We had a quiet weekend.

On Saturday we planned on going to the beach. Got the car packed up with beach gear and changed into our suits, only to find the beach cool and windy. 

Instead of heading home we decided to just drive around town; and we ended up at one of our favorite grassy parks with spectacular views.

A surprise, spur-of-the-moment decision to stop and play ended up being the highlight of my weekend.

There was hugs and kisses and wrestle-mania.

Daddy's are the best climbing gyms.

We ran races.

And got inspired to attempt cartwheels.

Mana about to attempt a cartwheel for the first time in forever. The children looks frightened. I don't blame them. Look at how short my beach shorts are. 

 Many attempts at cartwheels.

 And even a little yoga.

To stretch out the muscles pulled from attempting cartwheels.

Often it's the quiet family moments that mean the most.

Weekend Highlights - Mom Takes Us Camping

It's just the boys and I for the next 12 days.

RJ is working testing product (i.e. surfing) in Baja, Mexico.

(His life is tough.)

Thankfully my mom and sister are headed into town on Wednesday to help offer some relief.

But until then there are 5 days to fill so I kicked-off our solo stretch with an overnight camp trip.

A big group of buddies grabbed some camp sites at El Capitan last Friday night. The boys and I got there Saturday morning and immediately hit the beach for hours of sunshine and fun. Then it was bike rides, sunset walks, scooter races, dutch-over lasagna, marshmallows, campfires, and laughs.

The best part of this photo is the background

Parker really loves his friends

And so do I

Things I learned about camping without RJ:

- There is so much to pack when you're packing alone!

- My friends are crazy amazing. People pitched in to watch my kids, help me with the van, dish me a plate of food while I fed my boys, and even fetch buckets of hot water from the bathroom so I could rinse my filthy rug-rats. 

- I could do it completely alone (no friends/just me and the kids) but why would I ever want to. Maybe when they're older. But it is nice knowing that I really think I could manage solo if I had to.

- My kids are good campers. They've done it so much they're pros at this point.

- We had a blast; but it's always more fun with Dad.

Photos I Stole From RJ's iPhone

Dinner by headlamp

Our new favorite campground in Big Sur

Sunsets and Silliness

Landon took this gem for us

My favorties

Hiking

Highway 1 will always be near and dear to my heart

Checking the waves in Santa Cruz

Verve Coffee's newest fan

Good friends are always worth a drive.
Thanks for the incredibly fun Christmas party!

Embrace the Camera

Emily over at The Anderson Crew is hosting Embrace the Camera Week. The idea is to get yourself out from behind the camera lens and into the photo. Mom's seem to have a particularly hard time with this. But  someday our kids are going to want photos with us so we need to make it happen.

Each day this week has a theme. Yesterday was "smile" and I used a photo of RJ and I from the wedding.

Today's theme is "making memories." I really got into the spirit of things this morning and posted a photo not only only of myself but my first-thing-in-the-morning-self - sans makeup and in jammies! 

Each morning Landon rises with the sun so there really is no way I'm going to get up much earlier than him. In order to have quiet time with the Lord he works on puzzles while I sip coffee and read. Then I always join him for a few moments before starting breakfast. It's part of our routine that I know will be a memory that I'll cherish (and hope that he does too.)

Join in the camera embracing fun by commenting on Emily's blog or use hashtag #embracethecamera on Instagram. I'm looking forward to your photos!