100 Steps

Our rented beach house was a block away from Rio Del Mar.

Here's what we did at that beach...

Caity's favourite beach activity is digging in the sand.

She prefers to refer to this as "making sa-castles"

Mikayla likes to write in the sand.

This beach had lots of little crabs.

The kids started off doing this with the boogie boards...

Cambria had a happy nap on the warm sand.

Mike helped Caleb do a bit of boogie boarding.

He really enjoyed it.

He was so proud of himself:)

Monterey Bay Aquarium

I remember taking a field trip to the Aquarium when I was a kid.

I loved it!

The last year that Mike was in school we had a season pass and we took tiny Mikayla a few times.  I was so excited to take the kids now that a few of them are old enough to really soak it up.

Because we spent a lot of time learning about eco systems and environments this year in 

{home}school, the aquarium was an awesome end of the year field trip for Banman Academy!

Caity loved touching the sea stars and other animals in the touch pools.

So did Caleb.

Grossest (is that a word?) thing in the pool?  

Sea cucumber.  

Grossety grosss.

Suishy, slimy.

Yick.

Feeling the suckers.

She was totally into it, we had to pry her away!

Checking out some huge fish "under the boardwalk".

Mailee enjoyed taking photos of everything.

Stay tuned for the girls' blog updates with all of their photos:)

Peeking in on the penguins.

Cait and some other small fries learning how to talk like penguins.

Cambria just goes with the flow.  She rides around in her "pouch" just as happy as can be.

Every once in a while I remember to take her out and stick her in a picture!!

Mike and Caleb went to a special shark presentation while the girls and I explored at our own pace.

(Translation: We took some pictures and checked out a gift shop)

The Monterey Bay meets the Banman family.

Caity was mesmerized by these jellyfish.

I wonder what a 2 year old thinks when she encounters something new like this.

She asked "what is dat?"

I said "Jellysish" and she was satisfied to have a name for them and just watch them move.

Paparazzi at the jellysifh tank.

The tank that the kids are standing at is gigantic.  It's really awesome that we can view these amazing creatures so closely.

The seahorses were a huge hit.

We kept saying how creative our God is to have purposed the formation of so many unique and beautiful animals.

Carmel-By-The-Sea

 Carmel is such a cool place.  I have fun memories there as a child and not much has changed.  This trip we did not set foot in one cute little shop or charming restaurant.  We stuck with the beach and did a drive through of a few of the adorable residential streets.  Carmel is a really unique little city.

The kids had multiple races down the soft, sandy hill.

Mailee is quite the runner!

Many waves were jumped over.

Mikayla and I took some photos.

Caity loves to dig in the sand and lay in the sand.  She gets thoroughly covered in sand.

Like I'm not exaggerating.

It's everywhere.

My boys at the ocean.

Caleb is free to expend much of his endless energy and Mike is at peace...which usually leads to a nap on the warm sand.

Lots of fun playtime with Daddy.

**It's possible that part of the reason I keep having babies is so that I can continue to have a free pass from "push the parent into the ocean" type of games:)

Sweet sandy baby girl.

See her eyes? 

Sand. Everywhere.

Hey little Caiters, come join the party...

There she is:)

Wow look at this photo, now there's a relaxed and happy family of 8.

I think I want to be a permanent vacationer when I grow up.

Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay is the beach we frequented when we lived in the Bay Area.

It's beautiful.

It's secluded.

It's kinda hard to get to.

{perhaps the reason for the lack of crowds}

This does not do justice to the magnitude of the climb that is required but it gives you an idea.

Once we scaled the "mountain", the kids were so excited to get their toes in the water!

The sand at this beach is really different. 

Cambria enjoyed the ocean air and the calming sound of the waves.

She's pretty stoked about her hand these days, she stares at it intently.

Mailee found a "sea star" 

{when I was a kid this was called a starfish...}

Pretty cool find!

We spent a lot of time checking out the tide pools.

At first we noticed there were tons of little black rocks.

But then we took a closer look and realized they were alive!!!

Amazing.

We got to see a lot of muscles.  We talked about how they work and what lives inside.  We observed the tiny barnacles attached and remembered learning about symbiosis this year in {home}school.

Such great hands on learning.

Teach Amber will be proud:)

So this is the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay.

It is visible from the beach we were on.

Pretty amazing location for a hotel.

One day I want to stay there:)

If anyone has a couple grand they want to share, send me and Mike here please!!

Amazing what they've done to the bank.

Those pillars are carved out of sand!

Daddy and his half a dozen.

Shell collecting was a success!

I asked them to choose their favourites and leave the rest.  This is the selection process in effect.

After all these years and with many more and much older children, this beach did not disappoint.  Actually I thought it was even better than I remembered it.

Vacation Bits & Pieces

I'm trying to get caught up on our vacation photos so that I feel like I can take pictures again.

Do you do that?  

Maybe it's just me.

Oh well.  I don't have the brain power to expend {I'm in vacation mode} on any lengthy descriptions or deep thoughts but I DO have photos!!

My kids love hotels.

Do yours?

Best feature of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Walnut Creek according to Caleb?

Valets and the luggage carts.

Our little lady was such a great traveler.

She just goes with the flow whatever that may be.

We took this kids on a trip down memory lane.

There's Mailee standing in front of the house she was born in.

This was the first HOUSE {not apartment} that we lived in.  

I remember being so excited to be the lady of my own house! I picked bright paint color for all the walls.  I remember a navy blue wall in the dining room, a lime green in our bedroom and yellow in the babies' room.  We were renting this house from a lovely family while Mike was in school.  Looking back I bet that navy was a pain for them to get rid of!!!

The house was close to school. 

It was also close to these fine establishments.

Note:

El-Z's faces provides permanent make up.

While deep in Hayward, we got ourselves some authentic Mexican food.

Taqueria style.

So tasty.

Vacation food rocks!

Cait approved.

**Disclaimer: We were parked while eating this meal.