I have had this gift card from Ann Taylor for almost 6 months now and I have been to the Loft store in the local mall and can never seem to find anything I want. The prices are too high and the style just didn't suit me. I am heading to Napa this weekend and would love some new clothes for the trip so I decided a visit to the Factory store in Camarillo would be worth it. Then I decided to make my shopping trip a success it would be a good idea to stop at the beach first and burn off some energy. So our adventure was decided upon by 8:30 and put into action around 10. I am spontaneous like that.
Well I decided since traffic seemed to be good on the 101, the best beach to visit was Zuma. So we got off and headed down Kanan Road. This is Erik very first trip down Kanan, Elliot was sleeping so he missed out. I told Erik to watch for the view because this road was going to be pretty. Appropriately he got excited about every "mound" he saw which were the hills and got excited about the view. He LOVED driving down Kanan and I will definitely take him there again. Worth it just for his reaction during that trip.
Now comes the hard part, the beach. Here I am with no swim suits, but a change of clothes, its 66 degrees and I am by myself with the two boys at the beach. I even forgot their sand toys! I did have insight enough to bring a blanket and lunch. So the first thing we did was each lunch on the blanket. Elliot looked at the waves and people. This was really his very first time at the beach. He went when he was 5 months old, but that doesn't count.
I took some pictures because I figured this is the only time we would sit still, and I was right. We did talk and Erik ate 1.5 peanut butter sandwiches. I had no idea he was so hungry.
After the boys pigged out on peanut butter sandwiches, juice boxes and apples we headed to the beach. Just a note, I broke my no juice before 2 year old rule today with Elliot. He probably won't get juice again, but I figured it wasn't worth the fight today with him due to his crying and mood before we left.
So the water was fun and interesting. Elliot was afraid and didn't want to touch it. I held him while Erik played in the waves. Erik would run out when the wave was going out and then run back in when it came towards us. He loved that game and had so much fun. He was sad when I made him stop. Also I did dip Elliot's feet in once, but he didn't like it and then got mad. He actually crawled away onto the sand and sat there playing while Erik played in the waves due to his fear.
In all we spent about 30 minutes at the beach until each kid wanted to go in a different directions and I got too stressed. I think if I bring the blanket closer to the beach and bring sand toys next time I will be able to stay longer and enjoy myself more. I am thinking of going back this week sometime actually.
After our little trial run at the beach we hit the road and drove along Malibu to Camarillo. If you have never taken that drive please do, it gorgeous and peaceful. Even Erik and Elliot were enjoying themselves talking about the rocks and ocean and just giggling the entire ride to Camarillo.
Now here is the risky part, shopping with two boys. I have a system though. I feed Elliot and let Erik play with my iPhone and that seems to keep both of them happy. I also don't go into more than 2 clothing stores and if I want to try anything on I bring it in all at once so there is only a single visit to the dressing room. Well the visit to the Ann Taylor Factory store was a complete success. Everything was on sale and I bought so many thing, way more than my gift card, but I am set for the season. I would have take pictures, but Erik had my iPhone!
After that we headed to the Disney store on impulse and I found both the boys costumes. Their costumes are a surprise, but Erik was so excited and talked about it the entire ride home. Then to top off a successful day of shopping and beach, both the boys passed out in the car and then did an easy transfer to bed. I am one lucky mama today. There was a single casulity today, "sticker" Doc Hudson was left somewhere at the outlets. I am not looking forward to that conversation when Erik wakes up.
Note: I left my camera sitting on my kitchen counter today so all pictures were taken with my iPhone. I am actually amazed at how clear they are for all the beach shots. Very good for a phone.
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