Big Beach BLUES. Maui

Oh man, Our FAV beach! Big beach.

B E A U T I F U L

Ry walking into the ocean.

The C O L O R S...were so mesmerizing. Look at the blue sky..it contrasts

with the gray sky with the B L U E S of the ocean.

Ry and I went on a walk and went up on the bluff above Big Beach.

We sat and stared at this view...spectacular. S I M P L Y beautiful.

Another view :) gorgeous colors!

The days were hot and sunny.

Clouds rolled in and out all day.

It made the ocean B L U E S look so pretty.

Big Beach Blue Bliss..

what a day we had.

Like I said earlier, this was our first trip to Hawaii.

It was great to see the tropical beauty.

(so different from the Caribbean. which we LOVE and still Ry's fav)

snorkeling..or Road to Hana next!

Beach House Sept. 2008 Oceanside, CA

Oceanside, California is our favorite place to visit every year! It is a Brown Family tradition to stay at the Beach for a full week. All of us look forward to this trip every year! The kids especially love it because it is a cousin gathering....sand castles, boogie-boarding, crashing the waves, searching for sand crabs, playing in the waves till dusk, laying in the warm sand, early morning fishing, and collecting every seashell on the beach.....We love it! It can't get any better than this! This pic was taken on the Pier. We walk out to Ruby's diner to eat at least twice on the trip. Usually we go on the last night with everybody as a farewell dinner. They have the most delicious shakes and salty fries! It is so fun to sit at the end of the pier and watch the ocean waves.

Jake and Ashlyn. By the end of the trip, all the kids were sunburned and their eyes were so red due to all of the sand!

On Thursday night we had a big bonfire with everybody! We go to the fire pits right on the beach. It is so peaceful to sit by the warm fire and listen to the ocean. This night we all told ghost stories for the kids. Teala (Brooke's sis-in-law) took the cake on the most scariest story!
The families that went this year: Misty and Bri (6 kids), Tawny and Ry (4 kids), Amber and Ty (3 kids), Brooke and John (2 kids), and then we have friends Lindsey and Brandon (3 girls), and then we had Brooke's sis-in law and family, Misty's 4 bro and sis in laws, and Ry and I had the Mcniells there with some of their fam too! ( Total around 50 +)

Ashlyn and I on Condo grounds. We are about 25 yds from the beach. We all stay in the complex which sits right on the ocean. It is the best place, we love it!

Shopping in Carlsbad! Ry and I love to shop at the outlets. His favorite store is PUMA and Ry stocks up on shoes, socks, and shirts. I got my cutest snow boots their too! They have a specialty candy store there and we let the kids pick out a 1/4 lb of candy!

It gets chilly at night..around 60 degrees! With the kids sun tan it feels even cooler! Shopping and then dinner: We found our favorite restaurant called El Torito! It is the best Mexican food ever! We have made it a tradition to go there every trip!

We love going down to Oceanside's Harbor. It is just a short walk from North Shore Condos. We go there almost everyday. They have little ocean shops and small town restaurants lining the ocean harbor. Ry loves the crispy fish and chips, the kids love to hit the ice cream shop, and I love the hot chocolate stand. It also has our favorite Italian restaurant there....best bread sticks and pizza! We went with the Amber and Ty and fam. Their kids are closest to mine in age and they all love each other. (Quinn 9, Lexi 6, and Landri 4)

Jake and Lexi are inseparable! We joke that they will get married. They have played together since they were babies. They are 3 months apart in age. They even go to school together and have had the same kindergarten teacher and now the same First grade teacher. We are so glad they have each other. They are best friends! We will live so close to them when the house is finished!!






Oceanside Harbor again! The kids are sun burned! I put sunblock on them at least 4 times a day! The hot sun and rough sand wash it all off!

Austin's first catch of the night! Ry takes the boys fishing in the evenings off of the pier. They walk out there with their poles and sand crabs (bait) and then they catch lots of little fish! The boys love fishing with dad!! I stay with Mace so they can have some peace!

Hanging in the warm sunshine! Their favorite thing to do is lay their bodies in the sand and roll all over. They don't use towels to dry off after the ocean, they just lay in the sand.

Early morning fishing...the guys would try to go out before sunrise. Jake is with Dax and Trey. The kids loved to help fish and explore around the shore. I would always come at the end after my fabulous run on the beach....!

Here is a picture from our beach house! We love to swim in the pool at night and sit out on the deck and relax. It was so nice to have all the families so close.

Ry and Mace fishing! I love this pic of my two, cute men!

We never wanted to go in...We tried to sit out every day until the sun would set. It was so beautiful to see the sun hit the horizon of the ocean. It was a red-orange color!

Ohh, aren't we cute! Ry and I actually love this trip because it is so easy for the kids to come relax and play at the beach. Their is not much "work" involved! Once we get there, we all enjoy the time! It is a vacation for all of us.

One morning we woke up and their were at least 10, dead squid scattered on the beach shores. We don't know what killed them and made them wash ashore. They were creepy lookin guys. The kids just wanted to play with them and touch them all the time! Gross. Misty's kids are in the picture with mine!

Disneyland!! We usually take our kids to Disney every year. We have gone to the Beach house now for 11 years! This year we decided they didn't need to go, because they have been so many times..... so here is a pic of 2 years ago! (I was pregnant with Mace!)

Where does the time go? Look at their sweet little faces...they are so different now! It makes me remember when they were little. They say to love the time you spend with your kids because they grow so fast, now I understand.

To another great year at the beach. It is an important family tradition that we hope to keep up. It has been so awesome to be able to spend so much time with all of the families and cousins. The kids talk about it all year long and can't wait till Sept rolls around! Till next time....