Staycations are pretty common when you live in a place as nice as San Diego. So when my good friend Kristen told me about the cabins for rent that were right on the beach at Camp Pendleton, we decided to spend a few days there together over the summer. Kristen and her family were our neighbors when we lived in Virginia and they just so happened to move to California the same month we did!  I now consider her one of my closest friends.

The Del Mar Beach cabins were less than an hour away from our home. As soon as we got settled in, the boys ran off to the ocean to do some boogie boarding.

We couldn’t have kept the boys out of the ocean the entire trip if we’d tried!

These boys stayed in the ocean until they were shivering! California does have chilly water temperatures! Needless to say, all the boys slept well the first night.

The next morning, after being awoken by the Marines’ rhythmic cadences being sung outside our windows, we walked down to the beach for a little early morning stroll. We were highly entertained by some Marines training in the ocean. I could see Logan’s smile knowing he was glad to be done with that stage in his career!

My beach lovers.

Amelia got knocked down quite a few times from the rough waves the first day, so she was perfectly content staying on dry land the rest of the trip.

She kept us all entertained though.

After lunch, it was nap time for little miss, while Kristen and I took the kids in search of some shaved ice!

After a few hours of down time, the boys hit the waves again while the adults enjoyed some beverages!

For the record, Logan and I did boogie board! And I must say, we both caught some good waves. Not sure it was worth the pound of sand in my swimsuit and almost losing my bikini top, but we hopefully impressed the kids. LOL

After the sun finally crept behind the coastline for the day and we ate some dinner, we spent the rest of the evening around the bonfire roasting s’mores and chatting. Yay for lugging my tripod along! I’m pretty sure Kristen’s husband, Jared, thought I was crazy running back and forth to get this shot…Logan is used to it! Ha!

The next morning, Jared made a coffee and donut run. I mean, what’s a vacation without donuts?? Their family pet, Ghost,  was there to make sure no crumb was left behind. Isn’t he cute?

After our healthy breakfast, I bribed the kids to head down to the beach for a few photos. It is the month of July for Pete’s sake! Daddy always knows how to bring out the best smiles, cuz I promise you, we had to work for this one!

I let the kids run around after that and Amelia was able to put a dress back on. So the world was right again in her eyes. She is in this phase where the ONLY thing she wants to wear is a dress! I just love this shot I got of both the kids together.

After pictures, Kristen and I packed up while the Dads took the kids back down to the beach for a bit. I’m pretty sure this picture perfectly sums up how much time the boys spent in the water. Look at those red and puffy eyes! The kids had a blast though and I’m so glad we were able to make some memories with our friends. Can’t wait to do it again!