Part of the reason we went back to California a second time was to get in some beach time that June Gloom took away from us when we were there last time (in July, mind you).  Was that a run on sentence? Anyhoo. Oh, the fact that it was like 109 here helped push us westerly too!

So on the last afternoon that we were there, the sun finally came out and we decided to ditch the zoo (which was fabulous and quickly became one of my favorite zoos) and head to Coronado Island for some beach time.  Here are some pictures from that afternoon!

We’re on our way to California.  Yes, again.  Why?  Because it’s miserable here and I have precious few days to escape before school starts again.  2 weeks from today, to be exact.  Can you believe it?  This time, it’s just me and the kids.  And it will be more low-key.  I plan on the beach a lot.  Our Uncle will take us pier fishing, too!  I can’t wait for that…Emma is SO excited!  (Note to self: bring extra hand sanitizer and baby wipes)  We will go to the San Diego zoo also.  That’s it for the outings though!

Right now the plan is to come on Friday very early in the morning so we can meet up with Emma’s (old) kindegarten class for a mini-reunion at the movies!  I really want her to see everyone and get “reacquainted” before school starts back up.  She’ll be so excited!

Pelican hanging out on the pier

Any last minute plans before your kids start back to school?

We got home from Boca yesterday.  It was hands down one of the best trips we’ve ever taken together.  I think it’s the only beach vacation we’ve had without the kids since our honeymoon in Jamaica almost 8 years ago.  We had the best time with our friends, and loved meeting new friends and family of the bride and groom.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  I had never been to a beach wedding and it was breathtaking!  Everything was perfect.  I have some iPhone photos for now, and hopefully I can get other photos up soon.  Enjoy!

As for me, I have turned back into a pumpkin with piles of laundry, dishes to unload, and two beautiful kids who missed us so much!!  I’m happy to return to my life, and hope that I don’t have to wait 8 more years for another vacation like this!!

View from our condo

Keys to our golf cart which we used to get around the island.

View from my lounge chair! Not too shabby!

The most beautiful bride and groom ever!

I’m so excited about this inaugural post, that I don’t know exactly what to say!  It’s exactly like a first impression…I can make it or break it right here and now.

I plan to make it.

I’m willing to bet that a good portion of the population has been to the beach before. Common beach activities?  Building sandcastles, looking for seashells, swimming, and jumping waves.  And that’s my segue, folks!

My family loves the beach. My husband spent his first 5 years living near the beach.  I have always had a never-ending fascination with the ocean (side note: I wanted to become a marine biologist who studied humpback whales, but changed my career choice when I realized I would have to leave my current land-locked state!) If you didn’t know better, you’d think my daughter was born and raised a beach bum.  And my son, well, he’s finally getting past the “icky” sand feeling, and enjoying getting completely soaked in the surf!

Let me continue to introduce ourselves.  I’m Jessica, wife to Brett and mom to Emma and Mason.  I’m an Arizona native, and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon.  I was a teacher for a short time until I got pregnant with Emma.  I met Brett through a mutual friend of ours.  It was my first year teaching…I was fresh out of college!  He was several years older with a career in the family business and his own house (his own house was so cool to me!).  Brett’s almost a native. He has always said that the only way we can live at the beach is if he can have a house right on the beach and not have to work.  So like I said, we’ll be staying here for a long time.  Emma expanded our family in 2004.  She is this adorable toe-headed-blue-eyed little girl.  We didn’t ever know something was really wrong with her until she had a flu-bug and we went to the ER for (what we thought was) fluids. That ER trip landed us in the PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) for a week.  I will delve into that topic in a post to come soon.  And Mr. Mason completed our family in 2006.  He is 3 and into all sorts of trouble. Whoever said that it should be called the “terrible 3′s” was right!  He’s a stinker and right now enjoys challenging our authority.  I think the key word here is challenging. That is my family in a nutshell (or seashell, ha!!).

I can’t wait to continue on my writing journey with you!  I’m probably going to leave you with some questions….like “what’s the point?”  I’ll get there…I promise! For now, feel free to comment if you like…I would love to hear what you have to say! (The other night, when I had all these blog ideas popping into my brain, I dreamt that I received 72 comments on my first post! <hint, hint>)