Is there anything better for kids than watertime fun in the summer?
Even though we live in California, our northern coastal weather is still in the 60s most of the summer, with some slightly warmer days (70s) which (unfortunately for the planet) are becoming a bit more frequent.
I love the heat, and kids love splashing. It has been great to be able to come down here to (inland) SoCal, where temperatures are up to the 90s, and play in the water. I regret that neither of my kids knows how to swim (Iver took a few informal lessons with his beloved preschool teacher Angela around age four but nothing really stuck, and we don't have enough swimmable water to keep skills up, especially with this year of COVID), but I'm planning to remedy it, especially with how much they love to play in it.
Nearby Kenn and Lisa's place is a splash pad in Pioneer Park, and the kids had fun spraying each other and running through the sprinklers on Saturday.
For our belated-Dad's-70th birthday celebration, we had rented an Airbnb house (with a pool!) in inland Murrieta, which is near the wine country of Temecula 1-1.5 hours' drive from OC, and headed there on Saturday afternoon.
The house was lovely-- with beautiful fruit trees (and vines) as well as the main attraction, a lovely outdoor heated pool and hot tub!
It doesn't get much more like paradise!
The kids loved their bunked room
"Resting"
A competitive checkers game!
Indoor pool
Bean-Boozled!
We always find time to read!
The backyard pool was a HUGE hit-- the kids spent upwards of six hours in the pool on Sunday and were eager to get in even at 7:30 a.m. ("quiet time" was until 8).
The adults had it to ourselves when the sun (and kids) went down.
We attempted some family photos.
We also ate extremely well during our weekend away. Theresa and her boyfriend, Michael, are excellent cooks (and enjoy cooking!), and they prepared gourmet, restaurant-quality delicacies such as Louisiana-style stew, grilled shrimp, steak, and veggies and full hot breakfasts for our large party (meal planning and cooking for so many people is so stressful for me, and one of my most favorite things about vacation is not cooking. They did an incredible job!).
(Kelvin just smiled [and poured a drink] in the background!)
The kids enjoyed eating at the poolside bar (and then going right back to swimming).
On the Fourth of July, we took a morning walk around nearby Harveston Lake Park, which is in nearby Temecula.
It features ducks and sunbathing turtles.
Red, white, and blue stripy pair
Gazebo hops!
The above pictures show how much joy and fun we and the kids had during our celebration weekend. It still feels worth it to do these type of getaways (especially after the fact). However, I'm an extremely honest person, and I'm not going to lie-- travel (even short distances) with kids and a large family often feels overwhelming and stressful to me, an extreme introvert who, I now realize, is highly sensitive to my surroundings.
This was my main mood on day one captured by someone with a camera:
I have a really hard time winding down and relaxing when there's a lot going on around me-- including supervising rambunctious young kids poolside (Niall fell in once and I had to drag him out. He was scared of the water after that) and considering all the logistics (and packing, planning) that comes with traveling away from home and with many people (and kids who claim they're hungry every 15 minutes). Despite the hyperarousal that comes with the unfamiliar and often noisy, I did find some moments of quiet during the little kids' naptimes to read poolside and got some good nighttime sleep in what was truly a dreamy vacation home getaway. Despite the chaos, I am addicted to traveling and new experiences, and we will keep doing it despite sometimes short-term discomfort. I know the kids will be talking about this pool for years to come and asking when we can come back! Next up: swimming lessons.
No comments:
Post a Comment