water.
A view from the second story of the house. Each time we came in from the beach, we would have to rinse completely off with a hose, in the side street. There was so much sand everywhere, even with the rinsing.
We had a relay race one of the first days. The three babies, at the beginning line.
In the middle of the race -- the adults were trying to help all the kids get to the finish line.
We tried to get the babies to race, but they were more interested in the sand.
Katie loved playing in the water.
Jumping over the waves again.
Ryan was in the water a lot also. Ryan and I loved to go out far enough that we were up to about our chests, then jump over the waves as they came in. Ryan also liked to get the boogey (not sure how to spell that) board and try to ride the waves in. This is him going out for more.
Making silly faces at the camera.
One night we had a talent show for the kids. Everybody danced together for a song or two. Elayna used that as her talent.
Katie traced and colored a pretty mermaid for her talent. There was a huge variety of talents. Jokes, dances, singing, drawing, head stand, etc. It was really fun to watch each child take a turn.
Dad and Mom talked about some spiritual experiences they have had in their lives. Experiences that have strengthened their faith in Jesus Christ and given them assurances that they have a loving Father in Heaven. It was good for all of us to listen and learn from them.
The whole crew. 14 adults, 21 grandchildren. What a wonderful family!!
My parents with their grandchildren.
My parents bought the whole family matching shirts. Then Kristine and Janica took pictures of each family, and each child individually.
Kathryn
Elayna
Annalisa
I love the sound of waves. I love the smell of the ocean. I love being at the beach. It is one of those places that I feel like I belong. I feel a longing for the beach like I do for home.
Pelicans
One morning the early risers (not me or Ryan, for sure) saw some dolphins. That black speck on the right is one.
When you got to the end of the breakers (the big lines of rocks that we like to climb on) I guess there were some neat starfish and mussels. Once again, not something I saw personally, but neat, nonetheless.
Searching for sand crabs
I tried to keep her hair pulled back most of the time, but hey, it's the beach!
Mike, Jessica, Marissa, Ryan, Annalisa
See, I climbed on the rocks too.
That was something that we spent a lot of time doing.
Annalisa
There is a smile, kinda.
The front of the beach house.
So the ground floor had 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, a living and dining area, and this outdoor covered patio. We ate lunch and dinner downstairs and on the patio. Breakfast was cereal, lunch was meat and cheese or PB&J sandwiches. Dinner was fairly formal, with each family being in charge of fixing the meal. We tried to all eat at about the same time, but it got complicated.
The upstairs had 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, and living area. We used the living area upstairs to entertain the kids. Movies, drawing, games, etc. There was a small deck outside the living area, then a spiral staircase that went up to the roof. The kids weren't allowed on the roof without an adults.
View from the roof.
There was a ping pong table upstairs. There were 7 bedrooms, so each family had their own space, which was nice if we needed to be alone for a bit.
Just hanging out
Grandpa used his iPad to help entertain kids also.
After we took all those pictures, the children got a well deserved treat from Grandma.
Check out this handsome guy!
Family picture in front of the waves. Katie started doing silly faces
so we all did a silly face.
I guess we forgot to tell Katie and Elayna we were done with silly stuff.
I love how Ryan writes our name. We want to put this at our feet in the first picture.
Like my parents did with their names.
Anna still didn't get very used to the sand.
Searching for sand crabs and digging in the sand.
Annalisa wanted someone to hold her hand a lot.
The older kids started digging a hole. It was pretty good sized, too.
But, as happens at the beach, the tide started rising, so Katie and some other children try to stop the inevitable by building a moat and wall before the waves could fill in the hole. It didn't work.
The last night or two we went out on the beach in the late afternoon.
They threw a football around. The kids and adults all had fun playing keep-a-way.
Elayna, doing an army crawl in the sand.
Chasing the ball
Katie and Ryan were on opposite teams. Katie tried so hard to keep her Dad from getting the ball.
I got to hold my pretty baby and I played too.
Red Rover...,
Red Rover...
I love the colors in this picture.
A beautiful sunset
The water looks so beautiful in this picture.
A view from the pier, about 1.5 miles from the beach house. Mom, Amanda, Kristine, and I ran there one morning. I guess Mike and Dave did also, but we only saw them for a minute, then they were ahead of us.
We also ate lunch there one day. There are a couple of different restaurants and shops there. We bought some unbroken shells there. I want to use some for Christmas ornaments.
