Above is how our Day 3 ended.
Quiet and calm.
Quiet and calm.
My family, staring out at the ocean, together.
We spent the morning driving around the coastal areas of LA.
I never knew that LA was so hilly.
Is that even a word...hilly? But it is. Beautifully full of hills and valleys. I loved seeing the different vegetation that grew on those hills and in those valleys.
We drove along the coast. Ocean for as far as the eye could see.
I took pictures of several of the homes that were built along that beautiful coast. I thought about how it must feel waking up each morning to the call of the ocean. Waves begging you for a sense of gratitude at the relaxing affect they must have on your heart each morning. How would you ever be stressed out listening to those waves? People actually buy machines to recreate that soothing sound!
I loved the trees that lined the homes, the streets, and the beach. We talked about how the palm trees were maintained in different areas.
In some areas they are pruned to perfection, and others rely on the high winds to clear their trunks of their shedding bark.
I know it is a Sunday night as I write about this day, but isn't that interesting how the exact same thing is "maintained" or "nurtured" in different ways.
The trees still grow. Tall to the sky, but their appearance is different.
Is the strength of the tree inside the same? Can they both bare fruit? Just thinking out loud.
We head down to the Santa Monica Pier. We parked a distance away, so we would have the opportunity to walk together as a family along the shoreline.
The pier looks inviting (ok, a little hazy here), but inviting nonetheless.
Look at those fun rides.
But the carnival looking rides aren't what I saw that night.
I saw funny kids playing with the treasures that had been shed by those trees above.
I heard Annie say, "Look mom!" as she framed her beautiful face with "palm tree" art!
I saw Tymber just happy as could be strolling along!
I saw my future lifeguards.
Not the ones running in an old re-run of Baywatch, but the brothers and sisters that will so carefully watch over each other here in our pool this summer.
I saw our little ones as they posed on sculptures and little alcoves.
I watched them as they ran, waving their arms with freedom, down the deck of the pier.
...taming dolphins
and making wishes!
Easton even recognized this machine from an old Disney movie and wanted to give it a try.
Something inside me feared the outcome of such a venture, so we would not even let them drop in a coin. (I know, I know, they are fake, but too scary to me!)
I watched as Easton and Ellie took their own look at the ocean.
...and Annie looked in wonderment as well.
I love the calmness that seemed to wash over the children as they watched the sunset over the ocean.
Hands together and calm.
Smiling together!
Annie chased the seagulls, and Madie chased Annie!
Playing under the pier, just briefly to take a few pictures and grab shells.
I loved watching as Easton played his own game of one-on-one with the waves.
Madison with the teenager look that went from, "What?" to laughing out loud!
I watched as Ellie realized the temperature of that Pacific Ocean, and Tymber starting to wind down from a long day.
And Brooke, still as could be, staring.
It was a beautiful day! I was grateful to be together. No phone calls. No immediate worry. No schedule to hurry and fulfill. Just us.
