We were grateful and excited to be able to return to Ventura, California in June with our friends. This will definitely be one of my most cherished memories of this time of my life. The weather, being on the beach, etc., is so wonderful. But I think what pushes the experience over the edge is the company. I feel so incredibly grateful for the friends we've made since being where we are and I've commented several times that I feel like our friendship is meant to be.
We ended up heading over on a Friday this year, which meant we got to go the famer's market on Saturday. We didn't get to do that last year and the fruit was so amazing and delicious.
Sunday we went to church. There was the big debate of whether or not to stay for all the meetings. I feel like if I don't stay for all three hours, when I am sitting around doing nothing later in the day, I think, That was a waste, I could've been at church doing what I was supposed to. So we stayed. And so did everyone else and I was happy we did. The guys enjoyed Henry Weinhartd's in the parking lot after and we took tons of pictures by the giant tree. I'm so glad we did because apparently they put a fence around it since.
When we got back from church, there were some very small tide pools and they found octopus. Clara wore them like jewelry. I love wildlife.
The week did not lack ice cream cones. Or naps. Or relaxing.
Planking. Ice cream cones by the fire. Oh, and the little big wheel car that Hazel LOVED. She took her driving so seriously and was always very serious driving around. She nailed a three-point turn and took advantage of it every time she got.
Us, the Fillmores and the Welches were there the entire week. The Lindbloms were there the first half of the week and the Bennets were there the second half. Here are the kids (all but Chloe and Maren) getting ready to go to the beach in their wet suits. I think I mentioned last year, little kids in wet suits is pretty adorable.
One day we went to the Pier. This was another thing new from last year. It was fun and I loved taking pictures of Clara. Her little outfit just seemed to belong on the Pier on the windy, overcast day. She also loved to read everything we walked past.
Here they are, the 15 kids that were with us the first half of the week (Tyler F. brough Benji P. along).
One day the girls went shopping. In GAP, I found a price tag in Yen that I thought was really funny. Also, Jason came shopping with us. :) He likes to shop when he needs something and he pushed the stroller around after Hazel fell asleep and then patiently waited for us to finish up. Last picture: sisters and early morning bed head enjoying the waves.
Jason spent a lot of time fishing. He did last year too and didn't catch anything so this year he was determined. He did more research and talked to the neighbor. This year, he was much more successful. He caught perch and a few different types of shark. When he took the hook out of the first perch he caught, a string of baby fish came out with it. Then, when he went to filet the fish, he saw many babies, each in a different phase of development, in the tummy. Between that and the fact that he didn't have a good filet knife, he opted to throw all the perch he caught back. Come to find out, they are an anomaly of a fish and give life birth. Interesting.
One night in particular, Jason had an extra exciting night that provided great entertainment for everyone else. He was fishing at night, off the wall, in the high tide and had something huge on his line. Chet had everyone come out so we all went out to see what was on the other end of the line.
Soon enough, Jason pulled in this beast. It's a shovel nose sand shark (if I remember correctly) and we put it in the kiddie pull for a size reference and also so everyone could check it out. It was really coo.
Everyone wanted to touch it and get a picture with it. And then we tossed it back into the ocean. He caught another one that wasn't as long, but was a bit wider. It was definitely the biggest thing he has caught. Maybe next time he can catch something that big that we can eat. :)
We used the kayaks this year. Last year a few guys took them out, but this year we let kids go. I was worried I'd tip so Kristin took Clara for me. Also, Jason, Chet and Benjamin took one pretty far out to go fishing. I was hoping for some halibut, but they didn't have any luck.
So a few of these pictures are my favorite. Not because they are perfect quality or the perfect picture, but because I feel like they are a perfect reflection of this group of friends we get to spend so much time with. The top middle picture: Ryan Bennett holding Clara's hand taking her to jump waves with the other kids. These people are mother and fathers to my kids without being asked, without thinking twice. It's like we're one gigantic family and I love to watch it play out.
Last year one of my favorite things about the trip was the tide pools. This year, that might be true again. We found a lot more this year. Last year we seemed to only find starfish. This year, we found no starfish but lots of octopus and lots of sea slugs. We found a handful of crabs too. I guess it just depends on the time of year.
These two .
After tide pools, we get donuts. It's an early, early morning, but the lighting is so great and getting a glimpse of the exposed ocean floor is just fascinating to me.
We went to the candy shop, Rocket Fizz, again. We put pennies on the train tracks, which is something we didn't do last year. One night, the adults went on a date. All the older kids helped watch the younger kids while we went boogie boarding and then out to dinner. Boogie boarding was cold, but I caught so many good waves. Jason doesn't love the ocean (he kind of hates being in it), but he went and enjoyed it for a bit until he got pummeled by a wave. All in all, it was really fun.
The men built another "sand castle" (giant pile of sand) that the kids played on and jumped on for a while. Hazel preferred sliding down the hill on her belly as opposed to jumping, so she was full of sand by the end of that day. Jason fished off the shore and let Clara catch a few fish too.
Our last night there was spent eating ice cream cones around the fire, s'mores and visiting. The kids went to bed and we got to visit a little more. We were on the porch at the Faria house and the moon was full, or pretty close to it, and was reflecting on the ocean. Seeing this, listening to the waves and having light conversation with the Fillmores was a moment I tucked away into my long term memory. (Similar to now as I type this, we're in the middle of an unusual May rain storm, my door is open, the cool air is occasionally wafting in and I am listening to the rain just pouring down while my family sleeps. The rain is so loud that I can barely hear the rumbling thunder.). These are moments that I feel are glimpses into Heaven; they're all sorts of wonderful. This isn't a great picture, but I knew it would help me remember how beautiful the moment was and how great it felt.
Our last morning there, I woke up early and took just my girls to check out the tide pools. We didn't find much, except one giant starfish, lots of sea anemones and lots of bright green, moss-covered rocks. I loved how it all looked. Oh, and I haven't yet mentioned how awesome Hazel's hair was all week. The humidity really does wonders to her hair and the humid, salty ocean air gave her these perfect curls all week long. It was great.
And then we headed back home. I never tire of driving past the windmills and I loved the little paper Clara wrote about them as we drove past.
I will always cherish the memories we made this week. Such a fun opportunity that we were so fortunate to enjoy.
