Salt on my lips and sand in my hair

"I must be a mermaid. I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living." Anais Nin

I just love that quote.. Anyway...

When last I wrote, it had slipped my mind that we were headed out to our first social school event for the new school on Saturday. It was a meet and greet swim party at Carmel Valley Pool. The afternoon was gorgeous and the water was warm. There are not a lot of pools around anymore (at least not the ones I have been too) that boast a diving board. The kids had a fantastic time.

I hung back to some degree and observed the parents and the students and got a feel for the social environment we are headed towards. So far I have no complaints. But I don't expect that I will.  Essentially you have a group of people which have actively sought to be in the school and the families of which are expected/required to be participatory as parents must volunteer a certain number of hours every week to the school in some capacity. The parents ALL appeared to be loving and attentive to their children, not just one or two which you might be lucky to observe in a typical public school event. I think the kids will do exceptionally well there. I did get to talking to a few parents and one mother mentioned that the students at the school were a little sheltered compared to  public school students. I think that is rather marvelous! They create a small bubble but from everything I have seen they fill that bubble up with as much "wealth" as possible. School will be good this year. I feel we are very blessed to have won lottery placements for both Willow and Connor.

Sunday afternoon after attending to chores..
( btw.. vinegar sprayed on weeds makes for an excellent, cheap and healthy way to get rid of them.) 

Jump Jump

 we went to Manresa Beach which is just outside of Watsonville. We had camped there some years ago and enjoyed it and now it is one of the closest beaches that boasts a large sandy shelf suitable for swimming and splashing. The swim lessons and membership to the rec center have paid off. My kids are strong good swimmers and Connor has recently turned into a dolphin and has taken on body surfing. The conditions were choppy and not the best for surfing so we broke out the boogie board, played in the break,  jumping waves, splashing each other, and avoiding being crushed by a wall of foamy froth by simply slipping beneath the waves into a moment of blue tranquility. It might have only been a relatively short while but I have missed playing in the ocean immensely. Bathing in the salty brine seems to wash my spirit clean. Frolicking about like so refreshes reenergizes and renews me. It was a mighty fine weekend.