We spent our time rotating from the beach to the camp site, then back again. The kids spent all of the daylight hours in the water, body surfing and laughing. They came home tired and very tan.
My parents spent their time at the campsite, relaxing and tasting all the food we prepared. My iron Dutch oven was a big hit again--Kim made some killer cinnamon rolls, and I made a new family favorite, Meatball Monkey bread. I also made cornbread and French Toast, to celebrate Bastille Day. I'm glad my family enjoyed my cooking, I just wish they weren't always sooooo surprised that my food is yummy. (I'm pretty sure "Wow, this is actually pretty good" in an awestruck tone is NOT a compliment!)
Refugio is awesome because no matter where you camp, you're only a few steps away from the beach. That's especially nice at dusk, when the sun sets over the palm trees and ocean. This time, we also got to see the moon rise.
The only bummer was that certain new family members (hello, Phoebe!) were obsessed with the beach, but not technically allowed on it. (It was kind of funny that the No Dogs Allowed sign featured a silhouette that looked exactly like Phoebe.)
Turns out young Phoebe is pretty strong--and strong-willed. She did not like Hannah's plan of walking near the beach--she wanted on the beach. When Phoebe took off running, Hannah lost hold of the leash, but luckily, Mark dove into the sand and caught it.
At one point, all four kids were tugging on Phoebe, trying to get her back to the road, but Phoebe was having none of it. Finally, the kids gave up and let her go. Phoebe ran off down the beach, victorious, with a giant smile, attacking the waves and washed-up kelp. You've never seen a happier dog than Phoebe was at that moment, trust me.
Phoebe was cold and wet by the time she came home, so Tim and the boys built the world's largest fire--I'm not gonna lie, at one point, even the boys worried we'd catch the camp on fire.
The funniest part was watching the boys prepare the fire, as only boys can do. As Nic and Mark gathered up wood for the fire, Hannah and I were distracted by a cute little gopher breaking through the ground nearby. We called Tim and Kim over to see it.
"What're you guys doing?" Mark called out to us.
"Watching a gopher!" Tim answered.
I turned to see Nic and Mark, in flip-flops, chopping wood.
"Who's watching the boys with the axe?" I asked, as Nic heaved the heavy ax over his head. I worried someone might be down a toe or two before we even lit the fire.
Miraculously, they kept all their toes intact. Tim and the boys worked together to build a giant wooden tee pee in the fire pit, which eventually grew into the flaming masterpiece above. Unfortunately, it burned so hot, we had to wait another 45 minutes to get close enough to roast marshmallows and not our faces.
Tim bought the kids a big new tent we dubbed "the teen dorm." All the kids AND their stuff fit inside, along with Phoebe's crate and bed. Mark was thrilled to stay with the kids. However, he hadn't taken his ADHD pill, was driving the kids a little bit crazy (he was literally bouncing off the tent walls at one point). But Hannah and Nic are good troubleshooters, and figured out how to solve the hyper Mark issue. Here's what I found when I went looking for him Sunday morning:
Nic tried convincing me Mark put himself in there, but who knows. Whose ever idea it was, it worked--the only reason I looked in the tent in at all was because it was too quiet in camp.
Mark and I left just before a bizarre hot sand storm came in, threatening the camp and all the tents. I'm glad we got out just in time, since Mark took a shortcut while putting up my tent, and left the tent stakes in the car. (The rest of the family survived by escaping to a local brewpub until the winds died down.)
It was so much fun. Can't wait for next year!
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