under the boardwalk... down by the seeeeeaaaaa

there are probably all kinds of guilt. religious guilt. done-someone-wrong guilt. ate-all-your-child's-halloween-candy guilt. and those are all pretty rocky, and maybe even, vomit-inducing... but one form of guilt that i cannot seem to fall asleep through is the your-kid-missed-out guilt.

isaac told his teachers before school let out that we were going to legoland this summer. despite isaac's power of positive thinking strategy, we had no such plans. i laughed it off, but inside i worried. is a summer break really a summer break without a momentous excursion? probably. but just in case, i wasn't going to let guilt get the last laugh.

i was beginning to weigh various day trips when i was talking to k one afternoon. she suggested santa cruz beach boardwalk. her kids love it. top three selling points: beach, crazy rides, and garlic fries.

** i hadn't been to the boardwalk since i was about 15. and my family went one summer during a weeklong camping trip. yep. i said weeklong camping. on that trip i ended up with 19 mosquito bites ON MY FACE. 19. it was like vacation leprosy. it cannot be overstated that i do not like camping.**

k was planning to take her boys this past friday, and we decided to make it a two-car caravan.

the ride down, including 3 pit stops, went very smoothly. the boys like car travel. ragain likes listening to the radio. and i like eating chips and buttery pretzels. (crunch, crunch, crunch)

when we finally arrived at the boardwalk parking lot, jacob didn't want to get out. he said he wanted to stay in the car and take a nap. the trip took an abrupt nosedive. we convinced him to get out after a few minutes, but i was a little concerned. i hoped he would get into it once we started riding the rides...

first, family photo to prove we made it to our destination and were all still claiming to be related. in reviewing the photos, i realized i looked like a man. image omitted.

ride #1: ghost blasters. lucas and i ride together. he screams for the entire ride. i tell myself that the 19 mosquito bites were still infinitely worse.

next, the twins ride their first roller coaster. isaac buries his head in one of k's son's shoulders during the scary bits. but still, when he and jacob get off the ride, they look completely exhilarated. lucas looks jealous.

rides, rides, rides.

lucas and i foray into the world of dippin' dots. we're converted and have blue-stained mouths.

rides, rides, rides.

i almost have heart-failure as isaac and jacob soar over my head in the "superman" ride.

log ride. we get SOAKED!!! lucas looks like he wants his money back.

i scream like a maniac during the tilt-a-whirl ride. worse, i try to regain my composure over and over again by pointing out the ocean to the kids. then, the screams bubble out of my mouth again and the kids spend the rest of the ride imitating me saying, "look, the ocean. mmmmmm- aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!"

while putting lucas on a helicopter ride, the band, flock of seagulls, begins a beachside performance. no, seriously.

we dash out to the beach for a quick slosh in the waves, but by this time it's after 8 and freezing out in the sand. we run back to the boardwalk for several helpings of fries, and ok, maybe one corndog.

mmm fries...don't mind if i do...

lava-hot fries!

yikes!

we trudge reluctantly back to the parking lot with a warm bag of cinnamon glazed almonds jacob wants to be carried. he cries as he looks back at all the winking lights. then, kisses ragain's face, strokes his arm, and says, "thanks for bringing me."

isn't summer so good?