up to my ears in laundry...

I don't want to load pictures of our weekend adventures, at least not yet. We've been camping on the beach three times and I think the third time was a charmer. We found the PERFECT place in Carpinteria, CA. Our campsite was ideal. We went to sleep every night listening to the waves crash on the ocean. The kids could run to and from the beach while Dad was making a fire or I was preparing dinner. It was awesome. We went up on Thursday and no one wanted to come home... including me. I wish I could go back to last Monday and start packing for the trip instead of doing all the laundry now that it's over.

Highlights of the long weekend were spending time with my dear friend Jane and her family. A good trip is better with friends. We also got to see Uncle Brett and Auntie kt which is always a party. Aaron told some seriously scary ghost stories around the campfire... one about a family who owned a humongous pet chicken who would go on family vacations and ride rollercoasters with them. When it came time to kill and eat the chicken, they were all super sad. They cut out it's heart and then the chicken got away, but each night the kids could hear the chicken's heart beating. Seriously, I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. The sound effects were scary enough to keep me awake at night.

There were some down-sides to the long weekend. We didn't bring our dog and we probably should have. She would have loved it. We also forgot the plug to our air mattress, which was a total bummer. Sleeping was a bit uncomfortable, but still TOTALLY worth it. I would have gladly stayed another night just for the scenery in the morning.. One night we made yummy tinfoil dinners but after we got them out of the coals, they were charcoal. We ended up packing the kids in the car and heading to a nearby hamburger joint. And the drive home was rather unpleasant. I was feeling GREAT all weekend-- so happy to be outdoors, so happy to be with my little family-- but 30 minutes into the drive home, I made Aaron pull over so I could throw up. Haven't felt well ever since.. which makes doing 10 loads of laundry not fun at all.

Pictures will come soon. I have a long list of things to do before I spend an hour uploading the memories of our trip. First and foremost, I need to hit the grocery store and buy some milk and bread so our kids can eat. Eating is kind of a priority.

If ANYONE wants to join us for an awesome camping on the beach trip next summer, consider yourself invited. We know exactly where/how to reserve the best spot.. I believe it will fit up to 4 families, but possibly even 8. It's about a 5-hour drive from Vegas in a cute little town outside Santa Barbara. You have to book the campgrounds months (and months) in advance, so let me know if you're interested. I was thinking mid-June-ish (2012). It will be about $30 a night per family... we are counting down the days until we can go back!