Wish we all could be California Girls... And one Boy

Kevin had a big interview in California this week and since he would be driving there, the girls and I decided to tag along. Because... Ocean!!!

The week before I prepared Kylea for her first encounter with the ocean. We watched you tube videos, looked up photos and her favorite thing was discussing the sea life. During dinner one night she lit up and chatted excitedly about turtles, dolphins and crabs (careful... Crabs punch, at least according to kyky they do) then she fell silent for a minute, obviously deep in thought, "mommy? I want to see the mermaid!!!!" 

I briefly considered describing the difference between real and mythical creatures but... Why destroy the magic of childhood imagination?

She could barely sleep she was SO excited for our adventure. Was our best trip yet. Ky has gotten so big and handles the whole thing brilliantly 

( packing my most valuable possessions)

 And by some miracle Neila fell asleep! Car seat naps are rarer than unicorn tears in our house so we were pleasantly surprised it happened.

(Fun fact- that blankie was mine when I was a baby)

We arrived all napped and ready for some ocean time! I don't know if words can express just how stoked Kylea was. It was like Christmas morning times 1000. She couldn't wait to go to the ocean and she mentioned many times that she hoped to see mermaids!

That face! Pure joy, anticipation and excitement. 

I didn't bring the camera so we didn't capture much of that first visit but it was perfect. Kyky charged into the waves in search of mermaids, squealing with glee. Neila got her little toes wet, dug around in the sand then got cold and sleepy so we snuggled on the beach buildings sand castles while kev and ky splashed around in the ocean. Kyky instructed him to hold her then pointed a tiny hand to the open sea and commanded "Go daddy! Find mermaids!!!" And then away they would run into the crashing waves.

We spent a sleepless night in a kind of scary Motel 6

 It's always reassuring when you are instructed to double bolt yourself in your room for  safety. ( insert sarcasm here) but that's not why it was sleepless. It was sleepless because of anticipation of big interview the next day. 

The interview happened bright and early the next day. 2 hours! Kevin said he felt great about how it went and they said they would get back to him in 48 hrs... Fingers crossed!!!

We couldn't leave without one more trip to the beach. Kylea had a blast yet again and this time Neila was better rested and had much more fun as well. 

We are back!!!

She may have taste tested the sand once or twice.

I love her lady like pose with her hands.

Too much fun! She didn't want to go home! "But, I want to go to the ocean!"

Adventure can be exhausting but totally and completely worth it. Best family adventure yet!