Beach Camping in Malibu

We just got home from camping at Leo Carillo State Park with my parents and my sister Lisa's family.  We had a great time.

The boys set up their tent all by themselves, which was almost unnecessary, since the kids immediately took up residence in the tree above their tent.  But the tent was useful in breaking the fall when kids fell off the tree.  

Within minutes of getting there Dylan made himself a crown and designated himself "Monkey King"...

...swinging through the trees with the greatest of ease.

 Food was fabulous!  The men did the cooking - man style - hot coals and cast iron of course.  You can cook anything in a dutch oven: soppy joes, cheesy potatoes, peach cobbler, mountain man breakfast, stew, and cherry chocolate cake.  Yum!

A towering inferno.

When I said the men did the cooking, I was including Luke, of course.  But he had to work with only cold coals - mom's orders.

Lukie also helped with the clean up.  No need for a dishwasher.

Um, I think you missed a spot their Luke.

Camping in Leo Carillo was pretty good.  The nights were not nearly as cold as they were in Yellowstone, which was great.  And with no bears, our biggest nuisance were fearless squirrels, seagulls, and crows, which dug into everything.  The campsites were large, but the bathrooms were nasty.  I've really had my fill of camping for a while, I think.

We brought along our scooters and bikes and we could ride right to the beach.  Derek handles his new scooter like a pro.  Notice his outfit - swim trunks and a raincoat.  He wore this 3 days straight.  That boy has his own sense of style (or none at all).  The swim trunks are obvious as we were at the beach, but the rain coat?  He says its to keep his shirt clean.  It worked.  After three days his shirt was still spotless, but the raincoat on the other hand....

Lukie catches a ride  from Dylan.  To the "beeesh", as he calls it.

Of course we spent most of our days at the beach - that is the point of beach camping.  

OK.  This is hilarious.  You'll want to blow this picture up to get the full effect.  Grandpa was just lounging on the beach watching everyone else out in the water when - swoosh!  The lesson: if you don't get in the water, the water will come to you. 

SANDwich anyone?  Crunchy!

We played beach volleyball. Man, it is tough to get around on that sand.  Luke is a good spiker!  He just needs to grow about 6 more feet and he'll be burning up the court.

The sand is as much fun as the water.  Alex loves building sand structures, and Luke loves to un-build them.

Luke is ready to hit the waves - only he doesn't like the water one bit, so he just stands with the boogie board to look cool.

Nathan, also looks cool with the surf board, but he actually got in the water with it and gave it a shot.
My sister Lisa brought her surfboard and gave my boys a few lessons.  Derek catches a wave.

Here Dylan shows us his stuff.  Kowabunga!

Dude, those are some cool surfer twins.  They love it.  Now we have to get a few surfboards of our own.

And in case you are wondering, yes, I did a little surfing as well.  Lisa and I both took surfing when we were in college at UCSD, but that was approximately 100 years ago, and I have forgotten everything (not just about surfing, but about EVERYTHING  I learned in college.)  I did get on my feet this time, but never had control.  Lisa is much better than I am - she's the one with the board.  I decided 3 things.  1) I need a longer board.  2) I have to start doing more push-ups (I decided that after my grueling push ups at my belt test last week, and had it confirmed when trying to jump up on the surf board).  3) I need to get to the beach more!  It was so much fun!  I did a lot of boogie boarding on this trip, but it isn't nearly as much fun as surfing.  Besides, I can't let all that college tuition money my parents paid be a compete waste, can I?  I should have majored in surfing.

We thought this was so funny.  We found Caleb passed out on the beach like this.  He had played hard, I guess, and was just OUT cold.

I snapped this picture of Dylan with Luke at the showers.  I love these brotherly moments!

And what ends a day of sand and surf better than s'mores? 

 I like my marshmallows crispy outside, but not black; gooey in the middle.  I have to have the graham crackers and chocolate all ready, so when the marshmallows are all done, I can make the s'more immediately and the heat will melt the chocolate.  I gotta have warm chocolate.  

How do you like your s'mores?