Our Santa Monica Pictures

I'm finally finishing our trip pictures from May... ugh. I need to get it done so I can post our summer pictures and our first day of school pictures that will be on my camera tomorrow!
So, these pictures were from our day at the beach. The Bushar's came up from their hotel in Anaheim to spend the day with us. We had lunch at the house and spent the afternoon on a somewhat cold beach. I personally thought the water was frigid... I only stuck a toe in, but I think I would have been miserable if I had gotten any more wet than that. The kids didn't seem to mind.
This is Alexa, Ellie and Josie in the water. Callie was there with them for awhile... until a wave overtook her tiny little form and she got soaked. She wasn't happy and did not return to the waves for the rest of the afternoon. Poor Ellie had a sunburn from the day before; it looked so painful! I can see the red in her skin even from this picture.
Quinten was sick. Poor little thing. The night before had been one of the most horrible nights we have ever had with any of our children. He pretty much spent his whole afternoon curled up next to Andrew. Luckily, he had enough sense to take a nap... at least someone got some rest!
Leah never once touched the water. Last summer, we spent a week at the Oregon Coast with my family. She wouldn't even touch the sand. We had to carry her to a chair, where she would sit until we moved her again. This year, she liked the sand and was content to sit and play. We are making progress! Maybe next summer we will get her in the water.
This is Callie after her "incident" with the wave. She was freezing. Hey, I don't blame her. I was freezing and I wasn't wet!
Selma and I took the girls for a walk down the beach. Leah wanted to collect every piece of a shell that she could find. She stopped every two feet to pick something up and wanted everyone to see it. We conveniently dumped that bucket before we left the beach.
I was truly too tired to feel sorry for him at the time, but looking at the pictures now makes me realize what an angel he really is.
Alexa is getting to such a fun age. Everything is exciting, she can keep up with anyone, and she wants to experience everything. I love it!!
Quinten's nap. I was glad it was Andrew and not me....
The kids tried digging a huge hole. It was fun to see them working so hard. We were a ways up from the water, so when they needed a bucket, Ellie would run down and get it. Sometimes someone else would go, but mostly it was her. She was such a trooper!
Having the Bushar's with us was a welcome relief. We had spent so much time the previous day trying to figure out what to with Quinten, that the girls had really spent a lot of time sitting around or taking short trips to the beach with either Andrew or I. This was the first real day we had done something "fun" and I know the girls loved it even more because they had friends to play with. Andrew and I aren't nearly as much fun as the Bushar's. :) So, thank you, thank you for spending the day with us!