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The family had to work... so the 3 of us played hard at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 

We grabbed some sandwiches and laid out some blankets for a chill relaxing day at the beach. I LOVE this place and have so many great memories here...day trips with the fam, field trips with my school, and ditching class for senior cut day in high school. Don't think my mom knows about that one. My favorite memory here was in the summer of 2005 when Eric came to visit me and stayed with my family for a week while we were dating. We came here to have lunch on the beach right after he landed in SJC...we fell in love that summer.

Needless to say, it's the perfect place to bring Leila for her very first beach experience. I couldn't wait to see how she'd react to the sand between her toes and to the open water. 

 

Did you know that some people hate the beach? I didn't think there was a soul on the planet that didn't enjoy soaking up the warm sun and chillin' on the sand...probably rare, but true. Well, we don't have that problem. Eric and I LOVE the beach and would totally be beach bums if we had the chance. Because loving the beach and hot weather is in my blood (my mom was born and raised in Mazatlan, Mexico), I didn't think Leila would have a problem. But I do hear it's common for babies not to like the beach for 2 reasons:
1. texture
2. they touch the sand, rub their eyes, and put their little fingers in their mouth resulting in getting sand everywhere!

Well, Leila LOVED it! I think anyway...she didn't burst out with excitement when she touched the warm sand and felt the cold water, but she didn't cry either. She enjoyed walking to the beach and playing with the sand that gathered between her toes. She was so curious and wanted to reach for the sand and taste it. I will say it was hard controlling her and making sure she didn't get it in her eyes but our trip today was a success!
It was a perfect day that I will cherish forever.

Leila was worn out and exhausted from the sun, the second we buckled her in her car seat she was passed out! The fact that she can now fall asleep in her chair is seriously heaven on earth for me. Before we left Santa Cruz you better believe we drove around and looked at homes. Thanks to the Zillow app on the iPhone, we were able to see what was on the market and for how much...just a tid bit out of our price range. We wouldn't mind living on this tree lined street tho (maybe on a less busy road).

A long day of playing in the sun made us hungry and we met up Natalie and Dave for dinner. Love that Eric's sister lives so close to my family and that we get to see her as often as we go home.

p.s. if you're ever in Northern California in the summer, you should definitely pay the boardwalk a visit.