We are wanna-be beach bums staying in a very nice resort (thanks Uncle Logan!)for a few days of vacation. The six-hour drive from Sacramento to Pismo Beach was challenging, but managable thanks to Little Einsteins movies and the DVD player. Everything went as planned for my flight from AZ to Sacramento and for Kendra's effort to pack the car and pick me up from the airport. We jumped on the highway immediately with all 4 Webbs excited to get to the beach. Uno and Dos asked, "are we there yet?" dozens of times. Explaining time to three-year-olds is not an easy task. All I could get across was that we would see the ocean before the sun went to bed.
Because the trip is extra long and we traveled in the middle of the day we had time for another in-flight movie. Toy Story 2 is good, but not Easton's favorite. He dislikes Evil Emperor Zurg and hid behind his blankie through the intense scenes.
Easton and Layla needed to run their wiggles out as soon as we arrived. I was lucky to get one picture of them holding still.
They couldn't wait to get their toes in the sand. We walked down the steps along the cliff just outside our window and chased some waves. OK, the waves chased us...
The next morning began with Kendra getting a massage while the rest of us slept in. After breakfast we walked up the street to the surf shop where we rented wet suits and boogie boards.
Uncle Logan and Bree spent the day with us, which made the family time extra special. Easton and Layla have been looking forward to seeing the two of them for weeks.
We loaded up our gear and drove down to Pismo Beach where the locals said have the best waves of the day. The picture of Easton and Logan walking along the beach is especially interesting because they have the same walk and body posture.
From what I can tell Logan and Bree aren't big beach goers, but they subjected themselves to possible skin damage for the sake of spending time with us. Easton is a big fan of Logan because he's embracing the Uncle role very well.
The 4 Webbs don't do anything half-way. We brought a sun screen tent for the twins and a big popup shade for the adults. Easton asked, "where's the door so we can sleep?" I did my best to explain that a sun shade doesn't have a door so you can look at the ocean.
One of my hopes for our day at the beach was to get Easton and Layla in the ocean at least once and possibly even ride the boogie board with me. I found some Youtube clips to show them little kids riding with grownups on boogie boards. They were excited to try and Layla was first to volunteer.
Kendra and I rented wetsuits from the surf shop, but unfortunately they did not have wetsuits small enough for Easton and Layla. The water felt like 2 degrees above freezing, but the wetsuit is so awesome I could have played in the ocean all day long. Once my toes went numb I was fine. Not so much for Layla. I placed her on the board and then I hovered over the top just like I saw in the YouTube clips. We were in such shallow water that when I put my weight on the board to ride the frothy wave it turned over and Layla’s body was dunked for a second in the frigid water. She did great until that moment and the shock of cold made her understandably unhappy.
We dried her off and warmed her up as quickly as possible. In no time she was back to herself. Nothing fixes problems like a lollipop.
No matter what is wrong in the world, getting a lollipop reward as a good consequence makes everything right.
Boogie boarding is one of our favorite couple activities. There aren’t a host of activities we both enjoy, but this is one thing we would do together every single day if we could.
There are not many moments I can compare to when the two of us catch the same wave and ride it together. Looking over and seeing Kendra smiling from ear to ear while I euphorically relish the moment is by far the highlight of any beach trip.
As I thought through the error of my ways with Layla I decided to give it another try with the only willing victim left… Easton. He wasn’t paying much attention when Layla took her dunk in the water so he was still excited to give it a try. His interest grew even more after seeing Kendra and I riding the waves together. I decided to put Big Time on my back instead of in front of me. I tested his resolve by wading out into the waves. I gauged his jovial reaction as a green light to give the wave riding a try.
I gave him a brief lesson in how to spot the perfect wave by saying, “are you ready? Let me hear you say ‘I can’ if you’re ready.” He shouted a hearty, “I CAN!” like a confident general leading a brigade into battle.
Easton hung on my neck tighter than I’ve ever felt before and we lunged into the oncoming wave. His reaction vacillated between something like, “This is awesome!” and “I’m so scared”.
I stood up and he realized Daddy was still in control and keeping him safe. I gave him a few seconds to process what just happened. His mixture of laughter and crying subsided and I waited patiently for his response of what to do next. He said, “Again, Daddy!” and we made a few more successful attempts.
Layla was terrified and Easton was enthralled. Looks like I gained a boogie boarding buddy (Easton) and a challenge to overcome the bad experience (Layla) sometime in the future.
Moments like this affirm the twins entry into the fun stage of child rearing. I’ve been waiting for years to have joint experiences where they are not only with Kendra and I during adventures, but actively participating in them.
Our vacation was more for Easton and Layla than for Kendra and I. It certainly wasn’t relaxing. I didn’t publish a single blog entry and it wasn’t for lack of trying. It’s all worthwhile for the 4 Webbs to experience adventures. We are wrapping up Easton and Layla’s EIGHTH driving trip from Phoenix to Sacramento. They are excellent travellers and I’m grateful for their happy hearts. Their attitudes make it easy for us to broaden their horizons one adventure at a time.
See you soon!
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