The Beach & the Dinner

Saturday evening we had the rehearsal dinner, but Saturday morning and afternoon--we went to the beach!

This is my favorite day of all. I am happiest when I am in the water, and when I'm in the ocean it's even sweeter. Well, it's salty, but you know what I mean. :)

Aaron's never been to the ocean before. He had lots to learn, and thankfully, my uncle had lots to teach him. For example, he learned to shuffle his feet in the sand to avoid being stung by a certain sea creature. He learned how to boogie board and find his way back to our spot on the sand. It is very easy to become disoriented in the waves! He learned about the tide--when it comes in, the beach shrinks. He learned to NOT swallow the salt water. Most of all, he learned how to have fun in the mighty (and warm, for a change) Pacific Ocean! :)

Uncle Wally giving Aaron a lesson on water safety at La Jolla Shores.

La Jolla Shores is a great family beach. When we arrived it was not very crowded. When we left, it was packed. What great timing we had today! We saw groups of scuba divers entering and coming out of the water, surfers catching waves on their own stretch of the beach, and people like us having fun in the waves. See some of the scuba divers in the picture below?

This is looking one way on the beach...

...and this is looking the other way!

The adults took turns watching over Aaron on his boogie board, so eventually we all had a chance to get beyond the breakers and bob around in the waves. Even my dad! Mom and I spent lots of time out there and wondered why we live so far away from the ocean. I loved it so much I just can't describe it. :)

Putting his wrist strap on.

Paradise

Aaron did a great job riding waves

Look at that beautiful water!
Uncle Wally & Aaron

He kept a watchful eye on his great nephew.

I spent some time lying on the sand doing nothing at all. Heavenly! Aaron and Uncle Wally went for a long walk looking for leopard sharks in the tide pools. I think it was fun for him to explore a completely different environment than what he's used to. I know I could get used to this life pretty quickly. :)

All good things must come to an end, and eventually our energy ran out and we needed some lunch. It was almost 2:00 after all, so we lasted even longer than I thought we would. We packed up and drove to In-N-Out Burger. This was a MUST for Aaron and me. I love In-N-Out.

We all ordered milk shakes with our meals...yum!
Aaron watched the workers prepare and bag the food, noticing they do the
same thing over and over. He said he would not like to do that for a job.

Back at home we rested up a bit and cleaned up for the rehearsal dinner. We drove to Seaport Village and walked through the shops before meeting the rest of our family at the restaurant. Aaron didn't want to do much walking so he and Grammy decided to be "bench buddies" at the restaurant while the rest of us continued to wander around.

Pausing to look at the view

The Coronado Bay Bridge is in the background.

Yes, it was very hot and sunny!

Bench buddies selfie

Aaron was the only child at this event. He was tired and out of his element, and in this moment I really wished Kaleb was here with him. The next best thing I could do was let him pick out a new game to play on my phone. That perked him up and he chose Minion Rush. When we sat at our table, cousin Katherine asked him all about Sea World and he really gave her an earful. :) He opened up the app on my phone and used the map of the park to show her everything we did that day. It meant a lot to me to see her take an interest in him. He needed someone besides his mom and grandparents to pay attention to him, so thank you Katherine! You were just like an aunt to him tonight.

Chatting with the girls :)

My dad and my uncle Charles dressed alike and that was not planned!
Later, Aaron asked me who Grampy's friend was. :)

This is me with Katherine. I sure got a lot of sun at the beach today!

We ate fish tacos and prime rib and a whole host of other fresh dishes. Coastal dining is really something else. Back home we have our corn-fed beef, but here they seem to have everything else. It's awesome. My uncle Rick and Aunt Jody (parents of the groom) really put together a great party! A very tired Aaron went home with my parents while I spent time with my cousins at the hotel in Coronado. We couldn't have packed anything else into this day if we tried! Tomorrow evening is the wedding, so I'm thinking a day of rest sounds like a great plan. Even though I'd love another day at the beach!

Wally, Nancy, Rick, Susan
My mom and her siblings