Happy Anniversary

Today is our 7th Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated by going to breakfast at the Hideaway Cafe in Malibu, met up with Eddie, then went to the Cross Creek Shopping Center where we let the boys play in the playground for a while as we waited for the haze to burn off, then headed out to Leo Carrillo beach. D fell asleep on the way out to the beach but woke up when I tried to lay him down on the blanket. He was too excited! We had been talking about the beach for days so there was no way he was going to sleep through our beach date. We've been reading Curious George Goes to the Beach for the past two nights so the boys had all kinds of ideas about what we'd be doing out at the beach. We really only managed to build sand castles. It was too windy to throw the frisbee and too cold to swim in the water. J asked D if he'd like to go down to the water with him and D agreed. Off they went and we watched to see how close they'd get. We were very surprised when J backed off first and D went all the way to the water's edge. They got more and more brave and were soon sitting in the wet sand digging with their shovels and when the waves would come in they'd hop up and run away. There was one time though when they waited just a bit too long, or maybe they didn't hear the way because they were so engrossed in their activity, but the wave was a big one and the water came rushing up to them. They got up to ran but J was a bit ahead of D so he got away. D got a little panicked while giggling at the same time and he lost his balance and fell. The water washed over him a bit - just enough that his swimming suit got wet and he had his face in the water for the briefest of seconds. He got up crying but seemed more concerned about his shovel which was starting to wash away. A lady standing near him grabbed the shovel right as I got to him. Mostly, he was cold. The water is probably around 67 degrees. I took him up to our blanket and we put a towel around him. We gave him a drink of water to wash the salt and sand out of his mouth. As soon as he warmed up he shrugged off the towel and headed back down to the water. They played in the sand and the surf for 2 1/2 hours. They collected shells and rocks and piled them in buckets. D found a seaweed rope that he carried around. J and T went out into the tidepools to look for crabs and other sea creatures. We watched parasailers, windsurfers and surfers navigate their boards in the surf. We watched people flying kites and laughed as they dived into the water. We saw two really cool planes that looked like motorized gliders. We watched pelicans in formation skim the surface of the water looking for food. We shooed away the pesky seagulls who hovered over us expectantly. Finally, when the wind picked up again and the sun hid behind the clouds, we headed home. They both fell asleep on the way but then J woke up as we pulled into the driveway. T and D took naps and J and I started dinner. He's such a good helper. As I was picking out garlic from the basket he asked what was I getting? Then he answered his own question. As I was cutting it he commented that I was cutting it into little pieces. I asked him what was the word that I use when I want to cut something into really little pieces. He thought for a second then replied "MINCE!". I hope his curiosity about cooking continues as he gets older. I tell him everything that I'm doing and why and he seems to retain a lot of the information. Anyway, D and T woke up and we all ate dinner. As a special treat, we went to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert and met up with Peter and Julian. It was good but we felt so stuffed afterward and decided it's really too much sugar. We got home at 8:15 and the boys took quick baths and then T put them to bed.
What a day!