Splish. Splash.

It was a long trek across the ugliest part of the Arizona. No one took a nap. Eight. Endless. Hours. But ...
Once we saw the sign for the timeshare ... everyone was all smiles. I could hardly contain myself! The boys didn't crash that night until 10:30pm ... but they were HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY to finally be at the beach!
Joshua might not want to leave. Right beside the beach are train tracks. The Amtrack ... Surfliner, Coaster, Metrolink ... all pass by and wave hello. Each time he hears the engine blowing ... we all are put on alert to drop whatever we're doing (and since we're on vacation ... it's usually a yummy beverage or a fabulous read) AT ONCE and see what number engine is making it's way down the shore. I broke it to him gently that it is possible to let one go by and not wave. That didn't go over so well.
Cake (Ben's mom) and I took the kids to the beach. We scooped, shoveled, patted, dumped ... and had the best time in our very own, SUPER LARGE, sandbox!
And then this one got sand in his eyes. And I guess wanted to show Cake that his mouth was "all clear" of the crunchy stuff ...
We hauled wet sand up to make a castle. Make that one lonely tower that lasted all of 10 seconds before How and his Mini pounded it into the ground.
Cake busted out the bubbles ...
And the boys had a blast chasing, catching and popping them ...
Later that evening ... the whole family cruised down to the beach. Eli is fascinated with Pap Pap's cane (Ben's dad had neck surgery about two months ago). He thinks it's a horse.
We had a bit of wave jumping ... and I ... apparently need practice. Bummer.
A family pic at the lifeguard tower ... And this is where we ended our first day of vacation. Eating clam chowder. Overlooking the crashing waves. It might be rough ... but I think we can hang out here for another few days.