Halloween At The Beach

After our first couple of days of fun, it was finally time for the kids to don their costumes!  This was a much anticipated event, since we bought their costumes almost 6 weeks earlier, and the girls were just dying to get them on!  

Claire was Snow White this year, and I think she looked absolutely adorable!  Claire thought so, too... :)

Sophie was Ariel, in mermaid form.  Again, the costume suited her.  This girl is just too cute!

Our little princesses.

Johnny was our little Lightening McQueen.  He totally dug the fact that he had a cape, so I could only get a picture of him running away.  Running makes the cape cooler, after all!

The city of Carlsbad was having a Halloween festival in their downtown area, and it included trick-or-treating, so we headed there.  It was so fun!  And it was totally what you would expect from a little beach town in California.  I totally loved it!  So did Grandma Candy.  It was totally her thing.

Claire was even able to get in some craft time.  

Because she's so stinkin' cute, Sophie's costume got a lot of attention.  There was this woman at a beauty salon that was also dressed up as a mermaid.  She grabbed Sophie by the hand and dragged her toward the back of the salon to where her friends were drinking so she could get a picture with Sophie.  Yeah, I know.  Creepy.  I was right behind her the whole time, thinking "What is this crazy woman doing running away with my little girl?!"  But, Sophie loved the attention, and it made for a funny (albeit a little disconcerting) story. :)

After our trick-or-treaters were done trick-or-treating, we headed to the farmer's market in search of something delicious to take back to the hotel.  Grandma Candy found just the thing...kettle corn!  Then, at Grandma Candy's insistence, we went to the beach before calling it a day.  She didn't have to do much to persuade us.  It was our last evening, and we hadn't made it to the ocean thus far.  I am so glad we went!  It was the highlight of the trip for me.

The tide was low, but the waves were nice and full.  The sun was setting and the beach was beautiful!  The kids and Danny immediately ran toward the water, playing and kicking as they went.  We even saw dolphins in the water!  There were pelicans flying low and diving into the water.  It was incredible.

And then the real games began.  The timeless game of running away from the tide!  I've rarely seen our kids so completely happy.

Or Grandma Candy, for that matter! :)

I've decided the ocean is a magical place.  The kids were in a magical place, playing and laughing and just being kids.  They've needed that so much lately.  My Mom was right in the mess of them, playing just like my Mom does.  And Danny?  He was my biggest kid of all.  The pictures only communicate a portion of the feeling that was there.  This evening will definitely be one of my more treasured memories.

We were able to stay and watch the sun set into the water.  The perfect end to a perfect weekend.  

After shaking the sand out of everything, we got back in the car and headed to the resort.  Once there, Grandma Candy ordered some pizza for dinner and we begrudgingly starting packing for everyone's departure early the next morning.  It was hard to say goodbye.  Especially since this was such a unique time to have Grandma Candy all to ourselves.  She loved the chance to get to know our kids away from their cousins and the chaos that usually ensues at our family functions.  We're so grateful that she got the chance to come to our neck of the woods, and we're grateful that she hooked us up with such awesome accommodations!  

What a fabulous Halloween weekend!