One Last Hurrah of the Summer

We did it! We touched both oceans again this year! Are we spoiled brats or what?

On Saturday, August 16th, we packed up a few things and jumped in the truck for one last road trip of the summer. We headed to Temecula, California to visit the DeRusha family. On Saturday, we drove straight to Oceanside and played on the beach for a few hours. We didn't tell Reece we were going there until we could see the water. He was so thrilled, he couldn't sit still. It was all he could take to not run down the hill to the beach by himself. As we held hands and walked he kept pulling me and saying, "Come on Mom, let's go." It was so great to see the ocean again. I love listening to the waves crash on the sand. The Pacific Ocean was much warmer than the Atlantic Ocean. Although we were tip toeing in the Atlantic at the end of June and swimming in the Pacific at the end of August. We brought Dublin with us because the DeRusha family loves her as much as us: they used to dog sit for us. Mo made a few trips back to the truck to check on her since there are no dogs allowed on the beach. I felt so bad for Dublin; stuck in the back of the hot, smelly truck.

After a few hours of playing on the beach and in the water we cleaned up and went to walk around town. It was dusk and I so badly wanted to watch a sunset over the ocean, but the kids were ready to eat and my patience for the sand was decreasing. We rinsed off, changed into clean clothes and headed to the local pizza joint. It was just a few blocks from the ocean. The DeRusha family recommended it because they are friends with the owners. It was just a few blocks from the ocean. A small quaint place with the best pizza I have ever had. Dave the owner whipped us up a chicken & veggie pie that was to die for! The kids loved it too. Afterward, we walked over to Cold Stone Creamery for some yummy dessert. I ordered Peanut Butter Cup Perfection, Mo had Coffee Lovers and the kiddos shared a cup of strawberry with gummie bears. It was so very delicious. It was now 8pm and we still had to drive 40 minutes to the DeRusha casa. Both kids feel asleep 10 minutes into the drive, I guess the surf, sun and sand wore them out.

We played at the DeRusha home for about three days and actually made it back to Oceanside one more time. Reece loved playing with Ashleigh and Jake in the sand. Raine enjoyed eating snacks with Ashleigh on the blanket. We miss our friends Tom & Erin but we are so thankful they take us in for a visit to conclude our summer travels.