Peace in the Sand

I am still soaking in the soul nourishment from our overnight camping at the beach. It started upon arrival. We found the perfect spot, overlooking the playground, next to the new bathrooms, and within eyeshot of a firepit we wanted to nab that night. An amazing soul sister and her family came to join us for a bit of fun at the playground, then blessed us with the means to spend the night there.

This mama was in Pisces heaven!

I took a gazillion pictures and spent SO.MUCH.TIME just reflecting and standing in awe of how our time was perfectly unfolding.

After our friends/family left, we ran down to the water, where the kids played and I explained some stuff about the ocean to my Pisces son (like how the tides work and how sea creatures once lived in the shells we were finding).



I am home

We found peace in the sand

The kids got wet and sandy, and we headed back up to rinse off in the showers, as some new friends of ours showed up to bar-b-que with us.



The sun starting to set

The food and the company was delicious -- complete with the s'mores :)) We quickly realized that the firewood we (overpricedly) purchased was not going to be enough to get us through the bar-b-que even, so Kass went on a hunt for more firewood and blessed us with some HUGE heavy pieces that I knew would last us all night :))



The firepit was magic, toasty, incredibly healing.

After our friends left, me and the kids just sat there with the fire -- the kids did a bit of dancing around to their favorite tunes, and Kass serenaded us to her favorite YouTube videos until her phone died. And we just sat. Noble fell asleep in my arms. I sat there for a long time thinking, "This is it. This is what this is all about."

After I went and laid him inside the RV (and Kass stayed inside to read), Najaia and I grabbed my drum and headed back out to the firepit. It was a full moon. Let me back up a bit.... When I was pregnant with Najaia, I developed a burning desire to drum, so for my birthday right after she was born, I bought a djembe drum off Craigslist with background and energy I could vibe with :)  I had plans to visit drum circles and hula hoop jams :) Well, we haven't left the house with it, but the kids have enjed showing me what natural drummers they are inside :)) I, personally, seem to not be made for drumming, as I cannot keep a rhythm to save my life.

So, I bring the drum down to the firepit. And Najaia and I get comfy and start drumming together. I close my eyes and think of the full moon, and let the full moon channel through me. I can't say the sound was necessarily something I would proudly display, but it flowed through me and was a first step on my drum-playing-learning journey <3 What was most amazing was the magic that Najaia and I shared. As you can imagine, her and I don't get a lot of alone time together. This was extra-special :))

That night, I got to fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing at the shore... *melt*

The next morning, Najaia awoke with me, and we headed out to the playground to play, where I met an amazing hippy mama with kids spaced almost exactly like mine! I kept thinking, gosh, now that I have gotten out of the house in the last month and a half, I am meeting the most AWESOME people! Noble awoke while we were at the playground, and after our friends left, I grabbed my drum, and me and the babies headed down to the water.

The beach was almost empty (early morning, school in session), and that was where the drumming magic happened. It started with the kids drumming (and Najaia dancing, too)

and then it was my turn to drum. I channeled the ocean and listened to the drum, and it seemed my arms knew what to do, and my hands, too. It sounded AMAZING! Suddenly, the drum was a wonderland of sounds and feels and movements.

What rose up out of me was definitely drum-circle worthy. I was REALLY jamming. It was so awesome.

Noble asked if we could go up to the playground and I explained that I was playing for the waves. Suddenly, a wave starts climbing up the sand toward us - probably 10 feet of recently-wet sand, and at least 15 feet of dry sand... and stops about 4 feet from us. I was in awe and almost leapt up and cheered. I silently thanked the ocean for the greeting, the acknowledgement that I was playing for her. I look down the beach as far as I can see and see that it only came up that high in about 3 spots.

Noble's jaw has practically dropped. He takes the drum and starts drumming.

still drumming almost 20 minutes later

He drums the tide in ♥

Finally, he gets the sand-climbing wave he was waiting for :)) We decide to join Najaia in water play :))

digging for sand crabs

running away from the wave

Off on an adventure :)



Cutest baby feet pic I have ever seen :)) You can see her little pink-with-black-spots toenails :)

Then we head back up to the RV with plans to walk out on the jetty (the rock entrance/exit to the harbor). After we get changed, the sound of seals "ar-ar-AR"ing draws the babies to the boat docks part of the harbor :))

The CUTEST cloth diaper EVER, special made for Najaia from her Auntie MB -- it's a purple tiedyed star!



Kass joins us :))

Sisters ♥

Doing what boys do ♥ (or what my kids do LOL)

Making her sister feel better ♥

As it turns out, there were 4 seals sunbathing in the water :)) (and one playing and "ar-ar-AR"ing :))

I really wanted to get out on the jedi, and we had a birthday party to attend, so the time was a bit crunched. So, I talked the kids into going back to the RV with me to get ready for our hike out into the ocean :)) We ended up eating lunch (bread, bree, and apples -- YUM!), and when we headed out of the RV, we ran into a dear friend who happened to be at the playground with her daughter! So, we stuck around with them for a little while.

Wow, she touched my heart by expressing how encouraging my journey (via facebook) has been for her recently. We hugged for a long time. It was just what I needed to seal up the beach visit. I showed her the inside of the RV (hahaha, in all it's messiness!), and we said good bye. As I drove away, I felt the peace lingering. We stopped to dump our tanks and made new friends (full-timers of 10 years currently renting some horse-land property in Vista).

I love this life.

i. love. this. life.