Summertime and the Livin's Easy

Yesterday was exactly how a summer Saturday should be, sunny,  in the 70's and spent near the beach.  I left at 6 a.m. to get to the Ventura beach by 7 to run with my TNT teammates. Ran 4 miles with them and headed home. Once I got back we started loading up our mountain bikes that we had spent Friday evening cleaning and sprucing up since they'd be left dejected outside in the rain, wind and sun for so long. Had big plans of taking S. on a bike ride in our new trailer, even bought him an infant helmet that morning, only to discover the our bike rack (that we had used on our prior vehicles) definitely does not work with our new and only car. Shucks. So we went with plan B which was to still head to where we planned on going and just walk around. Our destination? Manhattan Beach. We discovered it when my friend Amanda took these family photos there after Sawyer was born. Best beach around hands down. Beautiful, clean, places to shop, places to eat, lots of interesting people to look at. Oh yeah and did I mention there is a Cafe Rio there? 

Check out Sawyer.

 Looks like my excitement for their pork barbacoa salad makes him just as happy. 

Played near a fountain on the walk down to the pier. I think S. stood out amongst all the other finely dressed kids because he seriously looked like a ragamuffin. Mismatched clothes (due to a diaper blow out in the car seat on the way down. He is becoming notorious for that) Stained shirt from getting his lunch all over his front after ripping his bib off while eating. Sticky hands and a sticky face that were all calling for a much needed bath or a dip in the ocean.  

After the fountain we strolled along the path reserved for walking. Originally if the bike plan had been successful we would have been riding along the bikes only path, but there was so much bike traffic on it I ended up being glad we'd gone with plan B. No need for Sawyer's first bike trailer experience to involve a collision. 

The stroller was to hard to push in the sand so Matt stayed up on the pier and took pictures of us down below as I introduced S. to the ocean. 

Sawyer meet the ocean.

 It's a little chilly now, but you and I are going to have so much fun splashing around in there when you get older. And yes Nemo and baby Baluga both call it home. 

It actually wasn't as cold as I had anticipated and if only I had packed our swimmies we would have been going all the way in. 

Is a saturday spent down by the beach complete without an ice cream treat? I propose it is not. Lucky for us there the cutest little ice cream parlor on our way back to the car. All three of us enjoyed our yummy snacks immensely. 

Some more than others. I was just giving S. little bits of my ice cream, that is until the sneaky little devil laid into it when I wasn't looking. After that I was done. I'll pass on a slobber covered ice cream sandwhich. 

I don't think he felt bad about it in the least. In fact he looks downright proud of his dessert thieving skills.