balboa 2011 - family vacation

Long ago, before any of our kids were married we started going to California every year for the 4th of July.  As the kids got older and started moving on with their lives, getting married and having kids, we decided to uphold this tradition as the one time a year we were guaranteed to all be together.  As our numbers grow, we no longer all fit under one roof, so we seem to improvise year to year as to exactly how to execute such a large family vacation.  In my opinion, this seemed to be our best year yet.  With the house on the island and a rental on the peninsula, the families stay between the two places and everyone seems to settle nicely into the routine of hanging out and doing things with their individual families in the morning, whether its coffee and donuts, walks and bike rides, or little outings and excursions.  Then we all head to "the big beach" (as the kids call it) and hang out there into the evening before dining all together at the rental and relaxing on the patio until late into the night.  Each family takes one night to make dinner and it seems we eat like kings every night as a result.  If you only have to make dinner one night a week, it would appear you break out your very best, dessert and all.  It is a lovely week and I hope we can pull it off for years to come!
Here are some of the everyday highlights from the times we aren't all sitting at the beach with our toes in the sand, watching all the kids in the ocean, with a good book and a drink in hand, surrounded by the ones we love...

fresh flowers and peaches from the local farmers' market...

bonding with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents...

impromptu patriotic parades on the front porch to an audience of 2 (everyone else wants to be in it)...

and, of course, the post-dinner (post-dessert) dance parties and concerts for our entertainment...

and we are ever-so-lucky to have two birthdays to celebrate the week of July 4th...

I hope these are memories the kids and grandkids will cherish forever...  I know I will.

Do you have any secrets to a successful family vacation?  Any traditions your family sticks with year after year?  Do share!  And stay tuned for some beach pictures to follow...