Bodega Bay Road Trip, Part 4

Of course Sunday in Bodega Bay had the best weather we'd had all weekend, and Sunday was the day we were packing up to head home. It was still a good day, though...

While the adults packed and cleaned up the house, the kids made blanket forts...

 ...and got to watch a few shows.

 Over the weekend we kept score of "relaxation points." The O'Learys had an early lead, but we pulled it out in the end. :)

With the last load of laundry in the dryer, we decided to take a side trip to see St. Teresa of Avila church just outside of town.

 This church is over 150 years old! It was closed when we got there, so we didn't get to go inside, but we did get to have a few family photos taken of us outside.

 It is so rare to have a picture of all of us!

 A very kind passer-by agreed to take a picture of the group.

 We stopped for lunch on the way back to the house, said our goodbyes to the O'Learys, and took off up the coast for the first part of our trip home. So long, Bodega Bay! We hope to see you again!

Bodega Bay Road Trip, Part 3

Day three of our trip started with a small miracle...Mommy slept in. Till 8:45. This is unheard of. Usually if the kids wake up, Mommy wakes up and even if Mommy gets to stay in bed after the kids wake up, Mommy stays awake. Daddy was the hero today, he took the boys into the main part of the house so that Mommy could try to sleep.

 While Mommy slept, Daniel and Matthew enjoyed one of their favorite shows...

 ...and Aaron enjoyed a breakfast treat of pirate booty. (It is vacation, after all...)

 Daddy taught Casey how to play cribbage.

 Once Mommy got up, Aaron started practicing his piano skills.

 And Matthew practiced being cute,

and Daniel built a tower using all of the mega blocks.

 Aaron's hair was out of control this weekend.

 After everyone was up and ready we took a group trip to the beach.

 Monique and Emma. The boys were IN LOVE with Emma. (And it's not hard to tell why...she is SO cute!)

 Ah, the joy of being the first child. Casey followed Monique and Emma around the beach with a camcorder for most of the morning. :)

 Aaron spent his morning throwing "sandballs" into the waves.

 Daniel found a crab.

 Super big waves! There was definitely a storm brewing.

 Daniel and Matthew work to dig up the treasure they buried the day before. (Marked with a "Y" because if they marked it with an "X" somebody else might dig up the treasure.)

 Found the treasure! An old feather. 

Watching those waves.

 Running away from the waves. Matthew was a bit scared of the water.

 Daniel was so sweet with Aaron. 

 And then Aaron ran away.

 Running up and down the sand hills was fun.

 And we found this crazy feathery seaweed.

 Helping Emma run in the sand.

 More running.

 All of the kiddos. 

 Stormy skies mean we needed to head back for...

 hot cocoa!

 Mmmmm...

 Licking up every last bit.

 What a treat!

Cocoa mustache.

 Aaron was trying to show his mustache. It turned out more like a fish face.

I'm not sure what game they were playing, but it sure looks like fun. :)

After dinner we were very blessed to have our good friend, Fr. Steven, come and say Mass for us at the house. Daniel practiced his keyboard skills all afternoon and played the entrance and recessional music (on the organ setting, of course). It was so nice to visit with Fr. Steve for a bit--the boys especially enjoyed his visit because it meant they got to stay up later than usual. What a nice last night at the house! Tomorrow we would be getting up, cleaning up, packing up and heading out on the next leg of our adventure.