Our Family Updates: Family Vacation

This is going to be a VERY long post. I probably should break it up into multiple posts... but I just don't know where to splice it so you're getting the WHOLE thing. Last weekend, we packed up the family and took a trip to the Central Coast. We met Christie's family and Jim there as a sort of "family retreat" considering the last few months were quite challenging. And what an enjoyable trip it was!

This was the first "family" trip we've taken with the twins that did not involve staying with other family. We stayed in Pismo Beach and our hotel was right on the bluff. Although our room was considered "no ocean view", the photo above was the view from our porch. AND the best part is that it was a 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom suite that we got for crazy cheap because it was off season and mid-week. Having a 2-bedroom suite was definitely the way to travel with kids. And little did we know that the room came with a "pet" that enjoyed eating the kids' Cheerios in the morning.

Steve, his sister, and his brother-in-law all went to college in San Luis Obispo, so this was a bit of a home coming for them. It became a bit of a "food tour" of some of the Central Coast's more famous restaurants. We ate BBQ at Mo's, clam chowder at Splash, and pizza at Klondike's. Here's Molly and Hailey waiting for their BBQ our first night there. Can you tell they're happy to see one another?

I'm a bit of a clam chowder snob (being from the coast of British Columbia) but I must say that the clam chowder at Splash was by far the best I have ever had. Here's grandpa and the grandkids outside of Splash. Remind you of a prison line-up?

Our first night there we enjoyed a nice walk along the boardwalk. The kids were SO happy just to be out of the van, and were running around in circles. Literally.

On our first full day there, we did what you're supposed to do... go to the beach. Avila Beach to be exact. It was pretty windy out and quite chilly, but Molly and Hailey didn't seem to care.

The twins however, were not as happy about the experience and spent most of their time in tears or stuck to Steve and I.

Despite the wind, fun was had by all. Kites were flown. Water was waded. Castles were built. And of course, the engineer daddies (Steve and Scott) dug a big hole to put people into.

After naps, the kids perked up and we enjoyed a sunset walk on the beach by the hotel. It was an AMAZING beach with caves and endless sand. The perfect backdrop for me and my camera! In fact, Scott took a picture of me taking the picture seen below!

And when you have a beautiful backdrop like that, of course you need to get the requisite photos of family members!

The kids had a blast and were completely wet and muddy by the time we hiked back home. Once again Molly was bubbling over with excitement.

Paige spent a lot of time playing in the water with Daddy. She probably would have dove right in if he had let her.

Garrett, on the other hand, could be seen running away from the waves screaming "Scared! I'm scared of the water!" He preferred dry land...

The next day we took it easy and took the kids to a local park. They enjoyed running around and we enjoyed not having to worry about them getting all wet and sandy.

We also spent some time at Cambria enjoying the amazing views the bluffs have to offer. The flowers were all in bloom, there were critters everywhere (rabbits, squirrels, birds) and the sea lions were sunning themselves out on the rocks. It was absolutely beautiful!

On our last day we had dinner in Atascadero on our way out of town. The weather was perfect and there was a park right across the street from Sylvester's where we ate (another restaurant on the "food tour"). Molly spent most of her time stuck to Grandpa, knowing that we were going to be heading home from there.