The kids and I went to the coast for the fourth of july, and it was one of the best trips we have EVER had!
Seth had been planning on going to Aunt Cindy's cabin to work on it all weekend fourth of july weekend, and i wasn't sure what i wanted to do with the kids. We were invited to a couple of different events, but nothing sounded that appealing without my hubby. It was also over 100 degrees in paradise/chico, and i didn't really want to stay home in that kind of weather, either.
Cindy offered us her empty house in McKinleyville, since she would be at the cabin with Seth (McKinleyville is literally a stone's throw from the GLORIOUS salt water and sand!!!!!!). Needless to say, I didn't hesitate too much! I decided Tuesday night that I was going to brave a trip with my three littles all by our lonesomes.
We left Thursday morning, the fourth of july.
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| My Cuties, getting ready to leave.. all dressed in their RED WHITE AND BLUE :) |
The traffic wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it should be on a holiday weekend. There was a little bit of delay due to road construction, but for the most part, our drive there was fairly painless.
I did a little research (surprise, surprise) online, and found out that the two places in humboldt county where there was going to be a fireworks show was in ferndale and in eureka. Eureka is like 15 minutes from McKinleyville, so I decided we were going to see the show there.
I also found out that they were going to have a fourth of july festival in eureka during the day, so we decided to head straight there before going to Cindy's. When we got there, we found out that there was also a carnival going on! It was a bit tricky to figure out exactly what we were going to be able to ride with a toddler... and a wheel chair... and only one adult!! But we did pretty darn good, I must say!!
The weather was perfect. I mean P-E-R-F-E-C-T!!! They all rode a few rides; Caleb and Josiah rode a few by themselves; and I think Josiah went down the "super slide" like a zillion times. James even went down it on my lap! (caleb, too!) The thing is like 80 feet in the air or some ridiculous thing like that!! Brave, brave boys!
Downtown Eureka was right by the carnival, and it was like a street fair with face-painting, crafty stuff for sale, food, and stuff like that. After doing the carnival and street fair, we drove to Cindy's and unpacked and rested for a few before heading BACK to eureka for the fireworks!
The show didn't start until TEN, which was WAAAY late for my littles, but they all stayed awake and they all enjoyed it without getting all hysterical and cranky. Which was pretty much a miracle. Caleb was a little scared, but he didn't freak.. he just snuggled me and put his face down in my chest. When I asked him (during the show) if he likes fireworks, he nodded "no" -- but when i asked him the next day, he enthusiastically said "YES!" :) silly boy.
They all three fell fast asleep within about 30 seconds into the drive back to Cindy's!
Cindy has a few cats, a turtle that lives in the bathtub, and a big fish tank with about 5 or 6 fishies in it. The kids got to take care of all her animals, and they loved that! I'm not such an animal girl, so I was glad that her two snakes were not home, but staying in her classroom instead! WHEW! I was more exited about her three HUGE hydrangia bushes! She has this GIGANTIC hydrangia bush in the front of her house with about 30 or so huge PURPLE hyndrangia heads on it! Seriously the most gorgeous thing ever. She also has a ton of other gorgeous flowers in her front and back yards, and she has blueberries and raspberries growing in the back. We definitely had our fill of fresh berries while we were there!
On Friday, we went to the beach ALLLLL day! The weather was absolutely perfect again. I mean, this girl could not be happier! My heart really does skip a few beats when I see the ocean for the first time each summer. HOW do people live far away from the beach? Seriously, HOW do they survive!!?? :)
I found a handi parking spot, and then i carried james from the car to the shoreline. I think this is probably the last summer i am going to be able to do that. Next year, he will be heavier and i will be OLDER! ha.
All of the kids played for a while, and then Caleb fell asleep on a towel, under the cheetah blanket, and took a long nap on the sand, while james and josiah dug in the sand together for HOURS. i laid in the perfect sun and finished a book that i have been working on for probably over a year at least. haha. it's called "The Danger of Raising Nice Kids" and it's really really really good!
On Saturday, we walked to Starbuck for breakfast. It's like a mile-ish from her house. Then we let Caleb take a nap back at Cindy's in a real bed this time. I think I even fell asleep for a bit while laying down with him. Josiah and James played in the back yard. Her yard is fun for them because it is so landscaped that they can hide and explore in all of the plants and stuff.... and try to chase the cats and stuff. She also has a rope swing made out of a shoe that is pretty cool.
After that I decided to take them back to the beach. We didn't stay quite as long this time, but I decided to get in the sand and play with them a little. We built a three-tiered sand-castle, and used James' "Doc McStuffins" as the "princess," and pretended that the prince was driving Caleb's hotwheel car to the top of the sand-castle to "rescue" her from Josiah's "bad Iron Man." I'm still not sure if there really is a good iron man and a bad iron man... hmm...
Then they buried Doc McStuffins in the sand and lost her.. But Mommy saved her life right before we left! haha.
Sunday we drove home, and it was another fairly painless drive.
IT WAS GREAT!! I am SOOO thankful for Cindy's willingness to let us use her home!
I kinda want to go back there next 4th... but this time with Daddy! :)
