Last Two Beach Days and Re-Entry

On Friday, our friends Audrey and Tyler drove with their three kids from Anaheim to beach it with us.  It was fun to have some extra kids to play with.  Sometimes eleven just isn't enough!  You think I'm being facetious, but really, new blood is always exciting.  Ptolemy had fun flirting with Naomi, even though he has a "girlfriend," a fairy on the wall mural at Bibbey's.  Audrey and Tyler jumped right into our groove, with Audrey telling Tyler, "Go get lots of food and lots of drinks."  I think they ended up with sushi, Indian, pizza and a couple gyros, mostly courtesy of the Friday night street fair at the pier. 

We're so glad Ryan and Jennie decided to join us.  I think we've converted them to the I.B. experience!  We're good travel partners.  Jennie and I like opposite kinds of cookies, so there's nothing to fight about. :)

 The last night, Scott, Ptolemy and I went for a late swim.  Every year on the last night, I plunge into the cold pool and float on my back, looking up at the night sky and feeling exhilarated.  I try to remember the feeling of how lucky I am to be alive so I can carry it with me.

 Yes, Ruby was wearing a swimsuit.

 Ptolemy kissing his new girlfriend, "Pink Annie," the fairy.  She lives on one of the mural at Bibby's Shell Shop.

 Every year since they were 3 and 4, Golda and Ruby have done this pose.  I can't believe these are the same girls who were all spunk and baby fat back then.

Speaking of spunk!  No baby fat here, though.  He's skin and bones and vinegar, to mix metaphors.

I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE THE BEACH!

Saturday was our last day at the beach.  The weather was courteous enough to stay overcast until Ryan and Jennie left town, just so they wouldn't feel too badly.  But then it cleared up, like it almost always does, to reveal a glorious day.  We lingered until 2:30, picnicked on one final Seacoast pizza at the pool, then said our good-byes.  After dropping off Scott and Tziporah at the airport, we settled in for a twilight drive through the Mojave Dessert, me filling up my soul with the beautiful, barren expanse, the kids filling up their brains watching Wreck-It Ralph.  Sad, but true.  It made them happy, and it left me with my thoughts, the sand in my hair and the open road.  There is something about driving across this vast country that inspires a place inside me that nothing else does.  I love it.  I need it!
We didn't want to take any chances of meeting any cockroaches like we did last year, so we had a nice, new Marriott booked in Vegas.  Some of the littles and I swam while others nestled between clean, white sheets.  Another big difference between this year and last year!

Sunday, we were happy to see our lovely home and our lovely dad and baby sister.  With the car unloaded and the last, sandy swimsuits in the dryer, I pulled up my "distance between" website and began mapping out the next adventure.  I do love being home.  I relish it, even if I seem to be scanning the horizon.  I love my home, my safe town, my roots.  The freedom to come home is just as sweet as the freedom to go places.