As parents who work outside the home, it's always a special treat to have the opportunity to spend extended amounts of time with our children. It's only a couple times a year that we have a week (or two if we're lucky) all to ourselves without the interference of school or work. It's a time when we can solely focus on each other our little family of four. They exhausting, yet magical times. I wish we had more of them.
Every summer we go on a week-long beach trip where the only thing on the agenda is just to "be". In other words, chillin' is high on the priority list. It's a time when we can stay in our PJs until who-cares-when. The kids can super grimy, fall asleep easily, and have not a care in the world. These little adventures are really magical for our family because just when we thought we were as tight as we could be, we bond even more.
Our destination of choice is usually San Diego. But the past couple years we've opted to stay closer to home. This year we visited Monterey, California. A lovely little beach town where the livin' is easy. And true to form, I took way too many photos (is there such a thing?). I wanted to make sure I captured a few stories of our time together.
SIDE NOTE: Some of my photographer colleagues embark on a certain photography project called A Day in the Life (DITL). Essentially, it's a photographic document of a typical day in a family's life from start to finish. I've attempted a DITL a couple times and have only lasted until about lunchtime. By that time, my kids have usually had it with the camera. So, instead of a DITL, here's my attempt at a VITL (Vacation in the Life). I didn't capture our entire time together because I purposely left my camera behind at times, I think when I look back at the photos in a few years they'll be a good representation of the rhythm and beauty of our foursome in the summer of 2014.
Anyway, I'm going to share the photos with you in a couple phases. The first set of photos are of the first couple days of our trip as we got settled into the rental house, explored our neighborhood, grabbed a bite to eat, and visited the beautiful rock shoreline that was directly across the street from our house. Oh, and we visited the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium which was a treat for kids and grown-ups alike.
