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Just another day…
We woke up, rolled out of bed and decided to go have breakfast in the fog on the lifeguard tower. A chocolate donut with sprinkles for her and coffee for me. I know I need to set a better example and make a healthy breakfast but I also love being that mom who wakes up and says, “So what do you want to do today?” and then does it.
I just have to make sure she eats healthy the rest of the day. Maybe tomorrow we’ll have donuts and milk. Just kidding. Tomorrow we’ll stay home and have eggs or something. It’s just fun when we get back home from visiting the sticks or a friend’s house to go check in with our ocean. You know, to make sure it’s still there.
Which it was. It was our old beach without a tourist in sight. I’m sure by noon it was packed but in the morning, when it’s foggy, it’s all ours.
It’s US time. The rest of the day was filled with errands and housework and I knew I wouldn’t have a minute to sit down and play with her. I always feel guilty about busy chore-filled days. I know she’s learning to play by herself and being bored is the best way to grow your imagination but I always feel a little bit guilty that I haven’t given her at least a sibling to play with. I know. I need to get over that.
Being an only child is not a bad life.
Unless you get eaten by a shark! Just kidding again. I just had to throw that photo in there too. We found this toy rubber shark on the beach and had a little fun with it. If you ever leave something at the beach, you should ask us if we’ve seen it. We find all sorts of things left behind. It’s like we’re the beach’s lost and found. I even turned in an expensive watch the other day. So if you’re missing a shark, we’ve got it. A brown plastic shovel too.
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Long live the epic walk!
We set out on an epic walk today. I’m sorry for using that word, epic. I read somewhere that somebody hates it when people use that word to describe things other than something something something but I can’t remember what the something something was or who said it or what irritated them about that word being misused so I’m going to use it anyway because I’m ignorant and it has a nice ring to it.
Anyway!
Bug had a bee in her bonnet about taffy and I only know of one place where you can get taffy (besides the grocery store of course but that’s boring or Old Town in San Diego which is a bit out of our way). That place that I know is Balboa Island. There is a candy store there that has barrels of the stuff. So we decided to walk there.
I don’t want to completely give away where we live (though it’s not that hard to figure out thanks to google and some bad choices I made several years ago) so I won’t say how far we walked to get to Balboa Island. But it was far. Far enough that it took up most of our day but it was the best day walking adventure we have ever had. It wasn’t really that far where we would need to pack water and a lunch but we dilly-dallied. Something Bug does very well.
We discovered a new park that has fantastic play equipment. While Bug sea-sawed and swung on the swings, I day dreamed about all the birthday parties I could host there if only Bug’s birthday wasn’t in January. I might just have to throw her a half birthday party some year because summer birthdays are so much more fun than winter birthdays.
When we finally pried ourselves away from our new favorite park and ambled over the bridge to Balboa Island, we found that there was a sand castle contest going on. Who knew! Not us. I really need to stay more updated on these things. We LOVE sand castle contests.
Balboa Island’s sand castle contest was just our speed too because the beach there is so narrow that the castles were pretty small and un-impressive. We could have entered this contest and beat the pants off them. Next year I might just have to do that. Also, unlike our local sand castle contest, this event is on a Saturday which means I might be able to enlist my family who can never make it to anything other than meeting (church) on Sunday. Pass it on, Mom!
We walked around a good chunk of the island. Bug chose the water route and ducked under all the docks that moor boats along the water’s edge. She got a kick out of waking up all the ducks that sleep there in the shade during the heat of the day.
Walking around the island is so pleasant. There is a big walk way along the water and butting right up against it are all the tiny little Mc-mansions. Everyone is always out enjoying the day and many of them strike up a conversation with you if you are walking slow enough, which we always are. Bug made many friends today.
Of course we got some taffy and then it was lunch time so I ate three tacos while Bug ate three bites. As you may have gathered, I’m not so swift on uptake when it comes to the no-treats-before-lunch-rule so I paid dearly for that one. And then I spoiled her even more by letting her get a frozen banana that Balboa Island is so famous for.
I was thinking that she might eat the banana and get some nourishment from that but I am an idiot because she ate all the chocolate and sprinkles off the banana and then decided she wasn’t hungry anymore! I should have known better. I would have eaten the mushy frozen banana but my teeth are sensitive and I don’t really like cold things. Yes, it’s true. I drink my water at room temperature and I don’t like ice cream that much.
Then we ambled back home just in time for Bug to fall dead asleep in her bed an hour late for her nap. Which was fine. We’re living summer hours here at La Casa de Ponnay. Bedtime is often pushed back an hour or more. I don’t really don’t care that much. Sometimes she even sleeps in when I let her stay up and then I don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn, which is really really nice.
It was a great day. I’m tired out from walking. Bug is tired out from playing. I don’t feel guilty for keeping her inside all day watching tv or stuck in the car while I run errands. It was a great Bug and Mom day. Long live the epic walk!
