Surfing!!

Saturday is a special day, it's the day you can go to the beach!

Well, not usually. Today was supposed to be 100% dedicated to the bathroom (yes, the still-half-gutted bathroom). But since the sinks and the faucets haven't arrived yet, John is at a bit of a standstill. It was a warm day. I think it was near 80 degrees (!) so we decided to go to the beach to teach the girls how to surf. School starts on Thursday and one of the summer goals was to go surfing and we didn't want to let that one slide.

We went up to Faria which is a great little beach with a sandy bottom and nice easy waves that are perfect for learning. It was gorgeous as there was no wind (I don't like it when it's too breezy!) and it was the perfect temperature to get in the water.

Ashlyn and Christian were completely content playing in the sand or on the rocks . . .

but Madison and Brooke prefer to Boogie Board.

After Boogie Boarding and hanging out, we finally convinced Brooke and Madison to try surfing.

Brooke practiced standing and loved having Daddy help her out in the water.

She is all business listening to Daddy's instructions. Look at that look of determination on her face!

She got a bit cold so put her wetsuit on.

Madison took to it right away! She kept standing up wave after wave.

On the way home they asked when they could go again. Well, how about for Family Night?

Y'think they can wait two whole days? Hopefully the weather will be just as gorgeous and I'll actually give it a try again. (yes, me! I did it too!)

On the way home, we stopped at In-n-Out for dinner. Doesn't get much better than that! We decided to eat at home since having hamburgers in the car with Cole probably wasn't the best idea. We ate picnic-style outside then gave Cole a bath and washed the car while we were still in sandy bathing suits. Even neighbor kids came over to help. Then they run around and beg to get squirted by the hose. Funny kids.

I love having John home and not traveling, working, or knee-deep in a project! Not that we had him all to ourselves all day. In the morning he helped with an Eagle Project, then when we got back from the beach while we were washing the car and the dog, he installed a new kitchen faucet, repaired the water-damaged cabinet, fixed our new fan (that I accidentally knocked over while shampooing the carpet tonight) and prepared an EQ lesson for Sunday. We also made brownies (from scratch) for his class and we had to stay up past midnight to make sure they turned out OK.

See? Saturday is a special day.

Update: We went back on Monday night 8/24 on the way home from the Santa Barbara Zoo and the girls both did awesome! Brooke and Madison both were able to stand up and catch wave after wave. Madison is now asking how much a surfboard costs so she can save up for her one of her own.